Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12 megapixe Finel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5.5Mb.

The Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD produced images of good quality during the review period. This camera handled noise very well, not becoming obvious until the relatively slow speed of ISO 800 and then becoming progressively worse at the faster setting of ISO 1600. The fastest setting of ISO 3200 and 6400 are recorded at 3 megapixels and therefore aren't really worth using.

Chromatic aberrations were well controlled, with limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations. The 12 megapixel images were sharp enough straight out of the camera at the default sharpen setting and don't require further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop.

Macro performance is excellent, allowing you to focus as close as 2cms away from the subject when the lens is set to wide-angle. Barrel distortion is clearly evident at the 28mm focal length. The built-in flash worked quite well indoors, with just a little red-eye and adequate overall exposure, although there is noticeable vignetting at 28mm.

The anti-shake system works well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range. The maximum shutter speed of 8 seconds is a little disappointing but just allows the camera to capture enough light for most after-dark situations. The Panorama mode makes it fairly simple to take wide-vista shots, although the resolution is limited to 4880x1296 pixels.

Noise

There are 8 ISO settings available on the Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD. At ISO 3200 and 6400, the number of recorded pixels is limited to 3 megapixels. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:

ISO 64 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)	ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD's 18x zoom lens provides a focal length of 28-504mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

28mm	504mm

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are sharp enough at the default setting and don't really benefit from further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

File Quality

The Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

12M Fine (5.26Mb) (100% Crop)	12M Normal (2.82Mb) (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD handled chromatic aberrations excellently during the review. Just a little purple fringing was present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the example below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD offers a Super Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 2cms away from the camera. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject in Macro mode (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro Shot	100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD are Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro, and any of those modes combined with Red-eye Reduction. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (28mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (28mm)
Flash Off - Wide Angle (420mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (420mm)

And here are some portrait shots. Both the Auto or Red-eye reduction mode caused a small amount of red-eye.

Flash On	Flash On (100% Crop)
Red Eye Reduction	Red Eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD's maximum shutter speed is 8 seconds, which is fairly good news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 8 seconds at ISO 64. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

Night Shot	Night Shot (100% Crop)

Anti Shake

The Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length	Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)	Anti Shake On (100% Crop)
1/8th / 24mm
1/3rd / 504mm

Panorama Mode

The Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD allows you to take panoramic images fairly easily, by taking the first shot, then lining up the edge of that with the next shot, and then repeating the process for the third and final shot. The camera does all the processing and stitching. The main catch is that the resulting image is of fairly low resolution - the number of recorded pixels is limited to 4880x1296 - and you really need to use a tripod to get the best results.

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Turned On

Front of the Camera / Pop-up Flash

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Rear of the Camera / Function Menu

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

You certainly get a lot of camera for your money with the Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD, with most of the key features that you need and above par image quality. If you can resist the bells and whistles that more expensive rivals offer, then the S2500HD is an appealingly cost-effective way to join the super-zoom crowd.

Fujifilm have improved four key areas since last year's S1500 model - the rather inevitable megapixel rise from 10 to 12, a larger 3 inch screen, new HD movie mode and a larger 18x zoom. The latter two in particular make the biggest difference to this model, bringing the S2500HD up to speed with most of its main rivals. 18x doesn't sound like much when there are a couple of 30x cameras now on the market, but in reality the 28-508mm focal range is more versatile than most people will ever need. Likewise the HD video mode may not be full 1080p quality, but the 720p mode is more than adequate - something that can be said about the S2500HD as a whole.

Image quality, although not the best in class, is also up to scratch, with a usable ISO range of 64-400 with 800 as a backup, commendably little sign of purple-fringing, an effective image stabilisation system, and good exposures in most situations. Only the rather obvious barrel distortion and visible softness towards the edges at wide-angle settings detract from what is otherwise a solid performance.

All of this would be fine if not particularly noteworthy on a £300 / $350 camera - but given that the S2500HD only costs £219 / $250 full-price, we wouldn't blame you for wondering where the catch is. There are a few more caveats - only two available aperture settings, an all-plastic though not flimsy construction, somewhat misleading burst mode settings, and a rather low-resolution EVF and LCD - but all-in-all, the Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD represents a cheap but certainly not nasty entry-point into the literally eye-opening world of super-zoom photography.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4
Image quality	4
Value for money	4.5

Specifications

Your Comments