Customer Reviews

Fujifilm Finepix S700 7.1MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(201)
4 star:		(66)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I do professional fine art and PR/theater photography with a Canon EOS 5D and am very experienced as a photographer for over 30 years. Not always wanting to use my main equipment, I purchased this camera for a general purpose like family events, travel/vacation etc.

I originally wanted at least a 10x-12x optical zoom, 6-8MP, video (movie mode)with 640x480 30fps with zoom while movie shooting, AA batteries, IS (Image Stablization), at least a 2" LCD screen, fairly compact (but not a necessarily a pocket camera), and simple operation. I compared to Canon S3 IS, Kodak Z 7812 IS, Panasonic DMC FZ8K and seveal others which had true IS capabilites.

The FUJI S700 was less expensive because it is not a true IS camera or lens, but uses a fast shutter speed and higher ISO to achieve its IS mode. Otherwise it met the all other specifications I was looking for in a camera.

My daughter took this camera for a two week trip to China and got very good results. She used the IS mode often and the resulting pictures were generaly good with very little "digital sensor noise" because of the higher ISO setting. She also had very good results in low-light situations where flash was not permitted, and her movie clips where good (maybe not quite as good as a dedicated camcorder but fine for general purpose). The S700 movie mode sound uses a single microphone in the camera body for monophonic sound, where some other models have stereo if this is important to you.

She shot over 1000 images and about 30 video clips on a single 4GB SD card (the S700 is SDHC compatible) and she only used two sets (4 each) of alkaline AA batteries during her trip. The S700 will run longer on rechargable NiMH (2500-2800mAH) batteries or Lithium AA batteries.

While lacking true IS, the FUJI S700 is also about $50-$100 less expensive than the above comparable cameras. The KODAK and PANASONIC have movie modes but you cannot change the zoom lens setting while in this mode. Being a long time CANON user and a big fan of my EOS 5D SLR and other EOS SLRs, I found the CANON S3 IS difficult to switch modes between shooting mode and playback. It does have zoom while in movie mode however and the newer S5 IS may correct this problem. The S3 IS does produce excellent images even with its 6MP sensor (that uses their excellent DIGIC II processor).

The FUJI S700 produces good to very good images in its 7MP Fine mode using ISO of 100-400. The digital noise begins to slightly appear at ISO 400, but is not unacceptable. It is easy to use and in the AUTO mode, that most people would use, the camera would produce good results. It does allow shutter or aperture prioirty modes plus a full manual mode, but these are for advanced users in special situations and are not as easy to set as on a prosummer/professional level camera.

I would strongly recommend this as a good gerenal purpose camera that has a good, fairly fast optics and very good image quality. It is not a "pocket camera" with their small 3-4X optical zoom lens, but the S700 is lightweight to carry and easy to hold and use even with one-hand shooting.

I've owned many Canon digital cameras, but this is my first experience with a Fuji digital. It's very impressive.

The camera is light-weight and has a comfortable grip. The images are bright and sharp. Zoomed images to 10X are also sharp in Auto Mode (without having to switch to the Picture Stabilization Mode on the camera's dial). The flash works fine and pops up automatically (my Canon S3 IS doesn't do this and was more than twice the price). Also love the clarity of both the 230,000-pixel LCD screen and EVF.

Another reason I purchased this camera was the fact that it uses SD cards (which my Canons use) as well as XD cards (good for those who have owned Fuji... or Olympus before).

This camera is definately worth the price even without the free 2GB SD card (ends June 11) when purchased from Amazon!

*See sample photos under "Customer Images", top of page.

Added Note: I tested the shot-to-shot shutter lag of both my Fujifilm Finepix S700 and Canon Powershot S3 IS on shooting-digital's online test page with same results for both cameras - Without pre-focus, .4 of a second... With pre-focus, .1 of a second.

I haven't had this camera long, but I've already found all the positive reviews about it to be absolutely true. I had a cheaper, point and shoot digital camera before, but it's overall picture quality was grainy, and it was practically useless in indoor lighting situations. This camera takes bright, vibrant pictures indoors, and the 10x optical zoom is amazing. I took a zoomed in shot of my father from across the room, and the picture was as clear as if I had been standing next to him, even when the picture was printed at a size blown up to fill a letter-sized page.

