Fujifilm Finepix s2950

The Fujifilm FinePix S2950 was added to Fujifilm's range of S-Series long-zoom range of bridge cameras in January 2011. If you are looking for a camera with a large amount of optical zoom, Fujifilm have plenty to offer. The new HS20 replaces the HS10 and has 30x optical zoom, and 16Mp EXR CMOS sensor. In the S range there is the S4000 with 30x optical zoom, the S3200 with 24x, the S1950, S1850, S1800 and S2800HD with 18x and lastly the S1730 and S1700 with 15x.

The fujifilm S2950 has an 18x Fujinon optical zoom lens, 14 Megapixel CCD sensor and 3.0in LCD screen, 230K dot resolution. The lens is a Fujinon 18x optical zoom (35mm equivalent: 28-504mm) and operated using an electric powered zoom lever, which can even be operated during video recording.

When using the lens at its longest or in the dark the camera helps to produce sharp images with a mechanically stabilised sensor, high ISO sensitivity and Dual Image Stabilisation technology, Up to ISO6400 (at reduced resolution).It also has EVF, 200K dot resolution, To take panoramic images the camera takes three consecutive shots, releasing the shutter automatically and stitches them together.

The fujifilm S2950 is HD enabled and can playback HD pictures and videos on a HDTV via a HDMI cable @ HD stills (Full HD) and 720p HD movie capture (30fps), although this is not supplied with the camera. It also have a HDMI mini port.

Other features include Smile and Shoot mode, easy web uploading and the ability to select images in-camera to add to a photobook. Smile and Shoot mode release the shutter automatically when your subject smiles and the Blink Detection function will let you know if your subject has blinked so you can retake the photo. SR Auto (Scene Recognition Auto) and Easy web upload to Facebook and YouTube, were you can tagged your friends and families to your pictures.

Using the 4x (AA batteries) provided the S2950 is capable of shooting approximately 300 images but if you require your batteries to last longer then Ni-MH batteries are capable of approximately 500 images and Lithium batteries are capable of approximately 700 shots.

Fujifilm FinePix S2950: Pros

-Lots of zoom
-Good value for money
-Lots of features
-Panoramic mode
-Manual controls
-HDMI connection to HD TV

Fujifilm FinePix S2950: Cons

-Noise performance from ISO800 upwards isn't great
-No optical zoom on videos

 The Verdict:

The S2950 packs plenty of features, such as an electronic viewfinder, manual controls and large optical zoom which all combine to take pleasing pictures with ease. Noise performance above IS0400 isn't great and the zoom on videos is a let down. Overall the S2950 is a good entry level slr and  good introduction to compacts with large zooms or those who want an SLR style camera without the bulky size and bag of lenses all at a much lower price.