Great features and a Great Price...but Below-Average photos.

I bought this camera having previously owned the Finepix S1500, which I LOVED. This camera is its replacement and is virtually the same as the S1500 except it offers an incredible 30x mega-zoom lens and HD video. This camera is easy to operate and the functions are very easy to navigate. It feels good in the hand and you can adjust many common functions by fingertip without having to access the Menu. As far as lenses, how can you beat the convenience of a 30x Optical Zoom, a Macro lens, and a Super Macro lens all in ONE? The option to manually set your aperture and shutter speed makes this an excellent camera to learn basic photography skills, so in that sense its a true bridge camera.

That being said, I am sorry to tell you that I was very disappointed with the picture quality. Most images came out flat and the colors were bland. Its kind of hard to describe but the photos lacked depth and any real crispness. The focus was very inconsistent and I had a difficult time setting a focal point, even when using the tripod and timer. If you want to take any sports action shots you can forget it. The lag time is so bad you cant possibly follow a moving subject.

As I mentioned, I had previously owned the Finepix S1500 and loved it, so I REALLY wanted to like this camera. Yes it has all the features you could ask for in a camera and the price cant be beat. Unfortunately, it just doesnt take a good picture...even compared to a basic point-and-shoot camera.

Fuji S4000, best value, many features with an oustanding zoom lens.

I am a long time photogher and very critical of the equipment I buy. I wanted an inexpensive digital camera with good optics, slr viewfinder and one with a long zoom lens for nature and sports photography and one that did not weigh a ton. I also wanted one which used AA batteries for power. I have been stung in the past into buying a camera which used a propietary battery only to find in a year or two the battery was no longer availble, rendering the camera into a "paper weight".
I did considerable researh and determined that the Fuji S4000 would be my choice. Fuji is noted for great cameras and optics. I was not disapointed.
The camera is loaded with features. I especially found the panaramic system to be a great addion to the many features. The camera feels good with the camera grip. The screen is very bright, the viewfinder is more than adequet for sunshine viewing. I wish it had an eye piece adjustnent feature, but not a big problem.
I put the camera through a good test and the lens is remarkable sharp. Close-up is possible with-in less than an inch, Unbelievable!.
The camera comes with a CD as the instruction manual. Wish it were a paper manual, so I took the disk to a Staples store and had it printed out. Problen solved.
The camera is a terrific value! I highly reccomend it for beginners and the more advanced as a great "travel" and all around camera.

pretty good for price & dslr alike

first - this is point & shoot camera (dslr alike), not a DSLR camera .. .......................

CCD sensor did well, but still not enough (for me).... 30x zoom & 14MP is pretty good for that price... continuous best speed is pretty fast.... micro did really well... .................

720p hd video ?...that's really good for that price...but when you take video, zooming noise will be annoy you (for some peoples)..... ....................

good features in this cheap price camera.... size & weight are almost same to some beginner dslr... you can't change zoom lens though.... .............................

with that price, don't expect that will be perform like dslr.... continuous picture shoot speed are good, on par with dslr... super micro is almost or on par with dslr... ..............................​.......

but other then that, single shoot will be almost same with other point & shoot camera.... .... picture quality is still a little off (not on par with dslr yet)..........................​.......


but for Point & shoot camera with this quality , this continuous speed, this zoom,this price, these features in it, this is well enough with this kind of price.........................​..

if you want, dslr alike point & shoot camera, better then normal point & shoot camera & nice zoom,,, this is the camera for you .... but don't expect that'll perform exactly like dslr or some other brand's CMOS sensor... ..............................​.......

& if you want pocket or portable camera, this is not for you..

other then that i give it 4 out of 5 stars...

Move up to a really nice camera!

This is the second Fuji I purchased. My first one works great, but I dropped it one too many times and now the battery compartment doesn't shut, fully. This Fugi I bought for a number of reasons. Price: low. Features: great. Picture clarity: incredible. The only drawback is this camera does not come with a lens cover. I can't find one and Fugi has yet to answer my inquiry. Overall, this was a very good purchase.

this is the one folks if you want ton get that shoot right the first time.

great buy, i really didnt know what i was getting when i
bought this camera. the pics and discription was understated
for this one folks, this is the top on the line in camras,
its easy to operate and lets you shoot like a pro on the otherhand. it was really more that i had looked for. if you
can grab one folks, get it. many features to use and it does
it automatic for you also.