And for me in particular having being disabled, I greatly appreciate how light this camera is. With a little practice, I'll be able to handle this camera very well, which means that I finally have a camera that combines the power of an SLR and the ease of use of a point-and-shoot. And if you also purchase the Joby GP1-00EN Gorillapod Flexible Tripod like I did, this camera becomes even more accessible to those who have special physical needs. I'm so excited by this camera that I may even become an amateur photographer now.

I cannot recommend the Fujifilm Finepix S700 any more highly. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

After downloading the full PDF manual (which you can find on the U.S. fuji site) and then auditioning this camera in person for about 2 hours while taking over a hundred test shots, I finally decided to pass on purchasing the Fuji s700, and went with a Kodak z612 instead.

The two cameras offer very similar features at about the same price, but the Kodak z612 has a wider 12:1 zoom range (with really great optical performance) and it has TRUE image stabilization (which the Fuji s700 lacks despite their marketing claims).

If most of your shots are taken in full daylight out doors, or with a flash indoors, then the Fuji s700 can provide fine pictures, but in lower light situations, it suffers due to it's use of a tiny 1/2.5 inch CCD.

When it comes to the low light performance of the CCD image sensor used in these cameras, SIZE MATTERS, and unfortunately the CCD used in the s700 is much smaller than some earlier Fuji models.

To be fair the Kodak z612/z712 and Canon S3 IS offerings also use these tiny 1/2.5 inch CCD's, but those cameras help offset this by offering true mechanical image stabilization to help out in low light situations.

You may recall that Fuji was the company that unsuccessfully tried to push the megapixel race into ridiculous fantasy land of marketing hype with `interpolated' resolution on some earlier cameras (fortunately the s700 rates an HONEST 7 megapixels), and now they are back at it with their claim that this camera has `image stabilization'.

What the S700 DOES have is roughly the equivalent of the `sports' or `action' modes you find on virtually ALL other cameras which simply try to kick up the ISO rating and use the fastest possible shutter speed to freeze action and prevent motion blur.

Unfortunately this also increases noise in the image, because it is basically the electronic equivalent of using faster (but much grainer) 400 to 1600 ASA film in a 35mm camera to shoot at the faster shutter speeds needed to stop action.

Sure a noisy but sharp `hi-iso' picture is better than a totally smeared picture due to camera shake, but mechanical stabilizers (like the Kodak z612, z712 or Canon Powershot S3 IS have) can cancel out the camera shake and let you shoot at a lower ISO equivalent setting WITHOUT adding noise, so it's important to understand that Fuji's claimed `image stabilazation' mode is NOT equivalent to mechanical image stabilizers you find on some other cameras

Fuji had some claim to this function being a reasonable substitute for a mechanical stabilizer on some earlier models like the S6000FD (and even smaller point and shoot's like the F30) because of their use of larger high performance CCDs in those models (which made these cameras much better able to work in HI-ISO mode needed to make this feature effective), but unfortunately the S700 uses the same tiny 1/2.5 inch size CCD as their competition, so it's `hi-iso' performance is not on a par with Fuji's earlier offerings and does NOT make the `image stabilizer' mode very effective.

In fact, because of the tiny 1/2.5 CCD used by nearly all these compact 10:1 and 12:1 superzooms, former Fuji F30 users seeking to upgrade will probably be VERY disappointed in the low-light shooting performance, and would be much better off trying to catch a sale on something like the Fuji S6000FD (which I see selling now for only about $265 after a 50 dollar rebate) or a low end DLSR like the Nikon D40 (the D40 has a CCD with literally 10 times the surface area of the one used in the s700 which let's it take great shots in natural light all the way up to ISO 1600).

I recently returned from a long cross-country trip and am quite satisfied with the Fujifilm S700 digital camera. It was time to retire my 30 year old Canon SLR. I took a few snapshots before leaving home to familiarize myself with it. Basic operation is little more than setting the camera to "Auto", pointing, adjusting the zoom to the right size, and clicking. Pictures are typically bright, clear, and finely detailed, as appropriate for the 7MP digital chip inside.

On the road I was getting roughly 250 images for each set of 4 AA batteries (We forgot to pack our charger for the rechargable batteries we bought). The flash was bright and well illuminated group photos at a twilight family reunion that was turning to full darkness by the time we broke up. Switching to the landscape mode provided excellent landscape shots. We had a lot time under bright hazy clouds and full overcast, switching to the aperture mode let you focus on the building or feature you wanted to photograph so it wouldn't be too dark when the photo was snapped. However, sometimes this led to an over-exposed appearance for the images. The 10x Zoom was really useful for wildlife shots (Grizzly, elk, buffalo, antelope, deer, coyote, prairie dogs, etc.)

