Customer Reviews

Fujifilm Finepix E900 9MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Black)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

For really serious photography, I use a Nikon D200 with the SB800 flash. But there are some times when I just want a small, lightweight camera in my pocket, and the Fuji E900 is perfect for that. Unlike most point and shoots, the camera comes on almost instantly, and the shutter lag is close to (but not quite equal) an SLR. My biggest complaint is the lack of a hotshoe for a hardwired external flash, so I wouldn't use the E900 indoors where a heavy flash is needed. I actually would only rate the E900 at a 4.5 because of this.

The optics are as crisp as any point and shoot that I've seen. There is a bit of chromatic abberation, particularly at wide angle, but it's not too noticeable in most situations.

A huge plus is that you have full manual control of your exposures if you want to or need to do that. In my opinion, a camera has to have that feature if it's to be used for serious photography. But if you just want to point and shoot and have the camera do everything, you can do that too.

Another minor objection is that the camera uses an xD card, so I could use any of the CF or SD cards that I already have. When you buy an xD card, be sure to get an Olympus Type H card, not the slower Type M.

Overall, a really nice little camera, especially for a little over $300.

After buying and trying several cameras over the last year, I can finally say that I've found the right camera for me. Beautiful pictures, fast action -- super-fast start up and minimal shutter lag, solid feel, and excellent zoom picture quality.
Additionally, it uses AA batteries (recommend rechargables), gets plenty of pix out of them and of course, there's 9 megapixels of info to play with.

I've only been playing for a week or so, but I've used in low-light restaurant situations, on the streets of New York at night, in the car and sitting on the couch at home all with no flash and the pictures look great. It's not a miracle-worker, but these are the best low-light pix I've seen.

Daylight and flash pix look amazing. Bright broad daylight pix in the park on 'Auto' mode turned out perfectly balanced. (love the Histogram feature in manual mode for balancing more complex shots - basically a small waveform monitor on the lcd screen. Awesome!)

Manual controls are a bit tough to memorize - focus requires touching two buttons - but what else to do with a point-and-shoot of this size?
But, it HAS all the manual controls - unlike most digital cameras of this size.

I've tried Olympus, Canon, Nikon, Pentax and even another Fuji. To say I am pleased is an understatement.

Is it perfect? Nope. Eats power. But, better to have more rechargeable AAs than to have to carry around a charger for a dang proprietary battery.

And, Consumer Reports is right, this camera has amazing image quality.

Strengths:
FAST.
OUTSTANDING in low light.
Good semi-wide angle/semi-fast lens.
Great battery type! (especially now that 2700Mah versions are available).
Great ccd and resolution.
Great ergonomics (tall enough to hold yet small enough for your pocket).

Weaknesses:
Menu needs to be straightened out (RAW should be grouped with the jpegs within the F button) and a manual focus button combo would have been great...I hope Fuji is listening! How about a USEFUL RAW utility (or at LEAST the ability to download one from the site!!)??
SLOW flash recycle time
No Autofocus assist light
No Image stabilization
No Programmable settings button.
Lens is only Semi Wide (32mm@f2.8 equivalent to a 35mm camera lens).
Wide angle macro & movie modes only (no telephoto in macro or movie mode)
Max XD Memory card is only just moving to 2GB.
(Should use the Olympus high-speed H-series XD for best movie perf).

No performance/quality probs.

Summary: This is a strong candidate for the serious amateur in need of a point and shoot for backups or vacation...It is also VERY easy to use, for the significant other of that serious amateur.

I studied medium to high-end point&shoots and prosumers for 6 months prior to buying the Fuji E900 in April of '06. While the E900 didn't have everything I wanted, in the end, it was the clear choice. the CCD (and sample image output), a real viewfinder, and the ergonomics were keys to my choice.

High resolution, moderately high level of amateur photographer type functions (read: manual settings, auto bracketing, and RAW), fast focusing, decent flash, macro mode, good low light ability, a mem-card (only) restricted movie mode, compact size, ergonomic shape, quality build, easy to use modes and ultimately, a real viewfinder.

