the fuji finepix s9600 is a very versatile all rounder, and very good value for money.
Lens quality and range ideal; manual control of zoom range excellent.Well made
Minor gripe ,Battery power indicator only shows when almost exhausted.Optical stabilization would have been useful especially at the telephoto end.

This Fuji FinePix S9600 is a good camera for general use and I use mine for both stills of my products for sale and also for archery coaching video analysis.

Not a complicated camera but very capable and versatile.

Owned my Fujifilm S9600 for about two years. Love it. Like the independent flash socket - use it with my Portaflash studio set-up. Knowing the speed of the Portaflash was 1000th sec, I just manually set the camera shutter to 1000 and experimented with the aperture. Instant success!

Like the speed of quarter turn of the barrel to go from 28 to 300 mm.

Being slightly-built I like the portability compared with carrying several lenses.

Like having a manual-focus option, although I have to admit I seldom use it.

The Fuji FinePix S9600 looks like an DSLR, feels and handles like a DSLR but stops just a little way short. Due to it's smaller 9MP sensor it struggles with noise as the ISO is increased above 200, although in most circumstances ISO 400 is more than acceptable. Focus is fast and fairly accurate, struggles a little in low light but a very good manual focus system which I've found to be quick and easy to use overcomes the low light focusing issues. The manual zoom is a breeze to use and uses no battery power, and with a 28mm to 300mm, 35mm equivalent zoom range gives you a fairly wide angle to a good telephoto length. fairly fast at the wide end too with a maximum aperture of f2.8 . The view finder and LCD are good enough to use for manual focus and composition although I find the rear LCD at 2" a little hard to use, (The old eyes are not what they used to be), but because it tilts it could make make that seemingly impossible shot possible. Nice additions like an external hot shoe, cable release socket all go to making the 9600 a good starter camera. It's not a camera for the point and shoot brigade I think unless you're willing to learn how to use it to it's full potential you may well be a little dissatisfied. It's a camera for people who want to have control over what and how they they shoot their photos.

Have used many different Cameras both film and digital. The Fuji Finepix S9600 almost has everything one needs in a camera in its Price range. Stops short of being a SLR. Could have wider lens as accessory, at least. Should have had accessory WIDE ANGLE LENS upto 14mm.

I won this camera in a raffle. It is an excellent camera and as I am a digi-phobic I was suprised how quickly I was converted. There are lots of features which should keep the gadget lover busy for sometime, it is worth getting to understand things such as white balance as it improves your photos. Get a good set of NiMh batteries (2700mAH). As the price comes down so does the value for money.

I was very disappointed with the lack of modes which the S6500 contains, this was the whole point of my buying the Fuji Finepix S9600. I assumed all the features of the S6500 would have been incorporated in the new S9600 along with the better sensor and higher pixels. I lost two good photos because they required some flash enhancement, by the time I raised the flash the pictures were gone. I am now about to trade in the S9900 for an S6500 as I'm now getting past the stage of setting up the camera for various scenes, e.g. snow, sea, sunsets, and many others which the s6500 has. I fail to understand why the S9600 has a poor lack of modes for their top camera.
Basically the S9600 has just the basics of lower priced cameras and does not warrant the higher price.
Has any S9600 user taken shots of snow scenes, sunsets etc.? I would appreciate any info.

This S9600 was my first proper digital camera, I still own it but I moved up to better cameras, but only because I needed the extra zoom and closer macro, this camera did everything right and even a couple things better than my 4x more expensive new one, the noise is well under control, focus is very good (not manual) image quality and resolution was great, but it seems like it would choose low shutter speeds in daylight and make things too bright when left to think for itself, easily fixed with exposure compensation though.
A very good, easy to use camera and if you don't need the two extremes of true macro and really big zoom then it is perfect, and you don't even have to worry about lenses!

I bought Fuji Finepix S9600 in October 2006. Had been toying with upgrading to a D-SLR but couldn't justify spending that sort of money.

It can't do everything a D-SLR can, but it comes very close.

The picture quality is very good. I've had a few hiccups, but on the whole this is one great camera. Any bad pictures have been down to me, not reading the instruction book properly. I have found the articulated LCD screen very useful in awkward places.

For the person who wants to bridge the gap between Digital Compact Cameras & Digital SLR but does not want to spend vast amounts on bodies and lenses, this camera is a good stop-gap.

Most users should be able to take a photo with very little effort. If you want to be able to use all the features this camera has, a little patience and a good look through the instruction book is essential.

The 28-300mm zoom lens is a fantastic feature. You also have the option of over-riding the auto-focus with manual focus, just like a SLR.

With Macro, Super Macro and many other features, this is a great camera for the price.

This is a 9megapixel Camera with the following features:-

10 STILL photography modes (AUTO, Natural, Night, Portrait, Scenic, Anti-shake. Program Auto, Shutter prority, Apeture priority, Manual) and MOVIE with sound

10.7x optical zoom and 2x digital zoom, Macro and Super Macro giving a total focal range of 1cm to infinity.

Shutter speeds of 4sec to 1/4000sec, depending on settings plus continuous shooting of up to 40 frames.

Auto flash with 7 settings, plus hot-shoe and synchronizing terminal.

Voice memo

OSD: settings, menus and playback

In camera editing

Time and date stamp

Self Timer

In the box are:-
The camera
Lens cap and stowage holder
Strap
Lens hood
Alkaline batteries, (buy a good charger and some high capacity NiMH 2700 batteries)
16mb xD-picture Card (buy a 512mb or 1gb card)
A/V cable
USB (miniB) cable
CD-ROM
Manual

Cases are available and differ greatly in price. I bought mine from Amazon for £20. Its a Fuji and real leather.

I would not hesitate in recommending this camera to a friend. For around £250 you get a lot of camera for your money.

The Fuji Finepix S9600 is a great camera, doesn't suffer from dirt on CCD unlike my pro camera !!