Fujifilm Finepix E550 6.3MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom

by Fuji

Product Details

Supplementary Guide [1.19mb PDF]

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Product Manual [6.55mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 5 inches ; 7 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002AHQL4
• Item model number: E550
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,361 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 28, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Perfect for use in families with multiple photographers, for consumers who are interested in growing their photography skills, and for photo hobbyists looking for a powerful feature set in a compact body, the FinePix E550 combines the best of point-and-shoot ease with Fujifilm's trusted image quality.

The camera's ergonomic, travel-friendly designs and large 2.0-inch LCD screen makes taking--and sharing--pictures easier than ever. In addition, unique zoom capabilities are easily combined with telephoto and wide-angle lens adapters to offer consumers unparalleled performance in the E550 digital camera.

The FinePix E550 offers 6.3 effective megapixels and can capture up to 4,048 x 3,040 recorded pixels (12.3 million) using Fujifilm's proprietary Super CCD HR (High Resolution) sensor system. To help power this unusual imaging sensor, Fujifilm offers a new, highly effective image processor, which provides two key benefits: incredible speed and drastically reduced noise levels. As a result, the camera is able to capture images with a frame-to-frame time of 1.0 second, and a shutter lag of 0.05 seconds--faster than some professional digital SLRs. Image quality is greatly enhanced, both through the increased color saturation provided by Super CCD, as well as through superior image sharpness and clarity, provided by noise cancellation.

The FinePix E550 offers a 4x optical zoom. Optional 1.94x and 0.76x wide-angle lens adapters may also be used with this model. The camera offers a variety of shooting modes ranging from automatic, manual, programmed AE, aperture or shutter priority AE, macro, to four pre-programmed scene positions (portrait, landscape, sports, night scene). In addition, a continuous shooting mode may be selected, capturing top and final 4 frames at a rate of 3 frames/second, as well as long-period burst mode, at a maximum of 1.6 frames/second, recording up to 40 frames (at 2-megapixel mode only). The FinePix E550 captures movie clips at 30 frames per second at full VGA with sound, with no time limitations.

The FinePix E550 also offers a large, 2.0-inch LCD screen, non-slip grip, and ergonomic weighting of the camera body.

Adaptability
The FinePix E-series cameras are compact and travel-friendly, with a non-slip grip for natural hand positioning combined with a perfectly balanced weight, helping to reduce potential shake on the part of the photographer. TThe FinePix E550 weighs just 7.1 ounces (excluding batteries and storage media) and measures 4.1 x 2.5 x 1.4 inches (W x H x D). Fujifilm's existing optional PictureCradle can be used with the FinePix E550 for rapid recharging, as well as for fast image downloading. Optional telephoto and wide-angle lenses increase shooting power and range of picture-taking opportunities.

Two AA alkaline or NiMH rechargeable batteries power the cameras; consumers can expect best possible battery life with rechargeable batteries, while alkaline batteries provide operational flexibility. The camera uses Fujifilm's xD-Picture Card storage media, capturing up to 515 4.1 megapixel (normal) images, 409 5.2-megapixel (normal) images, or 211 12 megapixel (normal) images on a 512 MB card.

What's in the Box
Fujifilm Finepix E550 digital camera, 16 MB xD-Picture Card, USB cable, AV cable, hand strap, 2 AA NiMH batteries, NiMH battery charger, Picture Cradle adapter (cradle sold separately), FinePix Viewer, ImageMixer VCD 2 for FinePix, user manual

Product Description

Fuji Film FinePix E550 Digital Camera - 16MB xD-Picture Card / USB Cable / A/V Cable / Hand Strap / 2 AA NiMH Batteries / NiMH Battery Charger / Picture Cradle Adapter (Cradle Sold Separately) / FinePix Viewer / ImageMixer VCD 2 for FinePix / User Manual.The E550 offers an outstanding 6.3 megapixel resolution but, with interpolation, it can yield resolutions that reflect 12.3 megapixel. At 12.3 this means that still images have an amazing resolution at 4048 x3040. Create movies at up to 640x480 VGA res. This quality is truly professional but the E550 has been practically designed to be simple for the beginner and sophisticated for the advanced user. It offers a USB port to easily transfer all images to a PC or Macintosh computer for printing, editing, and web publishing. PictBridge lets you make prints with any PictBridge compatible printer WITHOUT NEEDING A COMPUTER. There's a large 2" LCD viewer and it uses AA batteries for worldwide use. Digital Interface - USB Uses 2 AA batteries Self Timer Weight 7.1 oz. excluding battery and media We strongly advise purchasing a 256MB xD-PictureCard or larger for the most practical and effective use of this camera.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

251 of 255 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fuji E550 vs Sony DSC W1, November 16, 2004

By 

OC guy (Laguna Niguel, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fujifilm Finepix E550 6.3MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

Ok.. I wanted a camera that was light, could fit in my pocket, used the AA batteries or the NIMH AA batteries, and of course could take great pictures. The Canon A95 almost fits the bill, but it used 4 AA batteries while the Fuji and Sony use 2 AA batteries, and is a little too big and heavy.
Anyway, here are the Pros and Cons of each camera.

