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A review of the Fuji Finepix S9600 digital camera

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Fuji work so hard at bringing us the best cameras they can possibly create and instead of starting from scratch with this one, they have simply upgraded the Finepix S9500 with some much needed features and specifications to make the S9600 a digital camera that promises to deliver you with spectacular 9 million pixel images with absolute clarity and colour.

Design

The Fuji S9600 is a beast of a digital camera and has many of the characteristics of it’s older brother the S9500, and is actually identical apart from when it comes to features. The body is strong and solid and feels heavy so a tripod is an absolute must unless you want a sprained wrist. The Fuji Finepix S9600 weighs in at an arm-numbing 760g fully loaded. The hand grip on the right side is very useful though, and supports you fingers and thumb nicely, especially when using the playback mode as your thumb sits comfortably on the support grip, but this is definitely a two handed job and we would not recommend attempting to use one as you might end up with it on your big toe! All dials and buttons are placed thoughtfully and within easy reach. The 2” LCD screen is a bit on the small side compared to the size of the monster itself, but with the tilting possibility this flaw seems to be overlooked. So, for waist level finding or overcrowd shots, this LCD screen is perfect and it is superbly bright and clear. The materials used on the S9600 seem cheap and very plastic, although it does have a solid feel about it.

Rear View of the Fuji Finepix S9600

Features

As we read through the features list in the instruction manual, we found it so hard to believe that the Fuji S9600 is competitively priced at around £250 which is £150 less than the original RRP. Such features include, 9 mega pixels, 10.7x optical zoom, a Super CCD technology in which refinements have been made compared to the previous Fuji S9500, especially in the way of image sharpness. The impressive ISO range of 100-1600 means that you will achieve full clarity and sharpness and completely blur free shots in full light and low lighting situations. The S9600’s auto focus has also been improved so that focus is quickly and easily found in those low light situations. Differentiating the S9600 to digital SLR cameras, this has a fixed lens instead of an interchangeable one so that dust and other unwelcome substances are banned from the camera and you also have the added bonus of a generous zoom range. The movie mode included on the Fuji Finepix S9600 is a great advantage which also includes the use of the zoom lens during filming which many other digital cameras lack.

Performance

The first thing that we noticed about the Fuji S9600 is the clear and bright 2” LCD screen, which although on the small side, is one of the best screens we have ever seen and captures such true colours and detail with 235,000 pixels. The tilting screen is a superb feature that enabled us to take overhead shots and also waist level so all shooting possibilities can be captured and those important shots will never be missed. The improved image processing is as quiet as a mouse, or probably quieter, but unfortunately, not quite as good as that of the Fuji Finepix F30, however with a 1/1.6in sensor on board which is larger than most compact digital cameras and creates a better colour depth and keeps image noise to a minimum. The only way you will get better images is with a mid-range SLR but this will sting your pocket by a huge amount. Now onto speed, The Fuji S9600 switches on and can take its first photo in less than a second. Focusing is speedy too at under half a second and continuous focus mode reduces this even more. The camera shutter response seems almost instant when pre-focused (around 0.1 second response) - and shot to shot time was quick, with a delay of around 2 seconds between shots in continuous mode, which will vary depending on the exposure settings used. High speed continuous shooting is moderately quick, at about 1.5fps for up to 3 shots at the highest resolution. The menus and zooming in was responsive but reviewing photos starts off a bit slowly and if you move the dial too quickly it switches off! Once you know the shortcuts, moving around the different menu options is quick and easy.

What's In The Box?

4 x AA Alkaline Batteries, USB cable, A/V Cable, Fuji software CD (USB Driver/ Finepix Viewer/ Image Mixer), Lens Hood, Lens Cap, Strap, English Manuals; NO MEMORY CARD SUPPLIED

Overall Opinion

We were very impressed by the improvements on the Fuji Finepix S9600, although quite minor and minimal. The S9500 digital is a great model and with the improvements we would certainly recommend this camera. If you already have the S9500 it is probably not worth trading in, but if you are after a cheaper alternative to a digital SLR, then the Fuji Finepix S9600 has got to be the one.

By Hayley Malyon

Pros + Sharp detailed LCD screen + Manual Zoom + Fast and responsive + Great image quality + Good battery life (AA’s!) + Excellent value for money	Cons - Small buttons - Switches off power if dial moved too fast
Picture Quality 9/10	Battery Life 9/10
Setup Simplicity 9/10	Build Quality 9/10
Ease of Use 9/10	Overall Rating

5/3/2007 at 12:03:36pm

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