Not quite an SLR: FujiFilm FinePix S9600
Hitting that mid-ranged digital camera market, the FinePix S9600 is trying to live up to it’s predecessor, the S9500.
The FinePix S9600 isn’t your run-of-the mill point-and-shoot. This is one of the hybrids hat looks suspiciously like a SLR. Packing a nine-megapixel senor and a 10.7x zoom, it definitely is going to get the job done for most photography enthusiasts.
PC Authority wasn’t thrilled to tears about the S9600 becuase of a few flaws.
“At least the S9600 is capable of a respectable 1.6fps continuous mode until the memory card is full. And if you want a camera that’s capable of capturing decent-quality video clips, the S9600 betters the other two super-zooms thanks to smooth frame rates, great sound and lots of detail.
Still images were sharp, clean and well exposed. Colours were well saturated too, and the macro ability was respectable. As with the other super-zooms, we saw some fringing in the corners of wide-angle shots and heavy blurring in handheld shots in very low light.”
If you’d like to see the specs, Digital Photography Review (like always) has more information than you’ll ever need about the S9600.
Trusted Reviews enjoyed the S9600 a lot, including the quicker (but noisy) AF motor. The camera took in a 10 out of 10 rating.
There are a couple of changes to the specification though. The S9500’s fold-out 1.8-in, 118,000 pixel LCD monitor has been replaced with a much better 2-in 235,000 pixel unit, which is – at least as far as I am aware – the highest resolution monitor on any camera currently available. It is bright and relatively non-reflective, making it usable in bright sunlight. As on the S9500, the monitor can be folded upward by 90 degrees for use as a waist-level finder, or downward by 45 degrees for overhead use.
The monitor now matches the electronic viewfinder which also has a resolution of 235,000 pixels, although it seems to me that it is slightly sharper than the one on the S9500. Critics who don’t like electronic viewfinders really should see this one; it is far and away the best I’ve ever seen. No, it’s not the same as a real optical viewfinder; for starters it’s brighter in low light and has a better information display. It is the first electronic viewfinder I’ve used that has been sharp enough for accurate manual focusing.
Cameras.co.uk raved about the S9600, their only problem being that the camera had a pink fringe around the photos when it was fully zoomed.
“One negative point is that there is a small amount of purple fringing showing when the zoom lens is fully extended. This is where a small purple line is added to the edges of light coloured object where they are caught by the sun.
I feel pretty positive about the Fuji Finepix S9600. It will not appeal to everyone owing to its large size. If someone is looking for a camera that closely resembles a digital SLR in terms of look and feel, but is unable to afford one then this is about as close as you are likely to get. Picture quality is also good and I think the camera offers good value for money.”
It seems that all an all, with the S9600 retailing for about $330-450, it’s a great deal for an exceptional camera. Look into this if you don’t want to get an SLR but don’t want a point-and-shoot camera either.
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