Fuji E550 Pros:
Great, very sharp pictures. (6 MP) I blew them up to 8 x 10 on my Epson Photo 700 printer and they were stunning! I have never seen such great output on my printer. The Sony DSC W1 is not even in the same league -- just look at the head shots on the Steves Digicam site and you will see how much sharper this camera is between the E550 and the DSC W1. As far as color, great color saturation It should be noted that all Fuji cameras tend to shift more toward blue, the Sony shifts more toward green (as do most digital cameras including Canon). Some say this makes grass not look green enough, but to my eye, the grass just looks like a darker green, it still looks green though on a brite sunny day. Skin tones look fine. I shot a pumpkin on the grass in bright daylight. The Sony shot had a yellow-orange pumpkin with light green grass, the Fuji shot had a very orange pumpkin with darker green grass. The Fuji shot was much sharper. I like the Fuji shot much better. Some say that the 6MP default is too compressed, I just don't see it. And the default compression allows for more pictures on the 512 XD card (over 300 I think).

2 A lens with great range - from 32 mm to 130 mm - goes wider and longer than most others. It is responsive and fast.The DSC-W1 is a 3 x zoom.

3. A comfortable grip and a large 2 inch screen

4. Lots of modes and options for the photographer to play with-
Program mode, shutter priority, aperture priority, sport mode
(the DSC-W1 doesnt have any of these) It should be noted that the sport mode is fair at best and does not compare to a real SLR such as the Digital Rebel), night, portrait mode, flash adjustment, white balance, program shift, continous autofocus, etc, etc..

Fuji E550 cons

The screen is practically unusable in brite sunlight. It washes out in the sun, images turn too bright and white and washout, you have to use the viewfinder to take your picture in many instances and then review it on the screen by switching to playback mode and cup your hand over the screen . The Sony screen works fine and you press button to instantly review your picture.

There is no autofocus lamp on the camera. Under low light the camera frequently cannot focus. In other words, you might have to turn on a light. However, indoor shots always come out better if you turn on more background lights.

The flash does not always work properly indoors - I am not sure why. The pictures sometimes have to be reshot because the flash did not fire. Sometimes I have to change my position for the flash to fire. However, when it does fire, the pictures look fine (and sharp) The Sony fires correctly all the time and has the autofocus lamp to autofocus fine. It also has the instant review button of the shot you took.. which is handy.
The Sony unfortunatly always chooses 1/50 of a second when you turn on your flash, the Fuji chooses 1/60 of a second. That may make it a litter harder to get a clear picture on the Sony.
The Fuji screen is also harder to use in lower light, but it is still more usable than in bright sunlight.

The Fuji has a pop-up flash, it tells you you need to pop up the flash, it does not do it automatically (a small annoyance). The Sony flash is built in.

The build quality of the Sony seems better- a more solid camera, well built. The Fuji seem flimsier, the pop-up flash may perhaps break one day.

And my wife will probable hate the Fuji because of the screen being pretty much unusable in bright sunlight and the darn camera flash and autofocus does not always work well indoors under low light. Of course she still likes our old Canon 2 MP S10 camera (which I was upgrading from). So.... how to resolve this...... Here is my conclusion:

I'm going to return the Sony.. I would have kept it it a heartbeat if it could take the incredible picture the Fuji can but unfortunately it just can't. And for me, it's about how much fun I can have with the camera and how tack sharp and colorful the pictures are that it produces.

I'll put up the the shortcomings of the Fuji E550 --- and Fuji, if you read this review...... fix those shortcomings and you won't be able to make enough cameras because these will fly off the shelf.

And my wife? I'll let her stick the the Canon S10. It's built well and will last for years to come.

Loren

138 of 152 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Build Quality Not Up to Spec, September 26, 2004

By 

David (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fujifilm Finepix E550 6.3MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

The spec of this camera is very good, but the build quality leaves much to be desired, such as:

1.) Flimsy pop-up battery. The button is shallow to pop-up the battery and the flash mechanism is built of flimsy plastic. When you close it it latches only to one side leaving one side higher than the other. On one camera, the flash stopped mid-way from full extension. This was the third camera that had some issue with the flash. IMHO, this flash is geared for failure..........I hop on FUTURE cameras, Fuji will have the flash built-in--no moving parts please--and please no cover sliding doors like other cameras like Olympus or Canon (which also fail)!

2.) USB/AV port has an UNHINGED plastic cover. When you upload your pics, the plastic cover has to come off. Since it's unhinged to the body of the camera (unlike the competition), the plastic is engineered to be eventually lost.

3.) Cover handle creaks. All E550 cameras I tried has this creak on the handle when you gripped it. The plastic obviously is not glued on proficiently. I hope on future cameras they use a solid well constructed rubber grip like Kodak for instance.

