Need Suggestions on Fujifilm S2500HD

[su30mki117]

I am a beginner and i will be using the camera for casual photography. I came across the Fujifilm S2500HD and it looks real good and very affordable ($250). I read a few good reviews on it. Should i go ahead and buy it or are there any other better models in the same price range?

You can check out the specification of the camera here - http://www.fujifilm.com/products/dig...ons/index.html

[havana_joe]

I have the S1000, which is an older version of the S2500.

Overall, I like mine. It takes good pictures, not as good as my Nikon D40, but not bad. I like that you can turn off the flash by simply closing it, versus having to change a setting on many cameras. It's reasonably good at taking pictures without the flash in normal indoor light, and it's great out in the sun.

The S1000 has a 12x zoom, which I think is fine, the S2500 has 18x, which is even better. Very handy as an all-around camera. Even better, this one has image stabilization, which mine does not. This helps get clearer pictures at high zoom.

The biggest complaint I have with the S1000 is the slow shutter lag. When you press the button, there is quite a delay before the picture is taken, several seconds. This makes it hard to get action shots. For things that aren't moving, it's fine, but takes getting used to. Not sure if the S2500 is any better. I've had a few Fujifilms in my life (the last was the 4900), and they were always a bit laggy. This would not be a camera for sports or fast action photography, unless they have really improved the shutter lag.

This is not a camera to throw in your pocket. It's fine around your neck or in a small carrying case. The S1000 also tends to eat AAs fairly quickly, even if the camera is off and in storage. I've turned mine on after a few months of non-use and my alkaline AAs are dead after only a few shots. Something to keep in mind.

I've always liked Fuji color rendition, and the S1000 continues that. The S2500 should also have nice colors. One thing that worries me is that this line has a small sensor, and the S2500 has 12 megapixels, which is a lot to cram onto the small sensor. The S1000 has 10 megapixels, and I've noticed some noise at and above 800 ISO, so I'd expect the S2500 to be a bit noisy at high ISO as well.

I grab my S1000 when I want some control over my pictures, such as custom settings, but I don't want to take my bigger/more expensive D40. It makes a great travel camera, as its small enough that you don't get sick of carrying it, but it still has some good features, and the zoom comes in handy for "walking around", and if it gets lost or stolen it's nowhere as expensive to replace as a DSLR would be.

Overall I like it, but I have a DSLR for more serious work. This type of camera is limited in that not every setting can be updated, and you can't expand beyond the built in lens and flash. If that's not an issue, then I think yes, you'll be happy with it. But if you eventually want to do more "serious" photography, you'll have to look into something else.

[havana_joe]

I re-read your question, so let me approach this more from a beginner's perspective. Yes, I think this is a great camera for a beginner and for casual photography. You can simply put the camera in "AUTO" and get great pictures. That may be enough for you. If not, there are plenty of settings to learn.

[su30mki117]

Wow! Thanks a lot, you have neatly pointed out the pros and cons. Since i really can't afford a full fledged DSLR right now, i thought, with this camera i could learn photography and then move onto bigger things. I guess i will go ahead and by this camera now!
I read somewhere that the build quality is not so good, since the body is all plastic. Should that be an issue? Again, thanks a lot!

[havana_joe]

You’re most welcome!

As for the build quality, I have not had an issue with that. Remember though, I have the S1000, which is an older version, but I really can’t see the S2500 being built much differently. I checked the pictures of it again and the body looks identical to my S1000.

Yes, there is a lot of plastic in the body, but I’ve never felt like the build quality was bad. I’ve taken my S1000 outside a lot, took it on vacation by plane once, walked through the woods and some bike trails a few times, and I’ve never had an issue with it, nothing seems loose or like it’s going to break.

That being said, it’s still a camera, so I sure wouldn’t want to drop it on the ground or anything, but I can say that with over a year of active use the build quality seems fine! I highly suggest that you get a carrying case for it, I bought a Promaster case that is just big enough to hold the camera, some extra AA batteries, the video and USB cables, an extra memory card, and a table-top tripod. I think I paid about $30 bucks for it, and it protects the camera when not in use or if you travel with it. They sell bags at Best Buy or at most camera stores, you don't need an expensive one for a small camera!

I got mine out to play with last night and the S1000 really is a nice little camera, I'm going to use it this weekend. I think you’ll love the S2500! You can't break anything by playing with the settings. Make sure to post when you get it and let everyone know what you think, maybe throw a few good pictures up too so that others can see how it performs!

[havana_joe]

One more thing, I've got a few sample pictures that I've taken with my S1000, I will paste below so you can see how it performs. The S2500 should give similar performance. Both were outside, the first was when I was climbing around a rock quarry and the second is a lake off a bike trail.





http://www.flickr.com/photos/47389690@N08/4605773627/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47389690@N08/4605773565/

[su30mki117]

The pics look pretty cool, definitely better than what my current camera (Casio Exilim) can produce.

Hopefully i will buy it within a week or two and yeah definitely i will post some pics once i get my hands on it. It also supports HD recording (720p) as an added bonus so i am definitely excited. Thanks for all the advise!

[havana_joe]

Sweet! the S1000 records video, but not HD!