Name of product:
Fujifilm FinePix S1500Approximate date of purchase:
Oct. 15, 2009My Review
My Fujifilm S1500 was my first digital camera. I bought it over others for two reasons. First, it felt like a camera instead of a poker card I could drop or forget to pick up one day. The second reason was because it had many features I was looking for. A relatively low price ($159.99) compared to other cameras of similar type and features was a big issue to a guy on a tight budget. I very much liked having a camera with a viewfinder -- a rare feature even back then. I liked the idea of having full manual capability along with the others like full auto and scene recognition. As time has passed, I came to appreciate other features that were not as important to me at first: AA batteries -- easy to find when traveling -- and Program Auto mode, which made it useful to learn manual mode. It has fine color. But, it is no match to the color and photo quality of my Canon SD1200 and SX120, which I later bought. Its viewfinder capability continues to keep it active and in use as neither of my Canon's have this feature. It is much easier to compose with a viewfinder I have found, and it is great in bright sunlight when the LCDs on the Canons would go dark. At this late date, the only thing I wish it had was Live View. Beyond that, I am still as satisfied with it as the day I bought it.
Camera "pros"
Terrific feature set: Lots of shooting modes; AA batteries, which it does not use up quickly; lightweight; easy menu system; nice grip; viewfinder; comparatively low price.
Camera "cons"
No "live view"; not the best color and photo quality.
