Fujifilm FinePix S9600 Review

Hi Everybody!!

I am going to purchase a digital camera for the first time. (Home usage)
I want to choose from these:
1. Fuji S9600
2. Fuji S8000FD
3. Panasonic Lumix FZ28
4. Panasonic Lumix TZ7

Which model will be best??
Can anyone please help??

I have no intention of making remarks such as have been made regards the full 10 you gave this camera. Suffice to say to follow your reasoning to its logical conclusion you should not have given it 10. Why? because you twisted on that the 9500 did not come with image stablisation. This also did not when it was sorely needed--hence it did not deserve full marks for this serious omission on the part of Fuji. It just becomes a very limited zoom camera and certainly not a cut above for blur free images.

Twisted 2 calls it a very limited camera,which is a stupid comment,considering the camera's capabilities.
The S9600 does have a form of correction when using the long zoom,I.E it raises the shuttere speed/ISO rating,which is what we all used to do for years,as a matter of course with our old 35mm cameras.
All it took was a little thought!
As regards very high ISO results,(above 800),how many people use such high settings?
Very few,I bet,I know I don't,and never have done.
With film,I did use ISO 400 sometimes with my black and white work,but that's all.
If the lights that bad,I dont take photographs!
OR you can steady the camera,on a wall,tripod,etc.,but in my view,this is needed only very ocassionally,and only at the longer end of the zoom.
Most photos are around the wide-angle,mid range settings anyway.

Overall,this camera is excellent.Well made,quick to use,an excellent viewfinder,(just compare it to the Panasonic FZ28 viewfinder,far too small!,)a very good lens,and in some ways ,better than the average DSLR,producing excellent photos,and a compact package,with the versatile lens,(I have used the 600mm setting,with no noticeable drop in quality)
I also have a Nikon D40,with 18-55mm,and 55-200mm lenses,but just find the weight of it on my shoulder too much,whereas the S9600 is about half the weight!
And the D40 is one of the lighter DSLRs!

Up to A4,there's no real difference in the prints,and who prints much bigger?.
It still feels like a proper camera,unlike the Panasonic FZ series,a bit small,but still excellent cameras,but a poor viewfinder on the FZ28(only half the size of the Fuji).
I got my S9600 off Ebay at a bargain price of £150(almost new!),and I'm well pleased with it.
So all you nit-pickers out there,you'll just have to buy a DSLR,pay the extra,and put up with an aching shoulder!

To Anand,Re camera choices.
I've owned the Panasonic FZ7,FZ8,FZ18,and recently the FZ28,a Nikon D40,and now a S9600.
The picture quality on the FZ28 is the best Panasonic super zoom so far,and very good,BUT,as I use the viewfinder in bright conditions,it is half the size of the FZ18,and the S9600,come to that,so I sold it.
But,if you like a smaller,lighter camera,full of features,with a big zoom,with "Anti shake",the Panasonic FZ18 is the one to get secondhand.(look on Ebay),
If you want a more substantial camera,also with a big zoom,the S9600 really takes some beating.
However,if you can afford it,the Nikon D40,is a cracking DSLR,with superb image quality,quick focussing,and easy to use,but you need to consider the cost of additional lenses(and the extra weight!)
Which is why I tend to use the S9600 most of the time!