Customer Reviews

Fujifilm FinePix S602 3.3MP Digital Camera w/ 6x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you like traditional reflex photography and are looking for a digicam this is, in my opinion and after long research, one of the best options. The camera is an upgraded version of the highly popular FinePix 6900 with some of the problems solved: the best electronic viewfinder in the market, AA batteries.

You will have a superb camera with excellent photo quality and also a true 30 fps video camcorder, all in one. It feels like an SLR camera with all the features the enthusiast photographer could expect.

Pros:

- 6X optical zoom lens
- Full manual or automatic controls
- Industry-leading movie mode
- Very good image quality
- Great macro mode
- SmartMedia and CompactFlash Type II slots
- Overall camera operation feels quick
- Support for external flash
- Feels good and solid, nice ergonomic touches
- The best electronic viewfinder
- Good battery life
- Excellent software

Cons (minor problems):

- Poor low light auto focus
- No indication of battery life status. So, always carry battery backup

Conclusion: excellent camera even for professional use.

The gist:

* Total exposure control

* Terrific quality for the money

* May need to rely on automatic features.

I am a huge photo geek. I'm not sure what it is about photography that gets my motor going, but I just love every aspect of it. And, yet, I'm not in the camp that believes that I must have the latest and greatest of everything in order to be a good photographer. In the end, the equipment is of little matter: it's just the light, the subject, the film media and you.

It took me a while to get on the digital bandwagon. Initially, I went halfway and purchased a film scanner to get my 35mm negatives into digital form. While this is great for existing photos or for situations where you absolutely need to shoot on film for some reason, it slows down the workflow considerably. First, the film needs to be developed. Then you need to scan each negative individually on the computer. It can take as long as an hour to scan a full roll of 36 images. And, just like working in the darkroom, any dust specs are made larger than life in the final image, which requires some time messing with PhotoShop. This is not ideal for high-capacity work.

After about six months of research, I finally decided on the Fuji FinePix S602. Fuji has a reputation for selling excellent digital cameras that produce remarkable pictures, and the S602 is no exception. I compared this to several of the Canon and Olympus prosumer models as well as several other Fuji cameras.

I was looking for a camera that would allow me to have complete manual control over exposure and aperture as well as automating everything for me for when I was feeling lazy. In addition, I wanted it to be able to produce images that could be faithfully printed to sizes up to 8 x 10, though most of my digital work would be for the web. Since I have a full lighting set up, I also wanted a hotshoe so that I could take advantage of external lighting.

Initially, I leaned toward the Fuji FinePix 2800, which has a 2.1 MegaPixel CCD and runs at almost half the price of the S602. After some soul-searching, I decided that 2.1 MP wasn't near enough for what I wanted. In addition, the 2800 is uncomfortably small for my hand, while the S602 feels like it was designed specifically with my big ol' hands in mind.

The S602 is rather bulky compared to a lot of the cameras out there (except maybe for the Minolta Dimage). I'm not entirely sure what the obsession with smaller cameras is all about. I don't want a camera that I can accidentally inhale. The S602 is about 3/4 the size of my Canon Rebel G, which I feel is a perfect size. It's fairly light and has all of the controls in an easily accessible location. At first, all of the buttons and options for this thing may seem mind-boggling. After just a little practice, though, I found the user interface to be absolutely intuitive and easy to handle.

Another feature I looked for was the ability to quickly capture images one after another. I had played with too many digital cameras that required several seconds between shots, which is frustrating when you're trying to work fast. The S602 has several rapid-fire modes, but I have found its standard shot-to-shot speed to be more than sufficient for most of my needs. I don't ever feel like I'm waiting to press the shutter.

Perhaps the one thing that pushed me the strongest in the direction of purchasing this model was the fact that it takes both Compact Flash and SmartMedia memory cards. In fact, you can use both cards at the same time, switching to one when the other has filled up. It would have been nice if Fuji had made this easier - you can only switch cards from the "setup" mode of the camera rather than through one of their shifted shortcuts - but it's not a major inconvenience.

Fuji has touted the fact that this camera can produce an effective 6.1 megapixels. Keep in mind, though, that the CCD is only capable of 3.1 megapixels, so anything above that is interpolated, which means the software analyzes the picture and inserts its best guess of what pixels would best pad the image to boost it to higher numbers. The 6.1 MP images are fairly nice and probably a bit better than I could get out of PhotoShop, but they are not as pin-sharp as they would be from a true 6.1 MP CCD. Bottom line: if you're considering buying this camera thinking it's a 6.1 MegaPixel camera, save your money for a true 6 MP camera.

