FUJIFILM Finepix S9600 Digital Camera

This is as close as you can get to a SLR but shoots videos. It's a brilliant camera well worth the price. Don't be fooled because it's EXACTLY the same as the S9100 (released in the USA as S9100 and in Europe as S9600). I got the S9100 on eBay for an absolute bargain because I think buyers thought the S9600 was a newer model. Show me the difference and I'll eat my XD card!!! I've already reviewed the S9100. I can't think af any features it doesn't have, wide angle lens, big ISO range, fixed zoom lens, good flash with a Hot Shoe for a better one, lots of megapixels and lots and lots of options on the outside and in the menu. You can add wide angle and telephoto lens for approx £50 and the Fuji case for £15. But these are optional. Get a 1 x hr charger and some rechargeable AA's and you have everything you possibly need. Just don't drop it 'cause it's heavy. I sympathise with the person who uses 64 bit computing but at least you know it doesn't run on those machines via a USB connection. Thats why I like reviews because they're very helpful. I personally use card-readers because they are much quicker and don't like wired connections .....too messy! Keep this camera for good quality photographs and use your compacts for fun. Highly recommended purchase which won't fit into a handbag.

My Fuji S9600 enables me to take zoom photos without the encumbrance of separate lenses, and also good quality video sequences on those special occasions. I also have a pocket type digital camera which is ideal for snap shots. I am, so far , very pleased with my Fuji and one reason I bought it was because I have a friend who has a S9500 that he is very pleased with.I have seen the excellent results he has btained from the camera. I was able to buy my Fuji new on ebay, with full maker's guarantee, at an attractive bid much cheaper than the normally listed price. Delivery was very prompt after a Pay-pal settlement. I have since bought a Finepix camera case for it.

The Fujifilm Finepix S9600 falls into the category of Bridge Camera, a sort of bridge between a point and shoot and a full blown SLR with interchangeable lenses.

I use the Fujifilm S5 Pro SLR and wanted a camera that could be a) a backup camera for me when doing wedding photography just in case I had an equipment failure with the S5 Pro and b) a decent camera for my wife, who had an older Fjui point and shoot and a 35mm film camera. I looked long and hard around the market and had a good hands on play with a few cameras in shops and at exhibitions I chose the Fujifilm Finepix S9600 (known as the S9100 in the USA). The camera has several advantages over an SLR for the kind of travel photography that my wife normally does as it has a great zoom range built in. As the lens is not interchangeable, there is no chance of dust entering the body when changing lenses, something that I am always paranoid about!

It can be used in anything from point and shoot, through a good selection of scene modes to full manual if you wish, also with continuous, single shot or manual focus. The camera is very good and out of out holiday photos from a recent trip to Canada, it really is impossible to tell which photos were taken on the S9600 at £250 and which were taken on the S5 Pro which with lens cost £1300 unless you look REALLY closely with a critical eye!

There are only 2 things that I don't like about the camera and they are as follows:-

1) I would much rather have had an optical viewfinder rather than the electronic one, but appreciate that this would have increased the cost significantly

2) The hot shoe only supports a standard single contact flash, so for flash photos (except when using the low power internal flash) you need to rely on either the flashgun getting the exposure correct in auto mode or use it in full manual mode and do things the hard way. With a decent flashgun such as a Metz, you do get good shots though as long as you take a little care.

We're off on holiday again soon and I have to admit that I very am tempted to buy another S9600 for myself instead of taking the SLR, lenses, etc with me as I know that I will have little chance of prising the S9600 out of my wife's hands to use if we only took hers with us!

I've always wanted an SLR to start an interest but decided on this camera instead, what a great choice. Would reccomend seller emilyandlily and this camera.

Having decided to upgrade my digital camera I chose the Fuji Finepix S9600 as the best option for features, lense capability and MgPix. Also I wanted a camera that could also be used by my wife when she wanted. So having a simple user interface with a straight forward Automatic option which some easy to use enhancing features like the Macro lense, and apperture adjustments was a must.
So far so good. It has been on holiday with us, survived two kids birthday parties, braved a few cold walks along the South coast and every time delivered clear and consistent colour and exposure.
One thing I was looking for was the response speed between taking the photo and capturing the scene. The Finepix is 100 times better than a normal digital camera but still behind a Digital SLR. This was as expected but I am really pleased how much better this is than my old digital, I can actually take a clear photo of the kids running around.
One thing missing from the box is a case. If you are looking to purchase then pick up the Fuji case to go with as you will only buy one later and might get a better deal purchasing all in!
In summary a light, easy to use, responsive digital camera which performs consistently way above average. In this budget range, I could not fault it.
Enjoy !!

