Fujifilm FinePix S100fs

Opinion: I was looking for a good camera that could also be used to record movie clips. I know that the movie recording of a camera can't match the quality of a dedicated camcorder, but the results of some cameras are quite good. I was impressed by the great quality movie files I made with my brother's Panasonic FZ-18, so I hoped that Fujifilm camera, costing almost double as much, and weighing double as much, could match it. This was my greatest disappointment: movie mode, no matter in bright light or not, no matter in a tripod or not, is simply so bad that it results almost useless.
By the other side, it is a camera that shines at high ISO - it gives pretty good pictures results at ISO 800 and 1600 - and at this aspect it clearly outperforms the FZ-18. And when you are in a dark place without a tripod (or in places flash use is forbidden), even ISO 6400 can be used to take photos that would be impossible with other non-professional cameras.
Image adjustment parameters are very limited. My old Olympus C-7070 had a saturation adjustment, for example, from "-5" to "+5", 11 positions in all. Fujifilm only gives me 3 options. The same for sharpness and tone (contrast). I think Fujifilm should had given more settings for each parameter in such an advanced camera.
Also, for a camera with this price and weight, I would expect more exposure bracketing range: -1, 0 and +1 (i.e. 3 pictures) is not enough for creating HDR images. Having the option of bracketing from at least -2 to +2 (i.e. 5 pictures) would be nice.
About film simulation mode: I found it actually not much useful. The same for expanded dynamic range. It can be very good for some specific photo situations, but in most of the pictures I tried with the "dynamic range bracketing" to compare the results, there was very little or no visible difference between the "normal" picture and the "400% DR" one.
By the other side, the much commented chromatic aberration was not a problem for me. I could seldom see it in the photos.
Finally, battery life could be a little better, but this is the easiest to solve: you just need to buy another battery.
Pros
- True high ISO. Very good results with ISO 800 and 1600. Up to Iso 6400 may be used in emergencies.
- Very good zoom range.
Cons:
- heavier than I would like
- few options for image parameters adjustments
- exposure bracketing only from -1 to +1 EV (not enough, if I want to create HDR images)
- very bad movie mode (much worse than cameras costing much less)

Opinion: I have had this camera for over 6 months now and can say that it is a very good camera. I also have a Canon Pro 90 is, Pro 1, 350D and a 40D so I can compare quite a lot. This is the one that I choose to use most of all. Not too bulky, good image quality, image stabilizer, hand held shots at 1/15 sec or less. One camera cannot have everything but this one is the best all rounder that I know of.

Opinion: Ive had this camera for 18 months now and shot about 4000 pictures.
It's certainly not an "easy to use out of the box" unit. You HAVE to practice and get used to it, but once you take the time and effort the results are stunning. Yes there are some problems with purple fringing, but not major. It's only in certain situations such as tree brances siloueted against a bright sky. There really are only a few pictures I have taken where it has shown up.

The zoom is fantastic with very sharp images, and wide angle is good. Focussing is fast and acurate. This is a great step up to learn about photography from a compact type camera.
I had the Pana FZ20 bridge before this. That was easier to use, but picture quality from this knocks spots off it.

It's practically as good as a dslr, but not quite, but then again nothing will ever quite match a decent dslr. Certainly if you get a decent dslr with a cheapo lens, the results can be worse then with the s100fs.
I've shot birds in mid flight, flying aircraft, wildlife,landscapes. I challange you to sensibly spot the difference between some of my shots and those from a basic dlsr. Yes if you want to compare it to £5000 worth of kit it wont match it, but otherwise it will certainly give them a run for their money.

Would I recommend the s100fs. Yes, but be aware it's not a full dslr, but far far better then any compact out there, but you do need to take time and get to know the camera!

Oh, do though go out and get a couple of spare (3rd party) batteries as they dont hold their charge that long.
woody

Opinion: Great all around camera, the lens with it's wide range comes in really handy. The stabilization system is excellent; I can easily take hand held shots with full zoom plus the 2x digital zoom. In general the pictures are of very high quality.