Review on Fujifilm FinePix Z900EXR Digital Camera Black - 16MP CMOS Sensor, 5x Optical Zoom, Touchscreen by Runbi Alvarez

I bought this camera directly from Fujifilm rather than Revain due to the huge price difference, although I would have preferred to go to Revain due to the excellent quality customer service. I waited several months to get this camera after it was first announced as it had the features I needed and I took a big risk buying it before there were professional reviews or even user comments gave. This camera is very attractive from the outside. It is beautifully shaped and has a sleek, modern look. I have the blue version. I think that's the only camera that really looks good; other cameras I've seen are nothing like it. The exterior of this camera is a work of art. The camera is also extremely compact and easily fits in a shirt pocket. Despite its small size, it appears heavy and solid. I really enjoy dealing with him. I use the HDMI interface to display images and video from this camera on a very large TV, the excellent Sharp Aquos 60 inch HD TV, which stretches images very far to reveal imperfections. . My remarks focus on this type of presentation. Others who only view their photos and videos on a computer monitor or small television may find it more convenient to view what they see. The first camera I received had several major problems. In movie mode, focus was extremely erratic and you could see the camera constantly trying to focus, even at long distances from stationary objects or just very distant static scenes like landscapes. Another big problem was that when zooming during video recording, the image completely lost focus and became completely blurry, making it unusable during that time. I called Fujifilm tech support and spoke to someone who wasn't mumbling impatiently in a heavy foreign accent, quite refreshing but he wasn't actually holding the camera and was puzzled by the issues I described. This is poor management from Fujifilm - they had to train their tech support staff extensively before launching the product to make them experts. The support rep advised me to return the camera as he had no idea how to fix the issues. Because no other camera in this class or price range has such a feature set, notably 1080p video at 30 fps (not what other brands mistakenly call "Full HD" when it's only 1080i or only 24 fps), plus optical Image stabilization and optical zoom, I was very reluctant to return it and start over with another product. So I traded it in for another identical camera through Fujifilm, hoping that the issues I was having were caused by defects in my particular device and not a design flaw that affects all devices. The camera I received as a replacement showed much better focus when shooting video, although there were still some minor focus issues. However, this still renders the image a complete blur when I zoom in while recording a video, indicating a design flaw rather than a defect in this single element. That's an unforgivable, ridiculous weakness of the Z900. That means you can't use zoom as a dynamic feature when recording videos, only to help you frame your shots before you start recording. I disabled the digital zoom, so I can't comment on performance. It's nice to have stereo sound, which is an absolute requirement when making a camera purchase decision. At least one competitor brand only has mono sound that goes insanely back to the 1950s and I would refuse to buy this camera just for that. The Z900's microphones are surprisingly sensitive, picking up a lot of faint sounds and reproducing them with good fidelity. However, for some reason the mic holes are on the top of the camera, not the front. I can't figure out how it makes sense to record sound from an orthogonal direction away from the lens - the lens faces forward and the mics face up. The designers of this camera should have found it easy to place the microphones in the front instead of on top. I also miss the microphone jack. I realize that almost all camcorders in this class don't have a microphone jack either, but Fujifilm missed the opportunity to differentiate this camera from the competition with this useful feature. I'm happy to pay a little more for this opportunity. The Fujifilm Finepix Z900 takes really great photos. Details are very sharp even on my very large TV, colors are rich and vibrant even for my visual impairment (see below). In this case, set your camera settings to maximum detail and the largest photo size. I think with lower settings to save memory they won't look as good. I think it makes more sense to buy a larger capacity SD card than lowering the quality of the photos. I haven't tried auto scene selection with many scenes yet, so I can't comment on that. So far this has worked very well for me. You can tap an object on the screen to have the camera follow and focus on it, and this feature works well except for small, distant objects in complex scenes, which isn't a huge drawback. The video looks pretty good, with good colors and reasonable sharpness. (Remember, I'm watching it again on a very large HD TV). With a frame rate of 30fps, it captures moving subjects well, not blocky like 24fps cameras can. A review I saw for another product warned that you shouldn't expect excellent HD video quality on par with what you see on DirecTV from a budget camera, and that's very true of the Z900. I would rate the quality of the video as good, very good. One problem is that when panning a clear, even background like the sky, you might see small imperfections in the field of view that remain in the same position as when panning, e.g. B. Dust or film on a window pane. I don't think it's dust or dirt on the lens glass. These are probably defects in the optics or in the video sensor. It's not a big problem or a deal breaker, but it's a noticeable video bug. Even when photographing a large number of trees from a distance, individual leaves are not visible; it becomes blurry. I think it would be unrealistic to expect much more from a product of this class and price range; these are simply the practical limitations of such a device. If the movies are for Youtube or are only viewed on your computer monitor then these issues are not a problem. I would love to use the video capabilities of this camera on vacation, at family gatherings, or even when shooting non-theatrical amateur films. The 16 x 9 touchscreen covers almost the entire rear of the camera and works very well, although it picks up smudges very well. Its touch sensitivity is well tuned. The screen image looks really good, sharp and bright with minimal lag, and the placement of the controls on the screen is well thought out. Low light performance is very good for both photos and videos, much better than other products I've seen in this class. The image stabilization feature seems to work well, although I haven't found any indication on the display that it's actually on. connect with it. I'm always afraid of damaging the camera by plugging it in and wondering if I even installed the connector correctly. The tripod mount appears to be plastic rather than metal and I haven't tried it yet. . The battery is charged by removing it from the camera and placing it in the charger. Not only is this inconvenient compared to plugging the charging cable into the camera while the battery stays in, it speeds up the day when the ejection mechanism or outer cover breaks from constant use. A fully charged battery will last a reasonable amount of time before running out of energy when actively using this camera for photography, video recording and playback. I wouldn't describe the charging time as short, but as moderate. We all want our camera batteries to last longer, but I think given the nature of modern digital camera technology, they really can't extend the life of existing batteries. This camera uses color coding extensively, particularly red and green. As a red-green color blind, I wish they were more responsive to the needs of customers like me. Of course no other products do that, but I always feel discriminated against and this product doesn't help. There are some features that I just don't see, such as: B. changing the color of the indicator light to indicate that the picture can be taken, or changing the color of the light on the charger to indicate that it is fully charged ( I need to ask a family member to tell me if he is still green). The camera also employs typically non-intuitive iconography, forcing you to constantly consult the instruction manual until you become familiar with its features. The instruction manual is comprehensive but not very well written and sometimes does not exactly correspond to the functions of the camera itself. The software that comes with this camera is very primitive and not of very good quality; I would give him three at most. Overall I'm happy with this product for the price and will keep it for myself. It has an almost unique combination of features in this price range and works well enough for my needs. Most importantly, he takes really great photos and good films. Motion blur when using the zoom during video recording and a number of other significant shortcomings spoil what could otherwise be called a groundbreaking product.