Fujifilm FinePix A900

Performance
In our tests, the A900's performance was consistently poor. After a 2.8-second wait from powering on to first shot, we could take a picture only once every 3.1 seconds with the onboard flash turned off. With the flash enabled, that wait ballooned to 4.9 seconds. The shutter also felt very sluggish, lagging 0.8 seconds with our high-contrast target and 1.7 seconds with our low-contrast target.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55

1.4

1.3

0.5

Canon PowerShot A630

1.6

1.5

0.5

Fujifilm FinePix A900

3.1

2.8

0.8

Olympus mju 1000

3.3

1.7

0.7

Besides a few minor complaints, the A900 produces some very nice photos. The camera's Fujinon lens produces little to no distortion and minimal fringing along high-contrast edges. Noise stays under control in most situations, noticeably cropping up only at ISO 800, where it manifests as a relatively gentle grain.

Unfortunately, the camera doesn't have the best dynamic range, and shadows tend to consume fine details. You'll probably want to use the flash if your subject is badly lit or even just a dark colour. The camera's automatic white balance works poorly under incandescent light, horribly yellowing what would otherwise be white pictures. You can solve this problem easily enough by switching to the camera's incandescent white balance.

The white balance setting is hidden in manual mode under scene presets, making it a far less convenient solution than it could have been. Despite these issues, if you don't print your photos very large and remember to set the proper white balance or scene preset before shooting, your pictures will look good.

Conclusion
The Fujifilm FinePix A900 is a conundrum, torn between the worlds of high-end, high-resolution cameras and budget point and shoots. Its sensor and lens -- the hearts of any camera -- work well. However, its slow performance, bizarrely uneven feature set and confusing control layout seriously hold it back.

If you can put up with these quirks and don't mind going without a burst mode, the A900 makes a solid, affordable choice for a higher-resolution camera. If you don't want to deal with these hassles, a similarly priced 7 or 8-megapixel camera such as the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55 or the Canon PowerShot A630 would be a better choice. That extra megapixel or two won't matter much against these lower-resolution cameras' better speed and convenience.

Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday

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