Fujifilm S4500 Compact Digital Camera

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 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.

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.