FinePix S4000 14 MP Digital Camera with Fujinon 30x Super Wide Angle Optical Zoom Lens and 3-Inch LCD

This is a good camera with a lot of features and it takes good pics.No its not a 800.00 camera and should not be compared to one.I have 2 freinds who are professionals and are amazed at the pics it takes compared to its price.I was able to take some great night pics with it that looked like daylight , and some fairly good close up pics.The zoom works well and is not slow as some say.You do get what you pay for but in this case you get a lot.its a good value for someone looking for a good camera who isnt a pro and just wants some good features that are usable and who are on a budget.I will say it is plastic so dont drop it.a metal body would of been nice but it would of increased the price a lot also.

Great camera! I purchased this camera to replace an older model high-end point and shoot. It has a 30X zoom lens that allows you to get photos from a distance that are sharp and clear. I consider myself decent amateur photographer. I hike a lot and take the camera with me all the time. Landscapes and wildlife are my most common types of photos. On my first outing with the camera, I was able to get a photo of a bald eagle that was at least 1000 feet away. I especially like how much feedback the camera gives you while focusing. It will tell you if the focus isn't correct, if the picture will be blurry, if someone blinked, and a lot more. If you're used to using pocket point and shoot cameras, this will be an easy transition. Two features I especially like are the electronic viewfinder and the use of AA batteries for power. Using the setting for high resolution photos, I still get 300+ photos from one charging of the NiMh batteries. While this camera doesn't have the range of adjustability of an DSLR, it takes photos that look just as good. My only disappointment is the camera software. It isn't nearly as sophisticated as the camera. My old Olympus camera software is about 5 years old and is far superior. Fortunately, there's lots of photo software out there to use. I would recommend this camera.

I have been around Photography about 45yrs. and have had allot of excelent equipment(Nikon)so I feel qualifyed to make these comments. I say that honestly not arrogantly. I was looking for a camera that had the capability to do what I require of it without allot of weight to carry around. I resarched this camera for two months bofore I ordered it in Dec. of last year. Whan it came I had already read the online manual from Fujifilm Global (and I highly suggest you do the same)so I knew about what to expect. So I thought! I have long been impressed with Fuji Lenses, but this camera absolutly floored me. First of all I was impressed with all the controls. This camera is loaded with all the great features I was looking for and a bunch more. This camera is as simple as you want it to be, or it can be as sophisicated as your mind can think. If you are a biginner or a pro, you will love this camera. I really like the light weight and size. It will fit in a coat pocket easily and when it is around your neck it's not a problem. I have put this camera to many tests that most people would never care about, but that's me. It passed all I put it through with streight A's. The lens on this camera will take your breath away. I tested it from the super macro through it's max telephoto and when I viewed the results I really could not believe my eyes. It was really that good. And yes, I am critical!!! When I got used to the camera (which is user friendly) and became fimilure with the controls, I was amazed at all that this race horse can do. I was really impressed with the three focus modes. They are HARD, SOFT, and STANDAD. They are refered to in the menue on the camera as "Sharpness". The "HARD", is mostly for taking shots of buildings and archecture. The "STANDARD" is for general shots that you take every day (excelent by the way) and "SOFT", which is mostly for taking portraits or shots where you might like to add a little "MOOD" to your shot. The "INSTANT FOCUS" features in this camera are really easy to use and will add to your many pleasures I assure you this camera will give you. I really, really, urge you to learn this as one of the first things you master, you will see why on your own! I have done some macro work with this camera as close as one inch from the lens while hand held, and the shots were super. (normally if you don't use a tripod these are hard to do)I would say the same for the telephoto end of this lens. Fuji outdid themselves with their "Dual Image Stabilization" system!! This camera has two fully atomatic modes where the camera dose all the thinking for you. The "Fully Automatic Mode" speaks for its self, and the results do also. The "Scene Recognition" (SR) mode will produce outstanding shots in all kinds of tough lighting shots. I use this allot if I am not sure of a scene. The "MANUAL MODE" is as good as any I have used. There are many many more features that I will not go into for times sake, but let me tell you this: "This is all the camera you need." So why not 5 STARS? I only have a few remarks, not complaints! First, I wish it had a "B" Mode, but I can do without. Also, I don't know why there is no cable release, but the self timer will work just fine. The threaded hole for the tripod is plastic. I am used to metal so I get the feeling this is a weak link. But I could be wrong, since the body is plastic, and if you research this they (Fuji) claim to have used a "High Impact" plastic. I did not test this, nor do I plan to. I'll take their word and try not to drop it. In conclusion: For the money this is much more camera than I expected. Great optics, great features, great feel, great looks, and "FABULOUS PICTURES". One last thing: Go online and search "Fujifilm Global", look for the X4000 and then download the instruction manual. The book they send you is a typical hand book. The online manual is good and is worth your time to download specially if you are new to cameras. I have shot many frames through the years, but this little camera excites me to no end!!! Happy Shooting.

