Fujifilm 16202014 14 Digital Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Black)

FUJI FINEPIX S4500 - 14 mp, 30X zoom, 3" LCD screen, 4 AA bateries, camera strap, lens cover with hanging loop and cables to hook to the TV in the box. It weighs almost a pound, but with the strap - it's fine. Our new Fuji is an awesome, well-priced higher-end camera with lost of features. Only had it a week, but it has point & shoot features for those who are fairly new to digital, plus many high-end features for someone who is really an advanced photographer. I LOVE this camera!! Our Nikon 8 mg, 12x Zoom point & shoot is ok, takes really good pix, BUT - the refresh rate between pix is SO SLOW (5-6 seconds). Even with new Lithium batteries, we've always missed the 'next shot' when we're waiting for the red light to stop blinking. So we looked for a well-priced camera (similar to 'SLR' camera style.) We looked at Kodak, Sony, Canon & Fuji. We bought the Finepix 4500, as it has the most power in that series! It's only 1.8 seconds or less between clicks, and there's a continuous button near the shutter button that can take a number of pix just by holding the shutter button down. It has scene modes, close-up AND macro close-up; pause so you can get in the picture, face recognition where you can name up to 8 different people, and every time you take a picture, if one of those people are in it, you'd be able to find all the pix with that person by using the menus. Haven't gotten into the details yet, but we took a video w/audio and at 30 fps, it's smooth with very good audio. You can also take a picture within the video and not ruin the original. ONE THING I like to do is zoom in on a picture and take a picture of that zoomed in part, which is usually just pressing the OK button, but we had to look for it in the Fuji. It has it - you just have to choose the picture you want to zoom in on first, then click menu/crop and then you can zoom anywhere in the picture and it will ask if you want to record it. Click OK - the zoomed picture is taken (it won't take a zoomed picture from a zoomed picture, though.) The panorama pix are great, as you only press the shutter button once, and follow the screen - when you are lined up for the 2nd part of the pic, the camera shows a + that turns into a circle, then it takes the picture without you having to move at all then the same for the 3rd! There's still so much to learn. It has blink mode, so it will take 2 pix in a row to make sure the blink doesn't ruin the pic, it can remove red eye automatically, and do some basic editing like turning a picture, resizing, making a photo book, slideshow, etc. etc. **Don't be confused with the line: Fuji S4200, 43000, 4400 and 4500 - if you go to Fuji.com and search for the Finepix series, they all come up and you can compare them - the only difference is the digital ZOOM (24, 26, 28 & 30). The 14 mp is the same & so is the 3" LCD screen. You can even push a button and look thru the camera like the old 35 mm with the little window if the sun is too bright. What a WONDERFUL upgrade from the 8 mg we had!! And, after the last few years, we actually paid less for this Fuji than our old digital. My one suggestion would be for Fuji to make a slightly thicker rubber or plastic 'frame' around the LCD so the screen doesn't get scratched if you happen to lay it down on that side. http://www.amazon.com/ and search for Fuji Finepix S4500.

It seems that most of the bad reviews stem from people that are expecting too much from this camera. If you think you are going to get a job at National Geographic with this unit you are going to be disappointed. This camera is not a DSLR and will not take professional quality photos. It is however a very nice point and shoot consumer level camera with a nice super zoom lens that allows for a little creativity in manual and priority modes. The photos I have taken with this camera are in my opinion very good. It really shines outdoors with plenty of light. The colors are rich and the photos are very clear. The flash is not very powerful and unless your subject is within 8 feet of you in poorly lit areas the camera will struggle to take bright photos. The maximum aperture for the lens is 3.1 at wide angle, so the camera is not the fastest thing out there. Most of the other big name brands with super zoom bridge cameras also have a maximum aperture of around 3.0, so this camera's performance is not out of line with the competitors. When this model was first introduced last year it was selling for well over $200.00. It can be had now for well under $170.00 which is a bargain in my opinion. At that price I am not even concerned about letting the kids use it on field trips. I like the fact that is uses AA Batteries. I already have several AA Ni-MH rechargeable batteries for remote controls and clocks around the house and they can be used for this camera too.

