Customer Reviews

Fujifilm FinePix S1500 10MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom

5 star:		(91)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

First, I did not buy mine from Amazon, instead electing to get it instantly at Wal-Mart.
I am also far from a camera expert.
With that said, I was quite pleased with this camera, which was a huge upgrade over my old Kodak DC340.
First, I REALLY like the generous 12x zoom with this camera, which enabled me to get excellent quality photos with good detail of two particular wary birds, a Bob White quail, and an Eastern Bluebird.
I also found the imagine stabilization feature useful for my less than completely still hands, and I need to reiterate that image stabilization has NOTHING to do with capturing a fast moving object, as Spacejockey seemed to believe.
Also, far from being annoyed by the flash having a button to pop it up, I really like being able to manually disable flash by leaving the flash physically latched down instead of having to mess around with menu controls to do it.
I fail to see how this is a negative, Spacejockey.
Likewise, I quite liked the intelligent face detection feature, which seemed to be particularly useful for the excellent automatic red eye removal feature.
Again, Spacejockey, why the grumbling about this feature?
Another point of contention is the gripe about the "double clicking" when taking photos.
Well, you can override that by pressing the shutter button completely without pause, but the first click is to allow you ensure your lens is fully focused on your target before committing to taking the shot.
You can press halfway, see if the focus indicator is on your target, then squeeze the rest of the way to take the shot.
Again, why the complaint about that?
Regarding the yellowish cast to photos taken indoors without flash, that is easily overcome by using the basic manual controls, which allow you to set the exposure appropriate to the lighting, which includes the "Tungsten" setting that is indicated for use indoors under incandescent lighting.
Problem solved, and I have to wonder why Spacejockey couldn't trouble himself to look into that before grumbling about that.
One point where I must agree with Spacejockey is the idiotic choice of micro USB connector instead of the far more common and useful mini USB connector used on most other portable electronic devices.
It's not as if this large camera had a space constraint to require that.
Was Fuji simply out to make its customers carry an extra cable instead of the mini-USB they already have for their other devices?
One related complaint of my own, since I find myself instead electing to pop out the SD card to insert into an external card reader, is that it was a poor choice indeed to put the SD card slot inside the battery compartment, thus requiring the camera be powered off and having a fragile battery door undergo a finite open/close cycle that will accelerate it breaking and reducing the camera to an expense block of plastic.
Also, Spacejockey, macro mode should NEVER use zoom.
You want more detail for a close object, I suggest you GET CLOSER.
Sheesh!
Again, I have to disagree about the menu system, which I found easy to figure out, without really having to resort to the manual.
I also really like how large the LCD display is.
I tend to agree with the complaint about the lack of a printed manual, but this is a sad trend among electronic manufacturers these days.
Witness the utter lack of printed documentation AT ALL when you open up that stylish box your iPod comes in.
Regarding the inability to read the documenation found on the CD, I would suggest you contact Fuji to let them know that your disk was scratched and unreadable on a number of different computersm, and request they send you a free undamaged CD.
Regarding the panorama mode, I would not even consider using that in the field, unless I had a tripod and carefully positioned each shot to make the overlap as seamless as possible.
Failing that, I would do it up right on my computer with an image editor, so I have to wonder again at what seems a gratuitous gripe about a feature that Spacejockey probably never intended to use anyway.
Speaking of gripes, why the grumbling about lack of filters or lens accessories on a camera that is NOT an SLR?
This is a mid to high end point-and-shoot camera, and a motorized lens that moves in and out can get easily damaged by a filter or other such appliance attached to it.
Spacejockey, have you really thought that complaint through?

Sorry to sound as if I have some kind of axe to grind with Spacejockey, but I am a firm believer that a critical review really should focus upon being both fair and factual, and too many of the gripes leveled at this low to mid range camera seemed really lacking in both departments.
Anyone who has used the pocket sized point-and-shoot cameras, such as my old Kodak, will immediately see the improvement of this camera over those, but anyone wanting all the features demanded by Spacejockey would be better served with one of the better digital SLR cameras instead.
However, those SLR cameras are also targeted more at the experienced photographer, thus requiring far more manual control over the camera.
Again, there is nothing wrong with a critical review, but I have to be critical of SJ's review itself.
Nothing personal.

I have been a serious amateur photographer for more than 20 years and have a large collection of cameras for my photography needs. I recently purchased my S1500 while traveling in Asia over the past couple of weeks. I decided to leave my DSLR behind on this trip and had only packed my point-and-shoot. After a few days, I realized that I needed more camera to capture the sights of Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. The Fuji S1500 seemed to fit the bill and was a comparable price in Singapore to purchasing it here in the USA and had the zoom capabilities and other features I wanted in a compact camera.

