 |
| Date Reviewed: 01/03/2006 |
|
Strengths: Awesome picture quality and color tones. Solidly built to withstand some abuse. Almost instantanious start up time. Long battery life, easy to operate, tons and tons of features!
Weaknesses: Menu's can be kinda confusing if you don't read the manual first.
Summary: I absolutely love this camera! I got this camera because I had a lot of gift cards saved up, and because a friend of mine has a S7000. I've used her S7000 before and loved the picture quality so I figured that the S9000 could only be better and I was right! -- I took my time researching it (it does cost a nice chunk of cash, but is worth every cent!) I read all the reviews, looked at all the sample pictures, and finally settled on it over the Panasonic Lumix and the Nikon's. Everything about this camera is amazing!
First off let me start with the body. It is definitely well made, is quite heavy, and I'm sure will last me many years even under the abuse that I put it through. Another great feature is the fold-out LCD screen. It may not seem like all that big a deal, but trust me, it allows you to get some very cool angles that otherwise would be nearly impossible to make. It does have a hotshoe mount for attaching external flashes, however the built-in flash is very nice and will probably be more than enough for most non-pro photographers. The one physical feature that I love about this camera above all others is the manual zoom lens! All the other digital cameras that I've used have all had the motorized zooms and so I thought I wouldn't like this manual one. However, it has become the nicest feature on the camera to me. Since there are no motors, you can zoom in/out at whatever speed you desire. No waiting to zoom in order to get the perfect shot. Also, since the lens is already fully extended, the time from turning the camera on, to when it's ready to take a picture is under a second! You're never gonna miss another awesome picture because your camera didn't turn on fast enough!
Alright, onto the actual picture quality. The pictures that this camera takes are sipmly amazing! 9MP on its highest setting and boy does it show! You take a picture and you can zoom in on it without losing any detail. It has a varity of different picture modes for the camera. Two of my favorite are the natrual light mode and the anti-blurr mode. When you shoot with nautral light mode, the picture comes out exactly the way that your eyes saw the physical scene. You do loose a little image quality when you do this, but the natrual color tones more than make up for it. Anti-blur mode simply speeds up the shutter so that you can take pictures without them appearing blurry. I have taken pictures, zoomed in, out of a car window going 35mph and they are still clear, even fairly sharp. Finally, the video mode on the camera is also amazing. It records video at 640X480 at 30fps along with Mono Audio. The video quality is unmatched by any other digital camera...and since the lens is manual zoom, you can zoom in and out while video taping.
This camera has so many features that are all so nice. I could write another 5 pages about them and still not be done. Fujifilm has made me a dedicated customer and I think that if you try out this camera you'll love it as well. If you can afford it, I would definitely highly recommend this camera!
 96% of People (45/47) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
 There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 09/19/2005 |
|
Strengths: Very sharp images in Good light conditions, highly impressive colordynamics
Weaknesses: A little disapointing macro performance - no AS
Summary: I bought this camera only because of the specifications witch on paper is very impressive.
The lack of AS wich i have on my old Olympus superZoom is a little problem to me as i would like to make some bird fotography
Its not present on the Fuji and that is in some ways a shame, as you will find out that high iso's not will stop you from you from shaking.
Dont use higher than 400 iso - use longer shuttertimes and a tripod.
I thought that Fuji would feed my interests in the world of macrofotography and could help me out with the tool of my dreams.
Now i see that i still have to use a macro lens attached to the fuji s9500 frontlens to get the size and distance i need to make great super-macro's.
The hotshoe flashconnector comes in handy, and one of my old flashes made for manual analog cameras is working perfectly with the Fuji s9500.
The overall image quality of this camera is in some ways better than i have ever seen on digital.
Colordynamics - The ability to reproduce skintones etc is of a new world.
94% of People (181/192) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are 1 comment for this review. Read all comments.
Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 01/25/2006 |
- heres2howe
- Member Since:
Dec 2005
View Member's:
Reviews
|
Strengths: Strengths: Manual and easy-to-reach electronic control. The manual zoom and the "F" key make for quick use of major features.
Weaknesses: Weaknesses: The AF sometimes takes a long time to work, particularly in low light, even though it has its own light beam to illuminate the (dark) subject.
Summary: This is my second digital camera, bought when my Fuji Finepix S602Z Zoom suffered some strokes and died over a three-day period (after only about 70,000 photos).
