First Review of Fuji E900 - Good But Not Great.

[StanInNY]

First verdict on Fujifilm E900 is in. See the review at:

http://www.photoxels.com/fujifilm-e900-review.html

In a nutshell:

Picture quality is very good, but not as good as the F10's, since 50% more pixels (9M vs. 6M))are squeezed into a CCD (1/1.6") that's barely larger than the F10's (1/1.7").

100% crops appear to me to be nicely neuteral and sharp, with fairly good detail in shadows & highlights.

"Low noise at ISO 80, 100 and 200. Noise starts to be visible at ISO 400 (and quite vsible at ISO 800)."

"For those who prefer it, there is a small optical viewfinder, with parallax markings for the tele reach."

The presence of these markings made me suspect that the viewfinder does not zoom at all, so I called both Fujifilm in Edison, NJ and B&H Photo in NYC. They both said that that the viewfinder zooms.:) When I asked the guy at B&H Photo how small the viewfinder is compared to the Canon SD400, he said it's smaller than the SD400's and that it's functional only as a secondary means of viewing.:mad:

The review is not as comprehensive as Jeff's or DPreviews' reviews generally are, so I'll wait for at least one of the two to review the E900 before I jump for this camera. Also, I'ma gonna check it out first hand in da store, 'specially that viewfinder.

[Rosie]

Hi

I have the Fuji E900 and I have to say its a great little camera--fast,great pics .
I agree with most of the report but I would rate it very highly. My hubby has a Canon D60 and he is pretty impressed with it as well.:)

Rosie

[StanInNY]

Hi

I have the Fuji E900 and I have to say its a great little camera--fast,great pics .
I agree with most of the report but I would rate it very highly. My hubby has a Canon D60 and he is pretty impressed with it as well.:)

Rosie

Thank you for the feedback Rosie. It helps, since I'm re-considering purchasing this camera. I'd like to ask you three questions:

1) What is your opinion of the viewfinder on the E900? Is it very much the tunnel vision type? What about having to use the parallax markings it has?

2) Is the body made mostly of plastic (as I suspect) or metal?

3) If you shoot RAW images, how do you access them for processing? I can't find a RAW converter for this camera. I have read in several places that the included LE (Light Edition) Fuji RAW converter that comes in the box is useless, and that the EX edition upgrade costs a fortune - intended primarily for professionals who get a sufficient return on investment. Most conventionsl programs, such as Photoshop, Elements and others, have thin support for Fuji cameras, i.e., they support only the few Pro mdels and high-end zoom models.

I must add that even without RAW, the E900 seems to currently be the best on the market for low noise, high resolution, low light shooting and compactenss. The primary contender, in my view, is the Olympus SP-350, which has a flash shoe and focus-assist lamp, and is very compact. However its low light shooting doesn't approach the E900's and its zoom is only 3x as opposed to 4x.

-StanInNY

[ixania]

1) What is your opinion of the viewfinder on the E900? Is it very much the tunnel vision type? What about having to use the parallax markings it has?
>>You can't use the viewfinder in any point & shoot. sad but true.

2) Is the body made mostly of plastic (as I suspect) or metal?
>>seems to be plastic, but who cares...

3) If you shoot RAW images, how do you access them for processing? I can't find a RAW converter for this camera.
>>There is none. you have to buy the fuji hyper utillity 3.1b for $200. this rises the real price of the e900 to $ 700!!!

I have read in several places that the included LE (Light Edition) Fuji RAW converter that comes in the box is useless,
>>Yep, it is useless. It just converts the raw to a tiff. you have to wait 5-10 min. per pic....

and that the EX edition upgrade costs a fortune - intended primarily for professionals who get a sufficient return on investment. Most conventionsl programs, such as Photoshop,
>>Adobe is said to add support soon, but only in cs2, not cs...I'm waiting for silkypix. shame on fuji, after 3 e550 i'll never ever buy anything from this company.

[doc540]

I've been using this camera for about three weeks after my Casio EX-P600 was stolen. Impression are: 1. fast start up,
2. menus very good once you get used to them, 3. flash slow, 4. picture quality impressive (see post, jpeg right out of the camera), 5. macro-very,very good ( I won't share grissly surgical specimen photos!).