FUJI ARE instrumental to Photography the lens on this camera has the highest optics, this is i call a generic camera, the reason why i say this, the results are superb and you have a camera whcih can do just about everything all in one for photography, as for problems with drivers, there is not one really as long you have your computer set-up freindly ready, you should have no problem at all.

For brilliance on colour printing a quality printer is needed, spend money for this camera on a top quality printer also.

This is 5/5 camera. AWESOME!

The best feature of this camera (in my humble opinion) is definitely the Manual Zoom, one twist of the Zoom Ring on the lens & you're instantly there (no more waiting for the digital zoom). I find the camera is consistantly reliable giving Excellent Picture Quality, Lightning Fast Startup Time & Zero Shutter-Lag (especially good for those action sequences like sports or for taking photos of the kids who always fidget).

Under low light 'real life' conditions such as indoors is where the camera really shines. You can be in a Pitch Black Room & still take a Perfect Photo using this camera as it has an 'Auto-Focus Assist Lamp' (it looks like something from 'The Matrix') it really is the bees knees! Another excellent feature of the camera is the 'Titlable LCD Monitor'. Even when holding the camera up above your head (eg. when in a crowd) or when holding the camera at waist height (eg. taking photo's of the grandkids) you can always clearly see your shot, a real design breakthrough!

When Zooming-In the 10.7 Zoom on the S9600 is great (no more walking half a mile to get closer to your shot) & the camera also has a wider than normal wide angle for Zooming-Out (again, you don't have to back up 20 paces to get everyone into the shot). You can even add voice-memos to your pictures (great for adding location info etc...). The camera has lots of different modes including Natural Light Mode for Portriat Photography, Picture Stabalization Mode for Low-Light/Slow-Shutter Photography & Auto Mode to name but a few. The camera will be as fully automatic or as fully manual as you want it to be (after all, you're the boss!). This means that Seasoned Pro's, Keen Amatures & Complete Novices will be comfortable with the camera after just a few shots. The Fujifilm S9600 is the digital camera to get if you're serious about your photography.

I like the optical zoom of the camera.
As I am not a professional photographer, I am finding it quite difficult to get used to all the features available?
It would have been a good idea for Fujifilm to have supplied a case?

process speed is fast, auto focus is quick as well. If the LCD could be bigger would be better. Everything else is perpect.

I didn't want to spend tons on a full DSLR camera along with the extra lolly for 2 or 3 dedicated lenses, flash units, etc. I wanted a camera that had as many of the features of a DSLR as posssible, good quality photo output, and a reasonable used price. I was lucky enough to find a mint S9600 with a case and add-on wide angle extension lens.

Straight away, I bought a matching 2x tele lens and UV filter for lens protection. Both add-on lenses are cheap ones from ebay and the wide angle is not worth the bother - too much vignetting and distortion. The tele lens is more useful and I have used it for a few shots. Maybe genuine Fujifilm add-ons are better?

I would say this camera is NOT for the point and shoot brigade. I think many have bought it for this and been slightly disappointed. A cheaper compact would suit them better.

It's a GREAT camera for someone who wants to learn about photography but also wants to be able to point and shoot whenever the mood takes them. There's a good manual, and it's freely downloadable from Fuji if missing, along with the associated software.

Back to the camera itself. Used on full Auto it gives good results. However, I keep mine ready for action on Auto with the Average light metering setting, Normal sharpness, Soft contrast, and High saturation. With 9Mp fine jpeg dialled in, this almost guarantees a good photo. I finish with maybe a touch of sharpening in Photoshop (good but pricey, and recent PaintShop Pro software is excellent). This gives great prints up to my printer's A4 size - maybe larger.

