Fuji FinePix S6000/S6500fd

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  • 6.3 Megapixels with 6th Generation Super CCD-HR Technology, 1/1.7" size
  • 2nd Generation of Real Photo Technology with new RP Processor II
  • Face detection technology with one-touch operation
  • Picture Stabilization with easy mode dial access
  • Dual Shot mode
  • I-Flash Intelligent Flash system
  • 2.5-inch LCD for easy framing and sharing pictures
  • 4 - AA battery operation (AA alkaline batteries included)
  • 10.7x Optical Zoom with manual control (6.2-66.7mm f/2.8-4.9)
  • 15 selectable scene position modes
  • Movie Recording with Sound @ 30fps
  • Internal memory (Approx 10MB) for onboard storage
  • Compatible with xD Picture Cards for storage up to 2GB

Strengths and weaknesses

Based on professional and user reviews.

Strengths

Image quality

  • Excellent resolution and sharpness makes very good to excellent photo quality
  • Class leading high ISO performance, especially if pictures are made in RAW and post-processed. This makes the camera a great option for low light conditions
  • Archives low noise from ISO 100 to 400. At ISO 800 little noise is visible. ISO 1600-3200 are usable but requires additional noise reduction post-process
  • When compared to other super zoom with noisy pictures above ISO200, the ability to shoot at ISO 400 to 1600 with low noise compensates lack of real optical image stabilizer
  • Nicely saturated colours
  • The 6MP resolution is well-suited to the size of the chip

Lens

  • 10.7x zoom lens with highly versatile 28-300mm zoom range (6.2-66.7 mm f/2.8-4.9)
  • Low distortion lens with excellent edge-to-edge performance
  • Threaded lens for optional filters, wide angle (WL-FXS6) and telephoto converters
  • Wide-angle mechanical zoom lens is smooth, precise and well-made
  • The 28mm wide angle provides excellent coverage for landscapes and in tight internal spaces
  • Non removable lens means sensor is safe from dust, so no need to remove lenses to clean it

Speed

  • Very low shutter lag
  • Great focusing speed
  • Fast and responsive operation
  • The photo lag time and refresh rate is better than most Cameras

Controls

  • Comprehensive and intuitive photographic controls and menus
  • Full manual control

Battery use

  • Above average battery life
  • Uses AA batteries which are easily found anywhere and any time
  • Accepts Ni-MH rechargeable batteries

Flash

  • Powerful flash performance
  • Red eye is not a problem with this camera
  • Strong AF-assist lamp which is very good for low light focusing
  • Very capable i-Flash producing attractive flash shots
  • Control over flash intensity
  • Its "Slow Syncro" flash mode takes natural looking pictures without the usual harshness of flash exposures

Movie Mode

  • Nice movie mode with good resolution; zoom can be used while filming
  • Fairly fast focus (especially towards the wide end of the zoom range)

Options

  • Fast and effective face detection system, great for shooting portraits or groups of people in social situations; can also be used in playback mode
  • Face detection ensures focus and exposure
  • Playback face detection shows close-ups for verification
  • Manual zooming via rubberised ring around lens barrel is simple and effective
  • Manual zoom is also excellent for silent zooming while in movie mode
  • Helpful "Natural Light & With Flash" function
  • Manual Focus Ring with One-Touch AF makes manual focusing simple and easy
  • Programmed AE mode with Program Shift
  • Area AF with 49 positions for easy off-centre focus
  • Full exposure flexibility and many features make this camera perfect for learning and growing in digital photography
  • Live view of histogram is available for composing pictures
  • Great manual mode which is not available in other similar super zoom cameras
  • Ability to Shoot in RAW format which allows huge flexibility in editing and adjusting parameters like white balance, sharpness, colour, Noise reduction, colour curve, etc. This is essential for professional-looking pictures

LCD and EVF

  • Large 2.5 inch LCD screen visible in bright outdoor light and dimly lit rooms
  • Great LCD resolution with 235k pixels giving Bright and sharp image
  • LCD gains up very well in low light
  • Very smooth LCD and EVF refresh rate

Construction

  • Bridge body with manual zoom and focus rings
  • Very good looking camera. Its Professional look resembles a DSLR
  • Camera feels light but sturdy too, and has an excellent grip
  • The fixed lens comes with a nice hood and allows the use of polarizer filters for creative control.

Others

  • USB 2.0 High Speed support
  • Amazingly low price for the lens and sensor quality
  • For the quality and features this camera offers, an average US$300.00 is an excellent value
  • Good software package. RAW editor is included for editing RAW images

Weakness

Image Quality

  • High contrast tone curve tends to clip shadows or highlights
  • Noise reduction and JPEG artefacts (when viewed at 100%) at all settings from ISO 400 and up
  • ISO 1600 / 3200 JPEGs are not as good as those given by the FinePix F30 (can be solved by shooting RAW)
  • JPEGs are slightly over-sharpened, can look a little over-processed (can be solved by adjusting sharpness to soft)
  • Auto white balance is not great under artificial light
  • In camera Noise deduction system produces slight loss of detail at ISO 800. The loss of details is more pronounced at ISO 1600 and 3200
  • Chromatic aberrations may be present
  • The camera doesn't produce its best pictures in Auto mode, so to get full advantage of the camera P, S, A and M modes are needed to be understood
  • Auto and Natural modes has the tendency to use high ISO

Lens

  • No optical image stabilization which helps with telephoto and slow shutter pictures. Instead the camera offers Picture Stabilization mode which boosts ISO and degrades quality

Speed

  • Full shutter speed range only available in full manual (M) mode
  • Slow shot-to-shot speed when capturing RAW images
  • Bust mode is slow and at fast Continuous Mode the buffer is limited to only to 3 shots
  • Impossibility to disable post-shot review meaning that is required to wait 2 or more seconds before the camera is ready to take another picture; thereby eliminating any speed advantage of using higher speed memory or RAW mode

Controls

  • Needs a command dial
  • White balance, metering, raw mode and other options are hidden in menus

Flash

  • No hot-shoe for additional more powerful flash

Movie Mode

  • Hard to control zoom lens in movie mode

Options

  • FinePix Studio software doesn't let the user to control noise reduction
  • No ability to set a top at ISO400 in Auto ISO mode (like in the Finepix F30)
  • Shutter-priority limits shutter speed to 4 Seconds
  • No way to disable post-shot review in single-shot mode
  • There's no delete button in playback mode, to delete you have to go through the menu
  • There is no way to delete a picture immediately after taking it
  • Shallow depth of field (isolate subject from background) is not easy to achieve
  • Face detection won’t work if the subject turns sideways or if is covering its eyes or mouth
  • Unable to adjust the WB in the AUTO mode - only for one of the P, A, S and M modes

Construction

  • Battery compartment doesn't lock so it may pop open
  • Tripod thread is made of plastic
  • Little amount of built-in memory, only 10 MB
  • The camera is big and bulky

LCD and EVF

  • No tilting LCD for easier different positions shooting
  • The resolution of the Electronic View Finder (EVF) is only 135K pixels so it is not very sharp. It would have been better if it have optical viewfinder
  • The colours in the viewfinder are shifted a little to the blue side

Others

  • The camera uses xD Picture card as storage media. They are more expensive and are limited to 2 GB. Other formats offer more storage like Compact Flash and Secure Digital.

External links

Review compilations

Sample photos