Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd Review

I bought this camera around 3 weeks ago to replace a Canon Powershot A460, I paid £116 for it via the Fujifilm UK refurb online shop. I have to say I have been massively impressed with the camera so far, the amount of control the device gives you is amazing, and even if you don't feel adventurous the Auto modes give pretty great results too.

The build quality is very high for the price with little evidence that this camera is in fact really quite cheap, like above I can't see how the control dial could fall off as it seems quite nailed down to me, my only concern is the flash but even if I did break it, the fault would be more mine than the cameras, seeing as you push it into a safe spot when it isn't in use.

As for picture quality, it is a camera that helps you along to start with, but it rewards you for taking risks and taking more "creative control" over your photography. I started on my way to this by playing with the Apeture modes, before going on to Program shift, and I am starting to use full Manual mode for some shooting, aside from getting some great photos out of the camera, the feeling of accomplishment is much higher and the camera is very rewarding in this regard.

My favourite mode of this camera has to be its Super Macro mode, I think there isn't a shrubbery in the industrial estate where I work that hasn't been violated by my Fujinon lens, flower pictures especially come out pin sharp, with fantastic focus priority, bringing the detail out on the subject while blurring the backgrounds brilliantly, leaving no doubt as to where your eyes should be looking at!

It's not all positives though, barrel distotion is quite the issue, and it is most noticable in any pictures involving roads, I konw our councils are renowned for shoddy roadworks, but wavy roads? that's pushing it a bit too far. Also colourful fringing is noticeable in 100% crops in high contrast areas, but nothing that cannot be corrected by a decent imaging suite. Oh and 4 seconds as the slowest shutter is not enough Fujifilm, and is bettered by nearly every model below and above, I wish a clever guy could change the firmware to allow longer, because the camera would be that much better in low light with it.

The focus system is pretty good, with the option for continuous focus, which, while it probably uses lots of battery power, helps for moving targets, it also allows for choosing where you want to choose where to focus its metering system as well as letting it think for you. Also, the face detection system works pre and post shooting, giving the system 2 chances to find them, it is so sensitive it finds faces on a flat HDTV screen, which, I think is quite impressive.

As for miscellaneous notes, battery life is excellent, with a set of Energizer 2500mAh rechargables lasting over 400 shots before losing the power to drive the camera, although it does slow down a bit when it gets through the batteries, and leaves little time between warning that the batteries are low and dying completely. The flash is great, in fact, TOO great for some indoor shots at default when playing with the manual shooting modes, thankfully that can be adjusted too.

All in all, I think this camera is well worth the money, and is a perfect bridge camera, it offers most of the mdoes of an SLR as well the auto modes of a point and shoot, but with the entry price of as low as £135 new or £116 refurbished, it is a cheap way of more enthusiastic novice camera users of seeing if they want to get into photography seriously before making the financial commitment needed for an SLR.

In my opinion, you cannot get a better camera for the money, simple.

Oh, one last note, the inbuilt software sucks, and does crasha bit on Vista, as well as not allowing much for image manipulation, especially with pictures taken in manual modes, buy a card reader and use paint.net or the Gimp if you don't want to pay anything, or plump for paint shop pro if you do.

I purchased this camera about a year ago replacing my reliable 3.2mp Canon Compact camera. I wanted a higher megapixel camera, mainly for cropping pictures on my PC whilst maintaining some level of sharpness in the process. I opted for this Fuji camera on the strength of their reputation and numerous awards achieved for their cameras. I was also influenced by the neat modern design, powerful zoom, solid feel, and comfortable grip of this camera. I was expecting good things, but got off to a poor start. After just a week the control dial just snapped off (common problem from what I see). I returned it for repair and had it back two weeks later. Touch wood - it's still intact!
My impression of this camera, to date, is a 'mixed bag'. Let's just say - I was expecting more from an 8 megapixel camera at the time. My first ever digital camera was a simple basic 3 megapixel camera from Samsung, and I have to say the pictures produced by that camera, for some reason, look better zoomed in, than those taken by my 'new higher pixel' Fuji camera. I put that down to the physical size of the sensor, regardless of pixel count. From what I can see the sensors are getting smaller as the pixels go higher. In camera processing appears to degrade overall picture clarity, resulting in a 'mushy' mess, which is quite visible when zoomed in close. A good example of this is grass. At times I wish I still had that 'cheap' Samsung camera, but all I have is the pictures from same.
Getting back to the Fuji S8000fd, it is still a decent camera considering its price, provided you don't zoom in too close when editing, and print standard sized prints. Colours and exposure are both good, and this shows on 6x4 and 7x5 sized prints. Flash power and coverage, when used indoors, is good. Pictures taken indoors/outdoors within a distance of about six feet are reasonably sharp. On the other hand, I have noticed that distant outdoor wideangle scenic shots, in good light, and using the lowest ISO, still appear over processed and 'smudged' when viewed on my PC. My first such scenic shots were quite dissapointing. It is nice to have full manual control, and lots of features similar to that of a DSLR, but all that is of little or no use if the end result is a poorer than expected picture, and no amount of in-camera adjustment, or post editing can rectify something that hasn't been clearly captured in the first place. All in all I am somewhat dissapointed with the results achieved so far with this camera, and am looking forward to upgrading in the near future. The new Sony HX1 with CMOS sensor looks promising!

Hello, I've had this camera now for over a year, but still find it interesting that it seems to be a good seller. Every comment here is right, as you can get massively different results depending on what you let the camera do. For example, I will now only follow it into AUTO mode if flash is not practical, and light is limited, otherwise I will only keep it at ISO 64. I know TR has stated that it's not bad unto ISO 400, but that's not my experience, although I do do a bit of pixel peeking.

The camera is reasonably quick to operate, has all the features you can expect at this price, especially now as the price has fallen a lot. I was shocked to find reviews of the new canon sx1 and sx110 super zooms were not particularly favourable, and they are hugely expensive,(DSLR money) therefore I consider the Fuji the best value super zoom at the moment.

The upgraded 8100 may offer a higher pixel count, but I can only imagine that the high ISO results will suffer for the sensor size fitted.

Shame this camera does not have a hot shoe, however let's not forget the price, if you shop at this level do not expect miracles.

I'm pleased with most of my pictures, (quality wise, artistically it's a different story) and the zoom gets you to where you can't get. Overall a very acceptable, and rewarding compromise, but if you can spend more, and live without an all in one lens then go to DSLR.

John.

Both my husband and I liked the look of this camera and each bought one just over a year ago. We were delighted with everything about this camera until a few months ago the mode dial broke off on one of them. We sent this for repair at a cost of nearly £90. Then whilst on holiday a week ago the mode dial broke off my camera. I am now trying to decide whether to send this for repair or to purchase a different camera. For the price it is a superb camera and on looking at reviews of other cameras for the same price I cannot yet find one to equal it. I notice one reviewer has had the same experience, has anyone else?