The manual zoom of this camera is much better than the older camera; and there is a quick electronic doubler for electronic amplification. Further, manual zoom allows for independent focus lock and exposure lock without having to let go of either setting to adjust the zoom control.
There is one feature missing with the S9000, however, and that is the "preview" choice given to save or delete a photo just taken; this allowed getting rid of patently poor shots without ever putting them in memory, such as where someone has his eyes closed, or has escaped from the picture, etc. With the new camera my "preview" choice is only whether to save the photo in the image finder 3 seconds, 1-1/2 seconds, or not at all. My editing must come later. Also, I must wait either 3 or 1-1/2 seconds for the next shot if I want a preview at all. I do want the preview, so I have settled on the 1-1/2-second image display.
Oh, and the LCD viewer, hinged as it is, turns out to be a quite useful feature. One can hold the camera in difficuult circumstances to get unusual angles and not have to compromise to see the shot in the LCD. (I use the eye-level viewer most of the time, however.) Both viewers are virtual TTL, giving another major advantage of an SLR. The image-finder seems to give grainier views than the final product turns out; when shooting at low light with telephoto (as I was the other night at an auto auction), I thought I was getting very grainy stuff, but the appearance on my computer screen is sharp.
The new flash is better than the old; it is farther from the lens and seems to be less severe about making shadows. And I can use the flash at my option with a button -- no menu necessary. Yet when I want the flash the controls are literally right under my thumb.
What with new memory technology, I have put in a 6GB microdrive and 1GB Picture Card which lets me shoot at higher densities than I did with the S602Z. Also, this camera processes higher densities much faster than did the S602Z. And, I'll have much-expanded movie capacity.
My experience with this camera has been about one month and something over 1,000 photos, so I am adapting to the control systems.
Like the macro control on the S602Z, this camera has an easy-to-use button for close and super-close shooting. It seems to work fine, but it also seems I must use it to get focus at distances where the old camera got good focus without use of the macro. Again, a matter of adapting.
The 9 MP are real, and I get high-density pix at low light without compromise.
In sum, I like this camera. I used SLRs for many years, finally setting aside the inconvenience of multiple lenses and putting on a mega-zoom lens which did it all but meant hauling the weight and bulk around. This new camera gives me the power of an SLR without the weight, and the versatility of an SLR without the machinations of multiple lenses; yet it has a solid feel and weight to it which I like. It is a real camera; and since I learned to shoot on a 1952 Zeiss Ikon before the days of automatic anything, I really like the ergonomically-excellent control I get with the S9000. I can access menus easily, and use them readily and intuitively. I can point and shoot if I like, but I can do much, much more, which I like better!
94% of People (79/84) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 01/23/2006 |
|
Strengths: UNTIL CLOSE INSPECTION, THE CAMERA LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE AN SLR. IT HAS A MUCH HIGHER ISO (UP TO 1600) AND 9MP...MORE THAN ANY OTHER IN ITS CLASS.
Weaknesses: WHILE FUJI HAS ITS OWN VERSION OF COMPENSATION, IT STILL DOES NOT HAVE A TRUE OPTICAL STABILIZED LENS. ALSO THE SUCCESSIVE SHOTS ARE NOT AS FAST AS SOME COMPETITION.