I will do the downsides of this camera first: The on/off switch is too easy to hit while trying to pick up the camera and if the lens cover is on, one could damage the motor; the battery cover can be a real pain when I try to close it, sometimes easy-other times it just doesn't want to close; No real manual, I tried to use the CD that came with it, but it is loaded with too much junk, so I went on line and downloaded it from there, lots of pages; if you buy the adapter kits (you need both), the plug for the wall outlet doesn't stay all the way in and the connector for both the units is too loose, plus you have to remove the batteries and put the adapter in their place. This should be one complete unit and it should plug into the camera; the biggest complaint that I have is the fact that we can't use a filter to protect the lens (also we can't use optional lenses) which is not good if you are using this camera at the ocean or during a wind storm as they get out there in Texas, etc.. The camera is very easy to use and except for when I tried to take a picture of a rainbow, all of the pictures are coming out great even in low-light conditions. I only used the flash for a picture in a poorly lit Church to compare it with the other pictures, no difference. The movie mode is very good also. I shut off the sounds which makes for a very nice quiet picture taking experience. The other evening before the sun went down, we had a full moon not lit up yet and I got some very exciting pictures, craters and all, even without using a tripod. Taking pictures in panorama is very easy and fun to watch but, you can't use the telephoto lens, so you might need to get as close as possible to whatever you are trying to capture. I have had many SLRs in the past, but for this price range, you can't go wrong. I put a hand strap on mine as I didn't like the neck strap and it makes it a little easier for me to pick up and use. This camera will not fit into your pocket and it does have some weight to it, for me, no problem as I am use to this size and also the larger ones. If you enjoy picture taking, here is a good camera for you as it can do all of the work itself or you can go into manual mode. +JMJ+

Was looking for a camera in this class type. Amazon has the best price. I've seen lower end models of the same series go for more at local retailers. This camera is great if you want high quality photos. It has 30x zoom and an "easy" mode. If you are feeling confident you can adjust a lot of settings manually to get a more professional picture. Great for a family where 1 person knows what to adjust and 1 doesn't. This has all the latest technologies, like auto scene recognition, red eye reduction, face detection, in camera framing, panorama, and photo tagging. The Panorama mode lets you choose auto or manual. With auto you line up a crosshair after each picture. With manual it shows you about 20% of the last picture you took so you can line up the next picture yourself. You can do continuous shot mode where the camera will quickly take photos. To make the best use of the camera's speed be sure to get a class 10 SD memory card. The camera has 14 megapixels, but that is worthless. The average user doesn't need more than 8. Unless you are a professional photographer or photo editor and are going to zoom in to edit the photos or print poster sized pictures then you can turn the megapixels down to get more photos on your memory card. The camera has a great textured body to help reduce losing your grip. It runs off 4AA batteries which we wanted. This way when you are traveling you don't have to worry about charging a battery, you can buy AA's anywhere. The electronic view finder is also great. If it is too sunny outside you can turn the LCD off and look through the viewfinder (just a small, about 1/2 inch LCD) to see just fine. Overall great camera!

I own an older generation of this camera and loved it! I bought it one day and took it to Europe the next with little knowledge on how it worked. I had no problems with the older camera on that trip as it was very easy to figure out how to use the settings and it took fantastic photos! When the knob broke off days before my vacation last month I had a panic attack as I wasn't up on the latest cameras and little to no free time to go camera shopping. When I saw there was a new generation of the FujiFilm I have owned for 5 years, I decided to buy it given how happy I had been with the original FujiFilm that I owned. When I opened the box and powered it on, there was a thick white line down the middle of the display on the back of the camera so I called Fuji tech support. The person I spoke to quickly informed me there was nothing that could be done. He said it was damaged and to return it! He did me a favor with his advice. I was actually disappointed at how flimsy the new generation of this camera had become. The case is cheap plastic and I feel strongly it could easily crack without much trauma to it. My old camera was well made and held up after many trips in which I took hundreds of photos each time. I packaged the new camera up and sent it back to Amazon the next day. I ended up with a Canon PowerShot SX500 IS which operates much the same way as the FujiFilm I originally owned. It is constructed of much heavier materials and takes terrific photos. I would recommend the Cannon as it's well worth it. I was very disappointed in the FujiFilm camera. If you buy it you won't be happy. Holding it in your hands you can tell it's cheaply made and probably doesn't have much of a lifespan. I feel badly that I'm writing this review after owning the older model which I absolutely loved, but I felt I needed to so no one else makes the same mistake, especially if they are in a time crunch and need a camera quickly. This is not the camera you are looking for. I hope FujiFilm figures out that they've cheapened a great camera and make it right with the next model.

