Fujifilm FinePix S602 3.3MP Digital Camera w/ 6x Optical Zoom
By: Fuji Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 47
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 On: 2005-01-03
Couldnt have asked for a better birthday gift. With only 3.3 megapixels the pictures come out awsome! I have the canon digital rebel with 6 megapixels and you cant tell what pictures came from what camera. My fuji is twwo years old and still works great! Havent had a problem yet. The only bad thing is it drains the life out of your batteries, and fast. Make sure you carry an extra set at all times.
On: 2004-09-14
Ive owned this camera for almost 2 years now & I still think its the best all around camera for new parents. Heres why:
1. The video is AWESOME for a digicam. 640x480 resolution + 30 frames per second = 15 minutes of good quality candid shots on an IBM 1GB Microdrive. (note - nobody wants to watch 15 minutes of video, so the 3 minutes available on many of todays cameras is sufficient)
2. Can easily be used as a point and shoot, but I like knowing the other features are available if I want to "grow" as a photographer.
3. A connection (shoe) for additional flash gives me a little more range for those family shots.
4. 3+ megapixels (if you get into that whole interpolated hexagon pixel confusion) gets me great photos - poster sized through online retailers like Kodak (dont ask me why, I just know it works), 8x10 at home on an inexpensive Canon inkjet, and with 4x6 I have a little wiggle room for cropping.
I just purchased a Canon Powershot A95 with rotating LCD for my wife and its great too, but were still using the Fuji for combo video/picture sessions.
I spent about $1000.00 on this, 2 128MB smart media cards, a case, and a 1GB IBM Microdrive in 11/2002. Its been worth every dime!
 On: 2003-12-27
Okay okay ... You can get this from several Z-shops sellers, starting at $438 (as of 12-26-03). There are some small errors in the description, which you may clear up for yourself at the Fujifilm.com site. But compare this to the S5000, which you can get new, here, for about $340. And if you hunt diligently, today you can grab it for $296. I am not repeat not talking about some auction sight, either. (Nor in Japan, where I live at the moment, though there is a place here I must check tomorrow just in case. Besides, delayed gratification is not my strong suit.)The Fujifilm site gives a detailed description of their CCD (Charge Coupled Device) pixel array that to me sounds like the best thing going in what the working class like me can afford. The S602 is Fujis 3rd generation CCD, the S5000 is their 4th generation. The 602 has 6x optical and 4.4x digital zoom (26.4x), the 5000 had 10x optical and 2.2x digital (22x). If that extra 4.4 turns your head, then shopping for a telephoto is probably something to consider. I find the greater lens power more attractive, and sould give clearer photos, at 22x side by side with the 602 at a comparable setting. If you want to spend serious $$$ for something that has 5 to 8 megapixels, more power to you. But the S5000 is a better Fuji for less money ... the S602 is really last years news. My hard earned greenbacks are on the S5000.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-12-16
The Fuji FinePix S602 Zoom is a fine camera capable of taking a 15 minute video using a microdrive,just watch what you are saying while shooting because the microphone will pick up your voice before any other sound. Most of the controls are easy to find and use without having to resort to reading the manual. The flash produces very little if any red eye. The almost infinite zoom lens allows you to get close to and frame your subject easily. Macro shots are just as easy. Photos printed on my HP 952C look great at 8 by 10 inches. The only thing to watch out for is when the camera is set to auto is that sometimes, usually indoors, you can end up with a very slow shutter speed such as 7 sec. which can cause a blurred picture.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-10-05
I purchased this camera last year from Amazon at an amazing price. It took time to get use to some of its features but I truly love it. I purchased it for its movie mode and its 6x zoom lense. Low light is somewhat a problem but can be overcome with a steady hand or tripod. I have printed 11x14 prints and they are excellent. You cant beat the features for the price.
On: 2003-09-16
Honestly, if you can get past the three problems I have with this camera, go out and buy it!! I have taken almost 6,000 pictures in less than a month- its one of the best! But I have a couple complaints.First, is that its too slow for its "class". With a camera this size and with so many features, you would expect faster action than with the pocket-size compact cams. Not so. OK, I will give you thats it a good speed, but if you are trying to take quick snap-shots, its going to be difficult. Maybe I am asking for too much in $600 but its gotten t be annoying. The focus ring doesnt do much good because the sensitivity is too slow/low. Secondly, the playback is rather slow for todays cameras. I have an old Canon PowerShot 300/IXUS 300, and it reviewed pictures pretty well, and its two and a half years old! This isnt a big thing for pros, but since this is for the crowd that probably likes to take pictures of people and show them back as well, its annoying having to take 10 seconds of looking at a black screen. Also if you try to switch the camera on and then off quick forget it. Thirdly, the camera has no way of naming each picture in serial fashion, at least if you are using Compact Flash. Its a small detail that has caused me to go through all 6000 pictures and renamed them manually using the Windows rename function. Sure, I think there are programs for this, but I like to keep my stuff out of programs, beause software always changes, and its just not worth my time. OK, small minor infractions in the whole long run but now I am looking at a Cannon or the new Sony DSC-F828 thats comming out soon. If you like to take pictures for fun, and want more control and flexibility, then this is a great camera. If you like being a control freak when taking pictures for fun, and want to get more serious and take pictures for $$$$ or EUR, then look a higher in the price range.
