Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #91 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: FujiFilm
• Model: S1500fd
• Released on: 2009-04-20
• Dimensions: 2.87" h x 4.04" w x 2.67" l, .71 pounds
• Display size: 2.7

Manufacturer's Description

If versatility and functionality are what you are looking for then the FinePix S1500 is the camera for you. This superzoom camera is surprisingly compact; especially when you consider that it packs a massive 12x zoom.

The 10 Megapixel CCD sensor produces sharp, high resolution photos with vivid colours, perfect for enlarged prints or viewing on the large, clear 2.7" screen. Thanks to its small size, lightweight design and automatic features, it's a top choice for days out with the family. And if you want to advance your photographic skills and get creative there's also the option of Aperture and Shutter Priority modes.

With its superbly lightweight casing and easy to handle design, you'll be surprised how dinky this camera really is

Good things come in small packages
The FinePix S1500 features a Continuous Shooting mode ideal to capture sporting events or other action scenes at 13.5 frames per second in a burst-check this stat, I can't see 13.5 fps. Once you've taken your shots, High Speed Playback lets you view them as a streaming sequence.

Instant zoom makes it easy to frame and compose shots of moving subjects at high zoom settings. A selectable frame on the LCD screen lets you track your subject and when the shutter is released, Instant Zoom boosts the zoom ratio and captures only the selected area as a full sized image.

Normally only found on digital SLRs, the Tracking Auto Focus function tracks the subject automatically for as long as the shutter is half-pressed and the subject is kept inside the frame. This ensures your subject is kept in-focus even when the zoom range is fully extended.

The new Panoramic Shooting Mode makes it very easy to create impressive panoramic shots. Panorama Shooting captures and combines a maximum of three consecutive shots at 3 Megapixel resolution, which are saved to the memory card as one panoramic picture.

Capture sweeping scenery or large groups of people with the Panoramic Shooting Mode

Making it easy to take great photos
The FinePix S1500 features Automatic Scene Recognition technology which intelligently recognises the type of scene you are shooting and adjusts the camera settings to optimise results. This takes all the hassle out of photography and lets you snap away safe in the knowledge that your photos will come out well. SR Auto chooses between 6 pre-set scene modes: Portrait, Landscape, Night Portrait, Backlit Portrait, Macro and Night.

With a large, clear 2.7" screen it is easy to compose and look back at the photos you've taken

Advanced Feature Set
Fujifilm's Dual Image Stabilisation can be engaged to reduce the blurring effects of both hand-shake and subject movement (which often occur when shooting at full zoom ranges) to produce sharp, clean results no matter what the shooting conditions. In addition the FinePix S1500 is equipped with Face Detection technology with automatic red-eye removal, so no more unsightly red-eye reflection that can often spoil flash photo's.

Box Contains

Customer Reviews

Impressed - and so are the kids
After my old camera missed much of a recent event as the flash recharged, I chose to upgrade to the S1500 after seeing friends with one. Any initial doubts about buying have gone - it just works. The size is perfect, falling into your hand nicely. The weight is not noticeable. Batteries are still going after two weeks of daily use. Picture quality of static and moving objects is superb, even face detection working periodically. Two very neat features - the super-macro lets you take photos 1cm away from your object, and the ability to stitch 3 photos together to create a landscape is pretty cool.

Overall every photo taken has come out as good as, if not better, than I expected.

Niggles - the lense cap can come off whilst in a bag - not a big gripe.

Recommended.

Edit: after owning this for four weeks further thoughts. I remain impressed with picture quality (very detailed images capturing naturally light really well), the zoom and super-zoom functions. Niggle - when using the face-detection facility there is a slight delay between focus and picture taking - not much but it can be enough to miss a shot. The camera works just as well without this turned on. Battery life is brilliant, and downloading pictures via USB2 is really really quick. Recommended.