Summary: MY KODAK DX 7590 JUST WAS NOT DOING IT FOR ME. SURE IT WAS AN EASY ENOUGH CAMERA TO USE WITH SOME ADVANCE FEATURES...BUT IT HAD ITS SHORTCOMINGS...NO MANUAL FOCUS OR ZOOM, POOR NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY, ETC. SO, I WENT HUNTING...TO GET AN SLR OR NOT, THAT WAS THE QUESTION. WHEN LOOKING AT SLR QUALITY OF PHOTOS, NOTHING BEATS THEM, WHATEVER BRAND. HOWEVER, THEY ARE EXPENSIVE AND CANNOT DO MANY OF THE THINGS I LEARNED TO LOVE IN POINT AND SHOOT CAMERAS LIKE TAKE MOVIES, SHOOT FROM THE LCD SCREEN IN DIFFICULT POSITIONS, ETC. SO, I LEARNED ABOUT 'BRIDGE CAMERAS'---THOSE CAMERAS THAT FALL SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SLR AND POINT AND SHOOT. REALLY, THERE ARE NOT MANY IN THE HIGHEST CLASS WHERE YOU CAN CONTROL THE LENS AS IF IT WAS AN SLR. I FOUND A KONICA/MINOLTA A2, PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-FZ30 AND THE FUJI S9000. I GOT THE CHOICES DOWN TO THE PANASONIC AND THE FUJI AND FOR ABOUT 6 WEEKS, LOOKED AT BOTH. WHILE THEY EACH HAVE THEIR OWN STRENGTHS, THE PANASONIC WITH AN AWESOME LENS WITH STABILIZATION AND THE FUJI WITH ITS MORE TRUE PHOTOGRAPHIC FEATURES, IT BECAME APPARENT THAT SINCE THEY WERE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME PRICE, I WOULD HAVE TO GO WITH THE FUJI. SURE, I LIKED THE PANASONIC LENS AND HAD SEVERAL SD CARDS, BUT, THE FUJI RESEMBLED FEATURE-WISE THE MORE EXPENSIVE SLRS AND USED THE SAME MEDIA, COMPACT FLASH, THAT ALL THE HIGH END SLRS CURRENTLY USE. WHEN LOOKING AT REVIEWS AND SPEAKING WITH PROFESSIONALS, AFTER MUCH DELIBERATIONS, I AM HAPPY WITH THIS CAMERA.
94% of People (44/47) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are 4 comments for this review. Read all comments.
Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 12/24/2005 |
|
Strengths: Image Quality, Handling, Extremely low noise at iso 80 & 100. Start up & shot to shot speed is fast. No shutter lag. Great manual zoom ring. Quick focusing most of the time.
Weaknesses: Useless at iso 1600 (for me), "F" button under utilized
Summary: My rating is based on what you get for the price. A DSLR may be a little better but equipped with a comparable lens even the cheapest would cost hundreds more. For all but the most demanding applications the S9000 will do just as well. I have 40+ years as a serious amateur photographer. I have owned 4 SLR Film cameras and an Olympus C4000 Digital. The C4000 takes fine photos but I became frustrated with it's limitations (shutter lag, difficult to get at manual settings, slow shot to shot times, limited Zoom) The s9000 solves all those problems. Now when I look at the c4000 photos they look fake next to the s9000.
I have to say this camera is not for everybody. Out of the box the pictures have little in-camera processing and may look a little flat if you're used to a point and shoot. That's because most serious photographers want to do their tweaking out of camera. There are in camera settings that allow you to liven up your pictures but if you are looking for that in your face high contrast saturated color look many point and shoot cameras give out of box you won't get it. If however your looking for natural accurate color rendition look no furthar. For a camera of this price I found noise levels almost non-existant at 80 and 100 iso, very low at iso 200, low at 400 useable at 800 and high at 1600. The controls were easy to use and most of the common settings could be accessed with one button push. There is some softness in the lens at the corners (typical of long zooms) but it was visible only when blown up to huge size on screen (about 2 feet by 3 feet) Do not judge this camera on initial reactions. At first I was dissapointed but after learning the controls and tweaking the settings I can say I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend it highly to any serious photographer.
94% of People (29/31) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are 1 comment for this review. Read all comments.
Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 11/24/2005 |
|
Strengths: Lens, color accuracy, AA batteries, Hot Shoe, PC Sync, resolution
Weaknesses: Slow multi-shot capablility
Summary: 2005-11-24 12:03:15 This is the best non-SLR camera on the market. The manual zoom lens gives a true wide angle, a decent telephoto, and everything in between. The external flash capabilities give me all the versatility I need.
I listen to the reviewers whine about no image stabilization and slam the image quality above ASA 400. I routinely shoot at 1/100 sec. zoomed to 300mm and 1/8 sec. at 28mm hand held. I can brace against wall or door frame and reduce both by one shutter speed. It is a skill that PHOTOGRAPHERS develop over years of practice. There is always the tripod.
When you are shooting people at 1/30 of a second or below, you run the risk of the people moving which image stabilization usually will not fix. Where were these whiners when I was shooting Kodachrome 25 slide film with small aperture telephoto lenses? They weren't even a twinkle in their fathers' eye.
90% of People (55/61) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 11/21/2005 |
|
Strengths: Easy to handle, fast, great images!
Weaknesses: Set Lens--but not really a weakness!
Summary: I am a Certified Professional Photographer, and normally photograph Beach Portraits with a FinePix S2, and I have purchased the S9000 for a back-up--I had an S7000 and just loved it! Won many photographic awards with images from that camera! This help me decided to purchase the S9000, I just love it as a travel camera! Easy, fast, and great images!