First use:
I took the camera out for a walking tour in Singapore and captured some great shots in both SR Auto and P mode. Focus is sharp and the colors are great. OK, so with outdoor daytime shots working, I thought I would try some night shots.

I went to the top of the Swissotel in Singapore at night for some night landscape shots. I placed the camera on the ledge against the window (to avoid the reflections), set it to SR Auto and used the 2 second self-timer, then pressed the button and stepped back. I got some stunning photos of the Singapore skyline at night (including the Singapore Flyer).

Full test:
I put the camera to full use in Sydney where I took nearly 400 photos. I took some great handheld photos of the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge during the morning. I also tried the in camera panorama. I got a great shot that includes the bridge, opera house and botanical gardens. I could have done the same thing in Photoshop, but hey, why not let the camera do it for me.

We then hopped onto one of the open top bus tours (a bit cold as it is winter in Sydney), but still fun. Even with the bounce of the bus, I was able to get some great pictures with this camera thanks to the Dual IS feature. The zoom also helped a lot as the bus didn't always get as close as I would have liked.

Final stop was the botanical gardens. I took some good macro shots that rival those I have taken with my EOS Digital SLR. It is important to note that you don't zoom in Macro mode.

Final thoughts:
This is not a replacement for a DSLR. However, if you are looking for more power in a travel / vacation camera than is offered by traditional 3x point-and-shoot models, this is a good buy.

As an overall package, this camera is simply astounding. Besides a few minor flaws, you get a nearly perfect, highly versatile camera with a fairly expansive feature set and good image quality for less than $200. What more can you ask for? Well, there are a few things, but let me first start with the pros...

+ Excellent price. Obviously, getting this kind of technology for less than $200 is a rare find. Fuji somehow keeps prices at the low end of the spectrum, while managing to maintain quality.

+ Good construction. This thing feels solid, and fits nicely in the hands. I don't have any qualms about apparent quality or cheapness; for $200, you'd be hard-pressed to find something with comparable materials and build quality.

+ Large feature set. The feature set really is as expansive as the description says. As mentioned before, some of them aren't quite as good as they sound, but that will be discussed next. I'm not a even nearly a professional photographer, and I'm certainly still learning, but the upgrade from a 'normal' point-and-shoot is significant. Shutter and aperture priority modes are excellent, as is the full-manual mode. Automatic modes are just your normal automatic modes, with the exception of the SP 'scene selection' mode, which offers some nice settings if you find yourself in a hurry to get a shot or are unsure of how to compose a picture yourself. Fortunately, with the versatile manual modes, you'll find yourself using automatic modes less and less as you become more comfortable with the settings.

+ The zoom is great, as is the stabilization system. 12x zoom is more than enough for most realistic applications- if you need any more than that on a regular basis, you should really be looking at an SLR system anyways. When you get up to the 8x-12x range, you'll likely need a small tripod or something to set the camera on, or a very fast shutter speed, but that's pretty standard- no amount of stabilization can accommodate fully for a 12x zoom.

+ Super-macro mode takes some astounding close-ups. By far, this is my favorite mode.

+ Image quality, for $200, is superior. Although I have seen sharper images, they are usually coming from highly sophisticated SLR systems- not exactly what you'd call comparable.

+Speed, although not great, is good enough to keep up with demands from normal photographers. There's a small, but noticeable, amount of shutter lag- nothing that will detract from your photographic endeavors. Time between shots seems to be on par with most other digital cameras of the class. With the right settings, you'll be able to capture most images with reasonable success.

The negatives:
-Autofocus. This can be sloppy sometimes, failing to focus or focusing incorrectly. Although this might be due to my inexperience, I often find myself wishing for a manual focus. Then again, that's just something you have to deal with when you forego spending thousands of dollars on an SLR system.

-Lens. Although it's normally fine, I sometimes find myself wishing for a larger aperture and/or shutter speed range. The shutter speed range of 8-1/2000 seconds is usually more than fast enough, but I do find myself sometimes unable to compose a shot correctly because of a lack of aperture range. 99% of the time this has no relevance outside of extreme low-light or high-light imagine that as I become more competent with the settings, this issue will become less pronounced.

-Unusable features. This is one of my biggest peeves with the camera. Sure, it's great to offer ISO 6400, but why bother when any pictures taken in that mode inevitably end up as nothing more than a noisy mess? I appreciate the attempt on Fuji's part, but I would have rather had them dedicate the resources to extra shooting modes, a faster lens, a better lens cover, or any number of other, more practical aspects. Don't get me wrong- most of the features are fine. Just don't try to shoot anything above ISO 800, and don't expect high-quality video.

