Why I Bought a Fujifilm FinePix S270 HD 12 MP 18X Superzoom Camera

Here is my experience with the recently purchased FujiFilm FinePix S2700 HD Camera. It's the perfect camera for my needs. The 12MP, 18X optical superzoom camera delivers more than it promises.

I never thought choosing a superzoom camera would be so difficult. My selection of the FujiFilm FinePix S2700 HD was made after evaluating a total of four superzoom cameras.

Good print quality at full optical zoom was my requirement. Fuzzy, grainy and noisy prints are an absolute deal breaker. Not only did I expect good print quality but I expect to have good print quality at a 1:1 scale. When printing photos on a smaller scale I expected excellent print quality. I had almost resigned myself to a DSLR before finding the FujiFilm FinePix S2700 HD.

DSLR cameras take superb photos. I just wanted to avoid the extra gear that goes with them.

The cameras I tried were:
Kodak Z981
Nikon P100
Canon Supershot 20X IS
Fujifilm FinePix S7200

My experience with the Kodak Z981 was a disappointment. It was the most comfortable fit of any of the cameras I tried. My enthusiasm slid downhill the photos were professionally printed.

My husband shoots with the Nikon D-90 and my daughter has the Nikon D-80. Neither would trade their cameras for anything short of an upgrade. We felt confident that the Nikon's CoolPix P100 would be the camera for me. We were all disappointed when that wasn't the case.

We headed over to Best Buy where the Canon Supershot 20X IS was in stock. A friend enjoys hers and thought I might too. That wasn't the case.

Frustrated, I was perusing the other cameras when the Fujifilm FinePix S2700 HD caught my eye. A friend takes great photos with a Fujifilm camera so I decided to give it a look.

The Fujifilm FinePix S2700 HD was a little light but seemed solid otherwise. It was a good fit in my hands and runs on four AA batteries. The in-store test shots seemed to be better than some were on the Canon I tried there.
The Fujifilm FinePix S2700 HD was priced at only $219. We usually get what we paid for when it comes to electronics. The price was low but the photos looked good on the screen. Best Buy has a 14 day return policy so I took the plunge.

The Fujifilm FinePix S2700 HD comes with the following:

Fujifilm FinePix S2700 HD Camera
4 AA Batteries
Shoulder strap
USB cable
Lens cap and cord
CD-ROM

As soon as the Fujifilm FinePix S2700 HD was assembled I grabbed my high speed SD card and headed out the door. My goals were to shoot in as many situations as possible and compare the prints with those from the other cameras.

What I liked

The Fujifilm FinePix S2700 HD is a pretty responsive camera. (It's not as fast as Hubby's D-90 but it comes pretty close.) The Fuji takes more time to focus in low light situations than in bright sun.

Video quality is excellent but the sound from the superzoom is apparent in the video. I didn't expect it to replace a camcorded and was surprised by the video quality.

At the photo lab the Fujifilm FinePix S2700 HD seemed to excel when compared to the other cameras.

There's a lot to like about the camera. All photos exceeded my expectations. Each print was sharp with minimal noise. The huge 12 MP provides excellent resolution. Low light and bright sunlight photos yielded good results. The color balance is good even in tricky situations.

In addition to auto mode there is room for manual adjustments. Adjusting for low light and night shots isn't difficult. The controls on the Fujifilm FinePix S2700 HD are pretty straightforward. So far, I haven't run into problems there.

Caveats

In my opinion, the battery door is awkward. You push the lever one way and pull the door another way. It's workable but definitely a two hand operation.

Installing the neck strap was interesting. To follow the directions both sliders had to be removed and put back on. I am glad to only have to do that once.

When shooting with the Fujifilm FinePix S2700 HD there are a couple of things to keep in mind. In low light, the camera takes noticeably more time to focus than in daylight. The battery door is a pain but workable.

I am uncertain about the battery life. The included alkalines drained after about 150 shots. Constantly focusing, changing settings and using it for fairly long periods will drain any set of batteries. My new rechargeable batteries are still going strong after 170 shots.

Shooting at full 18x optical zoom demands a tripod. This is reasonable. Even though the Fujifilm FinePix S2700 HD does an excellent job at shake reduction nothing replaces a quality tripod for steadiness.

I am now out of the two week return window and I am very pleased with my Fujifilm FinePix S2700 HD. This one is definitely a keeper.

Sources:
Personal Experience
FujiFilm
Best Buy