While I'm mostly satisfied with this purchase, there does seem to be one major flaw with this camera. I like being able to manually focus on my subjects. I'm not sure why I distrust autofocus so much, but I'm not a big fan of using it exclusively. Both the Electronic View Finder and the screen on the back allow you to zoom into one area so that you can manually adjust the focus to a specific subject, but it seems that, no matter how hard I try, I just can't get it pin-sharp. Even when it looks good in the view finder, it looks blurry once I have uploaded the image to the computer. The autofocus does a pretty good job of fixing this for me, but I'd like to be able to do this manually without hassle. It may just require more practice on my part.

All in all, I'm thrilled with this camera. It does everything I could hope for and more, provides a seemingly endless number of functions to help boost the creativity of my photography and produces absolutely beautiful images that are of an extremely high quality. I would heartily recommend this camera to anyone looking for a fairly inexpensive equivalent to their 35mm SLR.

I have been looking into upgrading to a newer digital camera. Previously owned a Kodak DC 290. Although this camera still takes great photo's and I still use the camera on occasion, the need for a camera that would have the feel of a 35MM SLR and have the capability to capture image's of moving objects was desired. After reading many camera reviews it was decided that the Fuji S602Z was what I would be looking for. Some of the nice features that have been included in this camera is the zoom lens. The camera was received the day before I would be attending Hydro-plane races. Browsing over the owners manual it was time to put the media card and batteries in the camera and put it through it's paces. Fuji did a very good job at placing the zoom and setup features in a place on the camera that is easily adjusted. Battery life is very good. I did use rechargeable batteries, recorded 300 images with the rechargeable batteries used. Extremely pleased with the image quality. Would recommend taking a good look at the camera if you are looking for a reasonable priced camera that takes great image's and has the potential for much more after you become accustomed with the use of the camera. The 3.1 Megapixel is a little behind other camera's but most will never notice the difference. This Camera also has 2,832x2,128 (6.0 million) Recorded pixels. Plus Dual slots, SmartMedia and Compact flash. Super CCD and the use of 4 AA batteries (not a expensive dedicated battery pack) made this choice easier also. The Hot Shoe for a stronger flash unit is appreciated also. (Also not a need to buy a dedicated unit).

The FinePix 602Zoom was everything I expected. I exchanged an Olympus D-550 specifically for a camera with a better optical zoom (6x vs. 2.8x). The grip is very comfortable to hold, however, someone with small hands may find it a little difficult to push some of the intended buttons. The camera looks very slick and feels extremely sturdy. The menus and functions are very easy to use. It took no time at all to start taking pictures after taking it out of the box. There are a lot of extra features which I havn't used yet but the pictures I've taken are indeed spectacular. There are various resolutions the camera can be set to within the 6mp, 3mp & 1mp mode, but a 2mp setting doesn't exist. I have found the battery life to be quite impressive. I am still using the original alkaline batteries even after taking approx 50 pictures, using the camera to download to my PC, recording video and viewing them on my TV. However, the battery life indicator has yet to come on so I don't know how much juice is really left. The Fuji's colors are very vibrant and true. This is an all around excellent camera that takes wonderful pictures, both indoors and out and with both automatic or manual settings. The camera is a little larger than most but that's because of the powerful optical zoom. I recommend the 602z to anyone who wants a little more than just an automatic point and shoot digital camera, although this one will function that way if you want.

As an avid amateur photographer since childhood, I was reluctant to trade in my superb Olympus 35mm zoom-lens-reflex to go digital. I purchased the Fuji S602 Zoom on a salesperson's recommendation, and couldn't be more thrilled. The convenience, flexibility, and creative potential in digital photography as compared to film photography are self-evident, but what blows my mind is the unbelievably high quality of these images - they are actually better than the photos I got with my old Olympus. Amazingly sharp and clear with gorgeous, realistic color (or black-and-white, if you prefer) - which you can, of course, tweak in editing and printing. The camera, lightweight and well-designed, can be used completely automatically, completely manually, or anywhere in between (aperture priority, shutter priority, various flash modes, night modes, portrait mode, etc., etc.). The lens opens to f2.8 and has a 35mm-equivalent zoom length of 35mm - 210mm - well, all the specs are available on Fuji's website, so you can see for yourself; suffice it to say that if you're hesitating about making the switch from film to digital because you're afraid of sacrificing quality, you needn't worry with this superb, superb piece of equipment.