89% of People (48/54) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 03/24/2006 |
|
Strengths: High quality photos, and very easy to use and has a strong built-in flash!
Weaknesses: Auto focus is a little slow in low light situations, it really isn't a weakness just a point of the camera that is not as strong as the rest.
Summary: I got this cameras as a back up to my Sony 10mp, and had some reservations. After reading up on the reputation of Fuji and a good return policy, I figured it was worth a try. From day one this camera has been a real joy to use, it turns out great photos, it has ruined a lot of shots but that was my doing as I was pushing it to see how much latitude I had with this great machine. And there is a lot!
There will be people who opt to use the microdrive storage function and call the camera slow because they do not realize all of the Pros and Cons of using a microdrive.
I use a 6GB microdrive and realized before I even installed it the down side of them so I have no issue with the speed of the little drive.
Fuji has a winner here, it is a "Big Gun" that is a fun and very easy to use, the only advise I can stress would be to really read the Owner's Manual from front to back and play with the camera as you do so, the camera will provide you countless high quality photos as a result.
89% of People (42/47) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 10/29/2005 |
|
Strengths: Amazing colours (maybe the best I ever seen from a digital cam.). Noiseless images on Asa80 (just the same as a Canon 300D on asa100 - I made tests) ! It uses very few energy.
Weaknesses: The pictures could be a little bit sharper...
Summary: The S9000 is a really good camera. Not as good as a Dslr ( like some people says) but in this price this is the best choice. The camera's software is nice, and really easy to use. The body is handy, and feels like an Slr when you hold in your hand. If you had any Fuji in the past, ( S602z, or S7000 ) you will absolutly love this camera. If you have a Dslr, and you want to change your camera..well.. think about it.
84% of People (38/45) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 01/20/2007 |
|
 Great Camera but.......... Strengths: Size, Weight, AA Batteries, Picture Quality, Price, Non-dedicated flash shoe
Weaknesses: Shutter Lag, Command dial malfunction, smaller LCD screen
Summary: 2007-11-12 15:48:25 I have to say this is a great camera. Many try to comapare it to a DSLR, but it is not. It is in the Mega-Zoom class. The functions and settings are very similar and takes pictures as good. Its just that many reviewers compare it to a DSLR and it gets a not so good review. For its class, its one of the BEST!! It works as a point and shoot but once you learn the settings and learn how to change them, your pictures will take on a whole new meaning!! Many professional photographers use this camera as kind of a sidekick for different situations and shooting. For the rest of us it will serve us well. Its a great camera to learn on without breaking the BANK!!.
*******Unfortunately, mine has failed only after 3 months!!! Yes, they are repairing it under warranty but it will take 4 to 6 weeks. I have found this camera has a problem with failing command dials. There are posts about it all over the internet. Although, to be fair, some have reported no problems. If you are lucky enough to be one of these persons -- then great. You will not be disappointed. I hope you have a spare to use!!!
******UPDATE: Repairs in the last year total 3. They will not send me a refurbished one. First it was the command dial then the flash stoped working, now its happening again--UGH!! If I knew then what I know now!!! All I want is Fuji to send me a new one so I can get rid of my LEMON. I guess they like fixing my camera??
83% of People (5/6) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are 1 comment for this review. Read all comments.
Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 04/29/2006 |
|
Strengths: Feels like a "real" camera in your hands and the zoom is real great.
Weaknesses: The RAW format does not seem to be supported by Apple at the moment (29/04/2006)
Summary: Just like I said above, the s9000 is one of the best camera I've own. The wuality's good and the camera is still easy to use, well for a machine that sophisticated. The only down side is that Apple Aperture does not seem to support the s9000 at the moment. If, like me, you were looking foward to use Apple newest apps, just too bad. Unless someone had any fixes?
83% of People (5/6) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 01/24/2006 |
- RatBoy77
- Member Since:
Jan 2006
View Member's:
Reviews
|
Strengths: Real Photo Technology is unreal. The picture quality is amazing.
Dual memory slots
Great zoom range
Tiltable LCD helps with compositional creativity
Manual zoom and focus
9mp for more cropping
Weaknesses: Burst mode could be faster
Summary: The Fuji Finepix S9000 is one amazing camera. While it is important to note that a camera is only a tool, it helps to have a nice tool. For the price there isn't another camera out there that comes close.
