# New camera advice...



## S-X-I (Sep 6, 2006)

I've been looking for a new camera for sum time now and with my yearly bonus in this months pay slip its now time to buy one.

I already have a basic point and shoot digital camera and i am looking to upgrade to something that has more features and that can produce better shots.

I have been looking at the Fujifilm Finepix S9600.

It seems to be a very good bridge camera, not a full DSLR but better than a point and shoot.

Does anyone have any experience using these and what are you opinions on this camera?

Also is there any alternatives that i should be looking at?

Any help would be much appreciated. :thumb:


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

As i have said on quite a few threads, if you buy a one of these cameras you are wasting your money as although it looks like a big pro camera it still has a small sensor that produces noisy, fuzzy images.

Get a entry level DSLR the price difference is small and the advantages are huge.


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## Nobski (May 29, 2007)

Canon G9 tbh ~ very happy with mine and fits in your coat pocket :¬D


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Nobski said:


> Canon G9 tbh ~ very happy with mine and fits in your coat pocket :¬D


The G9 is a superb camera as it is a very good balance between size & image quality, which makes sense.


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## S-X-I (Sep 6, 2006)

rmorgan84 said:


> As i have said on quite a few threads, if you buy a one of these cameras you are wasting your money as although it looks like a big pro camera it still has a small sensor that produces noisy, fuzzy images.
> 
> Get a entry level DSLR the price difference is small and the advantages are huge.


Does the noise just not effect the images if its highly zoomed or enlarged when printing?

Could you recomment and other camera's.


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

S-X-I said:


> Does the noise just not effect the images if its highly zoomed or enlarged when printing?
> 
> Could you recomment and other camera's.


In a very simplified way yes, if you were printing just 6x4 prints youwould probably not encounter these issues but once you go bigger it will be noticable.

The Nikon D40x would be a good camera to go for, around £300 mark with a kit lens. Or if you want a compact the the Lumix range is very good.

But my advice is either get a nice pocket size camera or a DSLR, not a bridge camera as you are getting a camera that has the disadvantages of a DSLR (weight, size) but none iof the advantages (image quality).


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## Dingo2002 (Apr 4, 2007)

Noise in a camera image is actually produced by the sensor. The higher ISO (speed) you use the more likely you are to encounter "noise" which is in simple terms, the individual pixels in the sensor heating up. The noise appears as fuzzyness in the image. Software such as photoshop and other free applications like the-gimp and paint.net can lesson the effect of noise.

Fuzzyness experienced when zooming in is due to the quality of the lens glass and focal systems, fuzzyness experienced when printing out large images will be down to the quality of your cameras sensor and in part but not completly its megapixel count.

The finepix S9600 is actually not a bad camera and is used in the field by some professionals due to its portableness and ease of use. It will struggle in some situations to match a DSLR for image quality but for normal point and shoot situations it will be more than adequate. You can get a budget DSLR for similar money but factor in a large lens (the fuji has 28-300mm) and it'll start to get expensive.

visit my site BTW http://www.dh-photography.co.uk


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Dingo2002 said:


> Noise in a camera image is actually produced by the sensor. The higher ISO (speed) you use the more likely you are to encounter "noise" which is in simple terms, the individual pixels in the sensor heating up. The noise appears as fuzzyness in the image. Software such as photoshop and other free applications like the-gimp and paint.net can lesson the effect of noise.
> 
> Fuzzyness experienced when zooming in is due to the quality of the lens glass and focal systems, fuzzyness experienced when printing out large images will be down to the quality of your cameras sensor and in part but not completly its megapixel count.
> 
> ...


The other thing that a S9600 will suffer greatly with compared to a DSLR is CA (Chromatic Aberation), purple fringing due to how close the photosites are together and how shallow they are.


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## Dingo2002 (Apr 4, 2007)

rmorgan84 said:


> The other thing that a S9600 will suffer greatly with compared to a DSLR is CA (Chromatic Aberation), purple fringing due to how close the photosites are together and how shallow they are.