While the Fuji S602 is only a 3.3 mp digital camera, the digital image that it produces competes extremely well with the images from 4 and 5 megapixel cameras. Add to the fantastic image these unique features: in camera cropping, a super macro mode focusing down to 1.2 inches from the subject, a 6X OPTICAL Zoom lens, Unusually high ISO numbers, up to 1600, many manual features, a magnifier in the center of both the EVF and/or the LCD screens,this digital camera has a very precise exposure system, great skin tones, beautiful color saturation, plus great overall build quality.

We sell this camera at the store I work, and I think it's the best one Fuji has put out. I have made several test prints from it and have been highly impressed: excellent color clarity, sharpness, and the camera is a joy to use.

First things first: I have to applaud Amazon[.com] for advertising this camera as a 3.3mp. Buyer beware--although you might see Fuji and/or other stores advertise this as being a 6mp camera, this is after the interpolation process that Fuji cameras use. The sensor in this camera is 3mp, and through a special process the camera goes through, you end up with a 6mp image. It looks good, but not as good as a picture from a *true* 6mp camera. Go to Fuji's website to read more about the process. Regardless of that, this camera is fully capable of making beautiful prints sized 8x10 and even larger.

The camera is made really well. The body is lightweight and feels "right" in your hands. I was kind of shocked to see the use of AA batteries. Normally they last no longer than an hour or so in digital cameras. Somehow Fuji has managed to fix all that. I use this camera all the time, and the batteries last several hours. The screen as well as the electronic viewfinder are very clear and easy on the eyes.

Typically the movie mode that digital cameras have are pretty poor quality. The Fuji's movie mode features a 30fps rate and fairly good sound quality. The best I've seen in a digital camera.

Other features on this camera that really stand out are the implementation of a 6x OPTICAL zoom, a manual focus ring (really useful at times), manual modes, and a hot shoe for a flash. Unfortunately the hot-shoe flash is not TTL and will require you to do manual settings, but at least it's there.

A good effort from Fuji--highly recommended.

Okay folks. This a review for rank amateurs such as myself who've hopes of developing advanced skills with digital photography. Out of the box within five minutes, I'd taken two pictures indoors and two outdoors. The pictures were startling in clarity and colors were quite vivid. The litmus test occurred when I printed two 8.5" by 11" photos. The pictures were nothing short of gorgeous. My goal in deciding to get a digital camera is that I wanted a camera that would allow me to print photos that would not embarrass me if I chose to hang them on my wall. What I got was an astonishing boost in creative potential. I am incredibly pleased with this camera. My apologies to the technically proficient. This review is not for you.

I am what most of these people call a prosumer. I take a lot of photographs and format pictures many different ways. This camera can do it all. In addition, you get one of the best optical (6x) zoom lengths with additional digital zoom on top of that. As a bonus, the camera has a movie mode with sound for those special occasions. I did buy a 1GB micro-drive and would recommend you spend the money for at least the 340 MG drive. The memory you use with any of these higher end cameras is huge. It is very light, but a little bulky in the hand. I looked at them all and chose this camera. I am extremely happy I did.

I previously owned a Kodak DX3900, and my gripe about that camera was that there were little to no manual controls on the camera. Heck, the lowest shutter speed was 1 second. So.. the next five months I researched loads of cameras. And I finally narrowed it down to a few choices: Minolta 7i, Coolpix 4500, Canon G3, Olympus C-730 .. and the Fuji.

I chose the Fuji.. and here's why:

In simple, the Fuji offered the most of what I want. It has all my manual controls, it has nice focusing controls, it has adequate megapixel count, firm body, compact flash support, nice grip, decent software, good zoom, dual-media drives, superior movie mode ..

The only downfalls to this camera: It's only 3.1 Megapixel, no matter what anyone tells you. But, for me, that was enough. I never print ANYTHING larger than 8 x 10, and if I ever plan to, I can use the interpolated 6 MP mode. AND no auto-focusing assiting lamp. But the manual controls this camera offers more than make up for it.

Do yourself a favor and buy the Fuji. Don't be fooled by what you think you need. Longer zoom isn't that big of a deal. 6x is plenty, any farther and you get camera shake. Megapixel count is excellent for just 3. It's certainly enough for the average consumer. It might look clunky, but it fits snuggly in my purse.

What more reason did you need?