The software packages allows you to enter some brief comments on the picture subsject as well as recording the date and time that the pictures are taken.

Where could the improvements come: This is a complex camera with the various settings. A few days isn't enough time to really learn how to use it, especially under a variety of weather conditions and types of composition. I don't know that you can really blame Fuji for this, but users should understand there is a learning curve here. If you use the viewfinder (which I use a lot for outdoor shots in bright sun) your nose smudges the LCD. After taking a shot, you have to hit the "OK" button to advance the camera, but the "OK" button is in the center of a variety of other controls so unless you hit the buttom exactly dead on, then you may trigger other functions like flash, brightness, etc. I was spending a lot of time resetting controls as a consequence. The software was a little balky at creating a duplicate image for cropping. I ended up doing that work in the MS Picture Manager package that is on my Windows.

Overall, this is a fine camera with a lot of versatility, but you'll need awhile to learn how to use all the capabilities and a fine touch on the controls since things are bunched close to one another on the button next to the LCD

I was looking for a camera with better picture quality than a compact camera, manual options and lots of settings, ease of use, but yet nowhere near SLR price. I Definately found the perfect match with this one. I took a chance and preordered this beauty and I am so glad I did. After just a few minutes I was taking great photographs with a amazing clarity and quality.

I highly recommend the Fuji Finepix s700. It's is a great price too! Don't miss out on this one, you'll be very pleased.

The Fujifilm S700/S5700 is a "Best Buy" among digital cameras with a 10x zoom...no other camera in the under $200 price range comes close in providing as much control over your photographs.

It has a combination of features that no other digital camera in the "Under $200 price range can match:

- a zoom that extends to about 380mm (ideal for sports photography)

- the ability to choose ISO levels

- the ability to set shutter speed and apertures.

- a choice of a large sharp "preview" screen, or a small eye level screen for use in bright sunlight

- a superb "macro" lens for extreme closeups

- the ability to use AA batteries, easily found at any corner store or AA rechargeable batteries

- the use of SD cards, a "first" for a Fujifilm camera

- it can use both threaded filters and threaded hoods. I use a UV filter and a flexible rubber lens hood to both protect the lens and eliminate sources of "flare" in harsh sunlight

- a shape, weight, and balance make it easy to shoot at lower than normal shutter speeds and still get sharp photos. At 380mm, I'd normally shoot at 1/500 of a second to ensure a sharp photo. With this camera, I can shoot at 1/125 of a second with the zoom at 380mm and get a sharp photo.

What is the S700/S5700 NOT good at? It is a mediocre camera for people who simply want to put their camera in "auto" mode, and snap away. In the "auto" mode, the S700/S5700 often uses an ISO of ISO 400, or ISO 800 in dim light, or when high shutter speeds are required and the resulting high ISO photo have mediocre sharpness, detail, and color quality.


There are dozens of "owner options" detailed in the camera's manual, and the quality of photos you obtain is directly related to how much time is invested in learning and mastering each option.

For folks who actually need a zoom that extends out to 380mm (for sports photography, or for bird watching) and for someone who wants to spend under $200 AND for folks who insist on having total control over all aspects of each photo, there is simply no other $200 camera that compares with the S700/S5700. For people who want to just press the shutter and let the camera do all of the thinking, there are better choices.

I have been a proud owner of a Canon A80 for about 4 years and well with all the new bells and whistles coming on the newer cameras I decided to purchase a new one. The main reason to upgrade was inability to sometimes crop and print good quality images at 8x10. After reading and re-reading plenty of reviews on mostly long zoom cameras I narrow down the race to the Canon S3, Kodak Z712, Panasonic FZ8 and the Fuji S700 which was the one I end up purchasing.

The reasons behind my decision were mostly influenced by reviews, price, and AA battery compatibility. I did however consider seriously getting the Canon S3.

I have been using this camera for about 9 days and my first reaction was to return it after I uploaded my first batch of 50 pictures into my computer. However, since I had two weeks to change my mind I decided to READ the Manual and try different settings... The results I obtained were Amazing!


