Fujifilm Finepix S9500 Zoom Review

Currently available for around £400 / $600, the 9 megapixel Fujifilm Finepix S9500 Zoom is being heavily promoted by Fujifilm as a real, and in some ways better, alternative to an entry-level DSLR. Does it live up to its billing? Find out in my latest review.

Website: Fujifilm Finepix S9500 Zoom Review

Published: Friday, December 02, 2005

Reader Comments

1. Interesting review but I would compare the Fuji 9500 to cameras such as the Nikon 8800, KM A200, Canon Pro1 etc. As a KM A2 owner I can see distinct advantages over the 9500 and would take the current KM A200 in preference, the anti-shake facility and larger sensor are a better compromise IMHO if talking about image quality as compared to a DSLR.

   Stewart Cocker at 09:36pm on Monday, November 28, 2005

2. Mark, interesting point about having a manual focus ring automatically
   disengaging the AF when applied. Are there digicams currently on the
   market that operate this way? BTW, a very thorough and enlightening
   review.
   
   Joe (sorry Stewart, couldn't resist), I see your point about the 2/3" CCD
   of the 8800, Pro1, and A200, but judging from the reviews I have seen
   on those cameras, and from what I know about the advantages of Fuji
   CCD technology, I would bet that a 1/1.6" (=2/3.2") Fuji CCD has better
   noise performance than a standard 2/3" CCD, even with its higher pixel
   count (9 mp vs. 8 mp). And then the 9500 has a longer zoom than both
   the Pro1 and A200 (10.7x vs. 7.1x), and it has a wider end zoom than an
   8800 (28mm vs. 35mm). And while I agree, it would have been a fairer
   comparison, maybe not as relevant, since I would also bet more people
   are debating over whether to buy the 9500 vs. a DSLR, compared to the
   9500 vs. any of these digicams just mentioned.
   
   If the 9500 had OIS, it would be no contest.

   GARY POGODA at 08:10pm on Friday, December 02, 2005

3. Do these properties justify such a high price compared to the current market?
   Nina, http://www.portoalegre2002.org

   Nina at 12:40pm on Sunday, December 04, 2005

4. Companies are continually struggling to price their product just below
   their competition, but not too far below. The fact that the Fuji S9500
   is priced high, tells me that they must have packed a lot into it, and if
   it were priced lower, I would be suspicious of where they cut corners
   to keep the price down.

   GARY POGODA at 09:11pm on Sunday, December 04, 2005

5. You Said "Fujifilm Finepix S9500 Zoom isn't that much cheaper than a Nikon D50 with kit lens"
   
   I paid $564 American for the Fuji S9000. For the life of me I can't price the Nikon D50 with a 28-300mm equivilant lens for less than $1100 to $1200 (without IS). with the D50 you gain 800 and 1600 useable iso settings but get only 6 megapixels compaired to 9 megapixels. I think the Fuji is a much, much, better deal. That's why I bought it rather than the Nikon. I have 35 years experience with 35 mm cameras. I never had to use films with ASA (iso) ratings above 400 and I've developed techniques that allow hand holding long lenses without IS. While IS is useful it is limited to stationary objects. In my opinion it's a crutch! To my way of thinking the 9000/9500 is a bargain.

   Tom Cass at 02:07pm on Saturday, December 10, 2005

6. Do the reviewers change their opinions as the price of a camera goes down? Does a camera become a better deal as its price drops? I've seen the S9000 on the internet for $389. I've been looking at the Fuji F11, but for $110 more I can get 3 more megapixels, super zoom and manual control if I want it. I'm still learning about cameras. But in the areas that I do have some expertise in, I have learned that you can pay for the NAME. And NAME does not always get you anything.

