Fujifilm FinePix S200EXR review

For example, the EXR high-ISO mode doesn't engage automatically as you increase the sensitivity. It's only active if you turn the mode dial to the EXR position. Otherwise, you just get the camera's default ISO adjustment, which isn't as good, although, bizarrely, it goes to higher values.

You also have to switch to the EXR position on the mode dial to use the high-dynamic-range option. But Fujifilm also offers a normal extended-dynamic-range option too, using a technically different solution that's still quite effective.

The test chart shows the S200EXR's resolution is no more than average for a 12-megapixel superzoom, and there are a couple of odd artefacts in the finer lines and text characters (click image to enlarge)

It's just too confusing. Either this EXR technology is good enough to build into the camera's mainstream operation or it isn't. At the moment, it's kind of bolted on in such a way that it duplicates existing camera functions rather than supplanting them.

The other issue to be aware of is that, no matter how much the S200EXR might resemble and work like a dSLR, it still only has a 1/1.6-inch sensor. It's slightly bigger than the average compact's sensor, but not by much. Therefore, the definition isn't as good as you'd get from a 12-megapixel dSLR even at low ISOs, and falls further behind as the ISOs increase, despite the EXR sensor. You also have to put up with an electronic viewfinder, rather than an optical one.

Conclusion
You get tonnes of camera with the Fujifilm FinePix S200EXR. It looks and handles like a dSLR, but costs half as much as an equivalent dSLR and superzoom lens combination. But, while the EXR sensor technology certainly works, it's not yet properly integrated with the camera's operation, and, even with the EXR technology, the size of the sensor puts a limit on the picture quality.

Edited by Charles Kloet