On: 2003-08-27
Excellent camera. I have been using it for about 6 months now, and I am very happy with the quality of the photos. It is fairly easy to use--it does take some time to get used to because it does so much, but I feel that it is pretty easy to access the adjustments and features. I am using a HP5550 printer. With this camera and printer, I get 8x10s that look as good as the ones I got from my 35mm film camera. The best tip I can give is to use it in the 3megapixel mode. It looks as good as the 6mp interpolated but with much smaller file size.
On: 2003-08-18
I think that this digital camera is one of the best buy today.
Its data shows the best for lowest. The brand is best known for films and the alike, but Fuji has enough past to make a believer in its quality and performance!
On: 2003-08-17
Great camera but be careful with it if you need to get it repaired by fujifilm it will cost you a small fortune. I had to return my camera because they said I bent the contacts on the compactflash card and it cost me 86.00 to fix. They said that was the good customer price!!! I wonder what the bad customer price would have been? HAHAHAHAHAH
On: 2003-08-16
Im a 38 year old mother of two, and have been a shutterbug and had a love affair with cameras since I could point and shoot,Ive had all styles of cameras over the years but this one,my third digital camera is the best yet. I take pictures just about daily, I carry it everywhere with me, to work,in the car,Im always getting compliments on it and its professional design, and then...they see the finished product and they cant believe the fantastic results! I am now doing graduation photos and will be photographing two weddings this Fall! I have nothing bad to say about this camera except the pictures blur in lower light, but using a tripod helped with that. There are still features I havent tried on it, and Ive owned it six months.
You wont be disappointed.
On: 2003-08-03
Ive just recently sold my s602 with the intent of switching to the highly anticipated release of fujis newest edition of s-series camera---the s7000, which should be due out in october 2003. But for the 4 months that i owned the s602, i was very impressed with many of the features that had been an improvement from many of the previous models. This camera is BY FAR the BEST ergonomically shaped with excellent added attention to button orientation and placement. The zoom in/out buttons are placed in the position that are easily accessed by the thumb which means you can zoom without taking your eye off the subject, limiting time spent searching for buttons. In addition, theyre also tilted at a slight diagonal angle to insure that it meets the normal relaxed position of the operators thumb. The on/off switch is rotational which means the operator wont accidentally turn off the camera. The camera body itself is very compact and very light. It adopts the make-up of many high-end digital slrs. Other features that impressed me besides the exterior were the "honey-comb" ccd image censor (super ccd) and the lcd screen. The super ccd image sensor allows the effective megapixel count to double this means an image taken at 3.3 mp may be optionally captured at a very high resolution of 6mp. One thing that separated this camera from other more expensive cameras was the LCD screen. The battery efficient lcd screen allows a user to take 400-500 shots before needing to change batteries. Theres even a light that tells you when the batteries are low (green for good, orange for low batteries). The lcd screen resonates more crisp images with far less "dead pixel" count than better than Sonys F717 "L-shaped camera" as well as Canons G5, G4, G3... Ive also realized that the s602s lcd screen has a stain resistant + protective plastic plate that makes the lcd screen a lot more durable on trips. If you dont trust me, please test it out for yourself at any electronics store. Youll see an instant choppy graininess in the image quality from the aforementioned models that you wont see from the s602. Moreover, unlike most cameras offered in the market, the s602 features multiple media outlets. There are 2 media drives and the cool thing about them is that you can use two at the same time; you just need to toggle between them in the menu. This allows you to have more choices in what type of media to use and it also allows for a backup card if the one currently in use is full. For example, if your 64mb smartmedia drive is full, you can go to the menu and change to the microdrive that supports up to 1gb of storage!!! Besides the media storage i was also impressed by the electronic viewfinder. Its a lot more accurate than most optical viewfinders (that is, in reference to digital cameras). And its also a great alternative to the lcd screen and battery efficiency. This camera has a lot of manual control and the pictures come out very nice. Theres a built-in flash, but it also supports an external flash with the hotshoe thats placed over the built-in flash. The zoom on the camera has a macro option for close up pictures, which compliments its 6x capability. This camera also provides streamline 30fps movie mode which has no time limit. The 30 fps is equivalent to a camcorder (but the audio is horrible and sounds like it came from a paper-cup). This far outweights canons g4 camera with a limited 3x zoom and 3minute limitation on 20 fps. With all the positive things going for the camera i could only find 2 negatives. One was the fact that besides, excellent macro zoom, the camera had only 1 lousy focusing point. That was a major reason for selling the camera. Its difficult to get multiple subjects from different field depths to be in focus, especially when i was trying to take a macro close-up of a lizard in my backyard. Even Sonys f717 has 5 focusing points. My other big complaint is that the camera has a VERY noisy zoom/focusing drive train. I dont understand why fuji decided to have such an loud drive train mechanism controlling the lens. Sonys f717 is super quiet, you cant even hear the it zoom or focus in the act. This kind of goes along with my other qualm with the cheap construction of the camera. The buttons are made of cheap plastic and pretty flimsy. I hope ive provided some info that other users of this camera havent. If youre suspicious of my review of this camera in anyway, please go to your local Frys or Best Buy and try it out yourself.
On: 2003-07-25
I got my Camera in Insbruck Austria 2 months after it came to the market.