A slight bit of chromatic aberration is sometimes visible on the edges, but with a zoom lens as flexible as this one, it's understandable and there are much worse. I just use software to correct my "important" pics and don't usually bother with regular ones.

Some of you may have done the same as me and downloaded photos from web site reviews and compared them. You may have noticed that lesser cameras seem to give sharper pics. Don't worry, the S9600 CAN take sharp photos but the softer, smoother look comes out better on printing. Lesser cameras are often excessively sharpened up on their internal processors to trick the beholder.

A couple of unexpected benefits. The ability to zoom the lens while taking good quality video - as good as my mini-DV camera although mono sound. I carry a 2Gb CF card for photos and a 4Gb card for video - I don't bother with the camcorder these days!

The digital zoom is far better than I anticipated and I've used it along with the 2x tele lens instead of zooming and cropping in software - still experimenting with that though.

This camera is either great or excellent at what it does, with the possible exception of non-optical "image stabilisation"... (didn't have such stuff when I first started learning but that's all part of "real" photography). Anyway, get a correctly sized "Gorillapod" off ebay (my cheap clone works fine) and it's even less of a problem. Use that along with a cable release or the inbuilt 2 second timer.

Summing up, I can thoroughly recommend this camera as a "primer" for those thinking of taking the plunge into more serious photography. It'll be a keeper when you do go the whole hog. It's cheap enough to buy right now, and flexible enough to be a "less-clutter" back up camera for professionals. Get yourself the "extras" that I mentioned and have FUN!

After 4 years of using advanced point-and-shoot cameras I wished to return to the basics of photography. This camera proves to be the perfect tool.
All important controls are just a button away, the camera is responsive and image quality is very good if you know what you are doing. A D-SLR has better image quality but the Fuji's fixed 28-300mm manual zoom lens with a very decent macro makes you think twice about buying a D-SLR at all.
Low light capabilities are excellent. Although there is a fair amount of noise in the image; it is not the usual sensor noise like that from compact cameras. It reminds me of the grain of 3200 iso slide films.
The build-in flash is underpowered and good enough for short distance fill-in flashing. Since the camera has a hotshoe it will accept most third party 'AUTO' flashes (no need for a dedicated and expensive TTL flash).
And if one day the cameras 'dies' in action you can easily go out and buy another one the same day since the price is very reasonable.

Overall this camera is a keeper. Not perfect but the more time you spend with it the more you learn from it or, in my case, re-discover what i learned from the traditional film cameras years ago.

first of all i am not an expert in photography. The camera is very good in taking pictures but when i take a photos in chrome effecti notice that the picture comes blurred.

we bought the camera for my father in law,he has been into photography for many years and he is very happy with it.

I was looking for a bridge camera, with a decent zoom range, to take on holiday as I didn't want to carry my rather heavy DSLR around. I was delighted to get this camera - a brand new, unused, unwanted present for a lower price than several identical, second-hand, well-used versions were selling.

It is not nearly as small or lightweight as a compact camera but offers many of the controls of a DSLR plus a 10.7x optical zoom and video. This gave me a 28-300mm range - very useful for holiday snaps. I could move from close-up to landscape shots in seconds, without the need to change lenses. I have also been very impressed with the macro setting.

I wanted to be able to relax and simply snap anything that caught my eye so I left the camera on automatic settings. I found it had a bit of a problem coping with very bright sunlight on automatic, so there were a few burnt out patches on some of the white areas on some shots but, to balance this, it coped exceptionally well with quite dark, indoor shots without the need for flash. I have been extremely pleased with it.

I left film cameras for a digital SLR two years ago. My variety of inter-changeable lenses could still be used. But now the days of glamour, landscape photography are past so I researched extensively in looking for a digital camera with a good range lens to replace all the gear.

Everything pointed not to the latest Fuji cameras, but to the one listed here. Having bought it I'm delighted by its versality, the power of its zoom lens and the extensive choice of programmes.

It is a superb camera and now my carry bag is that much lighter!

I will try to sell on Ebay my various lenses and electronic flash guns separately from the Konica/Minolta/Sony digital SLR camera and its marvellous zoom lens.

This is an excellent piece of kit which in every way stands up to it's competition and holds it's own.