Overall, despite a few downfalls, this is an exceedingly pleasing camera, and one that I feel is often overlooked in the Mega-Zoom discussion solely because of the Fuji name. Nonetheless, this camera can easily compete with almost any other camera of the `SLR-like' class, regardless of brand- and the price is certainly right. Invest the $200 in this wonderful little package of technology, and you won't be sorry.

Read all the reviews posted about this gem, and have a few responses (Omitting mechanical breakage issues):

1. Video? You want a video camera, buy a video camera. All in ones tend to not have top notch videos. Those that are good, are snippets, and not full blown videos.

2. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, FOLKS! Lighting issues (incandescent, florescent, etc.) are taken care of in all high end cameras by changing the lighting source. Problem solved.

3. For the price and features, this is a top notch buy. I hughly recommend. I have a Nikon D80 SLR and lugging it around is a chore, unless I am going out to do some local shooting. Vacations? Too heavy, nothing screams "tourist" like a large SLR! And subjec to theft, too.

4. Interchangeable lenses? Filters? This is NOT an SLR! Want those features? Ante up a few more hundred and get one of the top names - Nikon, Canon, etc. This is above the small point and shoots and below the full blown, large, cumbersome, SLR's!

And, I agree with one reviewer about people who complain about every thing in a product. Too many valid complaints, the manufacturer will soon know them, and the product won't sell. The price and features are outstanding. I am experinced photographer and like the size and feature.

I can confidently recommend this prosumer camera. Maybe it doesn't fit in your shirt or pants pocket, but then again, it's not weighting down your neck!

I took the camera to the state park with my grand daughter and shot a gig or two of pics. Good color, good focus even with the tele at max. I took two blue birds in the top of a tree with the tele on max got a good sharp picture. For the price it has a lot of features. Both of my Canon cameras have died so I am trying another brand and I think it is a good buy at Amazons price and quick delevery.

I recently purchased the Fujifil Finepix S1500 10 mp camera. This is a great camera even for ametuers such as myself, easy to use, great stabalizer for the shaky hands.I was able to use the camera straight out of the box!
Lesson learned when taking a video try not to zoom, this causes blurring as the cmaera readjusts its focus.

I had a Fuji S700 camera and I LOVED it. I took it everywhere, I wound up taking over 6000 pictures in a year and a half. I wanted to upgrade it for the S1500 because I wanted a better optical zoom.
The features of the S1500 were very nice and I took almost 300 pictures the first week I had it. I downloaded the pictures onto my computer the same way I did with my S700. No difference.
Then came the problems. The next time I tried to take pictures I got a "Write Error" message. I tried to download the pictures I had already taken, but they wouldn't download. When I tried to play them on the camera I got a "?Read Error" message (supposedly with the question mark in front it means a camera error). I thought maybe the memory card was bad, so I went and bought another one. The same thing happened.
I tried all sorts of trouble shooting. I formatted the card before taking pictures. I only used the FinePix Viewer to download the pictures and made sure to disconnect the camera with that program.
It kept happening.
I called Fuji. No one ever answered. The phone rang and rang and rang and rang. I finally figured my camera was defective. I sent it back to Amazon and they sent me another (really loving their returns dept).
To be safe, I went and bought another new memory card, because in the manual it said that disconnecting the camera before it was time or trying to download to large of a file may hurt the card. I also noticed that the manual said large memory cards may not be able to be read by the camera and they suggested using a memory card reader. This advice was backed up on several forums I found where other people had similar problems.
So I bought a memory card reader too.
First batch, no problems, came out beautifully.
Second batch...SAME THING!!! The pictures won't download. This time, I even tried 3 different computers with my new memory card reader and card. Same thing over and over again.
I once again tried to call Sony with no luck.
Now that I have 2 8GB memory card, 1 4GB memory card and a memory card reader, I have almost as much money invested to have bought another camera. I have sent this camera back to Amazon again and asked for a refund.
Due to Fuji's terrible customer service I have to say I will not recommend a Fuji camera to anyone ever again.

This is my most favorite camera out of all the cameras I had. I previously owned a Polaroid T737 and it has so many problems.

I love the automatic scene recognition. It is very helpful. I am a photographer and I mostly take pictures of flowers, plants, and landscapes. This camera is also good for just taking pictures of family and friends.

The only problem I found out of my few months of owning this is it uses a lot of battery if you don't use the eye viewer. I recommend using rechargeable batteries if you don't want to waste a lot of money for batteries.

