Fujifilm FinePix S1500 Review

4.0

June 1, 2009 | Gavin Stoker |

Buy a FinePix S1500 10 Megapixel Bridge Camera - Black (6.9 cm 2.7" LCD - 12x Optical Zoom - 3648 x 2736 Image - 640 x 480 Video)

Lowest Price: N/A

Buy a FinePix S1500 10 Megapixel Bridge Camera - Black (2.7" LCD - 12x Optical Zoom - 3648 x 2736 Image - 640 x 480 Video)

Lowest Price: $275.00

Conclusion

Like all bridge cameras the Fujifilm FinePix S1500 sets itself up as a jack-of-all-trades device, and this time for a reasonable price indicative of its manufacturer's mass-market intentions. In fact, for just over £200, it feels like a lot of camera for the money.

Like most things in life it's not perfect however. White balance is variable, metering occasionally off, highlights blown, there's visible softness towards the edges at maximum wideangle and overall at maximum telephoto zoom settings – though neither is a deal breaker – and it's really not worth straying above ISO 800 despite the fact a maximum capability of ISO 6400 looks good on paper. Don't get too ambitious, shoot in sunny conditions and the Fujifilm FinePix S1500 won't disappoint however.

In conclusion, like its predecessors the S1500 does offer some interesting and useful hand holding features that make it easy enough – almost – for anyone to use, whilst throwing a few enthusiast pleasing/intriguing gimmicks into the mix. The panorama feature for example is both simple to use and fun, delivering better than expected results.

On that note the Fujifilm FinePix S1500 comes Recommended. There are better performing bridge models or super-zooms out there if a broader focal range is high up among your wishes, but for the price investment in an S1500 can't really be discouraged, and it does offer a friendly way for anyone trading up from a basic point and shoot to achieve a wider variety of image taking.