My 9 year old daughter bought this with her birthday money. It is a really nice point and shoot and makes her feel like a real photographer as its body is shaped similarly to a DSLR. The lens does not come off (which I knew already). The best thing about this camera as far as imagery is that it takes AMAZINGLY detailed macros. My expensive DSLR cannot take photos as sharp as this can. I actually steal it once and a while to take macros of insects. In indirect sunlight, where the sun is either behind or somewhat to the side, this camera takes gorgeous photos. The colors come out great and I love that you can use the viewfinder or the screen. The viewfinder view IS digital though, which is kind of odd to look at at first. If the sun is in front of you there is not really a good way that I have found to compensate for over exposure and therefore things may be blown out. But the beauty of digital photography is that you can see the result right off so you can try again. The worst thing about this camera so far is the strap. This is an important problem even though it may sound trivial. The strap is what keeps the camera from falling and smashing on the floor! This strap is USELESS. The second time that it let go around my son's neck (he has one too!) I threw the strap away and got one off my old Minoltas and rigged it up. The little metal brackets that hold the strap in place are very narrow so you have to have some kind of adapter for it. I used yarn tied tightly for my daughter's and then another camera strap that had metal clips on it. Don't even try using the one that comes with it as it only takes one time for a camera to hit the floor and break inside. In all this is a great stepping stone for climbing up the ladder to a DSLR that gives you some user control over your shots but is still lightweight, portable, and versatile.

I originally ordered a Canon SX30IS and then later purchased a Nikon L26, both of which I returned within days due to blurry photos. I almost expected the L26 at $107 to be marginally functional, but the SX30IS was more like $500 and I anticipated a good camera at that price. Wrong. I figured I was rolling the dice by ordering the S4500 at $160, but the reviews were reasonably good. Likes: The Fujifilm S4500 has a fairly good f-stop of 3.1 at minimum zoom, which produces great photos in low light situations. So far, nature photos are sharp and clear, even when the subject has a distant background. Portraits are particularly fine. The many functions are easy to understand and use. I've only spent a few minutes with the owners manual since most things are intuitive, assuming you've used a point and shoot before. The 30X optical zoom is great as long as there is plenty of light. You can't beat the price when it comes to this type of camera. Dislikes: I purchased a 16 GB Class 10 SDHC memory card for still shots and a 32 GB Class 10 SDHC for HD video. For some unknown reason, there are 9 minutes and 41 seconds available for HD video recording no matter which card is installed in the camera. One of the main reasons I purchased this model was to take an HD video of my daughter's wedding (or at least of their vows). I'm a bit disappointed with these results. A firmware update from Fujifilm was ineffective. I have a support ticket now to find out why this is happening. Hopefully I can determine how to double the video recording time before the wedding. Overall, I am very pleased with the camera. If I have to choose a lower video resolution for the wedding it certainly won't be a deal breaker. I'd recommend buying the S4500 to anyone as long as the HD video issue is resolved.