I could get it in the U S A for lees mony, but i culd not wait any more, as i was in a tour in Tirol-Austria.
I have allso an 3 years old Fiji 4700 finefix, that i like very much. The new one is the best of all the cameras i ever had.
She is fast. She is fraindly and made no mistaks.She do not have a red eye problems, and with a big smartmedia, you can shoot and shoot, and shoot....still the end of a long tour/Upsolotly F A N T A S T I C
On: 2003-07-25
Everything you need, nothing you dont. Works like a charm. Great zoom, great flash, great manual and auto settings. Excellent photo quality. I have the wide-angle lens, love that too. Cannot say enough great stuff about this camera.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-06-21
I upgraded from a Fujifilm 28000. Its like driving a VW Bug and trading it in for a Cadillac! I didnt even read the manual first, I just popped the card and batteries in and took it for a test drive. I am not a "schooled" photographer by any means (I have always had automatic point and shoot cameras), but I have always enjoyed taking pictures and I cant wait to really use this one. It did cost a bit more than I would ever have thought that I would pay for a camera, but I dont have buyers regret at all. I did do lots of research from several web sites before I made this purchase, so I know that some reviewers have issues with some things (the LCD screen outside)but I can live with that. Since I did have the 2800, I know about that will just use the viewfinder.
On: 2003-06-21
After a long search, I purchased the Fujifilm FinePix S602. Unlike the compact form factor digitals, this camera has buttons that can be operated by normal-sized fingers. It also handles both SmartMedia and Compact Flash cards; Fuji recommends the IBM Microdrive, but Compact Flash is about the same price, faster, and uses less electricity. I get 100 pictures on a 256 Mb Compact Flash with the 3Mb/Fine setting. The 3Mb setting takes great pictures for anything up to 8 x 10; most photo paper is only 4 x 6 anyway. Ive never seen the need for anything more. In fact, for online publishing I have to reduce the image quality and size. The 640 x 480 video uses 1 Mb per second of video; its a bit jerky, and the built in mic isnt terribly sensitive, but its not designed to replace your camcorder anyway. This is the best camera Ive ever owned. I take more pictures now because I can afford to; Im my own photolab. On the negative side, the camera price is a little high, and the included software is lousy. Youll want and need better software, but itll do in a pinch. Great camera, great fun, great geek cred.
On: 2003-06-15
Used to have the Kodak DC4800 and luv it until I upgraded to the S602. This camera blows away the DC4800. It is feature rich. The only thing that it lost out to the DC4800 is the color saturation.I find the S602 easy to hold and handle. This is a cool and professional looking camera. It has almost everthing that I need to take good pictures, be it day or night. ... Sure, other camera may be 5M or 6M pixels but for me, 3M is more than good enough. Furthermore, 3M takes up less memory space and is faster to write (less delay). All my Letter size printout looks sharp and crisp. After thousands of images, I am still in no hurry to upgrade to anything else. Fujifilm have done an excellent job with this camera and it will be interesting to see what they can come up with to top this already excellent camera.
On: 2003-05-14
Ive been using this product for several months now, and I am very happy with it. To summarize its qualities:
1. high resolution
2. rich in features
3. reasonable easiness of use; pretty intuitive.
4. it doesnt require proprietary & dedicated external flash, a general good-brand external flash would do it as well.The downsizes:
1. the flash that comes with the camera is a toy; you need to buy an extra one (which adds some $$$ to the cost - for a good flash).
2. Fuji doesnt provide a good fully-automatic flash for the camera. As mentioned above, there are very good manual flashes available are reasonable prices, but thus say bye-bye to the auto modes.
3. no remote. For taking the picture from a tripod, this may be annoying.
4. the depth of field is not very versatile - the camera is quite limiting in the respect of aperture.
5. the zoom is good, but not stellar. For a camera of this performance, a better zoom/aperture control would have made it of real 5 stars. Overall, good stuff for the money.
On: 2003-05-07
I love photography - being outdoors, working with the camera, and the finished photos. I used to take so many pictures! I carried my huge full-featured 35mm camera everywhere, and usually got pretty good results. Then I went to school and got my own job and had to start PAYING for my own film and developing. I quickly slowed my picture taking to a trickle.I got this camera in February, and I have taken over 1000 pictures since then. I have all of the control I had in my 35mm camera, and more, so I do not feel constrained. Imagine being able to choose between 5 different speeds of film, eight different types of color saturation, plus black and white, and changing film between every shot! Pushing a button enlarges the center of the frame to check your focus, and pushing another button while in manual focus mode has the camera auto-focus once - which is perfect when I want to use the auto-focus feature but do not want to miss a shot because it is re-focusing. I tend to get more good pictures now because I can immediately view my shots and tell if Ive got something wrong. Also, this camera feels well-balanced and all the controls are easy to reach. It has a tripod socket, but no cable release. There is a 2 second and 10 second timer. As with all digital cameras, there is a small delay between pushing the shutter button and taking the picture, but its pretty quick on this camera. You will get used to the timing with practice. For the serious photo buff, I suggest two full sets of recharable batteries (NiMH) and the highest-capacity high-speed memory cards you can afford. You then have free film for life! It didnt fit in my purse - so I bought a bigger purse.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-04-13
You cant find a better camera for the price. The color, and quality of the images are great. The camera operation work flawlessly. The minute I took it out of the box, I was up and shooting great images. I use it as a back-up for photo-journalist work and many images Ive used from this camera have been published. I dropped it about 6 feet off of a pallet, and it didnt skip a beat. Solid construction. It is a great little camera. Recommended.
