Rollei have been around for a very long time - since the early 1930s in fact . They are best known for producing high quality lenses & this is where the new FL-140 scores big time - it has a fantastic quality lens that gives superb pictures in a camera that is aimed more at the person who wants an easy to use camera but also wants top quality pictures .
The FL-140 has all the normal features you would expect nowadays in a top quality compact camera ... Face detection ... big 10 million pixels ... larger than normal 3x f2.5 to 5.6 optical zoom ... big & very clear 3 inch screen ... lithium rechargeable battery ( it comes with the battery & charger ) ... takes SD memory cards ( a 2 gigabyte card costs £6.99 from us & will let you take up to 800 pictures ) ... good quality video mode that is fine for everyday videos for home or holiday use ... automatic flash with flash off & fill flash options ... loads of scene modes including sports & night time ... macro close up mode ... self timers ... automatic exposure system with some manula overides if you want to use them ( most people will not bother & just use the FL-140 in its fully automatic mode ) ... 2 seconds to 1/1200th second shutter speed range ( ideal for night time to sports photgrpahy ) ... pict bridge ... various ISO settings including fully automatic .
Using the FL-140 is as easy as it gets for a digital camera . It is one of the most easy cameras to use i have ever tested . Press the onn / off button on top - zoom in or out using the zoom button on top - press the shutter button - picture taken - very fast - very easy . From turning the camera on to taking the picture is not far off instant - its that fast . The screen on the back is brilliant - very big & very sharp - it can be used in sunlight or in total darkness . Viewing a picture is fast - just press the topp button on the back . Deleting a picture is also easy - just press the bottom button on the back . The on screen menus are fast to navigate & again - easy to understand . I keep using the words " fast " & "easy" - well that sums up the FL-140 - its fast & easy to use even for a person who has never had a digital camera .
Ok - now we get down to the picture quality . The FL-140 is an expensive camera . At £189 its at the top end of expensive for compact cameras yet it has no more features than cameras costing uo to £90 less ... but .... it does have one thing that others do not have - its fantastic quality 32-128 f2.5 to 5.6 Rollei Apogon lens . This combines with the quality 10 million pixel image sensor is what gives the FL-140 its edge over most othe cameras . I took the FL-140 ( along with 5 other cameras ) to Cuba with me to try out - it was fabulous ! . In the daytime it handled sunlight very well & at nigt time was able to focus & take pictures to a very high quality . The exposure system is spot on - the auto focusing was very good & only failed on the odd occasion when shooting into the sun ( all cameras find this hard ) . Its also handles different colours very well - the picture of the boat on the beach - many cameras find this hard to handle but the FL-140 had no problems . Printed pictures are razor sharp thanks to the fabulous lens .
The competition is tough at this end of the market . The Pentax P-70 gives as good pictures . The Canon Ixus 980 is superb but a lot more expensive & harder to use .
To view a picture taken with this camera please click on one of the pictures below . The pictures that are not of the camera itself are taken with this camera & have been downsized to fit on this web site using Microsoft Image Resizer ( http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx ) to give a smaller file size for this web site & a resolution of 576x768 or 1024x768 . When you click on the picture a larger version will come on to your screen - it is not a full sized image but will give you a good idea of how sharp & how well exposed the camera takes a picture . If you would like to see a full sized picture taken with this camera then please click on the " Ask for more Information " link button to your left then ask for a full sized picture taken with this camera ( state the cameras full Make & Model name ) .
