Wanting input on camera

I was wanting to buy a Fuji 6 MP FinePix S7000 Digital Camera . Does

anyone know the quality of this camera? Is it good for indoors and

outdoor use? Thanks for the help!

Why do you want to buy it if you don't know if it's any good?

Don't pay any attention to Bob. Some people prefer to be rude. I know you asked for input (help) not a smartass. Just thought I would stick up for you a little. Responses like Bob's keep some people from asking questions.

I don't think Bob was rude at all. Why would you be attracted to this camera? Do you

already have a Nikon system? As far as it being 'good' who knows? The review on

dpreview.com should answer if it's any 'good' at all.

The best place to start looking at a camera (besides actually handling one and checking it's ergonomics, etc.), is on a couple of the good digital camera forum and review sites. For some reason the sites seemed to release their reviews of the S7000 longer after it's release than usual. Phil Askey's DpReview and Imaging Resource are two of the better sites. Besides comprehensive reviews, they have active forums, much like those here but heavier into the digital side of things.

 

http://photo.askey.net/reviews/

 

http://www.imaging-resource.com/

 

FWIW, several of the current generation cameras have had mixed reviews and receptions, perhaps because they pushed the envelope further than might have been a good idea (too much res/too small a sensor?) and, especially for users, maybe didn't make huge leaps over preceding models. I have the S602 (kind of it's predecessor) and some of the shortcomings it had (poor flash for one) have been fixed in the new camera. Some of it's performance improvements (increased resolution) have been implemented in ways that are kind of confusing (limited choices) to many users.

 

I'd suggest closely checking the forums for user comments as well as reviewer comments. (For this or any camera you consider) I haven't rushed out to get one because i'm still hoping Minolta will come up with a dslr that I can adopt.

Bob's answer was not rude or "smart-assed" at all. It was extremely pertinent

to the point of asking why would anyone make a decision to buy a camera

and then seek opinions about its suitability. Unfortunately, those of us who

have been around photo net for a while have seen this question (in one form

or another) about a thousand times from people who either will not or can not

do the basic research for themselves, but instead rely on opinons from

complete strangers to determine (or validate) their purchase choices.

 

Krista, you will get much more useful answers to your questions if you do

some basic research first and then come to photo net with specific questions

about the details that will, in fact, finalize your decision. Craig gave you some

excellent suggestions, and a basic google search of the web will turn up even

more information. I would also suggest doing a search on photo net to see if

there is a static article or discussion threads on the topic you want to know

more about.

Ok. I have done my research. I have looked at the specs on it and found that I like most of what it has to offer. I did not see any reviews from ppl who actually own the camera though. So instead of just going out and and buying a camera that I think is what I want, and end up wasting my money, I ask questions. I do think that Bob's question was a bit rude. Who knew that you have to spell things out to ppl so much. All I wanted was any input on the camera if you had any. If you don't have any, then why enter a smart ass comment? If you have a problem with ppl asking quetions, then don't read them. There is no stupid question. You don't know me and you don't know what I have done to find this camera. I didn't want to suggest anything in anyones input. Craig gave me the exact info I was looking for. Sorry that was so hard for some ppl to do and only a few could comprehend the question. It's not my fault if ppl want to make things harder then they have to be. Why not just add your input? What's so hard about that?

I have the S7000 for two weeks now. I haven't been able to spend as much time with it as I wanted to, but I did some testshots and I would like to share my first impressions.<p>

First, I have to say that I'm not a professional, not even a serious amateur, I'm just bitten by the photo-microbe about 4 years ago, but do have some experience with different films, developing, scanning and printing, and as a sidenote : I learned a lot here on Photonet (Thanks guys !). So YMMV, all depends on the output you need.<p>

I bought this camera to cut down the costs on film, and to replace my EOS500n (Rebel G I think) and my Powershot A20. If you have shot with any SLR, you can just take the S7000 out of the box, put it on A,V or M and shoot. It is realy easy to use ! What quality concerns, I made some beautiful testprints (right out of the camera)on my modest Canon S500 on A4-size. This morning I will pick up commercially printed 5x7 prints (can't wait to see them). I understand the quality is not like a 300D (Digital Rebel), but the pictures from the Fuji hardly need any postprocessing unlike the DSLRs'.<p>

If your are a quality-freek, there is an issue with the compression to JPG, in standard mode it just compresses too much. The only setting you can choose is at 12 MP (fine or normal), but then the file is already interpolated to double the size. I did most of my shots at 6 Mp, and compared them to the same shots in Raw-mode, and there is indeed a noticable difference, due to the heavy compression. But for most shots, it's still O.K. Also, the Rawconverter just converts to Tiff-files (also 12 Mp !), so you can't make any modifications like white-balance etc..., but any photo-editing program allow to make corrections afterwards.<p>

For indoor use, it is a very capable camera, I did some shots at 800 ISO in fluorescent-lit kitchen without flash, and they came out fine. For outdoor use, remind that the lowest ISO-setting is 200, so for shots with bright sunlight at maximum aperture or long exposure you might need a ND-filter.<p>

What was quoted in the "bad" list on some reviews I read, was the fact that there was no remote control. Well, you can attach every standard mecanical shutter release to it, so that shouldn't be a problem (can't understand how the reviewer didn't see that the shutter button is prepared to take it...). Another downpoint was that the maximum exposure time in bulbmode is 15 seconds, which for the reviewer was too short. But he didn't notice that this is one of few digital cameras that has a multiple exposure mode, which means you can make as many exposures of 15 seconds on the same frame that you want.<p>

Resuming, I am happy with the S7000. It is okay for what I intend to use it for, and certainly capable of more.<p>

Regards,<br>

Kris<p>

Disclaimer : I am not responsable for talking you into buying something that doesn't match your needs :-)

Krista, with respect, there are MANY stupid questions. That statement belongs firmly

in the 'Dead Wrong' catagory, just like the statement that 'Every viewpoint is equally

valid.'