On: 2003-04-09
Ive worked with Kodaks and Sonys in the past, and was looking for a digital camera with manual SLR features and an intuitive user interface. The S602 had enough manual features to keep me happy, things like manual focus, fstops, etc... The navigational features of the S602 are very intuitive and easy to navigate. I was seriously considering the Olympus C-4000, but the C-4000 didnt have an intuitive interface, so it was either more MegaPixels or good interface, for me a great interface means more time to take great pictures. The only problem and a common complaint on most digital cameras is that the batteries die too quickly. If you get this camera, make sure you get an AC-5V adapter when you download your images to your computer.
On: 2003-03-14
I purchased a Fujifilm S602 after my poor and much loved Olympus C2000Z bit the dust. I always thought after near four years of trailing behind the technology, that things had not changed much. I was very wrong. The changes are completely beyond my expectations.IMPORTANT: I have modified this review in light of investigations leading me to find out I was wrong about the hardness setting concerns. What I thought was smearing due hard/soft image setting is due to the ISO setting! WHEN USING ISO 400, FINE DETAIL IS SMEARED giving the picture an odd, fudgy, appearance. Once I set the camera to ISO 160 for outdoor work, all is fine. MINOR niggles: Battery cuts out with VERY little warning (like a few seconds!). Not good AUTO focussing in dim conditions. Tricky to use manual focussing (dont know if there is another camera with an electronic viewfinder which offers better, but...). The camera uses a small blown up area in the centre of the screen to focus on, but its not too easy (neat feature though) Can be a little tricky to navigate round all the features (but Im getting used to it). Wouldve been nice to see more lower res options; eg 1024x786, and why have a basic 450k version of the 2000x3000 image???? Slight, but noticeable unfocussing at image edges (left and right) on hi res shots. NOT a pocket camera. SUMMARY OF GOOD POINTS: Big and high quality lens giving nice, and colourful images and the flash is not need for most pics which is great! FANTASTIC features from full auto control to completely manual with light metering; Im still learning about them after three weeks of constant use! Virtually everything is customisable. Very good range of shutter speeds opening up great possibilities (including flash synced pics down to 1/10000 sec!) Preview mode (click once you are happy with a shot to store) Dual/triple media format; CF (upto 512mb - not the 128 in the manual), SM and IBM Microdrive. Display grid making accurate horizons a breeze. Three shot mode; one over exposed, one normal exposure, and one under exposed. Multi expose pictures as many times as you wish, building layer upon layer of imaging. VERY GOOD battery life. Much better than my old camera; well over 100 pics using the flash intermittently and also the screen all the time! Use NIMH batteries though. 6x Zoom -very useful; more than I would have thought. 640 X 480 Full vga movie mode with sound. ISO 1600 option for low light no flash pics (a bit grainy for usual pics, though) NOT a pocket camera (looks the part). So many other good things and more which I have not discovered yet! It can be used as a point and click snapper, or it has all the manual features one could hope for for really creative shooting. The fact that you have COMPLETE manual control from 15 secs shutter down to 1/10000 AND aperture settings from F2.8 - F11. This completely manual option is coupled with a very handy light meter which means that the manual mode is really easy to use. In fact I use it for most scenery pics. I bought this camera for work (machinery pics) and mainly for its big lens for capturing good pics without flash in lowish light. It has delivered a heck of a lot more; I now look at the old Olympus C2000Z and at this side by side. I paid the same price for the Oly four years ago and thought cameras had not moved on since; I was wrong! Having said all this I am aware that other cameras now may offer even more to the consumer; I think this camera offers a little more to the creative user - If you think you will never use the major creative features of this camera and picture size and quality are absolute criteria, look elsewhere as youll find cameras which will offer a smidgen better picture quality or higher resolution, but for a blend of excellent picture quality, all the features you could want, and value for money (price for this unit is very keen now), then look no further.
On: 2003-03-13
This is the camera to buy. If you are an "old school" 35MM SLR camera guy, looking to get a great digital camera. This is it. It has many of the same features as a Film SLR, that sets it apart from other Digitals in its price range. But wont set you back the One Thousand Dollars plus for a Digital SLR.
Start with all the manual settings. Focus, Exposure, ISO, white balance, and flash brightness all can be set manually. Its also has an excellent Auto mode, that takes sharp clear pics. And a great Black and white mode. Throw in the dual media slots, and the great Movie mode that takes 30fps. The Optional 1G IBM Compact Flash hard drive is a must, and will give you 15 Mins of action in movie mode, with Sound! Any one looking to get a 3M Pixel camera that shoots a raw 6M. Who wants the abilty to control the result of the picture needs to look no further than the Fuji Finepix S602 Zoom
On: 2003-01-17
Easy to use, loads of manual controls, hot shoe for external flash, AA batteries (instead of proprietary pack), 6X optical zoom, excellent video capabilities, SLR style, accepts SmartMedia AND CompactFlash at the same time! (BUT - see below)...Major Con: Ill let the others talk about the details, but I just got off the phone with Fuji tech support and was told Fuji is saying to stay away from CompactFlash and use Microdrive instead. Microdrives cost ALOT more just so you know.
