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Details at a glance
Megapixels: 9
Optical Zoom: 10.7x
Digital Zoom: 2x
LCD screen: 1.8inch
Storage: CF, xD, M
Size: 128(w) x 93(h) x 129(d)
Weight: 645g
We clicked with
The manual zoom and the manual focus ring
Shots in the dark
The tiny bundled storage card
Links
More Fujifilm information
www.fujifilm.co.uk
Price Comparison:
Fujifilm FinePix S9500
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From the rubberised grip to the manual focus and zoom rings and the dual flash connectors, the FinePix S9500 looks and feels like a digital SLR and it has all the features you'd expect from a digital SLR; but you can't swap the 10x zoom lens out for anything else. That said, the lens is more than a match for the ones supplied with most budget SLRs, going from wide angle 28mm to 300mm with a 10cm macro that goes down to 1cm in Super Macro mode.
Perhaps because it will appeal to snapshot photographers and enthusiasts, the S9500 has two memory card slots; one for xD and one for Compact Flash. The LCD screen flips out and swivels so you can look up or down at it if that makes it easier to frame your shot. Pressing the display button cycles through more information than usual: you can see a composite histogram, current settings including shutter speed, f/stop, ISO, white balance, contrast, and flash compensation, details of the memory card you're using or a rule-of-thirds grid. If you prefer the electronic viewfinder that also displays plenty of information and you can correct the diopter. Both LCDs show very nearly 100% of the picture area so you won't end up with unwanted objects at the edge of your photo; something not all SLRs manage.
Good weight
The S9500 feels solid rather than heavy and the weight is well balanced; which makes a difference when you're using the high zoom levels. The controls are laid out like an SLR and fall naturally under your thumb and index finger when you're holding the grip; the slight angle to the shutter release helps here. You get dedicated keys for exposure compensation, flash, and burst mode but white balance, ISO selection and the self-timer are menu options. Selecting RAW mode is also a separate option from choosing image resolution and harder to find.
You have the choice of aperture priority, shutter priority or full manual control and you can control the flash, bracket the exposure and store two custom white-balance settings. You can't bracket white balance or focus. The manual zoom and focus rings give you excellent control; you can speed things up by pressing a button to auto focus and then adjusting the final focus by hand.
The 9 megapixel sensor produces excellent images with strong but realistic colours, good focus and exposure with minimal distortion. The Super Macro mode produces impressive detail and good colours. Night photography was particularly impressive, even in automatic modes.
Anti-blurring
There's no image stabilisation as such; instead of moving a lens element the S9500 uses its higher ISO speeds to compensate for the blurring you can get at high zoom values, and to give you better results in low light without washing out the picture by using the flash. You can even use the anti-blur feature with wide-angle shots. This works well, even when it pushes the speed up to ISO 800 because there's less noise than on many fixed-lens cameras. Shooting at ISO 100 gives you photos that print well at 8 x 10; there's no noticeable noise at ISO 400 and even ISO 800 images will work well as 4 x 6 prints.
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Ease of use 
Functions 
Value for Money
Overall 
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You could get a budget SLR model for this price - especially as you'll need to budget for AA rechargeable batteries and something larger than the 16MB xD card it comes with. But the S9500 is an excellent combination of performance and features; it gives you the feel of an SLR without the inconveniences and it gives entry-level SLRs some strong competition.
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