Print quality is amazing. Some people only look at the picture on screen pixel by pixel instead of looking at the prints in a realistic size. I've taken Picutres at ISO 800 and printed very good prints at 8x10 with no post processing; the quality is better than most other cameras using a lower ISO setting.
Battery life is very good as well. I use 2500mah recharghables and they last seemingly forever. The good thing is that they cost $10 for a set and in a pinch you can find AA's anywhere.
This camera's manual controls allow you to take complete control if you desire but the auto settings are really good too.
Don't be fooled into thinking that you can only take great pictures with a $1000+ DSLR. This camera is more than enough for most people. I took it to a hockey game and it handled the lowlight and fast action very well. An slr with lenses to match the zoom range of the s9000 will cost you hundreds more and won't do video or live preview.
All in all, this is a great camera. Don't take my word for it though, try it out and see for yourself.
76% of People (13/17) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 11/19/2006 |
|
 S9000 Strengths: Nice pictures, lots of functions, great zoom
Weaknesses: IT BROKE DOWN just 2 months after buy!!!!!!!!!!!
Summary: Quite nice pictures, especially after printing. Lots of useful options and settings. Good power consumption.
BUT
The command dial (wheel button) stopped working after short period of usage. I can't set the aperture, shutter speed, multi-frame exposure, flashlight and lots of other functions. Now it's a regular compact camera with big zoom and nothing more!!!
I left for Europe and now I can't fix it from here! Shipping costs are incredible, let alone the customs duties!
Unfortunately I have to discourage from buying anyone who counts on unfailing equipment!
75% of People (3/4) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 10/10/2006 |
|
Strengths: Fujinon optics, 10.7 optical zoom, cable release, noise at high ISO speeds is almost nill
Weaknesses: little funky on the manual controls, battery life could be better
Summary: As an early adopter of digital, dating from 1999 and the Agfa ePhoto 1280 and 1680 to the current iteration of the Nikon D50, I can attest that this camera is as flexible as any of my film cameras that I use for studio and location work. Fujifilm has migrated the best features of a film camera over to this model.
From a hot shoe for external mounted flash and a sync terminal for off camera flash, to the mundane cable release on the shutter button, Fuji has melded the best of the analog with the best of the digital.
With 9 mega pixel resolution, ISO from 80 to 1600, shutter speeds from 30 seconds to 1/4000, a 1.6 inch CCD sensor, Fujinon 28 to 300 mm (135 equivalent) zoom, tilting LCD monitor (if you use those things), RAW file format support, real time histogram display, eleven shooting modes, movie recording, AF assist illuminator and full manual control when needed, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, et al have a lot of catching up to do.
No need to change lenses means a sealed camera and that equates to the sensor staying spring time fresh in the body. No dust getting in very time a lens is swapped (although, I still miss all that Nikon glass).
All this for less than $ 600.00
67% of People (2/3) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 06/02/2006 |
|
 DON'T BUY THIS CAMERA Strengths: Good quality for a prosumer camera if you don't mind it not responding and being without it for a month at a time.
Weaknesses: Keeps breaking down, poor customer service regarding my multiple replacements. Camera is so bad they couldn't even fix it, it had to be replaced.
Summary: I'm am writing you to let you know about my Fuji S9000. I have revised my opinion of this camera big time. DON'T BUY IT. I had a problem with it after 2 months and returned it to Fuji. I thought, ok, just a glitch. NO it's a design flaw and after only having my newly replaced (not repaired because they couldn't fix it) Fuji S9000 I was out shooting today and the same thing happened again. The camera just stopped responding. No control over Fstop, speed nothing!! I contacted Fuji and she said to send it back again and they would repair or replace it again. I was without it last time for a month and now it will be that long again. This is not acceptable and they just didn't care. I have spoken to the manager at Walmart and he is letting me return it and get a Cannon Rebel. NO MORE FUJI. I am telling everyone I know NOT to buy it because it has a definite design flaw and they won't repair it. Even the photo manager (who was looking to buy one) won't buy it now. So DON'T buy it. I wanted to get to EVERYONE ASAP about this. The customer care center is terrible as well. Shouldn't even be called a customer care center. Hope this helps. NO LONGER A FUJI CUSTOMER. Debbie
35% of People (6/17) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are 1 comment for this review. Read all comments.
Post a comment.
|
|
|
|
|
Report this as 
