Fuji F750EXR

[Scrapnana]

I have a Fuji finepix point and shoot that I love. Unfortunately, it only has a five times zoom but takes great pictures. My next cruise will be the cruise of a lifetime and I would like a camera with a 20x optical zoom but still small enough to fit in my handbag. I've been looking at the F750EXR. Does anybody have any experience with this camera or do you know a similar size, feature, and price camera that would be better?

Thanks!

[awboater]

You may not want to hear my opinion. I dislike those high power zooms, as the lenses in my opinion are sub-par.

I used to have a Fuji S2950, and the lens was a 18x zoom. I bought it as an inexpensive camera that I could keep in the car, as everytime I neglected to bring my DSLR with me, it seems there was a photo opportunity.

But between the poor optics of the lens and the horrendous shutter delay, I hated that camera, and it set me against bridge cameras in general.

Thing is, even in the DSLR world, once you get to 12x, the lens optics start to suffer. Even my $800 Nikon AF-S 18-200mm DSLR lens has optical issues due to the zoom power (but are easily corrected by stopping down to f/8).

And if manufacturers have issues with making a good superzoom for $800, how much more so for a bridge camera lens costing $50.

I think your 5x zoom will outperform a 20x zoom, so you may want to have some time to do some critical self-critiquing of the photos with your new camera before taking your cruise. You don't want to take photos of your cruise of a lifetime with a camera worse than the one you already have.

While there is some conjecture on my part, it has been my experience that these things are so.

[katie11]

Originally Posted by Scrapnana

I have a Fuji finepix point and shoot that I love. Unfortunately, it only has a five times zoom but takes great pictures. My next cruise will be the cruise of a lifetime and I would like a camera with a 20x optical zoom but still small enough to fit in my handbag. I've been looking at the F750EXR. Does anybody have any experience with this camera or do you know a similar size, feature, and price camera that would be better?

Thanks!

I wouldn't want to put you off your choice of camera, but I bought a Fuji 550EXR camera for our last cruise. It was sold to me being the best digital camera on the market. Oh why did I fall for the salesmans pitch.
I have been both pleased and disappointed with this camera. It takes nice macro and still photo's, but if anything is moving, then it is blurred. Also taking night shots of lights was a disaster.
Now it could be the user and probably is, but it's most annoying to find the photo's not what you expected from a quality camera.
I have decided to buy a DSLR for our next trip, might be more on the weighty side, but I'm hoping for much better quality photo's.

[Scrapnana]

Thanks awboater and katie11 for your help. You raised some points I wouldn't have thought of. I have a 7-year old Fuji Finepix S1000 that has a 12x zoom that I might decide to take with me. It is much bigger and weighs more (thanks to the 4 AA batteries) but it does take good pictures.

[deadzone1003]

S2950 is a super zoom while the F750EXR is a travel zoom. Really not a valid comparison. The S2950 you can't put in a purse unless it is the size of a carry-on bag. If you can get it at a low price, go for it. Fuji F-series are very good cameras if you know how to use it. If you shoot in EXR mode, just remember to set it at 1/2 resolution for optimal results. Most important is that if you do get the F750EXR, practice with it alot before you leave else you become disappointed or frustrated with the camera. Fuji really don't make good idiot-proof cameras.