On: 2003-01-05
I cannot reccomend this camera stronly enough. I researched for months in the search for a high quality Digital camera capable of macro with manual focus. This camera was the only thing that fit the bill. It functions exactly like a high quality SLR and the Macro is just stupendous. If you need to take pictures of miniatures it is the best camera you will ever find. Just a couple of years ago you would have paid thousands for a digital camera that could do this. I have did a direct comparison with one photographer friend who has a 10 thousand dollar digital camera and macro lense for doing digital photography. This camera was as good as that one if not better. He was not happy to find that out and is going to buy one of these as well. I have seen complaints about it being large. Nonsense! Unless you just need a small camera for personal this camera is exactly what you want. The size and handling of this camera is exactly the same as high end SLRs. Any professional would never feel the difference going between this and his film camera. The handling and balance is great. It shoots digital shots as fast as an SLR. In fact to make it smaller you would lose a lot of function. Fuji did exactly what they needed with this camera. It is the same difference between owning a nice little family 35mm camera and a high quality professional grade SLR. GET THIS CAMERA!! You will not be dissapointed. My wife makes fun of me and calls it "My Precious".
by: Anonymous On: 2003-01-02
I was a little put off by the price tag on this camera at first, so I bought a comparable but less expensive Olympus. I took it right back after trying to capture shots of my 2 year old and they just came out as fuzzy blurs. This model came along at just the right time and on sale. I cant believe the difference! Not only can I get crystal clear shots of my two year old, but also got beautiful pix of her playing catch with the dog. I clicked off pictures quickly with very little focusing and was amazed at the quality of the shots. I was even able to see the ball in the air -- not a fuzzy blur! A few other items I bought were a case, a recharger and rechargeable batteries as well as a card reader and compact flash card (128 MB).
On: 2002-12-28
I previously owned a Kodak DX3900, and my gripe about that camera was that there were little to no manual controls on the camera. Heck, the lowest shutter speed was 1 second. So.. the next five months I researched loads of cameras. And I finally narrowed it down to a few choices: Minolta 7i, Coolpix 4500, Canon G3, Olympus C-730 .. and the Fuji.
I chose the Fuji.. and heres why:
In simple, the Fuji offered the most of what I want. It has all my manual controls, it has nice focusing controls, it has adequate megapixel count, firm body, compact flash support, nice grip, decent software, good zoom, dual-media drives, superior movie mode ..
The only downfalls to this camera: Its only 3.1 Megapixel, no matter what anyone tells you. But, for me, that was enough. I never print ANYTHING larger than 8 x 10, and if I ever plan to, I can use the interpolated 6 MP mode. AND no auto-focusing assiting lamp. But the manual controls this camera offers more than make up for it.
Do yourself a favor and buy the Fuji. Dont be fooled by what you think you need. Longer zoom isnt that big of a deal. 6x is plenty, any farther and you get camera shake. Megapixel count is excellent for just 3. Its certainly enough for the average consumer. It might look clunky, but it fits snuggly in my purse.
What more reason did you need?
On: 2002-12-26
My first - and was shocked to realize what I was missing. The picture quality is amazing and the operation is fairly straight forward. Some useful hints:1. Read the manual - I dint and did not use most features for a while. 2. Make sure you buy a 12x (12 speed) CF with at least 128MB memory. This gives you about 400+ picture. 3. Make sure you have a battery re-chager... help. Enjoy - youll not make a mistake with this.
 On: 2002-12-23
The truth is this camera is unfit for the purpose intended. To begin with , while the built-in screen freezes the picture at the time of taking it, the actual picture is recorded approx. 1 second later. No problem when you work in a studio with models, for sport or any animated subject it leaves composition to chance. Highly annoying.Next, the camera controls are maximum user-unfriendly. After 3 months of operation, I was unable to figure out how to adjust exposure (or at least turn auto-exposure off). For example, when you use the camera for document scanning (for example to speed up document conversion into digital files) with lots of white paper and 20% text, it adjusts the image too dark. While the usual text scanner software (I use Caere), works with it notwithstanding, the image shows a medium to dark brown background. That is the case even when you set it on manual. This does not happen in normal operation, though: in fact, color, exposure (even under difficult lighting conditions) and resolution is excellent in real life situations; they are nearly perfect. If the image would be recorded at the time the button is pushed the camera would be ok. Next, the camera does not have a remote control. While for regular photography it may seem unimportant, in a repro-stand, or for that matter in studio photography, a remote would come in handy. Finally, the mechanical design is Mickey Mouse. After inserting approx. 5 times over three months the 1394 cable into the camera-based connector, the connector disappeared somewhere inside the camera and can no longer be found, a gaping hole is there instead. I did not even use one of the heavily shielded 1394 cables. When it was working before the connector disappeared, though, the camera provided excellent moving picture results for Internet (cable) communications. It is a pitty that an excellent concept was executed so poorly.
On: 2002-12-18
Okay folks. This a review for rank amateurs such as myself whove hopes of developing advanced skills with digital photography. Out of the box within five minutes, Id taken two pictures indoors and two outdoors. The pictures were startling in clarity and colors were quite vivid. The litmus test occurred when I printed two 8.5" by 11" photos. The pictures were nothing short of gorgeous. My goal in deciding to get a digital camera is that I wanted a camera that would allow me to print photos that would not embarrass me if I chose to hang them on my wall. What I got was an astonishing boost in creative potential. I am incredibly pleased with this camera. My apologies to the technically proficient. This review is not for you.
