Fujifilm FinePix S1600 Digital Camera (12MP, 15x Wide Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD

N. Edwards

at 6:54 pm

Review by N. Edwards for Fujifilm FinePix S1600 Digital Camera (12MP, 15x Wide Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD
Rating: (4 / 5)
Had been looking at the S1500 but saw this was about to launch so went for the 2010 model. What a fantastic camera for the money. OK, so I am not an expert photographer but needed an upgrade, and this does the business. Great zoom. Clear pictures. Easy to download to the computer. Love the on screen notes, like ‘blink detected’ and the clarity of the facial shots. Only two blurred shots from my first few days of playing – and that will have been operator error.

The however, and why I haven’t given 5 stars is the lack of a manual in English. You get three versions of the manual, and a CD, with the latter in English. OK, so I could download and read, but not when away from home and not wanting to carry around A4 sheets of instructions. The camera is though very easy to use, and the on screen info gives a good clue to the function you are using.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Very easy to use in auto modes, and the kids also found it very simple.

G. D. Foremann

at 8:00 pm

Review by G. D. Foremann for Fujifilm FinePix S1600 Digital Camera (12MP, 15x Wide Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD
Rating: (5 / 5)
If all you want is a point and shoot no thought compact this is not for you, However if you are prepared to read the book and try all the functions this is a fantastic camera and will give you the results that are normally associated with cameras 2 or 3 times the price. It will take you a couple of hours to read through and its time well spent, after which it’s all down to practice. You don’t have to be a camera geek to get excellent results. The camera is well built and robust while being light enough and small enough to carry around easily, the only minus I have found after a year of using mine is it does not come with a lens cover a problem easily over come. I would truly recommend this to any one from first timer up. The instruction book is easy to follow good diagrams and not too much geek speak. I have had numerous cameras over the last 40 years this is certainly the best value. And gives top quality results

Amy Greer

at 9:19 pm

Review by Amy Greer for Fujifilm FinePix S1600 Digital Camera (12MP, 15x Wide Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD
Rating: (5 / 5)
I bought this camera as a “bridge” between my little Kodak point and shoot and eventually getting a real DSLR. I thought I would be able to learn a lot more about aperture priority, shutter priority and full manual settings by playing around with this camera first, before going to the real thing. But even though this is a FABULOUS camera for what it is (the picture quality is great, you can play around with the macro mode and various priority settings to get some really nice shots), it is NOT a DSLR.

For example, in aperture priority mode for this camera, you only get 2 options: the max or the minimum aperture setting, but nothing in between. I assume it’s the camera’s way of preventing you from taking really awful shots, but I was hoping for the ability to experiment more, and make mistakes. Don’t get me wrong, you can still take really bad photos if you want, but the settings are designed to make it as easy as possible to get a good picture, instead of enabling you to learn how to do that yourself.

There are a few work-arounds, though. For example, if you want to mimic a shallow depth of field shot, you can select Macro mode with Aperture priority and then fully zoom in on your subject. If the rest of the scene is physically far enough away in the background, you can get a nice shot with the subject in focus and the background objects out of focus. I’ve included some of my shots above, in the customer images for reference. The tulip ones, for example, are mine.

However, if you’re looking to get a really shallow depth of field taking a picture of grapes, for example, where one grape is in focus and the rest of the grapes in the bunch are out of focus, it’s going to be difficult – if not impossible – with this camera. Maybe I’m still enough of a newbie that I can’t figure it out and it actually IS possible, but I had some photographer friends take a look and they couldn’t do it either. However, we tried the same shot with their SLR and got it perfectly on the first try.

All that said, I’ve been VERY pleased with the quality of the photos from this camera – it’s definitely a step up from the compact point and shoot variety – and it’s still small enough to pop into your backpack and hit the road. I love the pics I’ve been able to take with it, even in Auto mode. The zoom is also excellent – great magnification and very little blurring. The wide angle is also nice, giving a broad sense of space when kept at its widest.

So, if your end goal is to get better quality photos compared to a compact, and be able to play around a LITTLE bit with the aperture, shutter and ISO settings, then this is the camera for you. But if you secretly yearn for the functionality of a DSLR, you’ll find out in an afternoon or two that there’s only so much you can do with this little guy.

Overall, I’m very happy with the Fujifilm Finepix S1600 and I like the photos I’m taking with it, but I still can’t wait for that first DSLR.