   Fitz at 09:03pm on Tuesday, February 07, 2006

7. Paying for the name really does not apply here since all good cameras
   are well-known name brands. The value of a camera does go up as its
   price goes down, but unless the camera has the features you want, it's
   really not such a good deal. First you have to decide what features you
   want. Do you want a DSLR or digicam? Do you want a pocketable over
   one of the larger all-on-ones. Do you want high zoom? Do you want 28
   mm at the wide end? Do you want more than 5 megapixels? Once you
   find several cameras to suit your needs, you can narrow the field down
   by looking at their price.

   GARY POGODA at 05:53am on Wednesday, February 08, 2006

8. I owned Fujifilm Finepix 9500. The Zoom angle at 300mm seems wider than theNikon 300mm lens which I am using in my Nikon F 80 camera. I used to photograph small birds for which I purchased this camera. But due to its wideness I am facing difficulty.Is there any 2x front attachment tele converter for the camera. Any comment please.

   Arabinda Ku. Mishra at 04:50pm on Friday, May 05, 2006

9. Stewart, good review, the thing is at the end of the day, as you rightly point out, its a matter of choice.
   We can all knock each others oppinions about the vertues of slr or all in one, some of it though i think is down to snobery, " oh dear, an all in one camera, no thank you give me a few tons of lenes and flash guns with ten Nikon/Cannon bodies and i'm your man...excuse me mate...do you use all that gear?...erm.. no but it looks good around my neck"...sorry , a bit over the top but you know what i mean. The s9500 is a very good camera that gives excellent results and at a very good price. enough said.

   tom murphy at 02:09am on Sunday, May 21, 2006

10. ooops wrong name...sorry Stewart

    tom murphy at 02:12am on Sunday, May 21, 2006

11. I'm 6 months into this camera and the more I use it the better I like it.

    Tom Cass at 10:23am on Sunday, May 21, 2006

12. Mostly a good review. However, I would not want a dSLR camera. My brother uses Film SLR, and I cannot be doing with changing lenses, etc. For someone who wants a good camera, with a fast zoom, one where you can hold the camera against your chest or waist rather than out in front of you, this is nice!
    
    Arabinda -- you have 2x digital zoom built in. This is usable, probably due to the fact that Fuji CCD's are generally capable of producing higher resolution due to the Fuji design. In this case 9.2 real megapixels are producing 9 megapixel output, I suppose that if you take the middle 4.6 megapixels, effectively doubling the image size, you can get away with producing a 9 megapixel image. I have used this at full stretch with this camera and got pictures that seem good enough for my needs.
    
    What I really like about this camera is the way it captures skin tones, from caucasian pinks to afro caribbean dark browns. You see the real shape of faces thanks to the subtlety of the shading, not some flattened image that makes people look larger than they are.
    
    I am using this camera in Linux, in Mass Storage mode it mounts OK and is seen as a mass storage camera by DigiKam. The latest version of "dcraw" in conjunction with "ufraw" and "ufraw-gimp" give you a very high quality method of opening its raw files in The GIMP (a top-quality photo manipulation program).
    
    Here in the UK I was able to get the Camera, plus a 1Gb CF card, plus postage etc for £340 from savastore.com. Large branches of Tesco's do a suitable case ("Tesco Camcorder Nylon Case") for £7.97. It holds the camera with the lens anti-flare guard, the contents of a cheap Jessop's cleaning kit, and 8 spare batteries snugly. Aldi do 2100mAH A4 rechargeables @ 4 for £2. I already had a charger though I could do with a faster one. I have a UV filter on order just to protect the lens, it's cheaper to scratch that than the lens!
    
    I would recommend this camera to people who want to just point and shoot, and get good quality, but on occasions are prepared to "fiddle" in order to get a better photo in more difficult conditions.
    
    
    As you

    davecs at 09:49am on Friday, July 21, 2006

13. What is the correct flash we must use for the FinePix S9500(fuji) camrea please?

    sothi at 03:50pm on Friday, October 26, 2007

14. sothi, this site might be of some help:
    
    http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html

    Mark Goldstein at 12:04pm on Monday, October 29, 2007