My background: I bought my first SLR camera in 1966 (for $90, a handsome sum at that time), before that my cameras were whatever I could get my hands on. I did a fair amount of darkroom work and still have my darkroom equipment in the basement. I've owned a series of Canon SLR cameras, and switched to a Minolta DLSR several years ago. I love my Minolta, I chose it over Canon and Nikon gear because I liked the way it feels and operates: it handles like a traditional film camera and less like a computer. I like dials rather than joysticks and multi-layered menus. And it is a tank: my outfit takes up a good sized backpack and it is quite heavy, and rough handling has landed it in the shop twice. So of course, I've needed a small camera to carry around. In the past we've had Canon A series compact cameras, which have had impressive features and take very good pictures, but the last two we had were very unreliable and we ended up giving them away. I do mostly nature photography, some of which is macro work, though I have done some portrait work as well.

I've spent a good deal of time and thought searching for my current small camera. I want good build quality and good feel in the hand (the last being very subjective, of course). I want manual and semi-manual controls (aperture/shutter priority modes), I need a good macro mode, and I need exposure compensation to handle tricky backlit subjects. I looked at some fairly expensive cameras (e.g., Canon S90 and G11, which even at $400 and $500 respectively have their faults). And being unwilling to spend nearly $1000 on a 4/3 camera (which are impressive but still have their issues), I decided to see what an inexpensive camera could do. A friend has a earlier version of the S1500 and she takes very impressive nature photos. Much of my shooting is nature photos, and I loved the form factor of the S1500, so I thought I'd take a chance on it and ordered from Adorama through Amazon.


I'm only a few hours into my S1500 experience, but so far I'm very impressed with this camera. The manual control that I want is there. Autofocus functions pretty much the same as it does on my Minolta, and I was pleased to find several autofocus options. I love the hand grip and the big dial on top. The contents of the display are great, I love the histogram, EV, and exposure info. I just took a panorama shot and the assistant works very well. Changing the ISO setting is very convenient. Everything I want to do is right there at hand, I don't need to drill down through menus to find things. I have large hands and don't like small fiddly controls. I like having a lens cap, as the external shutters that many cameras have are a typical point of failure in my experience. The electronic viewfinder is a pleasant surprise and easily turned on and off (same button as the LCD display). The manual is very good. I didn't test the included software, but the S1500 worked perfectly with my Mac and iPhoto.


Add ons: two sets of high capacity (2500mAh or so) rechargeable AA Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries and charger (Sony has a nice setup). Some sort of carry case (I'm using a hip bag). A media card (I picked up a 4 GB card for under $15).


One thing I would like to see in a small camera is some sort of manual focus that works. The S1500 lacks manual focus, but it does have AF lock, so you can focus on something the same distance as your subject, lock the focus, and then take your picture. This is actually faster and more reliable than some manual focusing systems. AF is difficult even for expensive cameras, so don't expect miracles.


Unless you are paying top dollar for a camera (we're talking four figures), there are always some compromises in the design. The manufacturer puts their money into some things and puts less into other things. My wife owns a really nice Panasonic travel zoom. Wow, what a lens on that thing! An amazing lens and a lot of automation, perfect for her, but not for me, no manual control. With the S1500, I'd say this is a camera that can keep an advanced photographer happy and impressed by the value. It is not a compact camera, as the lens and handgrip are prominent, and not lightweight (thanks to 4 AA batteries). I have no idea how a beginning photographer would respond to this camera, but I would say that if you want to learn about the photography, this could be an excellent camera.


General comments: all cameras, film and digital, are limited in low light situations. Film behaves badly when it reaches its limits (grain, false color, etc), and digital sensors behave badly as well (pixelation, false color, etc.). Turning the ISO setting higher on a digital camera only amplifies the information coming from the sensor, and as small cameras have tiny sensors, turning up the ISO setting will degrade the image markedly. Don't be surprised when pictures taken at ISO 400 or above have image defects. This situation is made much worse by high megapixel designs: asking for more information out of the same sensor size equals degraded images. A 12 megapixel compact camera has the same size sensor as a 10 or 8 or 6 megapixel camera. Marketing departments would have us believe that more pixels equals better pictures, but the opposite is more likely to be true (note that manufacturers are lowering pixel counts now). A larger sensor is the only solution to better low light performance, which means a larger and more expensive camera.


I'm very excited by this camera and looking forward to working with the S1500.

I bought this camera for my office because the little point and shoot we have is not taking good enough pictures at events.

I choose this one because of the number of features you get for the price point. We've had it at work for a couple of weeks and we're still figuring out all the features. There are a lot.

I liked it so well that I bought one for myself at home. I just got it a few days ago and have been practicing how to use it. I especially like the anti-shakiness feature and the fact that if I want to take it out to the desert to walk my dogs, I have zoom without having to carry extra lenses. I love it. I'm very happy with the pictures I've been taking with it.