Fujifilm FinePix S2950 / S2990 > Reviews (5)

I purchased this camera for about $200.00 (about 125 pounds). The price I paid for it was VERY appropriate for the multiple functions of the camera. The main function that I was looking for was the ability to change the shutter speed. I thought it was just beautiful the way people were able to manipulate the shutter to take pictures in the night that looked like they were taken during the day. I also like being able to change the settings to match my surroundings and take complementary photos.
Atop the camera is a rotating wheel with the main settings on it. These include:
-panorama, where you take a shot and rotate the camera either to the left or the right and take a wider picture.
-video that you can record and playback with sound through the camera.
- custom, where you can manually choose all of the factors for the shot.
- Manual mode with preset shutter speed and aperture. Automatic mode where you only change the aperture.
- Aperture priority, where you set the aperture
-Shutter priority mode, where you set the shutter speed
-Program mode, for automatic mode with programmed settings
-Auto mode where the camera does what it thinks best for the photo.
-SP mode, where you can select settings to complement your surroundings
Under the wheel option “SP” you can select more specific settings:
-Natural Light for outdoor photos
-Portrait for specifically taking portraits
-Baby Mode that reduces noise and blur from movement
-Smile and Shoot (I'm not really sure how this one works but as far as I can tell you aim at a person and when the camera detects a smile it takes a picture)
-Landscape for distant scenery
-Sport for reducing blur from movement in bright daylight
-Night which reduces camera shake with high ISO
-Night(Tripod) for scenery with a slow shutter speed
-Fireworks for bright colors with low shutter speed
-Sunset for bright colors in lower light
-Snow for balanced brightness while outside
-Beach for crisp pictures that aren't too bright
-Party for indoor events
-Flower for close ups to small objects
-Text (obviously for text)
-Zoom Bracketing for one full shot plus two that zoom in
-Natural Light and Flash for 2 images with both lighting
There are also more advanced settings in the menu, accessible from the Menu/OK button.
-There is a self timer option for 2 or 10 seconds.
-There are nine different image sizes. Image quality options of fine or normal.
-Coloring options of FinePix color standard or chrome, or black and white.
-As with most cameras you can set a date and time and choose to have or not have a date/time stamp.
-There are also sound options where you can turn on or off shutter sounds and volume, operation sounds and volume, and playback volume.
-Red eye removal and blink detection. Personally I find blink detection to be annoying; it will say there's someone blinking even if there's no person in the picture at all.
-You can change the zoom style between optical and digital for video. Turn digital zoom on or off for pictures.
-There is also an option to have the picture be automatically rotated when you take a sideways picture.

-Lastly you can change the battery type between Lithium, Alkaline, or Ni-MH.
On top of the camera there are separate buttons for additional settings.
-There is face detection that brackets and focuses on a person's face.
-And another option called continuous, I don't understand how it works and I don't like trying to use it. ---There's pop-up flash.
-And my second favorite part about this camera is that I can choose between the LCD screen view, or the EFV view.
-Has 18x optical zoom, and even when zoomed in all the way it retains an incredible amount of detail.
This camera uses four AA batteries, accepts SD cards, and is mountable on screw-top tripods.
The downside to this purchase is finding a carrying case for what I would see as a reasonable price. On the plus side, my purchase included a lens cleaning kit, a detachable lens cover, and a carrying strap that brandishes the Fujifilm logo.
I've never dropped this camera, but to me it seems fairly durable and would survive a few feet at least. I hope this is more helpful than the last.
All in all I feel that this camera was well worth the purchase, as I said about 125 pounds. It’s never malfunctioned, so to me the operating system is awesome. I’m not a very hardcore camera woman, but I like having a nice camera for special events and this definitely fits and exceeds my needs. If there is anything else someone wants to know, please comment and I'll edit!