The Fuji Finepix S4000 is a great camera especially for the price of about $200. The 30x zoom is great. It is at it's best outdoors of course. I found that taking pictures using the long zoom does not work well if the subject is not lit; that is probably true for any camera. it helps to read the manual and to take pictures playing around with the different settings. The higher ISO settings work very well in low light situations. the camera does take good pictures in low light as long as it is not a far off zoom with an unlit subject. I have been using regular AA batteries and they have worked well for the amount of pictures I take. the video is good, but once you zoom in on the subject you are trying to video, the zoom seems to lock into a small range. I have not figure out the aperture setting, maybe it is meaningless for this camera. But I have found that a number of the reviews listed here that have complaints are from a lack of understanding of how to use the camera. Maybe some of my issues are the same as well. The only thing I wish this camera could do was take raw pictures. then you could do a lot more editing of the photos. This is one of the main differences between this and a DSLR camera.

The features of this model are improved over my older model, and a few online videos showing the ways to select the various choices were excellent and easy to master. It was a great price, had a good camera, and offered fast service.

Have had the camera for about 2 months now trying to play with the settings. Only outside pictures come out proper. All the others have white lines going through the colors, looks like you printed it on a cheap printer. It is defective. After finally getting someone on the phone at Fuji to discuss and sending them examples of the pictures they have determined it is defective and have to send it in for a "refurb" replacement. Not happy that a 2 month old camera will be replaced with a refurb but as long as it works, maybe I will be happy. If it is not perfect I will complain to fuji directly. After having my last camera for 8 years with no problems until it got broken by the US Air I am very disappointed that this happened and now I will nto have a new camera but a refurb. Update: Camera is not fixable! But my biggest complaint with fuji is that they have had my camera now since January 10th (its March 12th) and this is the first time I hear that its unfixable and they will send me a refurb if I will accept one - but noone from Fuji contacted me , I called again and wanted to know where the camera is, then I get the c/s rep who says oh yeah its not fixable so they want to know if you want a refurb. HORRIBLE customer service! After waiting 2 months, I will not accept a refurb only a new camera or a refund at this point. Wonder how long before the manager gets back to me. Update 2 - after Fuji sent me a "refurb" that had the exact same problem with the pictures. That went back and then was told it was not fixable again. I called to complain again and ask for a different camera as a replacement . I was offered a $100 credit toward another camera which started at $500. I said no send me another "refurb" which was again garbage. I sold it on ebay and bought another camera which I LOVE (Nikon Coolpix L810) Fuji has lost me as a customer over this. 3rd and last Fuji I will ever buy.

It would be simply unfair NOT to give this product a five-star rating. And its not only taking into account the incredibly low price. With such a price you just cant complain about the (very good) plastic case and perhaps the a-bit-less-than-ergonomic design, for example, or even the slow response of the machine in certain indoor situations. Perhaps the greatest con is that you cant fix a UV filter (to protect the lens). But all these are, at least for me, minor problems. The pros, including the price of course, exceed by far the cons. I must say that i consider myself a decent semipro photographer. I have owned fancy Nikon and Canon pro equipment, but I wanted to have a very good, not expensive, single lens camera to avoid the hassle. I tried Olympus and Lumix cameras and was quite happy with them, but for some reason wanted to try Fuji products. The price and features of this one were too good to be true, and I decided to give it a try. I am not disappointed at all. The quality of the pics themselves (both colour and focus) is better than that of any of the previous equivalent cameras. The 30x zoom is amazing and the panorama feature is very cool, as is the powerful close-up one. You can go from totally automatic to totally manual, which is very important to me. The HD video with zoom capabilities is also a plus. The AA Batteries (in my case Sony rechargeable) last a lot too. In a word, try it! Even if you really dont like it (which i really doubt), the almost ridiculously small amount of money spent will not make you angry.

My critique is based on comparing the Fujifilm S400A to the Fujifilm HS10. All comparisons are also based on setting both cameras to Automatic mode. First let me say that both cameras take great outdoor pictures. Indoors is another matter. The S4000 is a lot slower then the HS10 in focusing and exposure settings. I also do not like the indoor auto white balance on the S4000, even with forced flash. The S4000 indoor pictures look yellowish. With the HS10, the flash is dominant and the pictures are more vibrant in my opinion. The resolution on both cameras is good (when the pictures are in focus). The HS10 has much better and faster focusing. The S4000 is not nearly as good. With the S4000 you have to take it slow when taking indoor pictures in order to get a focused picture. The motorized zoom on the S4000 is better then the HS10's lens for shooting video. The manual zoom on the HS10 will shake the camera when zooming so your video will look jerky. The S4000 zoom motor noise will be heard in the video unfortunately, but only slightly. The amazing plus for both cameras is when zooming in to the max and being able to hand hold the camera and get a perfect shake free picture. I took the HS10 to Hawaii and shot a light house at full zoom while sanding on a small boat. I got a great detailed picture. I have also shot full zoomed in pictures with the S4000 and got great results. I am disappointed that the S4000 does not have a hot shoe or threads on the lens for a filter, whereas the HS10 has both. Physically the S4000 smaller and much lighter then the HS10. For Video, the S4000 has a better video format, Motion Jpeg which is more compatible with editing software. The the HS10 has the terrible MOV format that I hate. I am sure I have not covered everything, I am a Nikon camera fan. I bought these cameras for situations where I couldn't carry around my case of Nikon equipment. I find myself wanting to carry both the HS10 and the S4000, perhaps I'll need another case for Fujifilm equipment. My Nikon camera, (D80) doesn't have a 30x zoom lens or does video, so that is another reason for using the Fujifilm cameras.

5 star product at a great price. Easy to operate

The camera is in great shape. I cannot wait to try it. Thanks