The three finalists in my decision group were the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1, the Canon S80, and the Fuji E900.

I have to say, the Lumix, with that beautiful Leica lens took some fantastic shots..but my God! does it have a noisy, and I mean NOISY ccd!!!! if you are only shooting indoors with the flash, and you can look the iso to 80, then it will reward you with incredible images! but this is not my reality. I originally had settled on the Lumix but that noisy ccd and a LACK OF A REAL VIEWFINDER (Panasonic are you listening??) were deal killers in the end. The Lumix is just about useless when you are outside in bright light, and with the sun at your back...a viewfinder is really key hear.

Moving to the Canon S80, it has a great lens as well, and does MUCH better with slightly higher iso numbers, but man, that soap bar is bulky! Its dimensions are not at all conducive to actually holding the camera stolidly. I did like the 1024x768 movie mode, but at 15fps the output looks inferior to the regular old 640x480@30fps of the Fuji. The S80 does 640x480 as to, but the ergonomics and weight/mass of the S80 sunk it..but at least it has a REAL VIEWFINDER (Panasonic, are you listening??). The S80 just felt dated. I think its time for Canon to step up with something new in the Point&Shoot department.

The Fuji E900, with the Fujinon lens had the poorest lens quality (IMHO) relative to the extremely high quality of the Canon L series lens on the S80 and that magical Leica lens on the Pani. That said, it is a fine lens that can hold its head high, especially in combination with that great ccd, excellent ergonomics, and a very complete set of features...the Fuji was a better choice for me. It is important to note that I chose this camera over those with image stabilization, and a focus assist ...I found the E900 to be superior to them even though it is not so equipped.

I really like the "Natural" program mode. With the 5th generation SuperHADD the colors are good and the low light capability is REALLY impressive. That mode (Natural) lets you get a lot of battery life out of the camera as it lets you preclude the flash A LOT. Note: the Natural Mode is really noisy so if you want to print anything bigger than 4x6 you should take a look at some sample output first (but keep in mind that getting the shot is better than missing it, even if it means a little more noise).

The 800 iso actually WORKS..sure it is a little noisy at that level...but we ARE talking about a $300 dollar point&shoot! Just amazing...It really is an amazing little camera. Kudos to Fuji for having the stones to stick the SuperHADD from the S9000 into a compact point & shoot! I really hope they evolve this little model more.

I was worried about the majority-plastic construction, but it is solid yet light weight, and so far, no complaints...in fact if it had been made completely of metal it would have probably made it substantially heavier.

The use of double-A (AA) batteries are great for the traveler.

It is important to point out that the gripes really are minor and amazingly fixable...if Fuji wanted to support this "fringe" camera a little more ( it IS so much more than the herd of 38mm-160mm equiv. cams out there). I think they could do a software and firmware update and fix 90% of my gripes. And I should also point out that my gripes are only there because the capabilities and performance of this camera just taunt you to want the whole amateur-shooting match. I mean to say, this cam has all the right parts and it does a damned good job of providing a DSLR user with most of the goodies he or she is accustomed to...while allowing your wife or husband to use it as the point and shoot that most people will use it for.

GRIPES:

I agree with some other reviewers, digging thru the menu to get to the RAW mode is just plain stupid...It belongs above the 9M JPEG setting on the F button!!!

Why couldn't they make the RAW format a lIItle bIt friendlier?? I suspect they hid the RAW mode from ready use because at 18M per pic, you cannot take even a SINGLE shot with only the onboard memory (16M)...which also seems silly.

Also, while the screen power-up button on the back is really handy for reviewing images (the lens stays parked to conserve the batteries), and other housekeeping, but when you try to power the camera back down (in this mode) via the same button...it actually causes a full power up and lens deployment to occur...what were they thinking?

This camera really NEEDS a 4G memory card...1G was fine when you were shooting with 2M to 4M sensor sizes, but this baby has a fantastic 9M sensor! It is impressive that Fuji was able to create a very small format sensor with such great performance: low noise; high dynamic range; excellent color; etc...it just begs to be shot in RAW..if if if... :-)

We bought this camera based on reviews found on Amazon, and for the most part, have not been disappointed. You've probably read the other long reviews, so I'll just summarize what we found to be positives and negatives with this camera:

POSITIVES:

* the ease of point and shoot is amazing.