4.) Uses ULTRA expensive xD cards. One shouldn't be buying such a camera if they don't fully intend to be using the FULL 6MP (or 12 MP interpolated) for pictures. Otherwise save your money and get a 4 or 3MP camera! Since 6MP picture files are large, you need substantial memory size (not to mention a good sized hard drive!). A 512mb memory card is a good STARTING point. In this regard, xD cards from Fuji or Olympus cameras cost 2-3x as much as the nearly universal SD or Compact Flash cards. The pice difference is SUBSTANTIAL enough to make this camera a deal breaker. For instance 1GB of Compact flash memory is $220+ cheaper than 1GB of xD!....That's enough memoy to upgrade one's camera to a markedly better level!


Now the picture quality dings:
1.) No autofocus lamp for dim light pics. The lack of the lamp causes the camera to take blurry and wrongly exposed pictures. A AF lamp (like what other competitors have), will solve much of this problem. The much more expensive brother F810 has the lamp, but it should be included on this model.
2.) Pictures has purple finging. While smaller amounts of fringing was shown in high contrast outdoor pictures than Canon, for instance, the E550 still had more consistent fringing from pic to pic. In other words, most of my outdoor pics had fringing--more than even Canon. Though, when Canon shows the fringe on a picture, it's much more egregious and noticeable on a 4x6".
3.) Many outdoor pics were overexposed on high contrast scenes. The effect caused branches, architecture, for instance, to be bleached out or whited out......While many compacts outside the digital SLR have this problem, this camera had a higher than average bleaching. So bad on some pics, as to be deleted! The preview LCD won't be of use as it's too small to capture all the bleaching going on. This bleavhing problem was much worse than the fringing. The fringing is much more forgiveable since it's smaller than the HUGE bleaching going on.
4.) Pictures such as grass shots are blurrier or muddier than competing 6MP cameras. The Fuji CCD interpolates data differently thus adding detail in a manner that doesn't contribute to better detail. The Fuji CCDs are very controversial in this regard among the pros.
5.) Flash takes 5-9 seconds to recharge from picture to picture!! This is absolutely horrendous perfromance compared to other cameras! By the time your flash is recharged, the picture taking opportunity is usually lost.

Camera PROS:
1.) Great specs for it's pricepoint! Many manual controls for the serious amateur.
2.) Good video.
3.) Glad they use AA's instead of expensive proprietary Li-Ion.
4.) Snappy start-up, zooming, and scrolling through pictures in memory. One of the best out there in this regard. Well done!
5.) Small size.
6.) No lens covers to fuss with.
7.) Lens starts at 32.5mm! GREAT JOB! Most small digicams start at 38mm which is abyssmal for close indoor or room shots. 32mm is a good repectable widezoom that I hope the rest of the industry will take heed!
8.) Good 4x zoom. Better range than most 3x zoom cameras.
9.) Good, snappy Fuji colors on pics!

All in all, this is a solid camera that will appeal to many on a budget. I'm a serious enthusiast picture taker, so I will be overly critical with any camera under $1000. I think Fuji has a near budget classic on their hands if they take my suggestions to heart and make required changes.

For me, the flimsy flash, creaky handle/construction, expensive xD cards, and bleaching/fringing in pictures is enough to supercede a purchase. If these issues aren't important to you, then you should be very happy with this camera. All in all, one of the better cameras in its pricepoint.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too good to be true?? NO!, September 10, 2004

By 

A. K. Sholl (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fujifilm Finepix E550 6.3MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I was very skeptical of this camera. Since Fuji is not considered one of the "top" brands, and this camera has so much for the money. But I went ahead and ordered it, and have not regretted it for one minute! Unless it disinegrates in my hands in 6 months, this is an awesome camera!

PROS:
*Obviously, the 6.3MP (not 6.12) and 4x zoom
*2" crystal clear LCD - so much better than 1.5"!
*Long range flash - I think the manual says up to 10', but I had no problems even at about 15'.
*Super fast start up - takes <2 seconds.
*Will take standard AA batteries - they only last about an hour, but if your waiting to recharge, they'll get you through.
*I like the size - it's a little too big for a pocket, but it gives me something to hold on to. I looked at a Canon Elph and it just felt too small!
*Very solid. Doesn't "feel" cheap at all.

CONS:
*The flash takes FOREVER to recharge! In sunlight, the camera is ready to take another picture in <2 seconds, but if you're using the flash, be prepared to wait about 7 seconds!
*I'm not real crazy about the pop-up flash. I'm afraid it will break.
*It might be like this on all cameras, but the manual wasn't very useful. On advanced features, it would tell me things like HOW to change the aperture, but not WHY I would need to do that. But for normal photography, the camera is very easy to use.

I have no idea why this camera is so inexpensive (I got it for $325 from an internet company). It must just be that Fuji has not made a name for itself yet in the digital camera field. But I highly recommend it!