The bad: The S2950's performance and photo quality indoors and in low-light conditions are only passable for its price.
The bottom line: A low-cost method to get an 18x wide-angle lens, the Fujifilm FinePix S2950 provides merely OK photos and shooting performance.
Review:
Fujifilm launched three AA-battery-powered megazooms for 2011: the FinePix S2950, S3200, as well as S4000. These are full-size models with dSLR-like physiques offering 14-megapixel resolutions, 3-inch LCDs plus electronic viewfinders, as well as Fujinon optical zooms of 18x (28-504mm), 24x (24-576mm), as well as 30x (24-720mm), respectively. All three models offer dual-image stabilization, scene-recognition SR Car, face detection, tracking autofocus, and full manual regulates, and can capture HD movies at 720p by having an HDMI-output connector. Additionally, the S3200 and S4000 provide face recognition and capture movies in MPEG-4 along with H. 264 compression for sharper movies with scaled-down file sizes.
Because there is so little isolating the... Expand full review
Fujifilm released three AA-battery-powered megazooms with regard to 2011: the FinePix S2950, S3200, and S4000. They are full-size models with dSLR-like bodies offering 14-megapixel promises, 3-inch LCDs plus electronic viewfinders, and Fujinon optical zooms associated with 18x (28-504mm), 24x (24-576mm), and 30x (24-720mm), respectively. Just about all three models offer dual-image stabilization, scene-recognition SR Car, face detection, tracking autofocus, and full manual regulates, and can capture HD movies at 720p by having an HDMI-output connector. Additionally, the S3200 and S4000 provide face recognition and capture movies in MPEG-4 along with H. 264 compression for sharper movies with scaled-down file sizes.
Overall, the S2950's photo quality is actually OK for casual use outdoors in bright problems. Photos viewed at smaller sizes are noticeably gentle and smeary starting at ISO 200. Some post-shoot sharpening assists this, but if you tend to do lots of heavy cropping or enlarging, the results might not be adequate. From there things just look worse to the stage where they really aren't usable for much at ISO eight hundred or above. The loss of detail is something, but really it's color shifting starting at ISO four hundred that drags it down. Keep in mind that since the lens is extended, the apertures get smaller. To pay, the camera will raise the ISO or sluggish the shutter speed if needed. Either way, if you're holding the camera and using its 18x zoom and there's few people like going light, you're going to end up with gentle or blurry photos. But that goes for the majority of megazoom cameras, not just the S2950. If you'll need a camera that can regularly handle low-light photography with no flash, I would not recommend this camera.
It's color quality, at least at lower ISOs, is actually good. The S2950HD produced photos with bright, vivid colors which were reasonably close to accurate in our lab assessments. Exposure was pretty good, too, but highlights were known to blow out, which is typical of point-and-shoots.
The video quality in the S2950 is OK, good enough for YouTube clips otherwise much else. As with photos, low-light video is actually noisy, but that's somewhat typical of video through lower-end compact cameras. You can use the optical move while recording, and though you will hear the movement inside your video, it's not bad. There are continuous autofocus as well as dual-image stabilization, too.
Those who are either looking to work as much as using a digital SLR or need to satisfy a variety of users with one camera will appreciate the large range of shooting options. If you want the camera to do most or all the work, there are Program and SR Auto (automatic scene recognition) modes in addition to a fairly standard variety of scene modes. Those wanting more control over results may use the Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, and Manual modes. (There's the Custom mode, too, so you can define a commonly used group of settings. ) For the most component, though, the real control is over shutter pace, with settings from 8 seconds to 1/2, 000 2nd. Apertures are limited to two stops at each step from the zoom range courtesy of a neutral density (ND) filtration system: f3. 1-6. 4 wide and f5. 6-11 telephoto. There's some depth of field to play with within macro, but don't expect the kind of control you'd get from the digital SLR.
The S2950's shooting performance is fairly slow. Through off to first shot takes 2. 5 mere seconds, which hinders spur-of-the-moment photos. What's worse is it actually slows down from there between shots, averaging 3. 5 seconds with no flash; with the flash that time jumps in order to 4. 3 seconds. There's noticeable shutter lag no matter lighting conditions. In bright lighting it takes regarding 0. 5 second from the press of the actual shutter release to capture; in dim light that point is 0. 9 seconds. Extending the lens does not help things, either; the autofocus is poky in the telephoto end, so trying to shoot a moving subject with this particular camera is very tricky. The camera has the full-resolution continuous shooting speed of 0. 8 body per second. Fujifilm includes a couple of low-resolution burst modes which are faster, but the results are only good sufficient for Web use at small sizes.