"Greatly" is a little strong i'd say you will certainly get it at the far end of the zoom range but under normal use it shouldnt be too bad.

This gallery http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms6000fd/page15.asp is a sample from a test on the S6000 which is a couple of models prior to the 9600 being brought out and should give you a reasonable idea of the quality from normal use. Bear in mind this is a 6.1mp camera and the 9600 is 10.1


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Dingo2002 said:


> "Greatly" is a little strong i'd say you will certainly get it at the far end of the zoom range but under normal use it shouldnt be too bad.
> 
> This gallery http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms6000fd/page15.asp is a sample from a test on the S6000 which is a couple of models prior to the 9600 being brought out and should give you a reasonable idea of the quality from normal use. Bear in mind this is a 6.1mp camera and the 9600 is 10.1


It's not so much the focal length that matters, you will get CA at any length when shooting high contrast scenes.


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## Dingo2002 (Apr 4, 2007)

i've alwasy noticed CA (purple fringing) more when shooting scenes at high maginfication to be honest though i know it's down to the refraction qualities of the glass in the lenses. With the fuji you will get noticeable fringing but to be fair getting a DSLR for the same budget will almost certainly have the same sort of CA. The kit lens on my K10D shows CA quite frequently in shots containing sky scenes and contrasting objects. It's rarley completely elliminated and to see a noticeable difference you'd be looking at a lens around the same cost as the camera  Even my 90mm Tamron at about £280 has some CA now and again


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Dingo2002 said:


> i've alwasy noticed CA (purple fringing) more when shooting scenes at high maginfication to be honest though i know it's down to the refraction qualities of the glass in the lenses. With the fuji you will get noticeable fringing but to be fair getting a DSLR for the same budget will almost certainly have the same sort of CA. The kit lens on my K10D shows CA quite frequently in shots containing sky scenes and contrasting objects. It's rarley completely elliminated and to see a noticeable difference you'd be looking at a lens around the same cost as the camera  Even my 90mm Tamron at about £280 has some CA now and again


Yeah the quality of the lens does effect it quite a lot, and you will never completely get rid of it, i have a Nikon 17-55 f2.8 which is an £800 lens and a 70-200VR 2.8 which is a £1400 lens and they still get CA if you look closely enough.

But the larger sensor of a DLSR will always help to control them better than a P&S.


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## Dingo2002 (Apr 4, 2007)

rmorgan84 said:


> Yeah the quality of the lens does effect it quite a lot, and you will never completely get rid of it, i have a Nikon 17-55 f2.8 which is an £800 lens and a 70-200VR 2.8 which is a £1400 lens and they still get CA if you look closely enough.
> 
> But the larger sensor of a DLSR will always help to control them better than a P&S.


Fair point. Nice lense by the way 

I'd still not advise against the Fuji or higher end compact cameras as they serve a purpose and some people simply don't want the extra size and inconvienience a DSLR brings.


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## S-X-I (Sep 6, 2006)

Good arguments from both sides.

I see 'rmorgans' point but with a basic DSLR you have to add to acheive better results.

And IMHO the S9600 is near enough at the top of the basic digital camera scale.

I'll have a look at some reviews online.

Any more help is more than welcome.


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Dingo2002 said:


> Fair point. Nice lense by the way
> 
> I'd still not advise against the Fuji or higher end compact cameras as they serve a purpose and some people simply don't want the extra size and inconvienience a DSLR brings.


Yeah i think that's why the 9600 is a bit pointless if you want a small pocketable camera get a small P&S, if you can handle the extra bulk and weight get a DSLR these bridge cameras are just in limbo land.


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## CK888 (Apr 23, 2006)

I have no user experiences with the S9600 but I strongly recommend getting a DSLR instead of a any bridge cam. Much more flexible, able to change (broader range) lenses to suit your shooting style. Popular 'beginners' DSLRs like 350D/400D/D40/D50 is good enough especially the prices on ebay/refurb. Get one that feels comfortable to use and pixel quality over pixel count imo.

For a decent compact, get a s/h Fuji F30/31fd that has a slightly larger P&S sensor.


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