Fuji FinePix E900 Digital Camera Review
By Emily Raymond
Reviewed.com Editorial Staff
February 05, 2006
The Fujifilm FinePix E900 is built for photographers who want control over their images, but don’t want to break the bank for a DSLR or carry around 20 pounds of equipment. The Fujifilm FinePix E900 has 9 megapixels packaged into a compact but comfortable-to-hold body. The E900 has a 4x optical zoom lens and some other great features for a retail price of $499.
The Fujifilm FinePix E900 is one of the more versatile digital cameras on the market. You might get tired of an automatic compact after awhile, but the Manual and Semi-Manual modes on the E900 will keep you busy for much longer. This camera has a Manual mode and Aperture and Shutter Speed Priority modes in addition to its Auto and Scene modes. It doesn’t have a long list of Scene Modes like most cameras, though. Only four scenes are available: Portrait, Sport, Night, and Natural Light. The similarly-priced Nikon P1 has 16 Scene modes and wireless capabilities to transfer photos to enabled computers.
The Natural Light mode is designed for photographers who want to take a shot in low light, but don’t want to use the flash because of its harsh and unnatural lighting. So if you’re taking a picture of your son blowing out his birthday candles in an otherwise dark room, the Natural Light mode will let you capture it without the blown-out white-forehead look. This mode is made possible by the E900’s wide ISO range, which extends from 80-800. We tested the Fuji E900 in low light and it performed quite well.
We ran some other tests on the E900 and found that it produces decent colors, but they’re not entirely accurate. So when you print your pictures of that birthday party, your son’s red shirt will look a little too red. Besides the color issue, the prints look great. With 9 megapixels you’ll never see the “digital” stair-step look. We tested the manufacturer’s claim of 9 megapixels and found it to be accurate. The resolution was very impressive, which is amazing for a compact camera. In this respect, the Fuji E900 ranks with digital SLR cameras.
The E900 isn’t insanely speedy, but is still respectable. It can shoot 2 pictures per second and takes about 2 seconds to start up and take its first shot. The Fuji E550 was quicker to the draw as it took 1.2 seconds to start up. Shutter lag is an issue on this camera, as it takes about a half-second for the autofocus to get with the program and grab the picture.
The Fujifilm FinePix E900 measures 4 x 2.5 x 1.4 inches, so you won't want to stuff it in a pocket. It is thick and heavy at 9.2 ounces, but that figure includes the two AA batteries it takes to power the camera and the small xD-Picture memory card. The E900 comes with a 16 MB xD card, which is enough to take an entire three full-resolution images, so you’ll want to get another memory card if you plan on purchasing this model.
With a 2-inch LCD screen, the E900 has one of the smaller views of recent cameras. It has 115,000 pixels and is hard to see when you’re not viewing it straight-on. This FinePix also has a Movie mode that shoots 640 x 480 and 320 x 240 pixels at 30 fps, but there is no optical zoom available. Even still, the camera’s microphone picks up the motor noise of the auto focus system. The Canon S80 has higher video resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels, but its 3.6x optical zoom lens still isn't functional while recording movies.
You may be frightened by the prospect of manual controls, but the Fujifilm E900 is very easy to use. It will be a great step up for consumers who are bored with their compact models. The E900 gives users a little spice in the shooting experience and, above all, takes great pictures.
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