* the ability to drop out of "point and shoot" mode to other more detailed methods is extensive. Most likely, you'll find a mode that works for you.

* the 9MP granularity makes zooming in w/ photo software a snap. Unless you go crazy with post-processing software zooming, you'll be fine.

NEGATIVES:

* a little bit too much delay between taking photos when using the flash (sometimes slow between photos without flash, too). Dropping the resultion down from 9MP helps, but then you lose some picture quality.

* no AC adapter is provided - you have to buy one separately. This may cause you headaches if you intend to download photos via USB, which drains power from the transmitting device. (Note that many of the larger cpacity memory cards cannot be read by most existing card reading hardware, so you may need to use the USB cable.)

* Eats AA alkaline batteries like crazy. Yes, you can use disposable batteries, but don't expect more than 6-8 pictures per pair of AA's that you use. The supplied rechargables, on the other hand, are amazing - we got at least 100 photos off of their first charge!

All in all, a camera that has proven to be well worth the money.

It's not hard to see why Consumer Reports just made the e900 its "Best Buy" among all types of point and shoot digital cameras! This is the camera that makes it possible for users of film SLRs to make the jump to digital and not look back. Less noise than the competing Panasonic Lumix. Resolution that rivals film, but images that have the clarity of digital. Features and functions that won't come up short when used by a serious amateur. Light sensitivity and a dynamic range that impress. Far more portable than a DSLR. Batteries that just won't quit. And a low price (due to an aging product that nonetheless gets the job done). If image quality, ease of use, robust capabilities, value and fun are important to you, buy this camera.

I was considering spending up to $1,000 on a digital SLR, but opted for this 9 megapixel Fuji instead. I made the right choice. It's packed with advanced features that you would expect from an SLR (auto bracketing, choice of auto, aperture priority, shutter priority, or full manual exposure) but it's also a great point-and-shoot if you just want to keep it on auto. You have to press a button to make the flash pop up, which I like because it gives me control over when and how I use the flash, but if you want the camera to be completely automatic and idiot-proof then that might be a problem for you. I got the Olympus 1GB memory card because someone told me it is faster than the Fuji 1 MB card, and boy is it ever fast. 1 second or less between frames without the flash, 2-3 seconds or less with the flash and fresh batteries. Great battery life. Only downside of this camera is that, due to a software difference, you can't take the memory card out and insert it into a PictBridge card reader such as the one on my Dell photo printer. But that's no big deal, just use the cord that comes with the camera to plug it into your computer and it works fine.

I just received the latest issue of PC Magazine (Oct 06). The E900 is given one of the highest ratings in this issue. Considering that this is several months after my initial review, I think this shows the camera has stood up under the test of time, at least for digital anythings. I'm upgrading to 5 stars, although I don't see how to do that with Amazon's interface. The rest here is from my original review:

This is my first digital camera, so call me a newbie (just not to my face - I hate that term), and don't expect a high-level review here. I have no connection to the photography/image industry other than eyeballs and a credit card. I bought this camera based on published recommendations, including Consumer Reports (a best buy), some other professional sources, and a consensus of opinions on Amazon. The CR probably had the most impact, since vested interests can write an Amazon review, and most magazines/web sites dedicated to photography and computers change their recommendations in the time it takes to snap a shutter or revise ad rates. I notice that most of the criticisms of the camera are from people who had hardware problems with it. A review is one good outlet for frustrations, so it's useful to read them, but don't let the stars influence everything. I have also found that reviews can be a good source for technical support. They may walk you through a problem you otherwise would have to research (gasp!) or experiment (oh no!) to solve. I installed one of those HP all-in-one printers totally with the aid of Amazon's reviewers.