If you are looking at something on this level then this is the one to choose, it cannot be reccomended highly enough.

I've only used cheap point and shoot cameras in the past and wanted to step up a notch. I'd read plenty of reviews about the Fuji 9600 and it was very highly thought of, easily as good as a DSLR costing more than double what i paid. Its functions are well laid out and easy to access when in use. I love the manual zoom rather than motor driven as in other cameras (it doesn't flatten your batteries and gives you finer control). With additional filters that screw to the end of the lens and using either a telephoto or wide angle add on lens there isn't much you can't do with it. Next purchases will be a tripod and a decent case to carry everything around (filters, lenses, batteries, meory cards, etc). It will take some getting used to but i feel a college course on photography will be my next step to taking better pictures. You can use the excellant auto settings and let the camera do everything for you but you can easily adjust the settings and get very good results.

All in all i would recommend the camera to anyone wishing to move up from point and shoot to SLR but don't want to make the expensive step of actually buying an SLR camera. Shop around and you can find the camera for £150 easily.

I brought this camera as an upgrade to my last Fuji.
It is as close to an SLR without actually being one. The manual zoom is great and you have the added zoom fine tuner added dial just above the zoom dial.
It is light weight and no bigger than a regular digital camera of this standard.
Add a flash unit as I have and you have a good semi pro setup.
This is a camera that you can build upon by buying tele and wide lenses, macro and filters too. I will be with this camera for a good while yet as it is versatile and fairly easy to use. It also has the video option and microphone that you can switch to at a moments notice. Memory cards are a reasonable price and i recommend getting at least a 2gig for general usage and a 4 gig for more advanced and video usage.
All in all a decent piece of kit. Please read the instructions prior to use as it could all get a little confusing and practice, practice, practice.

When you have +2D glasses, the focusing and framing is not so easy as it was when you were in high school :-) I had certain problems with getting diopter for analog Pentax and was reluctant to go for digital SLR because of sight problems. When I read that this camera has diopter correction I went for it. When it arrived I hardly noticed the wheel, but it worked fine. So plus No 1 - eye correction of decent range. Plus No 2 - 4 AA batteries for power. If your rechargeables are dry, buy alkalines on any corner and be happy (for a short while :-)
The bonuses are too many to count, and other reviews will tell you more, I just wanted to share my delights :-)
Eddie, semi-pro for 60 years

This is my second Fuji digital camera - the first being the S5000.

I've been so impressed with Fuji, that I couldn't go elsewhere. I wanted to upgrade my camera, and the Fuji S9600 was within my budget - it is a superb camera. I'm glad I stuck with what I know about Fuji.

The S9600 is simple to use as a point and shoot camera, or for the more adept, you can have full manual control. The lack of a motorised zoom isn't a backwards step - it's a step in the right direction. You have amazing control and accuracy with the huge 10x (manual) optical zoom.

Overall, this camera gets 10/10 from me. Should I upgrade in the future (it'll be a long time!) Fuji will again be my first port of call.

Should you buy the Fuji S9600?
My advice is.. YES.

Decided to buy this item after much research online about cameras in this sort of price bracket, and i have to say i'm glad i went for the finepix. quality is second to none, not only the picture quality but the build quality too. very easy to use and to understand, good design, not too many buttons, and as i said - brilliant quality. i've never used a full slr camera before, but i'm sure this fixed lens finepix is close to slr quality. it really is brilliant with the option of letting it control everything for you in auto mode, or with the flick of a button turn it completely manual and adjust everything yourself, from arpeture, shutter speed, focus.... everything really. great camera, very pleased, highly recommended!!!

I bought this camera as it had been recomended on trustedsites.com as a good midway camera between real proffessional camera and those point and shoot digitals. I have been blown away with how good it really is. Does everything I could ever want. I havent found any dislikes yet but Im sure there will be something I will find annoying soon. But of yet I would fully recomend this camera.

What a fantastic piece of kit for the price. This is a bridging camera designed to give you the feel of a digital SLR without the pricetag and also is one of the best digital cameras around so you buy a top end digital camera that performs like a mid range SLR.

I've been going nuts with this thing and thoroughly enjoying the pictures it takes. I am no photographer either and things are coming out very nice without too much effort.