I would give the camera a 4.5 but since there is no such option and I really like the camera I would give it a 5. Here is a summary of my Fuji S700 experience:

***Low Light Conditions:
If you decide to take pictures indoors under low light using the Image Stabilization, Portrait ,"Party" or any other preset mode, you will waste space on your memory card. The ISO under these conditions is elevated to at least 800 or sometimes 1600 making the picture NOISY. How noisy? Well let's just say that even a 4X6 print looks bad (I try). There are several programs you can use to remove some of that noise, but really who wants to do that? In order to avoid all that hassle you just need to use either Shutter Priority or Manual mode and "play" with the shutter speed or white balance until you get ideal conditions for your shot. Seriously, is not like it will take you 15 minutes to do that, in say less than 1 minute I was able to get it ready to go. Btw, Make sure to select ISO to either 64 or 100.

***Good lightning conditions or Outdoors:
Under outside conditions the preset buttons give very sharp and excellent pictures, most of the time. However, you should always pay attention to the ISO since in many of these modes the ISO is in Auto Mode and it might "boost" the image making it a mediocre image. I found that my sharpest pictures were taken at either ISO 64 or 100. Contrary to my old Canon which had a switch to preview and one for taking pictures, the S700 has a button that allows you to quickly access pictures taken. Futhermore, should you need to take a picture while you review images all you need to do is press the shutter and the camera returns to "shoot" mode.

***Aren't Fuji Cameras supposed to be superb under low light conditions?
Well if you are like me that assumed all Fuji cameras are the same you are up for a surprise. The S700 does not have the Super CCD that apparently provides an advantage at high ISO settings, however compared to my old Canon A80 the Fuji S700 provides better pictures (less noise) at higher ISO settings.

***Zoom
The 10X zoom of this camera works wonders. I was afraid that without optical image stabilization I was going to get blurry pictures at full zoom, however that's has not been the case, a combination of the body/weight of the camera makes it easy to hold the camera steady enough to take a blur free picture. In addition I always make sure to increase the shutter speed to at least 1/100 of a sec.

***LCD
I know I know, who cares about the LCD, well I do! Having a 2.5" LCD with 230,000 pixels really rocks. You can get a pretty good idea of how your picture is going to look based on this preview. Again be aware that if the picture is taken at a high ISO you will not be able to tell on this LCD.


Finally, After 400's pictures and counting I am extremely pleased with the S700 and would recommend it to those who would like to purchase a camera capable of producing excellent pictures if you read the manual.

I agree with most people that this is an exceptional camera. I have had 0 problems with it and all the pictures have turned out exceptionally clear and beautiful. I have an old manual camera (a nikon) and was reluctant to buy a digital camera since my pictures have always been excellent but I am thrilled with the camera and all it's settings. I also love that you can plug it into your tv and bam! your own slide show. I really don't see any major flaws in the camera and has turned me into a lover of Fujifilm cameras.

As for the negative reviews, I respect everyone's opinion and do not want to be disrespectful but it seems a tad unfair to rate a camera poorly when the reviews came from people who used it just for a few DAYS. It can take time to learn a camera and it doesn't sound like these people even bothered to learn all the camera settings and it's abilities. Every complaint I can understand because it took me a little while to get over some of the hurdles that were mentioned but it was mainly due to the fact that I just need some time to get to know my camera. I guess I feel that in the end these reviewers are losing out on an excellent camera that is well worth the price. Is it going to take the same pictures as a high end professional $1000 camera? Probably not but for the money this camera is well worth it with some wonderful features I couldn't find on other budget cameras.

Bottom line? It is great for those midlevel photographers who want a good camera with some cool features without the insanely high prices of similar cameras. And the "natural" setting is by far my favorite. It takes excellent pictures indoors without a flash. Overall I am thrilled with this camera and absolutely LOVE it!

I own several digital cameras, ranging from point and shoot models all the way up to Digital SLRs (Sony Alpha). I love my Sony Alpha, but this little gem is a LOT lighter, a LOT smaller and a lot more convenient. When I don't need to do astrophotography (main use for my Sony) or need TOTAL control over exposures, my Fuji S700 is the camera I reach for.

Pros: Terrific sensor, great color rendition and resolution. Wide zoom range and excellent optics. Much improved movie resolution over previous Finepix models. Excellent ergonomics and grip. Easy one-hand camera control. Decent image stabilization. Absolutely OUTSTANDING battery life with rechargeable AA NiMHs. XD and SD memory card compatibility. Easy operation and operator learning curve.

Cons: Memory card design on some of the earlier model Finepix designs was easier to access as was the zoom control for the camera.

You can't go wrong at such a low price for a 7 MP digicam! Buy it!