On: 2002-12-07
Ive owned a 1MP fuji for several years and loved the convenience and quality of my pictures. I decided to upgrade and picked this model. I am astounded at the quality of shots, the options available...Im just getting used to all the functions but love the easy voice-over function...no more guessing where and when a vacation shot was taken!I got a 1 GB microdrive and can easily take over 400 pictures at 2832x2128 fine resolution...or over 3000 at 1280x960. If the expense of the 1GB chip is too much, I highly recommend getting a 128MB smartmedia card - after all, youll never have to buy film again! For less than $100 you can get 128mb smartmedia and get over 500 fine resolution 1280x960.
On: 2002-12-05
The gist: * Total exposure control * Terrific quality for the money * May need to rely on automatic features. I am a huge photo geek. Im not sure what it is about photography that gets my motor going, but I just love every aspect of it. And, yet, Im not in the camp that believes that I must have the latest and greatest of everything in order to be a good photographer. In the end, the equipment is of little matter: its just the light, the subject, the film media and you. It took me a while to get on the digital bandwagon. Initially, I went halfway and purchased a film scanner to get my 35mm negatives into digital form. While this is great for existing photos or for situations where you absolutely need to shoot on film for some reason, it slows down the workflow considerably. First, the film needs to be developed. Then you need to scan each negative individually on the computer. It can take as long as an hour to scan a full roll of 36 images. And, just like working in the darkroom, any dust specs are made larger than life in the final image, which requires some time messing with PhotoShop. This is not ideal for high-capacity work. After about six months of research, I finally decided on the Fuji FinePix S602. Fuji has a reputation for selling excellent digital cameras that produce remarkable pictures, and the S602 is no exception. I compared this to several of the Canon and Olympus prosumer models as well as several other Fuji cameras. I was looking for a camera that would allow me to have complete manual control over exposure and aperture as well as automating everything for me for when I was feeling lazy. In addition, I wanted it to be able to produce images that could be faithfully printed to sizes up to 8 x 10, though most of my digital work would be for the web. Since I have a full lighting set up, I also wanted a hotshoe so that I could take advantage of external lighting. Initially, I leaned toward the Fuji FinePix 2800, which has a 2.1 MegaPixel CCD and runs at almost half the price of the S602. After some soul-searching, I decided that 2.1 MP wasnt near enough for what I wanted. In addition, the 2800 is uncomfortably small for my hand, while the S602 feels like it was designed specifically with my big ol hands in mind. The S602 is rather bulky compared to a lot of the cameras out there (except maybe for the Minolta Dimage). Im not entirely sure what the obsession with smaller cameras is all about. I dont want a camera that I can accidentally inhale. The S602 is about 3/4 the size of my Canon Rebel G, which I feel is a perfect size. Its fairly light and has all of the controls in an easily accessible location. At first, all of the buttons and options for this thing may seem mind-boggling. After just a little practice, though, I found the user interface to be absolutely intuitive and easy to handle. Another feature I looked for was the ability to quickly capture images one after another. I had played with too many digital cameras that required several seconds between shots, which is frustrating when youre trying to work fast. The S602 has several rapid-fire modes, but I have found its standard shot-to-shot speed to be more than sufficient for most of my needs. I dont ever feel like Im waiting to press the shutter. Perhaps the one thing that pushed me the strongest in the direction of purchasing this model was the fact that it takes both Compact Flash and SmartMedia memory cards. In fact, you can use both cards at the same time, switching to one when the other has filled up. It would have been nice if Fuji had made this easier - you can only switch cards from the "setup" mode of the camera rather than through one of their shifted shortcuts - but its not a major inconvenience. Fuji has touted the fact that this camera can produce an effective 6.1 megapixels. Keep in mind, though, that the CCD is only capable of 3.1 megapixels, so anything above that is interpolated, which means the software analyzes the picture and inserts its best guess of what pixels would best pad the image to boost it to higher numbers. The 6.1 MP images are fairly nice and probably a bit better than I could get out of PhotoShop, but they are not as pin-sharp as they would be from a true 6.1 MP CCD. Bottom line: if youre considering buying this camera thinking its a 6.1 MegaPixel camera, save your money for a true 6 MP camera. While Im mostly satisfied with this purchase, there does seem to be one major flaw with this camera. I like being able to manually focus on my subjects. Im not sure why I distrust autofocus so much, but Im not a big fan of using it exclusively. Both the Electronic View Finder and the screen on the back allow you to zoom into one area so that you can manually adjust the focus to a specific subject, but it seems that, no matter how hard I try, I just cant get it pin-sharp. Even when it looks good in the view finder, it looks blurry once I have uploaded the image to the computer. The autofocus does a pretty good job of fixing this for me, but Id like to be able to do this manually without hassle. It may just require more practice on my part. All in all, Im thrilled with this camera. It does everything I could hope for and more, provides a seemingly endless number of functions to help boost the creativity of my photography and produces absolutely beautiful images that are of an extremely high quality. I would heartily recommend this camera to anyone looking for a fairly inexpensive equivalent to their 35mm SLR.
