Fuji FinePix S6500fd Zoom - UK Digital Camera Review

Fuji FinePix S6500fd Zoom Review

The Fuji FinePix S6500fd Zoom has a winning combination of the 28-300mm Fujinon zoom lens (10.7) and the image quality of the 6.3 megapixel Super CCD HR resulting in perfect shots under any conditions. The lens are fixed and give a vast zoom range, the Fuji S6500fd Zoom also offers a manual twist barrel zoom which together with the manual focussing ring gives you control.

With a fast response time, you will not miss a shot with the FinePix S6500fd as the lens are already in position and this camera will automatically detect and focus on faces as it can recognise the facial combination of two eyes and a mouth. This ensures correct exposure and produces excellent results. The S6500fd Zoom is powered by 4 x AA type alkaline batters which are included with the camera or AA Ni-MH rechargeable batteries or AC power adaptor AC-5VX are available as optional extras.

Fuji FinePix S6500fd Zoom Front
Fuji FinePix S6500fd Zoom Back

The detail of your shot can be seen on the 2.5" LCD monitor which gives approximately 100% coverage in addition to displaying clear shooting information. Images are stored on the 10MB of storage memory or on xD Picture Card with a still image format of JPEG (Exif Ver 2.2)/CCD-RAW and movie format of AVI (Motion JPEG).

Sensitivity is equivalent to ISO 100/200/400/800/1600/3200 with White Balance as auto or manual (shade, fluorescents, fine and incandescent). The top level of 3200 enables you to continue to shoot once lighting conditions have started to fade. Flash modes are auto, red-eye reduction, suppressed, forced and slow synchro with a self-timer of approximatel 10/2 second delay.

The Fuji FinePix S6500fd has various shooting modes including normal, auto, scene position, anti-blur, movie, macro, fireworks, beach, party, close-up and sunset. There are also three colour modes; black and white, chrome and standard.

High quality movies can be recorded using the S6500fd at 30 fps with sound and it is also possible to operate the zoom lens whilst recording.

Playback functions include automatic, single frame, 9 multi-frame, image rotation, by date and with trimming.

Fuji FinePix S6500fd Zoom Specifications & Features

  • 6.3 Megapixels
  • 10.7 x Optical Zoom
  • 2 x Digital Zoom
  • 21.4 x Combined Zoom
  • 10cm Focusing Distance
  • Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White) Fluorescent light (Cool White) and Incandescent light White Balance Settings
  • 2.5" TFT, approx. 235,000 pixels
  • Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro and Red-eye Reduction with Slow Synchro Flash Modes
  • Maximum Image Size 2848 x 2136 Pixels
  • 640 x 480, 30fps Movies
  • xD Picture Card™ Compatible with 10MB internal memory
  • 4x Size-AA Alkaline or NiMH Batteries
  • Approximate Weight 600g

Fuji FinePix S6500fd Zoom User Reviews

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Reviewer: Kevin pugh - Thailand
I've been so impressed with this camera. It's my first venture into the "almost SLR" world, having owned a series of decent quality consumer compacts prior to this.
I've owned it for about six months or so and I'm astounded by the quality of photos I produce. When put side by side with those taken with my expensive Casio Exilim compact the colour rendition and sharpness simply don't compare - they are superb. I've been impressed enough to buy a couple of books and try to get my skill level up to take advantage of the myriad of options and settings available (a full range - just like a true SLR).
The only difference I can see between this and a true SLR is that you can't swap the lense. Since I can't afford a bag full of expensive lenses and have no desire to drag them around that's not much of a disadvantage. As i get more into photography I can see myself buying a true SLR in the future, but this will be fine for a long time... Oh, one more difference between my Fuji and a true SLR - mine takes great video with sound (30 minutes on my 2GB card), SLRs don't!
I marked it down one for features for not having image stabilisation, but actually I don't really have a problem without it - I don't shake much! At full zoom you do have to be careful to not shake though. The usability mark is down to 9 only due to the positioning of the focus type button (Continuous, spot, etc). I do find myself changing it accidentally occasionally but you soon learn to take more care and keep your finger off it!
All-in-all I love my camera and have taken some photos that far exceed my expectations - it makes me look good! It's not small, but then if you wanted a compact you wouldn't be reading my waffle! I have NO regrets.

Features
Rating 9/10
Image Quality
Rating 10/10
Usability
Rating 9/10
Reviewer: Darren Wright - Ireland
After recently completing a photography course using the 5600 and 5700 Fuji's I decided to go out and buy this for myself - got it for the bargain price of £160 from Curry's.

Whilst the facial detection function is a nice gimmick, I wouldn't rely on this and instead to use Aperture Priority mode for most of my shots giving nice control over the depth of field and letting the camera take care of the shutter speed for me.

I'm still learning but so far this camera has taken some stunning pictures and teamed with a 2GB memory card will keep for going for ages until I get better and graduate to an SLR.

For me the real selling point for this camera as opposed to the 5600 and 5700 is the zoom and manual focus rings giving you complete control of both functions and allowing you mocu more accuracy and speed when framing your shot. It's also bigger and more substantial than either of the other 2 making it act and feel like a proper SLR. The zoom range is huge and the built in programs cater for all sorts of shooting scenarios - party on the beach with fireworks in the snow anyone?!!

Overall a great buy with suprisingly good battery life (2-300 photos on standard AA's) - but do what I did and get a set of 2700mah Nim-H rechargeables which last twice as long.

Great purchase and highly recommended.

Features
Rating 10/10
Image Quality
Rating 10/10
Usability
Rating 10/10
Reviewer: Wing Raharjo - Australia
I was looking for a budget digital camera that could replace my familiarity with classic 35mm SLR camera (I previously use Nikon FM10 and Canon AE-1 Program). I found this camera is the best one in terms of combination of price and quality. I like its ability to capture pictures in very low light. Even with ISO 1600, the pics are really low noise. It would be better if the aperture setting in manual mode can be performed by just one finger. Overall it's a great "cost effective" camera.

Features
Rating 9/10
Image Quality
Rating 9/10
Usability
Rating 10/10
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Fuji FinePix S6500fd Zoom Review & Features - © UK Digital Camera Reviews 2008
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