Home > Consumer Reviews > Fujifilm FinePix S9600 Digital Camera - Black (9.0MP, 10.7x Optical Zoom) 2.0 inch LCD

I concur with Mr Bulat. This is a fine camera for what you pay, and it is a bit plastic compared to a more expensive standard SLR casing. However, in use, it is more than adequate for the enthusiastic amateur photographer. If you don't want speckles on your image, use photo editing software to bring out the full potential of the camera and user. My daughter has one and uses it for preparation of project work as part of her university product design coursework. She has no problems with image quality and enjoys the simplicity of it, (she's Blonde) and the fact that it is comparetively lightweight. The fixed lens is good, and you will not have to worry about getting dust on the image sensor as you would with an interchangable lens style digital SLR. If you want professional results then you are going to have to dig deep and shell out 3 times or more the price of this camera and you won't even get a lens with it. If you understand the basics of good photography and can do basic image editing on computer software such as Photoshop then you will have no difficulties with this camera whatsoever. My daughter is able to produce excellent professional results with this camera using her iMAC and her Windows laptop. She recently used it for snapshots on vacation in Texas, in all lighting conditions and extreme temeratures, and the photos were all perfectly exposed and showed no blurring or noise at all. An amazing feat, considering that she is a student and can barely chew bubblegum and walk at the same time.

Before buying this camera I bought a Sony H-7 and sent it back within a week. The Sony images were terribly noisy (stupid Sony camera software optimising images for file size rather than quality) and when looking for something else I found this camera for £200. This Fuji trounces the Sony.

Overall I'm very pleased with this camera. Image quality is good, I particularly like the chrome mode as that gives me the warmer more saturated colours that I prefer.

Flash recycle time is a little slow as is the compact flash card access (rumour has it that Fuji crippled the compact flash interface to make the XD card interface look fast!!) but it's more than useable. Also the autofocus stuggles at longer zooms in lower light.

Build is solid, feels like it will last.

I agree with a lot of the others reviewing here that you really need to experiment with this camera (RTFM) as I get much better shots when not using auto mode.

If you buy one of these I strongly recommend you buy a lens protector (if you scratch the lens it won't come off and the camera is most likely dead). I bought a Canon F58UV UV 58mm Filter which works nicely outdoors and has no effect indoors (0-stop).

In addition to the camera I bought the following.

* Lowepro Topload Zoom Mini Case For SLR & Short Zoom - Black
* Canon F58UV UV 58mm Filter
* Sanyo Eneloop AA 8 Pack Batteries 2000mAh
* SANDISK ULTRA II CF 4GB CARD

The eneloop batteries are awesome and don't bleed charge like standard Ni-MH which means if you don't use it for a while the batteries will still pack a punch.

This camera also looks pretty pro and seems to impress people. Little do they know I don't know what I'm doing!

This camera is as close as you're going to get to a Digital SLR without spending between £500 to £800, which is what it would cost you to buy an equivalent model. My old camera is a FinePix S5500 which I would recommend to anyone. And to be honest I was disappointed when I first tested this camera. It appeared to be less sharp, although it has
5 megapixles more, and less sensitive although it had a far better system.
Then I began to experiment. The point is, you must treat this camers as though it is an SLR. Of course you can put it on auto and snap away, it works fine, but to take advantage of the quality of the 9600 you must think a little. I hadn't realised how lazy the 5500 had made me.
With the 9600's A & S + auto it gives you control with all the help you need. On full manual it gives you complete control. Practice is the secret. Don't give up because it's hard to remember what does what. Keep banging away and you will get there. I'm almost 63 and I'm doing just fine. This camera makes other cameras, even some SLR's if reviews are to be believed, seem like toys. Buy it. Go for it and enter another world of digital photography. This has to be one of the truly great cameras of all times.

Best camera I've ever used, photos are superb, movies excellent, features such as supermacro ubelievable quality. I had originally bought a Nikon D40 DSLR which I sent back as I was not happy with it. This Fuji has to be one of the best around, I can find no faults with it whatsoever.

Buy this and you'll be a happy chappie.

I have had the S9600 for around 2 months now, and I am very pleased with the purchase.

At first like some of the other reviewers, I was left wondering if I had made a good choice, with the photographs seeming lacklustre when compared with my old 5meg compact. Rather than give up howwever, I did the rather novel thing of reading the manual. Doing this plus following up with a couple of photography guides has yielded some of the best shots I have ever taken!

Basically this in not a point and shoot, rather a fully featured camera at a fraction of the price of a full SLR.

Downside? - You will need to get a memory card to use it - annoying that there is not one in the box.

I woud also recomend a 58mm filter to protect the lens - as it is attached a single scratch could kill the camera.