I received this camera as a gift last Christmas so I had no input into what type of camera I was getting. I do have to say that I love this camera! It was easy to use from the minute I took it out of the box! Although I would probably love to take a class on how to use it even better. The only thing I don't like is that it takes batteries instead of having an A/C adaptor. Adding extra batteries to my already somewhat heavy camera bag is not what I really want to do. Performance Sometimes it takes a long time to take a photo. I want to push the button and have it react immediately.

loemandfinn3

North Ridgeville, OH

I am an avid photographer and recieved this camera as a Christmas gift from my parents. So far, I have really enjoyed it. Pros: user friendly, takes high quality pictures (good enough to make large poster prints), 18x optical zoom, large lcd screen, great features like panorama shots, great for beginners or experienced photographers, good price Cons: sd card is in battery compartment (so you have to open the battery compartment everytime you want to take the card out), no automatic flash (you have to manually open it to use it), battery doesn't last long Note:The first camera I got I had to take back. When you would go to review the pictures it would freeze up, and the only way to unfreeze it was to take the batteries out, put them back in and start it up again (and there was no guarantee it wouldn't do it again). The second camera I got has worked just fine....so maybe was just a bad camera.

ccascio

Lebanon, OR

I have owned quite a few Fuji cameras over the years. So when I saw this little beauty I have to take the leap. The size is perfect for carring around and not as heavy as some of past years models. This camera has a great optical zoom. You are able to get close up pitures nice and tight. The construction on this unit seems to be very solid and will last for years. Once you team this with a nice 8 gig card to hols all the beautiful picures you are going to take you are all set. There is no learning curve and you do not need to thumb through the instruction booklet ever time you need to know something about this camera. This camera is also very conservative on batteries. The LCD viewfinder is nice and clear. I think everyone will enjoy owning this camera.

worldwidelive

Portland, OR

Looking for a good digital camers with all the whistles and bells at an affordable price? Give the Fugi S-1800 a hard look. For new users and old pros alike it has most of what you need for all picture taking applications.. Plenty of zoom (18X) and macro features to get as close to anything as you like. Image stabilitization and good flash only make it a great buy for avid picture takers who like to have extra options. Had mine for a year and it does a great job on all the tasks I use it for. Easy on power too as it doesn't use up the rechargable batteries very fast. Really a safe bet unless you want to jump up a notch to the newly released Fugi S-4000. This is basically the S-1800 on steroids with a monster 30X zoom. Look it over as it is a sfe buy for all photo uses.

justcal2u

Oceanside, CA

The Fujifilm Finepix S1800 is a so-called megazoom bridge camera, because it has an enormous 18x optical zoom and looks like a DSLR (albeit a little smaller). The main thing that people are concerned with is the image quality, and I have to say that the Fujifilm Finepix S1800 does not disappoint for day shots and wide landscape shots. I have taken this camera with me to many scenic attractions around the world (Jiu Zhai Gou in China, Torres del Paine in Chile and so on) and this camera has never disappointed me with its ability to capture the landscape. However, the problem comes when the lighting conditions are a bit dimmer (cloudy conditions) or indoors. The camera starts to give an excessive amount of noise beyond ISO 400, and it's almost impossible to take a clear (not blur) shot under relatively dim conditions without increasing the ISO (which results in poor photos anyway). But despite its shortcomings, I still recommend this camera especially for those who like adventuring, because of 2 main reasons: it uses AA batteries (meaning you can carry several packs of AA batteries with you when you are out travelling and not worry about running out of batteries), and it is also very resilient to inclement weather conditions (I carried this with me while I was hiking in Patagonia under heavy rain, and it survived despite getting a fair bit of rainwater on it).

bkchng

Atlanta, GA

Paying a little bit more than for a typical point-and-shoot camera, I have been somewhat disappointed with the Fujifilm S1800.  There are more options with this camera than with cheaper models and brands, however, the pictures taken do not seem to be any better than those taken with my previous (significantly cheaper) camera.  I have noticed this especially in situations with lower lighting. According to the product manual, the various settings on this camera should allow for clear pictures to be taken in such settings; however, in my experience these type situations produce nothing but dull and grainy images. On a positive note, this model has a video option which so far has taken some decent quality video clips. Overall, this camera is not bad at all. At the same time, though, it is nothing special. Considering the alternative options out there, I would rather have spent a bit more for a better camera, or spend a bit less for a smaller camera that can do the exact same things.

eighteenminutes

Urbana, IL

My husband bought this camera for me after my other camera died right before our trip to Disney World. I was a little nervous since it seemed to boast a lot of great features, yet cost very little. I quickly read through the manual on the way hoping to learn how to use it in time. It was absolutely perfect! One feature I feel is lacking on many other cameras is a great zoom. This one has 18x optical zoom which is phenomenal! I was able to capture great pictures of my kids on the rides as well as with characters. The 12 megapixels are great for beautiful pictures with great color and clarity. Changing settings for different pictures is very easy too. The only small problem I have is that the lenscap slips off very easily. An automatic closing lens would have been a nice feature, but overall, I don't think you'll find a better camera for anywhere close to this price! The camera is very user friendly and is about as close to an SLR as you can get without the SLR pricetag.

Disneymama

Midlothian, VA

I just recieved my Fuji Finepix S1800 in the mail last week, but I must say that I absolutely love it. I bought it as an upgrade from my Fuji S5100. It has many more options and I believe I made a great choice. The 18X zoom is awesome, and even when you zoom all the way in, the pictures still turn out clear. There is only one complaint I would have about the photos. If taken in low light, without flash, the pictures turned out fuzzy. A neat feature of the camera is smile detection. I've only found a few things so far that I don't for. The first thing is that it takes a different type of cable, and not a typical usb cable. The second thing would be that the memory card slot is located under the battery compartment cover that doesn't seem too sturdy. I have yet to try out the cd that comes with the camera. I like that when you want to load the pictures to your computer, that you can just drag and drop the from the camera. The size of the camera is great and fits comforably in your hand. All in all, with the technical options and features, I would highly recommend this camera for the advanced amateur photographer. :) This camera is great for all the more that it costs.

kayla88

Armagh, PA

I have owned Nikon & Cannon 35mm cameras over the years, but purchased  a Fuji digital camera about 7 years ago.  Loved it so much that I upgraded to the FinePix S1800 last year.  My father loved it so much that he kept borrowing mine all the time and I finally rallied my brother and sisters' together to buy him one for his birthday.  I love the size and feel of it in my hand.  It is so easy to use that my kids enjoy taking pictures with it as well.  I highly recommend the Fuji FinePix S1800 12MP digital camera.

Karensurvey422

Murfreesboro, TN

When I first bought the camera a little over two months ago I was very impressed with the quality of the pictures.The manual was very helpful in learning how to operate this camera. The only downfall that I've had with it, is that after the first two times of uploading pictures to the camera through the USB cord, it won't allow me to do that now.  Every time I try it tells me that there are no new pictures or videos found on this device.  It's a little upsetting considering the price I paid for this camera.  Techinical support wasn't very much help in the three or four times that I called. I repeatedly tried uploading pictures since then and I'm still unable to do it. It is still telling me the same thing.  i actually had to take the SDHC card to a photo kiosk and transfer all of my pictures onto cd's.  It works, my pictures still come out nicely but it is starting to cost to much money to keep making the cd's when I am suppose to be able to save them right to my computer. All in all, it was definately worth the price I paid. I love this camera and it's the best camera investment by far.

XoHollieoX

Auburn, NY