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Fujifilm FinePix S2000HD Review

Author	Cliff Smith
Published	24th Oct 2008
Manufacturer	Fujifilm
Price	£150.43 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£173.00 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price

Build Quality
Features
Image Quality
Value
Overall

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The S2000HD is a surprisingly brisk performer for a super-zoom. It starts up in a little over two seconds, and shuts down again in a bit under three, which is quicker than some compacts. Shot-to-shot time in single shot mode and the highest picture quality setting is approximately two seconds per frame, which is also quite respectable. The S2000HD has five continuous shooting modes. In the normal full-resolution mode it shoots at approximately 1.6 seconds per frame, but there is also a high-speed mode shooting at approximately five frames a second, at a resolution of five megapixels, and an ultra-high-speed mode that is limited to three megapixels but shoots at approximately 10 frames per second.

The S2000HD has an exceptionally good autofocus system, focusing quickly and accurately in every lighting condition in which I tried it, including in low light at maximum zoom. It has the brightest AF assist lamp I've ever seen, and had no problem focusing in total darkness at a range of around five metres, which is very impressive although it can leave your friends blinking in surprise. It also has an exceptionally powerful flash, with a maximum range of over six metres in auto ISO mode, but which also has very good metering so it doesn't over-expose at close range.

In terms of picture quality the S2000HD is good, but perhaps not as good as its otherwise extremely impressive performance might lead you to hope. The level of fine detail is surprisingly low for a 10MP camera, and the lens isn't as good as some of its close competitors. It shows some barrel distortion at wide angle, and also some corner blurring and very noticeable chromatic aberration.

One area where the S2000HD does stand out though is noise control, traditionally a Fujifilm strongpoint, although here too there are a few oddities. Shots at 100, 200 and 400 ISO are exceptionally clear and noise-free, with plenty of sharp detail and good colour reproduction. However from 800 ISO upwards the noise reduction system suddenly goes nuts with the pixel-binning, producing images with very little detail that look like they were shot on a video camera. Colour balance is still good, and the pictures would be OK for an email or website, but I wouldn't want to print them.

Verdict
Overall the S2000HD offers a lot of camera for the money, and is one of the most versatile super-zoom models on the market. It's not without a few faults, but the excellent handling, wide zoom range, fast performance and superb low-light focusing make this a camera that can cope in most situations. As a general-purpose camera it's hard to beat for the price.

Latest 4 of 5 Comments

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Chris Grillo said on 26th January 2009

I have had this camera for two months now, and would like to add my comments. (I am not an affiliate or employee of Fujifilm, so this is a truly unbiased opinion).

I brought this camera mostly for the HD movie function, and on this alone, I cannot fault it.

Watching the .mp4 format clips on my 50inch TV was an incredible experience. Silky smooth clips, and I have already made some AVCHD (blu-ray type) compatible DVDs using the material. The mono sound is still high quality, and since mixing is carried out later, it doesn't matter. And unusually, you still have zoom facilities WHILE FILMING! Needless to say, worth every cent! I haven't used my mini-dv camera again...

The review states 15minutes of video..actually you can record as many clips as you want, but with a 15 minute limit to each clip, I suspect mainly because of the file system. To me that is fine since I never record more than a few seconds or at most 2 minutes anyway. Shorter clips for better editing.

Now for the photographic bit. I am a bit disappointed with the lack of detail on the images in this camera. I thought I was doing something incorrectly, but no, the lack of detail is evident. I am a little surprised since I have an 8 Megapixel Fuji which is outstanding. Printing the images however, the problem isn't that evident.

Many reviewers (on other sites) state that the camera controls are fiddly. To me this isn't so. I found them intuitive and easy to use. And anyway different manufacturers have different views. You just learn as you go along.

Start-up and shut-down of the unit was very satisfactory, and the battery life s astonishingly good. Using a set of 2500mAH NIMH batteries, I was down to 1 bar and still managed to take another 250 images and 20 video clips..using full flash, since this was at a Christmas party.

The camera is a bit on the heavier side, which is actually good news for stability. No complaints there. But longer zooms require the tripod obviously.

I got this camera with the soft leather pocket, which is a bit too tight maybe.. and an extremely small remote-control-unit. I cannot state how great THAT is. Taking pictures of huge aircraft at a good zoom without touching the camera is awesome! I also had the obvious USB cable (non-standard...WHY?) , and the hdmi cable..not one I will use often though.

So, apart from the slight lack of detail, I am quite happy with this camera, and would recommend it to others. Build quality is great, battery life is excellent, controls are okay and the video is heavenly.. obviously, all the other extras are great too.

Build quality-9 , Features-9 , Image-7.5, Value-7.5, Overall-8.5

Well pleased!

I have had this camera for two months now, and would like to add my comments. (I am not an affiliate or employee of Fujifilm, so this is a truly unbiased opinion).

I... more

Dennis Spilde said on 20th May 2009

My S2000HD had a black spot on the lower right of the screen that also transfered to the electronic and or print images right out of the box. Fuji claims it was dropped by me, whic... more

hans said on 7th June 2009

I have mixed feelings about the S2000HD. It can do everything I wanted (mainly shooting HD pictures and video for showing on 82 cm wide screen HD Ready LCD tv) but there are some f... more

Fraser Henderson said on 14th June 2009

Was concerned to read Dennis Spilde's comments but bought one anyway. Am delighted - I have no blackspot on the screen or on images so I guess in part Fuji are correct - alth... more

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