Fujifilm FinePix S1500 - Test Shots - Detail and Lens Performance

A range of general test shots are shown over the next two pages. In some cases, the full size image has been reduced for bandwidth purposes, and a crop taken from the original full resolution image has been placed below it to show the overall image quality. Some other pictures may be clicked to view the original full-size image.

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Here's the usual detail test shot of the West Window of Exeter Cathedral, for you to compare with other cameras. See below for a full res crop, or click to see the whole picture.

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The level of detail is pretty good despite the grey overcast weather, a little above average for a 10MP camera.

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Our garden wall is looking a bit bent at the wide angle end of the zoom range. It's interesting to compare with the 10MP, 12x zoom Panasonic TZ7, which costs around £280.

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Centre sharpness is pretty good, but I've seen better.

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Corner sharpness is also pretty good, with little sign of chromatic aberration or Fuji's usual bugbear, purple fringes.

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Considering it has a 1/2.3-inch 10MP sensor, the dynamic range isn't too bad. There's still a little shadow detail, and the highlights are intact.

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17 comments

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mick / LUMIX

9:35 AM on 19 May, 2009

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I had a S1500 and was forced to send it back to QVC for a refund. There was a high level of purple fringing (chroma), but that was not the main problem. The camera could only be used with the sun behind me and on days when there was no scattered light. A lens hood is not supplied and it is not possible to fit one due to the design of the lens. There is no filter thread. The lens suffered from severe flare and the photos were useless. Why Fuji would sell this type of camera without a hood is beyond me. A phone call to Fuji UK confirmed that a hood is not available. The Fuji S1500 is the worse camera that I have used in 40 years plus. I obtained a (used) Panasonic FZ18 from a local dealer, what a difference !! Just to end this saga, I was that impressed with the Panasonic it got me thinking....what about the Panasonic G1 ? after hours of reading test reports and web photos/commments from users I now have a G1 on order! If you want a bridge camera then go for the current Panasonic FZ28, the Fuji S1500 simply does not make sense.

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CliffSmith

2:36 PM on 19 May, 2009

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Hi Mick. That's interesting and a bit worrying to hear. Unfortunately the weather's been terrible here for the past week so I've not test the camera in bright sunlight, but you're quite right about it lacking a lens hood, which could be a problem.

Splogbust

5:58 PM on 19 May, 2009

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Mm - I'm still using a FujiS5600 and, although it does have a filter ring, I never use a hood but sometimes have to shield the lens with my hand when the sun is very bright. It is certainly necessary more often with the S5600 than it was with my film SLRs......

I wonder how common this is.

9:36 PM on 19 May, 2009

The design of any lightweight, compact zoom lens is a compromise between size, weight, optical quality and of course price. Zoom lenses in general, and compact zooms in particular, are all a lot more prone to lens flare and other optical problems than good quality SLR prime lenses.

10:41 PM on 19 May, 2009

Cliff, that is true enough,however,it is no excuse for Fuji not providing a lens hood when other cameras can do so at the same price. Unlike other bridge cameras the lens extends and retracts so it would be difficult (impossible ?) to design a hood. The lens is a poor design in the physical and optical sense. Fuji may well advertise / sell more than Panasonic but they are well behind in both build and photo quality.

AndyfromVA

4:49 AM on 23 May, 2009

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For an inexpensive ultrazoom, it's really pretty good. I like what I see of its picture quality. I think this is going to be a really big seller for Fuji.

crowen

4:17 PM on 8 August, 2009

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mick, you are maybe right about the lack of the lens hood, but there is one thing that bothers me the most. You've compared S1500 with the Panasonic FZ18! FZ18 is a better camera, but you're not helping anyone with the choice, since Fuji is around 100 pounds cheaper! That is quite allot for someone like me and you can as well compare it to cannon markIII, I ask you what's the point of that? We all know there are much better cameras for more money, but you can't compare them if they are not in the same price range...

Anyway, if you have tested similar camera in the same price range, that you think is much better, it will be nice to share it with us.

MartinSmaling

7:27 PM on 1 September, 2009

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Hi,

I bought the Fuji S1500 just for fun and as a spare camera and I must say that I'm a little dissapointed by the image quality. When I compare the image quality with my Lumix FZ28, TZ4 and my Canon SX110IS, the sharpness, particular in the edges is poor. Also the colours are undersaturated in the standard mode en very oversaturated in the chrome mode. But autofocus, build quality, handling and autofocus are very good and that just for 169 Euro's here in Holland! So I think that after all the S1500 isn't so bad afterall, as long if you do not compare the picture quality with more expensive camera's. But I think the Canon SX110IS is the better choice because it is only a little more expensive, but has almost the same zoomrange, has a very good picture quality and also a manual mode (see the test here on trusted reviews). And probably the price of the SX110IS will drop because of the introduction of the SX120IS

Greetings,

Martin

anwar

11:33 AM on 6 September, 2009

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Hi All,

I bought this camera two weeks back. At first I thought it’s a bit non-user friendly, but when I started using it I felt awesome. I would like to explain why.

First of all I am not a professional photographer and I don’t play much (u can say never at all) with the ISO settings and other advanced stuff. In this camera I can change ISO settings if I want.

There are 3 options when you take a picture in auto mode:

1. The normal photo

2. Finepix photo

3. B&W photo (Black and white)

As option 2. above Finepix option focuses more deeply to the colors. You can actually really feel the colors. I think its because this options brightens the picture, anyway I like this option very much.

I took my S1500 out during night and tried. The night mode was just cool, the fotos seemed clearer than our naked eyes.

I have to try the other settings outside at different hours of the day, right now am not free during the days till the end of this month.

As a fair conclusion I would like to say that I love my S1500 and take with me everywhere just as a pet. It’s a bit out of hand as what else you expect from a DSLR model. The first camera I used was an Olympus FE320 which could be taken in your pocket but the fotos weren’t upto my satisfaction. It was all blurry images I got after my one month vacation in india.

Hope this camera meets up to my satisfaction in my next vacation to Istanbul…

Ari

6:36 AM on 11 September, 2009

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Hello,

So I just bought the S1500 and I must say, although I'm no expert photogtapher, I am a little disappointed as other buyers in the picture quality. Another thing that is frusrating me is that I can't figure out how to access the shooting options to adjust the sharpness, white balance and so forth. If there is anyone who can assist me, I would greatly aprreciate it thanks!

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