Although the Fujifilm FinePix S9500 Zoom delivers in the resolution department, that nonremovable 10.7x zoom suffers from a few optical maladies, including rampant chromatic aberration. Fujifilm's vaunted Real Photo Technology (RP) image processing works excellently, but the significant noise reduction it performs introduces artefacts of its own, which becomes oppressive starting at ISO 200.
The dynamic range wasn't what we had hoped, either. On a beautiful day with billowing clouds in a deep, blue sky, we had to choose between capturing the details of the clouds and underexposing the foreground or properly exposing the foreground and blowing out the sky.
On the plus side, the S9500 produced saturated yet realistic colours, and its red-eye-prevention system completely eliminated scarlet pupils: electronic-flash pictures of people showed attractive catch lights rather than dull red glows. Colour casts were hard to detect, although shots taken under incandescent light looked slightly warm.
This camera's ISO 1,600 setting was usable, especially when you consider that most non-SLR digital cameras don't even have an ISO 800 option. However, it still had much more noise than you'd see with dSLRs in this price range, such as the Nikon D50. Dropping down to ISO 400 reduced nose to manageable levels and at ISO 80 the multicoloured speckles were minimal.
Though it compensates for colour noise, the S9500 sacrifices detail sharpness. Note the tape measure and other edge detail in the bottom ISO 80 shot versus the top ISO 200 shot. Depending upon the final intent for the photo -- print or screen view -- this type of artefact may or may not bother you
Edited by Lori Grunin
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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Martin Jones 21 November 2006
Good: Macro pictures are stunning
Bad: Not much really
Comment: Great choice for returning to SLRs or trying them out for the first time.
Being able to control how you take a picture is a relief - just like the old days!
Pieter Eksteen 9 October 2006
Good: Optical zoom, rapid startup, ease of use
Bad: Bulk
Comment: An excellent alternative to one of the digital SLRs. Most of the functionality at half the price. Built-in zoom lens meets 95 per cent of requirements plus it ensures that no dust gets onto a filter. I have not experienced any issues with image quality except in manual mode, where it is easy to stretch beyond the capabilities of the sensor.
Ryan Morrison 10 June 2006
Good: The brilliant 28-300mm lens and ISO range of 80-1600
Bad: JPEG compression (not bad if you shoot in raw) and noise levels
Comment: A first class point and shoot camera with all the basic features of a dSLR but without the stress of having to change lenses.
The 28-300mm lens is much better than the one that comes with often more expensive dSLR cameras and the ISO range (for someone who takes photos for work in conditions ranging from an outdoor festival in the summer to a dodgy backstreet club) better than even some high-end dSLRs.
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