Which Fuji should I buy the Fuji S6000fd/S6500fd or S9100/..

External Since: Dec 12, 2005 Posts: 45

I have been taking a very very close look at the Fuji S6000fd/S6500fd as
well as the Fuji S9100/S9600 and feel I will definitely be buying one of
them -- but can't make my mind up which one. The S9600 is dearer but has a
tilt on the LCD which for my use is a benefit but I wondered if the LCD on
the S6000fd/S65000fd. was viewable, at an angle, and how much of an angle.
This will be the deciding factor!!!

Ken

External Since: May 06, 2006 Posts: 285

On Dec 29, 5:24 pm, "Ken" <Reply to NG only> wrote:
> I have been taking a very very close look at the Fuji S6000fd/S6500fd as
> well as the Fuji S9100/S9600 and feel I will definitely be buying one of
> them -- but can't make my mind up which one. The S9600 is dearer but has a
> tilt on the LCD which for my use is a benefit but I wondered if the LCD on
> the S6000fd/S65000fd. was viewable, at an angle, and how much of an angle.
> This will be the deciding factor!!!
>
> Ken

You've probably already considered all this, but I think a paragraph
from dpreview's summary is a good one:
=== quote
Put simply, whether the S6000fd is a better choice than, say the
Canon, Sony or Panasonic super zoom models depends on the type of
photography you do and the conditions you shoot in. If you tend to
stick to the wide end of the zoom, do a lot of hand-held low-light
work in situations where image stabilization doesn't help (basically
if the subject you're shooting is moving) and don't need a really long
zoom, the Fuji is ideal. If you want to do a lot of long telephoto
work - especially in good light - I'd go for one of the alternatives.
Do not, however, be seduced into thinking that the 6.3MP pixel count
puts the S6000fd at a disadvantage compared to its 7,8 or 10MP
competitors; the resolution is one of the best of any 'super zoom'
camera, and at ISO 200-800 the S6000fd retains far more detail.
=== endquote

Now I own the S9500, the precursor to the 9100/9600, and it is
essentially the same camera minus a couple of bells and whistles.
It's a very good camera for my type of shooting, mostly outdoors in
good light, and the little bit of extra resolution is handy at times
as I often print large. But... in terms of sensor performance the
s6000 is probably the better choice - it's high-iso imaging is
significantly better than the 9000, and the extra few million pixels
barely offset that.

In regard to the LCD issue, I've just got my 9500 out to check it out,
assuming it might be a similar design to the 6000 (probably a rash
assumption..). Sadly I have to report that vertically, a reasonable
image is maintained only from about -5° to +15° and horizontally,
about 10° each side. Beyond that, it is still viewable, but with
quite significant colour and brightness shifts, leading to that horrid
inverted effect you get with such screens... In other words, it
isn't very good at wide viewing angles. But because it is tiltable on
the 9xxx's that isn't really an issue, of course. It may well be that
the 6000 uses a different design because of it's 'fixedness' - I
suggest a trip to your nearest dealer...

Lastly, here's what I don't like about the S9500:
- slow flash recycle times (camera locks up), so I generally use an
external flash (would be nice not to have to)
- slightly soft lens at zoom extremes (but oh how I love the manual
zoom!)
- noise at medium to high isos (but better than any other similar res
camera)
- manual focus is fairly difficult (but it has a nifty quick-AF
function while in MF mode)
- would be nice to have IS

Having said all that, it's the camera that is *always* with me, and I
have several to choose from (MF to compact).

One last tip - at the times you want the absolute best from your Fuji,
shoot RAW and use DCRAW - let me know if you go down this path and
want any tips. When I first tried raw on mine, I was somewhat
disappointed with the results I got from the Fuji software (also tried
's7raw' for a while). But recently I tried dcraw, and was quite
surprised at how much extra I could drag out of the files using
dcraw's options.

Good luck with the choice, hope that doesn't confuse you more..

mt