The Fujifilm FinePix F300EXR is certainly one of the most versatile fixed-lens cameras on the market today, thanks to a 15X optical zoom lens (24mm to 360mm), some unique shooting modes that make the most of the unit's 12-megapixel Super CCD EXR sensor, and a one-touch panorama mode that lets you sweep the camera to create an instant 360-degree image.

But despite all that versatility, the F300EXR has a few performance issues that hold it back from claiming one of the top spots in our top-rated pocket megazoom chart: subpar video quality, disappointing low-light shots, shutter lag, and sometimes-delayed autofocus.In PCWorld Labs' subjective testing for image and video quality, the Fujifilm FinePix F300EXR collected marks of Very Good for both color accuracy and lack of distortion; the lack of barrel distortion is especially impressive for a camera with a very wide-angle lens, as the F300EXR even outscored advanced cameras such as the Canon PowerShot S95 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 in that scoring category.

Exposure quality earned a rating of Good, but sharpness is a weak spot for the FinePix F300EXR; the camera received a sharpness rating of Fair, trailing nearly every point-and-shoot camera we've tested this year in that category.

Battery life is decent but hardly superb, according to the camera's official CIPA rating. The FinePix F300EXR snaps an average of 250 shots per charge of its lithium ion battery, enough for a battery life score of Good.

In the realm of video, the FinePix F300EXR turned in particularly disappointing results. Test clips shot in bright light and in low light were rated as Poor, though audio pickup from its on-board mono microphone earned a rating of Good.

Below are the sample clips from the PCWorld Labs' subjective video-quality tests, shot at 720p in AVI format at 24 frames per second in bright light and in low light. Select 720p from the drop-down menu in the lower-right corner of each video player for the highest-quality footage.

At just 1.3 inches deep, the FinePix F300EXR is impressively compact for a 15X optical zoom camera, but it's still a bit bulkier than a typical point-and-shoot camera. It has a very crisp and sharp 3-inch-diagonal LCD screen, which is about as easy to view in direct sunlight as any I've ever used on a point-and-shoot camera. The excellent LCD screen is your only viewfinder, however, because the camera lacks an optical viewfinder. A nice raised, textured grip favours right-handers, and the mode dial seems a bit more accessible than the usual setup, thanks to a 45-degree slant that lets you adjust the dial from any angle. The mode dial offers eight options: manual mode, aperture priority, shutter priority, program auto mode, auto mode, scene selection, Advanced mode selection, and EXR mode selection. Though everything is easy to find, Fujifilm might have done better to combine the Advanced mode selections with the scene mode selections on the dial, just to reduce the amount of dial-twisting necessary to access some of the modes.

Due to the slanted mode dial mounted on the top edge, the top of the camera is clean, with just a power switch and the shutter button/zoom control ring. The back of the camera is easy to navigate, with just a navigation pad/scroll wheel and four buttons: the playback button, a dedicated video button, a display button, and an F-mode button for quick access to ISO settings, image-size settings, and film-like image filters. The four-way directional pad doubles as a means of one-touch access to macro mode, the self-timer, flash controls, and exposure compensation.

One annoyance (but not a dealbreaker) is the camera's pop-up flash, which stays up as long as the camera is powered on. You can't click it closed with your finger, and powering it off via the camera's controls doesn't make it retract into the camera body.The Fujifilm FinePix F300EXR is a glass-half-empty/glass-half-full pocket megazoom. There's a lot to like, especially for people who love to tinker with settings, as it has more shooting modes than the average camera. That helps make it versatile beyond its 15X optical zoom lens.

But a few key shortcomings prevent it from reaching its full potential, and some of the camera's more enticing modes don't work as well as I had hoped. You can find better cameras for full manual controls, for overall image quality, or for video quality if one of those criteria is especially important to you. The FinePix F300EXR ultimately falls into the realm of "jack of all trades, master of none."