Fujifilm FinePix E900 - Easy Camera Review

Fujifilm released a compact digital camera that is built for photographers who want control over their images, but don’t want to break the bank for a DSLR or carry around 20 pounds of equipment to get a decent shot. The Fujifilm FinePix E900 has 9 megapixels packaged into a compact but comfortable body. The E900 has a 4x optical zoom lens and some other great features for a retail price of $499.

The Fujifilm FinePix E900 is one of the more versatile digital cameras on the market. You might get tired of an automatic compact after a few months, but the manual and semi-manual modes on the E900 will keep you busy for much longer. This camera has a manual mode and aperture and shutter speed priority modes in addition to its auto and scene modes. It doesn’t have a long list of scenes like most cameras though. Only four scenes are available: Portrait, Sport, Night, and Natural Light.

The Natural Light mode is designed for photographers who want to take a shot in low light, but don’t want to use the flash because of its harsh and unnatural lighting. So if you’re taking a picture of your son blowing out his birthday candles in an otherwise dark room, the Natural Light mode will let you capture it without the blown-out white-forehead look. This mode is made possible by the E900’s wide ISO range that extends from 80-800. We tested the Fuji E900 in low light and it performed quite well.

We ran some other tests on the E900 and found that it produces decent colors, but they’re not entirely accurate. So when you print your pictures of that birthday party, your son’s red shirt will look a little too red. Besides the color issue, the prints look great – with 9 megapixels you’ll never see the “digital” stair-step look. We tested the manufacturer’s claim of 9 megapixels and found it to be accurate. The resolution was very impressive, which is amazing for a compact camera. In terms of its resolution, the Fuji E900 ranks up with digital single lens reflex cameras.

The E900 isn’t insanely speedy, but is still respectable. It can shoot 2 pictures a second and it takes about 2 seconds to start up and take its first shot. Shutter lag is an issue on this camera, as it takes about a half-second for the auto focus to get with the program and grab the picture.

The Fujifilm FinePix E900 measures 4 x 2.5 x 1.4 inches, so it’s nothing you’d want to stuff in a pocket. It is thick and heavy too at 9.2 ounces, but that figure includes the two AA batteries it takes to power the camera and the small xD-Picture memory card. The E900 comes with a 16 MB xD card, which is enough to take an entire three full-resolution images, so you’ll want to get another memory card if you plan on purchasing this model.

With a 2-inch LCD screen, the E900 has one of the smaller views of recent cameras. It has 115,000 pixels and is hard to see when you’re not viewing it straight-on. This FinePix also has a movie mode that shoots 640 x 480 and 320 x 240 pixels at 30 frames per second, but there is no optical zoom available. Even still, the camera’s microphone picks up the motor noise of the auto focus system.

You may be frightened by the prospect of manual controls, but the Fujifilm E900 is very easy to use. It will be a great step up for consumers who are bored with their compact models. The E900 gives users a little spice in the shooting experience and, above all, takes great pictures.

Fujifilm FinePix E900 - THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating: 317.30

Likes

- Impressive resolution - Lots of manual control - Easy to use - Comfortable hand grip - Wide ISO range good for low light shots

Dislikes

- LCD has minimal resolution - No optical zoom in movie mode - Viewfinder isn't effective - Some shutter lag

Fujifilm FinePix E550 Rating: 321.86	Olympus Stylus 800 Rating: 310.52	Canon PowerShot S80 Rating:	Nikon Coolpix P1 Rating: 311.8	Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 Rating: 308.01
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
- $399 retail price - 1.2-second startup time - 154,000 pixels on LCD screen - Better color accuracy	- 2.5 inch LCD with 215,000 pixels - Protective seals against dust and moisture - $449 price	- Wider 28 mm end of zoom lens - 2.5 inch LCD screen - Lots more scene modes - High resolution 1024 x 768-pixel movie mode - More size options in movie mode	- WiFi capability - 2.5 inch LCD screen - 16 scene modes - Face Priority auto focus - In-camera red-eye fix - 32 MB of internal memory - Kept noise to a minimum	- Wider 28 mm end of zoom lens lets users capture more of the scene - Optical image stabilization system - 2.5 inch LCD with 207,000 pixels - 16:9-ratio still images and movie clips - More accurate colors - Pop-up flash with flash adjustment control - Skinnier 1-inch profile - White balance fine tuning - Thorough software package included
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
- 4x optical zoom - 16 MB xD-Picture card included - 2 inch LCD screen - Useless optical viewfinder - 80-800 ISO range - easy to use manual controls - Same movie mode options	- Similar thick 4.1 x 2.3 x 1.3 inch body - Manual, Shutter Priority, and Aperture Priority modes - F/2.8 aperture in wide angle	- 115,000 pixels on LCD screen - Manual, Priority, and Program modes - No optical zoom in movie mode - Useless optical viewfinder - 15-1/2000 shutter speeds	- Available online for about the same price - Not the exact same, but still chunky 3.6 x 2.4 x 1.5 inch body - Almost a half second of shutter lag - About 2 frames per second in the burst mode - Aperture priority mode	- 4x optical zoom lens - Manual, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Program modes
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
- 6.3 megapixels - Heavier 7.4 oz body - Low quality flash - Small multi-selector - no manual or priority modes	- 8 megapixels - 3x optical zoom lens - Slow auto focus system - Battery life doesn't last long - No custom white balance setting - ISO 800 and 1600 only work at smaller resolutions - Shorter 4-1/2000 shutter speed range	- 8 megapixels - 3.6x optical zoom lens - Top ISO rating of 400 - $549 price tag	- 8 megapixels - 3.5x optical zoom lens - Performed poorly in color and resolution tests - Top ISO of 400 - 110,000 pixels on LCD screen - Dreary color reproduction - Took almost 4 1/2 seconds to start up and take its first shot - Not as much manual control	- 8.6 megapixels - Maximum ISO of 400 - Noisy images - Not as good in low light - Huge $599 price tag - Slow auto focus system - Slippery zoom toggle and other small controls