Home > Consumer Reviews > Fuji Finepix S100fs 11MP Digital Camera with 14.3x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom

Before reading this, I recommend readers/potential buyers first visit dpreview for an excellent in depth analysis of the s100fs (plus it saves me having to write one). What I hope to achieve with my review is to share with you the experiences I've had as a s100fs user, and comment on the criticisms made by dpreview.

The s100fs is an incredibly flexible and enjoyable camera - for those of you who don't want the hassle of maintaining a DSLR, purchasing, carrying and having to change between some rather expensive lenses in order to get the same range of shots you can with the s100fs, this camera is definitely worth considering. I've found the image quality to be excellent (producing shots equal to those of some DSLRs). Type s100fs into the search engine of Flickr to find samples. But lets not just compare it to DSLRs, but also to other non-DSLRs - although largely based on other dpreview reviews and user images posted on Flickr as opposed to first hand experience, I've found the s100fs more than holds it own in this category.

Although many of the criticisms made by dpreview against the s100fs are valid, most are negligible/not isolated to this camera. What you'll find has people most concerned is chromatic aberration (the `cloud on the horizon with oddly-coloured edges' that I believe is, extending the metaphor, clouding many people's judgement).

For me this hasn't really been a problem (I print
So, if you're an owner of good third-party RAW processing software and willing to correct for chromatic aberration, primarily for large prints (a good photographer can limit the need for correction, i.e. anyone who has read the manual/uses the most suitable settings for shooting dark objects against bright backgrounds), then I highly recommended the s100fs.

Of course I could just be another biased reviewer trying to justify their purchase, so get out there and get some hands on experience yourself before buying, I'm sure you'll be impressed.

I've decided to give the Fuji Finepix S100FS five stars because I've found it to be a very suitable camera for me. Whether it is for you is a decision you'll have to make. Admittedly I'm not as concerned as some of you may be about the chromatic aberration issue - though I can't recommend any, I'm sure there are cheaper RAW processing software packages than Photoshop out there able to resolve it (that is, if you want to put the effort in in the first place to do so).

Thanks for reading.

A reasonably priced quality camera with one truly versatile lens seemed like wishful thinking, until Fuji produced the S100FS. Had I not received the camera as a gift, I would most definitely have found it irresistible to buy. I have had five very good Fuji compact cameras over the years. The S100FS range available with the high-magnification super zoom lens, for which Fuji won the 2008 TIPA Best Super Zoom Camera Award, is awesome.

Noted for their innovations this Fuji camera has many more than previous, such as Film Simulation. Users now have the same quality as Fuji's popular professional Provia, Velvia and Astia films with a menu click. The camera menu is more user friendly than many. This is a boon for those familiar with and new to digital. The new electronic viewfinder is quickly mastered with a little practice.

While Fuji has included an image stabaliser to reduce camera shake, the Hama Pro Hand loop, a padded loop for DSLR and bridge cameras, is a worthwhile accessory to have. This gives the user much better hand stability when shooting without a tripod and for using the electronic viewfinder.

With the number of new versatile features some from the Fuji professional DSLR range, and the image quality, the S100FS is amazingly good value and a winner. A superb addition to my Fuji S6500FD, and the Nikon D40x DSLR purchased from Amazon.

Just upgraded to this camera from the S9500 -
A brilliant camera - 11.1MP with a 400mm zoom and a 67mm lens diameter.
You can adjust so many settings - The colour - tone - sharpness of the outlines - and finetune the white balance. You can even customise your own settings for quick accsess.
The dynamic range is good - it really brings contrasting areas into a good exposure.....Also with a fast SD card you can shoot mulitple images quickly that save to the card very fast......Its fully manual and fully automatic - You can even lock pictures on the sd card and then just delete everything else in one go.
Theres a real lack of noise on the camera - even at 400 asa - and 800's pretty good.
I think i'll be able to print at A3 - and for A4 the quality will be brilliant.
The included software also has a Raw file converter - which has been improved so you can change all the settings before converting it to a Tif or JPG.
So looking forwards to bringing this camera on holiday.
The fixed lens lets you photograph from a 1cm macro to 28mm wide angle up to a 400mm zoom - For what you can do with this camera its definately 5 Star

On paper this is an excellent 'bridge' camera (filling the gap between compacts and SLRs). In reality it can live up to the promise, with practice. I have produced some stunning shots, but it is taking time to learn how to bring out the best in it. Yes I have seen much chromatic aberration in some high-contrast shots (purple fringing at wide angles, blue fringing at the opposite zoom length) but this is not a limitation unique to this camera. The RAW conversion software supplied by Fuji is approx. 5x slower than any of the common alternatives (I have tried GIMP, Rawker and Adobe Photoshop Elements) but I have found that the Fuji software is doing a lot of picture processing during the conversion, especially related to chromatic aberration and noise reduction. Therefore, I conclude that Fuji's software developers have created a RAW conversion package tailored to the obvious limitations of this camera. Anyway, for users of simple compacts, I'd recommend something simpler because you won't need what the S100 can do. This is a highly-capable camera for experienced and/or keen photographers who don't want the inconvenience of an SLR+lenses. In summary, a very good product (camera+software), and well done Fuji.

Firstly I am not a professional, however, I do need a good camera for my manufacturing business where the results are used on the company web site and often emailed off around the world to customers as part of progress reports on products being manufactured. I purchased this product as a replacement for my Fuji S7000 which I also rated 5 stars. Why replace the S7000? simply the result of my being camera dependent and need for a reliable spare, I would have been happy with another S7000 but it was no longer available and the S100SF was an obvious choice. This camera is even more versatile with a greater range of useful bells and whistles. What is good for me is the ability to take pictures in mostly poor factory light conditions without flash and with a good wide angle. Where on the S7000 I had a lens adapter and wide angle lens I get the same result with the built in lens on the S100fs which also has a good zoom facility. Accessories? you will need memory card, 4GB is good and a soft case.