On: 2002-12-01
After purchasing and using the fine pix s602, you cannot beeat this camera for versitity. It generates wonderful photos and comes with a complete line of accessories. Id recommend this camera for the money over the higher priced ones.
On: 2002-11-25
What a dream machine! The advanced features take a bit to get use to, but out of the box you can point and shoot. The multi-frame mode is great. No more missing shots due to slow cameras. I love it.
On: 2002-11-21
We sell this camera at the store I work, and I think its the best one Fuji has put out. I have made several test prints from it and have been highly impressed: excellent color clarity, sharpness, and the camera is a joy to use.First things first: I have to applaud Amazon[.com] for advertising this camera as a 3.3mp. Buyer beware--although you might see Fuji and/or other stores advertise this as being a 6mp camera, this is after the interpolation process that Fuji cameras use. The sensor in this camera is 3mp, and through a special process the camera goes through, you end up with a 6mp image. It looks good, but not as good as a picture from a *true* 6mp camera. Go to Fujis website to read more about the process. Regardless of that, this camera is fully capable of making beautiful prints sized 8x10 and even larger. The camera is made really well. The body is lightweight and feels "right" in your hands. I was kind of shocked to see the use of AA batteries. Normally they last no longer than an hour or so in digital cameras. Somehow Fuji has managed to fix all that. I use this camera all the time, and the batteries last several hours. The screen as well as the electronic viewfinder are very clear and easy on the eyes. Typically the movie mode that digital cameras have are pretty poor quality. The Fujis movie mode features a 30fps rate and fairly good sound quality. The best Ive seen in a digital camera. Other features on this camera that really stand out are the implementation of a 6x OPTICAL zoom, a manual focus ring (really useful at times), manual modes, and a hot shoe for a flash. Unfortunately the hot-shoe flash is not TTL and will require you to do manual settings, but at least its there. A good effort from Fuji--highly recommended.
On: 2002-11-19
Your wish is granted! A great camera for the semi-pro photographer and the inept alike. This camera offers everything. Manual controls so you can adjust f/stops and shutter speed and fully automatic one touch picture taking. The CCD offers razor sharp 3.3MP pictures. The camera also offers an interpolation up to a HUGE 6MP picture. The one down side to this camera is you will need a 128mb memory card minimum. These pictures take up memory. May I suggest the Sandisk ultra, you will appreciate the higher speed.
On: 2002-11-15
Its a great camera.
I skip the pros and state the cons:
Poor low light focus
No adapter ring available in the market for this model
No filters on the market for this model (at least I havent been able to find)
A little bulkyEverything else is great. BUY IT NOW.
 On: 2002-10-23
After paying extra for next day delivery, I was hoping my order would arrive prior to my trip 5 days later. I waited and waited and finally got hosed. It didnt arrive in time for my trip and I was out the extra for the shipping. Thanks alot Amazon.
On: 2002-10-15
Ive used this camera for a few weeks now. I should say that I am very impressed with the results. Spend about 1/2 hour reading the manual and getting aquainted with cameras features, in order to get the best results. I have printed 8x10 on my epson 825 and very happy with results.6x optical zoom was the main reason I bought this camera. Lens seems to be fast and precise. I am used to manual settings and this camera has it all. Automatic settings works great too. Of course, sometimes you need to use manual focusing to avoide zooming on the wrong subject! If you decide to buy this camera, make sure you budget an additional few hundred bucks for Smart-Media (16mb that comes with camera is a joke), case, AC adapter and Battery charger, etc. **Cons: it drains 4 AA batteries in no time. Fuji should have included rechargeable batteries.
Fuji web site is not very informative in regards to this model. For instance, they listed an AC adapter for this model without any brands, model# or specifications. Their description says the adapter charges batteries on SOME cameras. They dont have the adapter in stock either.
On: 2002-10-05
While the Fuji S602 is only a 3.3 mp digital camera, the digital image that it produces competes extremely well with the images from 4 and 5 megapixel cameras. Add to the fantastic image these unique features: in camera cropping, a super macro mode focusing down to 1.2 inches from the subject, a 6X OPTICAL Zoom lens, Unusually high ISO numbers, up to 1600, many manual features, a magnifier in the center of both the EVF and/or the LCD screens,this digital camera has a very precise exposure system, great skin tones, beautiful color saturation, plus great overall build quality.
On: 2002-10-03
At first, I was staggered by the price of this camera! After I got it home, I did a lot of playing, & tinkering with the camera and found out what a wonderful investment I really made. I love the point & shoot (Auto) mode. It enables you to take professional looking pics right from the start! It also has several different modes that enable you to experiment with different settings that allow you to do really neat special effects! The zoom lens is fantastic! 6x optical plus the digital zoom too!!I did a lot of looking around before I invested in this camera, & I really believe that by far, this is one of the best cameras out there!I really love my s-602! It is well worth the investment! It is good on batteries too! I bought an HP printer too(Photo Printer). It amazes me the quality of prints that I come up with with this camera! Looks as great as any professional photo studio can come up with! Do yourself a favor, Buy Fuji! My s-602 is great!!!
