Finepix s9500

I had this camera every day whenever I was in the field.
Affordable, great for its 83x optical zoom.
I used it mostly to photograph waterfowl.
Then upgraded to a Canon R7 which cost 5X the price.

I had this camera about 3 years ago before i upgraded to DSLRs and i now have a Canon EOS 50D with 400mm F5.6 L lens which i use most of the time. Recently i have been browsing through some old pictures and iv'e noticed a huge improvement in the quality of the images although it is'nt a bad camera i was very happy with the images i got before i upgraded to DSLRs but i would always reccomend a DSLR for birding.

I me again , srry for the spelling mistakes; just like me always in a hurry and never checking enough.

Great camera fits my hand like a glove, taken all different shots with it even fast flying planes; not quite got the hang of manual yet sometimes pictures are okay and then some not so good; can't get the hange of setting it up for fireworks even on a tripod with a cable release and a 2/3 second open lens; I will hopefully get there one day.B B

This a very comprehensive camera. Macro is very crisp and seems best on the super-macro setting allowing detail at 10mm though the lens has to be set at full wide angle to use this setting. Colour handling on the Chrome setting is subtle but strong. In low light conditions such as woodland this camera gets fabulous tones and detail.
The manual zoom is perfect, giving freedom to zoom in and out without burning up batteries or disturbing the neighbours (which is handy in a hide). The 28mm to 300mm (35mm equiv) zoom is very capable but there does seem to be a slight downside to absolute sharpness at the longest setting.
With rechargeable NMh batteries and a 2G memory card you are safe for the day, or two days....unless you use the video function...another area where the silent manual zoom comes into its own!
Of course, in a hide you would mostly be fully zoomed ... and it only gives limited range.I haven't yet tried to mate it with a scope. Never mind, there may be a moth or a ladyburt around.
Although this isn't a real SLR I have no problem using it as one. The switchable view finder does exactly the same job that my old SLRs did...never have a problem seeing the screen.
If I wanted to afford a pro SLR I don't think I could justify that want...but I could afford to afford this very useable camera. Shame you can't get a new one now as the models that replaced it seem to have a higher model number with fewer features.
Tough lil brute with plenty of access to hand on a well set out body. 30 seconds to 1/4000th sec available on fully manual.

I bought the S9600 earlier on this year for something completely different. It is super for Macro work - really close focusing less than 20mm I think. it feels nice in the hand My Daughter loves it ( I suspect she wants to pinch it !!) Just wish it had a slightly longer zoom or even some converters to make it longer.

This Fuji is as good, if not better than some SLRs. Image quality at the Chrome setting are as good as the famuos Fuji Velvia film