Extended dynamic range is popular at the moment, and the S100 gets in on the act, with the option to capture a greater range of detail in darker and lighter areas. Dynamic range is one of the options that can be bracketed, along with film simulation and exposure. This function captures three frames at different settings with one press of the shutter.
Playback mode allows for a 3x3 thumbnail grid -- or even a 10x10 -- but the screen is rather too small for that to be useful. Fujifilm has seen the light with regard to memory cards, and the S100 is the latest to support the near-ubiquitous SD and SDHC card, as well as the proprietary xD card.
Performance
Raw performance is excellent at 1fps and an impressive 3fps in
continuous mode. Continuous mode will stop after seven JPEGs and three
raw files. Top 7, last 7 and top 50 burst modes save the first and last
seven or first 50 images, but at a vastly reduced 3-megapixel
resolution. Start-up time is two seconds, with a shot-to-shot time of
one second without flash, and two seconds with flash.
The large sensor and lens combination give crystal-clear images, with no distortion or vignetting. Purple fringing is more pronounced than we'd like, but it could be argued there is a trade-off in noise control. Noise is well handled up to ISO 800, and even above that the extra detail crammed in is worth putting up with pebbledashing in darker areas. The maximum ISO speed is 10,000, which is pointlessly fast, as images are murdered by speckles.
As the mechanical image stabilisation is complemented by ISO-boosting, we recommend limiting the maximum ISO speed to 400 or 800 to get the best results. Image stabilisation easily saved us two or three stops.
There is a fair bit of noise reduction applied to images, which smears fine detail, but you can get around this by shooting unprocessed raw images. Be warned, however, that raw files are an enormous 22MB.
Conclusion
As a bridge camera, the Fujifilm FinePix S100FS is definitely
closer to the dSLR side of the bridge than the compact. Fujifilm has
packed it with features and given many of them their own controls. The
Olympus SP-560 UZ may be less intimidating, while for a similar amount of money, you could get into dSLRs with an entry-level model such as the Pentax K200D. Still, the excellent, versatile lens and wealth of options make this a serious camera to take charge of your photography.
Editing by Jon Squire
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Dr Nelmes 17 July 2008
Good: SLR-like features - all in one package
Bad: Battery life too short
Comment: Let'sfirst get the price issue out of the way. It is entirely subjective so I haven't considered this in my appraisal.
After nearly 30 years of lugging around a large and very heavy bag full of lenses and equipment I'd had enough so I was looking for everything all in one package. This is where the S100FS meets my needs perfectly. I'm no longer picking which lense to use as it's all in one. The range of features - Auto, Selective Bracketing (very useful), Fully Manual, Aperture priority, Shutter priority to name but a few leave nothing wanting for total control of shooting conditions and subject matter.
The fringing is there (as with many other manufacturers' offerings) but it is easily corrected in Photoshop Elements (earlier versions being almost given away now).
Shutter lag is virtually non-existent and, when compared to the Panasonic Lumix FZ18 and the Canon Powershot S5 IS, the digital viewfinder is streets ahead remembering that it is not an SLR!
Optically it is very good and having been a frequent user of 28mm wide angles it is one of the few bridging cameras with it as I have found in the past that 35mm isn't wide enough for me and the 400mm "other end" is more than enough.
The tilting screen is superb and the best bridging camera offering that I've seen by a long shot with images being crystal clear, even on a sunny day.
Although it has a miriad of features it is relativley easy to work through the menus and the 2 Custom settings are great for creating such things as a one-touch external flash manual mode. Just put on the flash, switch to custom 1 (or 2) and you're ready to go.
On the subject of flash, as it doesn't support dedicate flash, I can use my old Olympus-dedicated and Vivitar non-dedicated units with perfect results.
Build quality is very good and although heavy, it has a great balanced feel, unlike many other that felt and looked cheap.
If I were to loose it tomorrow would I by the same camera again? Without hesitation. To me, the perfect all-round solution has arrived.
David Yates 25 May 2008
Good: Easier to use than any DSLR and more powerful than any compact
Bad: Could not have found it sooner!!! I love it
Comment: I own the camera and can not put into words how amazing this is. My friend wasted so much money on a DSLR. He has the Nikon D60 by the way, he spent loads on the body, then lenses, and it takes him ages to change the lenses for each shot.
So when I found this I was amazed how great the quality of images were, how easy it was to quickly zoom in on anything and how amazing this looks. And yes people do stare at the camera in envy :)
Though the images dont do it as much justice as they do in real life like in the image below;
http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs26/f/2008/144/4/a/Trees_Alley_by_grenouille_enchantee.jpg
and this is scaled down.
If you are looking for a camera, any camera then buy it.
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