Fujifilm FinePix S4800 Review

Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification



The Fujifilm FinePix S4800 was announced in January 2013 and is a bridge camera with a DSLR look and feel as well as a 30x optical zoom lens. It is available in black, white and red for £139.99.

Fujifilm FinePix S4800 Features

The Fujifilm FinePix S4800 has a 16 megapixel CCD sensor and 30x optical zoom lens, which is a 35mm equivalent of 24-720mm, with sensor shift image stabilisation to help reduce blur. The lens has a 1cm minimum focusing distance when shooting in super-macro mode for detailed close-ups. Fujifilm say the camera has a startup speed of just 1.3 seconds and autofocus speed of 0.3 seconds.

To make shooting easy there is automatic scene recognition (SR AUTO) mode which automatically selects the optimal shooting settings for the scene. The settings it chooses from are portrait, landscape, night, macro, night portrait and backlit portrait. If you have more photographic knowledge or are looking to learn how a DSLR operates you can use the PSAM manual shooting modes to set the aperture and shutter speed. Other modes include motion panorama and 3D shooting.

Key Features

• 16 megapixel CCD sensor
• 30x optical zoom lens (35mm equiv. 24-720mm)
• Sensor shift image stabilisation
• 3.0 inch 230k dot LCD screen
• Full manual controls
• 720p HD video recording
• ISO 64-6400
• 1cm minimum focusing distance
• Motion panorama mode
• 1.2 fps full resolution continuous shooting
• Available in black, red and white

Fujifilm FinePix S4800 Handling

The Fujifilm FinePix S4800 has the look and feel of a small DSLR, there's a good rubberised hand grip, the lens has grooves running all the way around and there is a dotted area for your right hand thumb on the rear. All of these features help grip the camera. The camera is made of plastic, you wouldn't be able to keep it in your pocket so a small camera bag would be ideal.

There is a mode dial on the top that includes options for PSAM modes. On the top is the shutter release, zoom rocker, exposure compensation and continuous shooting as well as an on / off slider. There is also a button on the right to release the flash. On the rear are movie record, display / back and playback buttons as well as a d-pad. This gives access to macro, flash, timer and aspect ratio. In the centre is the menu button and the d-pad is used for navigation. The S4800 has an easy to use and navigate menus.

The supplied AA batteries have a CIPA rating of 320 shots. This will be enough for a day or two of shooting, but if you want more you can purchase either Ni-MH rechargeable batteries for 500 shots or Lithium batteries for 700 shots.

We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.

Shutter Response		0.125 secs
Wide - Focus / Shutter Response		0.6 secs
Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response		0.85 secs
Switch on Time to Taking a Photo		1.95 secs
Shot to Shot without Flash		2.5 secs
Shot to Shot with Flash		2.6 secs
Continuous Shooting - L		1.3 fps
Continuous Shooting - M Top 20		2.8 fps
Continuous Shooting - H Top 40		9.9 fps

Continuous shooting L records 5 images in full resolution. Continuous shooting M records 20 images at 8 megapixels and continuous shooting H records 40 images at 4 megapixels.

Fujifilm FinePix S4800 Performance

Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

Fujifilm FinePix S4800 Sample Photos

Sample Photos - The S4800 takes pictures with good colour reproduction and they are well exposed. Portraits have decent skin tones, although there is a slight touch of red-eye when using the flash.

Fujifilm FinePix S4800 Lens test images

Lens Performance - Detail is good in the centre of the image but they are softer in the corners and edges. When using the lens at its longest, detail is still good, but there is clearly some purple fringing and chromatic aberration, but for a camera of this price it's to be expected. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of just 1cm in super macro mode which allows for excellent close-up shots.

Fujifilm FinePix S4800 ISO test images

ISO Noise Performance - Noise is low at ISO 100 and 200, but there is some softening at ISO 400. Detail is lost in the darker parts of the image at ISO 800, with even more lost at ISO 1600. Images are very noisy at ISO 3200 and 6400, with image size limited to just 4 megapixels.

Fujifilm FinePix S4800 White-balance test images

White Balance Performance - The Auto White Balance (AWB) handles the incandescent lighting well, with an almost identical shot taken when using the incandescent preset. Under the fluorescent lights the AWB does well, with colour casts in each of the images taken using the three fluorescent presets.


Panorama | 1/180 sec | f/8.0 | 4.3 mm | ISO 64

Panorama mode - Panoramas have a good amount of detail and the camera does a good job of stitching them together.

Fujifilm FinePix S4800 Digital filters

Digital Filters - The S4800 isn't packed with creative filters to use when shooting, but there are colour modes, with examples of each above.

Video - Below is a video recorded in 720p HD. Quality is good although it's a shame it's not full 1080p HD. You can use the optical zoom during recording, an example of which can be seen on the ePHOTOzine Youtube page.

Value For Money

The Fujifilm FinePix S4800 is available for £139.99, making it one of the cheapest ultra-zoom cameras available. There are two other alternatives with 30x zoom, both from Sony, the Cybershot HX50 at £333.51 and HX200V at £259.97. The HX50 is a pocketable compact whereas the HX200V is a bridge camera, as the S4800 is. With 35x optical zoom there is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ30 at £171.96, 40x zoom there is the Olympus SP-820UZ at £187.49 and Fujifilm FinePix S8200 at £192.74, 42x zoom there is the Nikon Coolpix P520 at £302.40 and Fujifilm FinePix HS50 at £392.66, 46x zoom the Fujifilm FinePix S8500 at £252.92 and lastly with 50x optical zoom are the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS at £359.00, Sony Cybershot DSC-HX300 at £387.57 and Fujifilm FinePix SL1000 at £280.45.

You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.

Fujifilm FinePix S4800 Verdict

The Fujifilm FinePix S4800 will appeal to those who are on a budget, but want a versatile camera that has plenty of zoom and full manual controls. This is ideal for those who want to test their photographic skills without the investment required for a DSLR. The battery has a decent life and image quality is respectable given the cameras price. What you don't get is a viewfinder which is useful for a camera with so much zoom and continuous shooting is quite slow. Overall, the S4800 offers plenty for its price tag.

Fujifilm FinePix S4800 Pros

Excellent value for money
Decent zoom range
1cm minimum focusing distance
Decent image quality
Good battery life
Manual controls

Fujifilm FinePix S4800 Cons

Video recording isn't full 1080p HD
Screen has a low resolution
No viewfinder
Continuous shooting at full resolution is slow

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
VERDICT

Fujifilm FinePix S4800 Specifications

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