I have had this camera for about a month now, and am now confident in giving the most honest review. Shipping was fast--I believe there's an Amazon Distribution center somewhere in my vicinity, and may affect that. *Note--The Fujifilm s4000 series are all the same camera, with different zooms. Keep that in mind when you see different views. My Verdict, is that this is a genuine Bridge Camera--and as such, some people will hate it, and some will love it. The kind of people who will love this camera: -Myself. I'm a 22 Year old, self proclaimed Girl-With-Camera. I have had perhaps one college course on Photography, and I know the very bottom line of the technical (shutter, ISO, Aperture, Focal Range) and...quite frankly, I don't really care to worry about these things when I see something I want to shoot. I also know, about composition, lighting, and the more artistic value. Disappointed with a faithful, but still-too-slow Samsung point and Shoot, and a broken Film SLR, I decided, if the price was right, a Bridge Camera would be for me. -Nature Photographers--This Camera performs extremely well in this element. I've gotten pictures in Amish Country of Animals barely distinguishable to the naked eye. (More on this, later.) -A person with some Photography experience, but not a SLR snob. With that said, Some Pros and Cons: -This Camera is insanely faster than the few PAS I have gone through. I have fond memories of the "Oh I gotta get this picture" then waiting ten seconds for the "welcome" screen to clear. You switch on, its on. It can focus and shoot in as little as under a second. On the Contrary, it still isn't always fast, and that can be an issue from time to time. I've seen it struggle through "thinking" for well over 3-4 seconds, only for me to lose the shot. -Its ability to Focus, is still much higher than a typical Point and Shoot. Once it figures out it's "subject," you will find some of the finest details and they are naturally accentuated in the photos. While I'm still working on the "science," it also buzzes out the background, much like an SLR. The issue, is that since focus is automatic (which, is not surprising on any camera under $400), it seems to do whatever it feels like from time to time. I've taken pictures of my nephew in my living room and he is completely "highlighted" in some, and blends in the background in others. -Does the thinking for you. No matter what, focus is automatic, and, crucial to your pictures. Let me explain: I have a hard time calling this a point and shoot, because you can't tecnically do that, and expect good pictures. Why? Because the camera, at any given moment, is out of focus. It gives you a "preview" screen, but as far as what kind of light exposure, speed, and focus--it does all of this, with a half depress of the shutter (like SLRs). It takes this time to process the scene, find the subject(s), and adjust itself (you will even hear it, and see the screen "clearing up"). On a Film SLR, it probably does take about the same amount of time to adjust, and I can't say for sure with a DSLR (I've seen the worst kind of doofuses fire randomly and the pictures turn out half decent). Let me reiterate--your pictures can and WILL turn out blurry, odd, and just outright bad if you do not give the camera time to automatically adjust. If the camera indicates it did not focus properly, it will also likely turn our weird. Imagine someone yells to you "who is the president" and you yell "obama." Yes, that's correct, but a more detailed and thoughtful answer is "Barack Hussein Obama." -features, features, and more features. Again, this is a pro and con. For me, I am thrilled that there are 60 different settings toggled ten different ways. Macro in Black and White with flash? Super Macro in Chrome? HD video? What? On top of the Scenes you can select, the no less than three seperate Auto modes, a manual mode, panorama mode, a video mode and all sorts of little nuances I'm still finding--there's also Macro and Super macro. Honestly, I think its awesome--most days. But, when I actually want to be a tad artsy farsty, I have to spend a solid amount of time setting up this, setting up that, putting on macro, opening the flash, closing the flash, going into settings, turning a dial, etc. On a similar note, I would get this camera PURELY because of Macro and Super Macro. I cant exactly get into the logistics. But, what I do understand, is that Both settings, are using the focal strength of the camera in a very small space (so, very close, or very full on the screen.) It leaves a very stylish affect of NOT focusing on anything else aside from fine details of it's target. Macro, you can zoom--I find this to be slightly less detailed as Super, but also very great for shots of one object that may not be right at my nose. It does, however do a good job of focusing on one subject (say, a goose in the water.) -Performs WAY better in certain situations than typical PAS. My Boyfriend has a Canon Powershot which is probably a few months old. I recall, asking him to take a picture of me, and without further details, we will just say the room was dimly lit. They were, atrocious. I mean, like it was mostly digital grain. I thought, okay, it has a hard time in the dark. He took pictures of me during the day...and they were mediocre. blurry if you moved too much, grainy without flash, and flashy with the flash. The "night time" pictures pretty much scream "Hey this was taken with a reaaallllllyyy slow shutter speed, and the person holding the camera is not a tripod." I still have issues with motion shots--they look like I'm whirring by, my nephew will have three heads, and...its just gets weird. Also, maximum zoom is VERY unforgiving of a shaky hand. Otherwise, I am very thrilled at how well it handles odd, poor, and good light situations. You can, without a doubt, take some pictures with your own lighting and forget about the flash. In conclusion, I think this camera might just be too confusing/complex for the "snap pictures of the kids at the park" types, and too simple for the "pros." However, if you want a decent priced bridge camera with endless possibilities--from the portrait to the natural--I absolutely recommend this camera.