A great camera but the Fujifilm Finepix S2000 is a better buy
A great camera, but dig a little bit deeper into your pockets, because for less than £30 more you can buy the Fujifilm Finepix S2000 which has the advantages of a wide angle lens and an HD-quality video camera.

However I like this Fujifilm Finepix S1500 camera for 4 main reasons:

(1) It is simple to use and takes great pictures! Just a few years ago digital cameras had 5 megapixels or less, and a 200mm lens was considered a very powerful zoom. This one boasts 10 megapixels and a lens equivilent to 35mm to 400 mm on a 35mm camera. OK, there are cameras out there for £40-60 more that take clearer photos, but for everyday family use and for the serious amateur, the results are just great, and far better than anything taken by our parents a generation ago.

(2) It feels tactile and reassuringly solid. It has an old-fashioned manual plastic lens cap which is great. My wife has ruined her last 2 cameras by getting dust or sand in their automatic lens opening mechanism.

(3) The camera has an electronic viewfinder as well as a large 2.7cm viewing screen which is handy to switch to in bright sunlight.

(4) The Fujifilm Finepix S1500 takes regular AA batteries, and they last a long time - for up to 300 shots.

The Fujifilm Finepix S1500 includes a video camera with a resolution of 640 x 480 at 30FPS , but you can hear the creepy sound of it focusing as well as the noise of the zoom during playback. The same is true of the Fujifilm Finepix S2000, but this model is a better buy because it is HD ('High Definition', like modern TV's) and has a much better 1280 X 720 at 30fps resolution. The Fujifilm Finepix S2000 is also a better buy because of its 27.6mm (35mm camera equivilent) lens which can capture groups of people at short range.

OK Camera
I've had my s1500 for two weeks now. It is easy to use, I've not felt that bothered by not having a printed manual. For the price this camera has a lot of features, and provides more scope than basic point and shoot (PAS) models.

But. like others I have struggled to get a really crisp image. I think it's probably one or both of 1. poor censor - I see little advantage over my cheap Canon 7MP PAS for instance. Probably all the money has gone on electronic features and the zoom. 2. jpg artefacts - it looks to me like there is a little too much compression on the images right from the beginning - areas of flat colour for instance. Even at the highest quality the images are in focus, but look like they've had a soft-focus filter applied, and have artefacts especially around the edges. This is the biggest disappointment for anyone looking for an SLR substitute - but it's a 1/3 the price of a cheap DSLR!

The camera is slow. It takes a long time to focus, to take the shot, and to process it. Deleting images also takes time - can't shut the animation off which would speed things up. Focussing on supermacro takes about 2 seconds - no chance of catching anything lively.

There are manual functions but in fact there is not a huge amount of scope for changing the settings. For instance f4 - f8 is about the most you can expect. So not great depth of field. There are compensations from being digital, but the lens is upgraded PAS not a downgraded SLR.

I agree that at this price, and with a lens that is pushed forward on activation, I would have like the option for a filter for protection, and the lens cap a little more firmly attached (I've knocked it off accidentally a couple of times already).

On the plus side 12x zoom is great. Much better than digital zoom. The s1500 comes with digital zoom switched off. I tried it but switched it back off again. The panorama function is great fun. Battery life is good - I forked out for rechargeables now I'm using 4 at a time! Unlike another reviewer my camera has no problem with red - I've got some spectacular sunsets (in panorama) already. The super macro allows you to get very close to your subject - and the zoom is switched off so there's no confusion about what kind of photo you're taking (someone complained about macro/zoom focussing in another review).

If you are on a restricted budget but wanting features to play with then you may find this camera suits you. If you think you'll get DSLR quality you'll disappointed - this is a step up from PAS, but not a giant step.

I think those people who have given this camera 5/5 are not realistic and must have had very low expectations indeed. Similarly the very low reviews seem to have unfairly high expectations. This is an OK camera for the price. It's fun. I'm stuck with it because of my budget, but I can see it's going to keep me amused. There are always limitations.