I think one need to decide what they really plan to do with the camera. I use it for photos in my medical office and operating room as well as travel. I really don't need RAW; I've adapted to the visual viewfinder; it's reasonbly small and light; I don't subject it to torture- it's mostly in a padded case-so the plastic (well made) body is fine. A lot of features that people pick at often aren't relevant for any individuals particular use of the camera. I will say that Fuji has some of the worst software that I've ever come across- but not matter Adobe has some of the best!

What do you think?

[StanInNY]

I've been using this camera for about three weeks after my Casio EX-P600 was stolen. Impression are: 1. fast start up,
2. menus very good once you get used to them, 3. flash slow, 4. picture quality impressive (see post, jpeg right out of the camera), 5. macro-very,very good ( I won't share grissly surgical specimen photos!).

I think one need to decide what they really plan to do with the camera. I use it for photos in my medical office and operating room as well as travel. I really don't need RAW; I've adapted to the visual viewfinder; it's reasonbly small and light; I don't subject it to torture- it's mostly in a padded case-so the plastic (well made) body is fine. A lot of features that people pick at often aren't relevant for any individuals particular use of the camera. I will say that Fuji has some of the worst software that I've ever come across- but not matter Adobe has some of the best!

What do you think?


Whatsup Doc540 !!

I think your photo really shows how good color and detail can be, especially with Fuji's newest sensor technology. It's an excellent combination of detail, resolution and light sensitivity.

I also think you're right about features, and that my emphasis on certain required features is different from yours. In any event, I decided on a major trade-off. I bought an imported Fuji 11 (similar to the F10, but with more manual control and a better LCD screen), which is due to arrive tomorrow. This is the best low-light (natural light) camera I can find on the market, except for the dSLR's, and therefore the best carry-everywhere camera for me.

I gave up the E900's 9M for the F11's 6M, manual focus for auto-focus-only, optical viewfinder for no viewfinder, and RAW for no RAW . But the ability to shoot at ISO 1600 and have usable images is extremely important to me because I like to take documentary/improvised shots without flash (but with shadow detail). The E900 has good ISO usability too, but it's exceeded by the F11's (usable at ISO 1600, though quality begins to drop off at about ISO 400)

I also decided to get a dSLR by Konica-Minolta (soon to be Konica-Minolta-Sony) because I have a few 35mm Minolta SLR lenses. I'll wait at least till after after the PMA show (wich takes place in late Jaunuary or in February) before getting a dSLR.


Let's all enjoy our cameras,
StanInNY

[doc540]

Let's all enjoy our cameras,
StanInNY

Couldn't agree more. Actually I have a Nikon D100 and some Micro Nikkors (60 and 105) that take care of the other stuff.

I just love the color and clarity of the pictures with the E900. If anything, 9 megapixels is bit of overkill.

[ardi]

I've been waiting for Jeff's review and it is taking a loooong time. I'm on the threshold, but while waiting for Jeff the price has fallen almost $100! Anyway, I've seen it at a Ritz store and like it, but I still can't tell if the red-eye is going to be a problem. My old camera (Nikon 990) is a real pain and I want the new camera to be a lot better.

Anybody have an opinion?

[proximal]

3) If you shoot RAW images, how do you access them for processing? I can't find a RAW converter for this camera.
>>There is none. you have to buy the fuji hyper utillity 3.1b for $200. this rises the real price of the e900 to $ 700!!!
It looks like s7raw (http://www.geocities.co.jp/SiliconValley-PaloAlto/9919/s7raw.html) can work with the E900. Can anyone confirm/deny? I too got to play with one at a Ritz and I was very impressed with the speed and controls. However, there's no focus assist lamp, and that's the only reason why I'm still thinking about it and don't have one yet.

[[mark]]

i'm thinking of buying one of these two camera's

the e900 or de s80 from canon...

but since i'm shooting mostly pictures of aquariums i was wondering if someone has a e900 and an aquarium and can post some samples...

how does the focus handel of the e900? en does the absense of an extra "focushelplight" realy matter??

[pubwvj]

Do NOT buy the Fuji FinePix E900 digital camera. They charged me $159 for a fix within the warrantee period. Their support manager told my wife the cameras are not being built well and dust gets inside destroying the gears. Rather than fixing them they replace them and then they charged me for the replacement even though it still had months left on the warrantee. See this article for the full story:

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/blog/2006/10/fujifilm-bad-choice.html