I like the large pixel capacity, the non-proprietary batteries (rechargeable AAs! with charger included), and the magnification choices, among other things. It connected perfectly to my computer - it registered as an additional drive, and I treat it like a flash drive (which it is), copying and deleting the images straight off of it. I installed the software, but I really haven't used it much, and I don't think you need it at all. In my book, the fewer the software hoops, the better. I'm sure there are some things that are easier to do with the software than without it, but the point is you can use it without a lot of installation. I bought the 1 Gb memory card, a size which is fairly recent, and it's like having a glutton's dream come true.

So far, the photos (my wife, her cat, my yard) in daylight and at night have been good. Nobody has offered me any money for them (the photos), but that's probably not the camera's fault. The disadvantage of the batteries is that they are large and significantly increase the volume, making this camera too big to be a pocket device (unless you want to impress Mae West). And, as others observe, there is a boatload of features - almost as many as on my wristwatch. A sizeable, well-written, manual comes with it, and you should get some CEUs for studying it.

I've had my E900 for about a month now. For the price you pay for this camera you can do alot. For beginners like me it takes some playing around to figure out all the manual settings. The cool thing is you can always put it in auto mode or set it to one of the programmed settings as well. Once I figured out how to set the manual setting I realized how great of pictures you can get out of this camera. One thing I really wanted was a camera that you didn't have to wait on. It takes less than 2 seconds on startup and only a couple seconds for the flash between shots. The 4X zoom isn't exactly impressive but the 9MP image quality makes up for that so you can always crop your photos and still get nice close ups. Battery life is pretty good compared to most cameras I've used. The video quality is even better then what I was expecting. With a 1GB card you can get 15 minutes of video on the highest setting. Like I said for the price you can't go wrong. This is a nice looking camera with alot of bang!

My fifth Fuji camera. Small compact, great lens and all the controls are in the right place for ease of use. Fuji
has great colors and I've never had a problem with one. I own a D80 Nikon but I wear this one on my belt all day just in case I need a camera quickly. See my posted shot of a sunrise over frost covered ground with steam rising off of a small pond in the back ground. The 9mp photo of this is unbelievable. I shoot just for fun and this is a fun little camera jam packed with easy to use features.
Thanks, Dwight Elliott in Birmingham Alabama

I recently purchased this camera based on reviews I read on amazon and elsewhere on the net.

First off, the bads. This model has terrible purple fringing. However, it can be minimized, but not eliminated, by not shooting "wide open" (aka with a large aperture=low aperture number). If I am shooting pics outdoors with clouds or a bright sun peeking through the leaves, a smaller aperture significantly minimizes the problem. You'll have to be smart about framing the picture if you don't want to do clean-up in Photoshop.

Next, if you're a fan of RAW shooting mode (and this camera has that capability), the RAW option is buried deep in the menu (some 10 clicks away). The bundled software to manipulate the RAW files is also weak (it only allows you to save into TIFF). Fuji should definitely move the RAW option to the "F" button's menu and bundle its pro RAW software with the successor to the E900.

The E900's auto shooting mode is also quite noisy. The pictures always come out better using the "P" mode. The "N" or natural mode is surprisingly usable, but use it sparingly because the camera cranks up the ISO and pictures can get noisy as well.

The battery door looks and feels flimsy. I get the feeling that if I press too hard on the batteries the battery door could come loose or, worse, break. The springs pushing against the batteries are too snug.

Now for the goods. The flash is very powerful, especially given its size. I also have a Canon Elan IIe and the flash on the E900 looks and feels more powerful. Impressive!

The E900 takes regular AA batteries, and Fuji bundled very good rechargeables with the E900, along with a travel charger. They did not skimp on that, thankfully.

There is also a tiny (but usable) viewfinder for the old school types (or for those times that the LCD is washed out in bright sunlight).

The menu is intuitive once you get the hang of it. Much more intuitive than the one my now-ancient Sony DSC-P31.

Also, given its 9MP resolution, even aggressively cropped pictures look fantastic. The colors are vibrant and very well saturated.

There's plenty to like about the E900. Just make sure you know how to avoid purple fringing and you won't be disappointed!