 

I think that Bob's answer was enough to spur you to do research on the camera a bit.

Now, you have to decide how much to spend. Given your budget, would you rather

spend the dough on a great camera and settle for shitty lenses, or would you rather

start with a lower end camera and get the good glass? Are you a beginner at SLR

photography? Is it for you? Have you handled an SLR before? It's OK to be a

beginner, but prepare to either do a lot of reading and learning, or be very

disappointed. It's not rocket science but the fusion of technical skill and artistic

expression is something not everyone is capable of. Good luck on your journey and

feel free to share your photographs with everyone here!

<i>"Ok. I have done my research. I have looked at the specs on it and found that I like most of what it has to offer."</i><p>Looking at specs is doing research?<p>There are at least 45 hits for "Fuji S7000" in a Google search of the Photo.net website. If you had read them all and then asked specific questions, you may have gotten the responses you were looking for.<p>This website's resources are far too expensive to waste on postings by people who are too lazy to do their own research.

Look at Steve digicam http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html. Everything you need is right there, including sample photos.

Since your price range is $500, you may wish to look at the Sony offering as

well as the Canon offering in the same price range, ignoring the number of

pixels and the sensor technology hyperbole.

 

Look at (1) the longest and shortest shutter exposure time allowed (2) the

widest ISO range and (3) the fastest lens offerings from the leading consumer

digital firms remembering that service matters. Hold the product in your hands

before you buy it.

 

The first item is an indirect measure of system "noise", the second an indirect

measure of sensor dynamic range (the ability to record both highlights and

shadow details) and the third delivers light to the sensor and has a non-trivial

impact on camera spatial resolution as well (the good cameras tend to offer

faster lenses).

 

Recall that software ease-of-use is a very important feature as is the firmware

upgrade history of the product. Visit the company websites looking for their

upgrade download pages.

 

Finally, PMA 2004 in Feb will bring surprises and big improvements,

especially at the $500 consumer market price point.

 

You are in a very large group of people honestly seeking advice on a rapidly

changing marketplace where performance "absolutes" one minute become

"obsoletes" the next. Nobody wants to buy a product that will be passed by in

two months.

 

Finally, each reviewer carries his or her own special bias and some of the

more popular ones even arrange to have test parameters chosen to favor their

pet camera companies and disadvantage its competition. For example,

choosing a known "soft" lens when a far better lens exists and then claiming

that the digital camera delivered "soft" resolution).

I think I've been shopping in the wrong places. Where can one get a DSLR and lenses

for under $500?

For those of you who think I did not do any research before I asked my question, you are wrong. I spend many days looking for the camera that I think best suit my needs. I just wanted some real ppl input on the camera. I'm shocked on how hard that is to get. I asked for input on a specific camera, the quality of it, and if it is good for indoors and outdoors. That is what I wanted answered. A few were mature enough to answer my question and I thank each of you greatly. The rest, well, not much to say about you. To think I didn't do research is just stupid. I always do my research before asking questions. I am an amature, and have never bought a desecent camera before. So shoot me for asking. In my research of why ppl didn't like my question on here, I have found that 100% of those who I talked to do not think my question was to general and they thought it was a direct question. I had asked 10 ppl on this, just because your comments made me curious.

 

I had taken the good information that I had received from those who decided to help me in deciding on this camera. Useful information was given. Non useful was also given and makes me not want to ask another question on here again. But I am not one to back down from those who may or may not have the same way of thinking. So thanks again, and I have decided to buy this camera.

Andrew Robertson , jan 24, 2004; 11:34 p.m.

I think I've been shopping in the wrong places. Where can one get a DSLR and lenses for under $500?

 

Go to amazon.com

Oops. I mistook it for its DSLR older brother.

For those who are interested, I did purchase the fuji finepix S7000. Thank you for all your help.

 

Krista

I own both S5000 and S7000 (the S5000 with Olympus 1.7 teleconverter lens for birding, over 600mm!) and they're freakin' awesome cameras!!

 

I shoot everything in RAW (invest in xD cards)convert with S7RAW, de-noise with Photoshop action and then typical PS post processing, and I get great results. Base ISO for these cameras is 200, and that explains the slight noise. Comparable to most other digital cameras. For the money, I don't see how you can beat the S7000.

 

Reviews. steves-digicams, of course, but at the end of his 'conclusion' pages, he has links to other professional review.

<i>"Why do you want to buy it if you don't know if it's any good?"<br><br>

 

"Krista, with respect, there are MANY stupid questions."<br><br>

 

"This website's resources are far too expensive to waste on postings by people who are too lazy to do their own research."<br><br> Yada yada yada ...</i>

 

This looks like a demonstration of dumb, dumber, dumbest. I can see that the quality of responses in photo.net hasn't improved since the bad old days, when caustic comments and bullying tactics abounded. Why is so much hot air (and bandwidth) expended on chastizing someone for asking a genuine question in a civilized manner? Wouldn't it be more efficient, pleasant and helpful to provide an constructive answer than to spout this self-righteous drivel? If you know the answer, please provide it; if you don't, <u>hold thy peace</u>.