On: 2002-08-27
The FinePix 602Zoom was everything I expected. I exchanged an Olympus D-550 specifically for a camera with a better optical zoom (6x vs. 2.8x). The grip is very comfortable to hold, however, someone with small hands may find it a little difficult to push some of the intended buttons. The camera looks very slick and feels extremely sturdy. The menus and functions are very easy to use. It took no time at all to start taking pictures after taking it out of the box. There are a lot of extra features which I havnt used yet but the pictures Ive taken are indeed spectacular. There are various resolutions the camera can be set to within the 6mp, 3mp & 1mp mode, but a 2mp setting doesnt exist. I have found the battery life to be quite impressive. I am still using the original alkaline batteries even after taking approx 50 pictures, using the camera to download to my PC, recording video and viewing them on my TV. However, the battery life indicator has yet to come on so I dont know how much juice is really left. The Fujis colors are very vibrant and true. This is an all around excellent camera that takes wonderful pictures, both indoors and out and with both automatic or manual settings. The camera is a little larger than most but thats because of the powerful optical zoom. I recommend the 602z to anyone who wants a little more than just an automatic point and shoot digital camera, although this one will function that way if you want.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-07-30
I have been looking into upgrading to a newer digital camera. Previously owned a Kodak DC 290. Although this camera still takes great photos and I still use the camera on occasion, the need for a camera that would have the feel of a 35MM SLR and have the capability to capture images of moving objects was desired. After reading many camera reviews it was decided that the Fuji S602Z was what I would be looking for. Some of the nice features that have been included in this camera is the zoom lens. The camera was received the day before I would be attending Hydro-plane races. Browsing over the owners manual it was time to put the media card and batteries in the camera and put it through its paces. Fuji did a very good job at placing the zoom and setup features in a place on the camera that is easily adjusted. Battery life is very good. I did use rechargeable batteries, recorded 300 images with the rechargeable batteries used. Extremely pleased with the image quality. Would recommend taking a good look at the camera if you are looking for a reasonable priced camera that takes great images and has the potential for much more after you become accustomed with the use of the camera. The 3.1 Megapixel is a little behind other cameras but most will never notice the difference. This Camera also has 2,832x2,128 (6.0 million) Recorded pixels. Plus Dual slots, SmartMedia and Compact flash. Super CCD and the use of 4 AA batteries (not a expensive dedicated battery pack) made this choice easier also. The Hot Shoe for a stronger flash unit is appreciated also. (Also not a need to buy a dedicated unit).
On: 2002-07-24
I reviewed this camera along with the Minolta Dimage 7i and the Olympus c-4040 and chose the Fujifilm FinePix s602 zoom. The FinePix was very user friendly for someone with no digital camera experience. The viewfinder and LCD screens were bright and sharp. It focuses unsually fast for a digital camera. The thing I like the most is the incredible lite weight to this camera. The pictures are as clear and crisp in imagine at a 4x6 as they are at an 8x10. I cant think of one think I dont like about this camera, it truly is a great camera!
On: 2002-07-10
I am what most of these people call a prosumer. I take a lot of photographs and format pictures many different ways. This camera can do it all. In addition, you get one of the best optical (6x) zoom lengths with additional digital zoom on top of that. As a bonus, the camera has a movie mode with sound for those special occasions. I did buy a 1GB micro-drive and would recommend you spend the money for at least the 340 MG drive. The memory you use with any of these higher end cameras is huge. It is very light, but a little bulky in the hand. I looked at them all and chose this camera. I am extremely happy I did.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-07-09
As an avid amateur photographer since childhood, I was reluctant to trade in my superb Olympus 35mm zoom-lens-reflex to go digital. I purchased the Fuji S602 Zoom on a salespersons recommendation, and couldnt be more thrilled. The convenience, flexibility, and creative potential in digital photography as compared to film photography are self-evident, but what blows my mind is the unbelievably high quality of these images - they are actually better than the photos I got with my old Olympus. Amazingly sharp and clear with gorgeous, realistic color (or black-and-white, if you prefer) - which you can, of course, tweak in editing and printing. The camera, lightweight and well-designed, can be used completely automatically, completely manually, or anywhere in between (aperture priority, shutter priority, various flash modes, night modes, portrait mode, etc., etc.). The lens opens to f2.8 and has a 35mm-equivalent zoom length of 35mm - 210mm - well, all the specs are available on Fujis website, so you can see for yourself; suffice it to say that if youre hesitating about making the switch from film to digital because youre afraid of sacrificing quality, you neednt worry with this superb, superb piece of equipment.
On: 2002-07-03
If you like traditional reflex photography and are looking for a digicam this is, in my opinion and after long research, one of the best options. The camera is an upgraded version of the highly popular FinePix 6900 with some of the problems solved: the best electronic viewfinder in the market, AA batteries.You will have a superb camera with excellent photo quality and also a true 30 fps video camcorder, all in one. It feels like an SLR camera with all the features the enthusiast photographer could expect. Pros: - 6X optical zoom lens
- Full manual or automatic controls
- Industry-leading movie mode
- Very good image quality
- Great macro mode
- SmartMedia and CompactFlash Type II slots
- Overall camera operation feels quick
- Support for external flash
- Feels good and solid, nice ergonomic touches
- The best electronic viewfinder
- Good battery life
- Excellent software Cons (minor problems): - Poor low light auto focus
- No indication of battery life status. So, always carry battery backup Conclusion: excellent camera even for professional use.
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