The Fuji Finepix S6500fd is a little different to the majority of super zoom digital cameras. This is because it is a larger, heavier camera than other models. The reason for this is because of the size of the lens unit. This is far larger. In my opinion it has two real advantages over other lenses. The first is that you twist the lens for zooming as you would on an SLR camera. I think this gives you greater control over zooming in and out. The second is that the Finepix S6500fd shows no sign of purple fringing.
Purple fringing is a problem that appears to blight just about every other super zoom camera I can think of. This is where a thin purple line is added to the edges of light coloured objects when they are caught by a light source such as the sun. Full marks to Fuji for managing to overcome this annoying problem. You can remove purple fringing by using some image manipulation software such as Photoshop, but it is so much simpler if it doesn't appear in the first place.
Manual focusing works in the same way as the zoom, with a focusing ring on the lens unit itself. Again I think this is a smart move from Fuji.
The camera has six megapixels and a 10.7 times zoom lens. The lens is a wide angle lens. This comes in handy for landscape shots or for photographing groups of people. In fact any type of photography that involves squeezing a wide scene into a shot will work well.
As I mentioned this type of lens unit does add weight and size. The Finepix S6500fd weighs 600g and is 128mm wide. You will therefore have to take care when buying a camera bag, to ensure the camera fits into the bag.
The fd part of the camera's name comes from the fact that there is some special face detection software in the camera. This is meant to help the camera detect and focus on a face when a portrait style shot is taken. This feature has become available in a number of digital cameras in the past six months.
One feature missing from the camera is image stabilisation. There is an anti blur mode, but this works in a different way to true image stabilisation. It works by increasing the ISO rating for a shot. This allows for a faster shutter speed to used. The benefit of this means that the shot is captured that much quicker. Therefore you have to hold the camera still for a much shorter length of time. This should lead to a decrease in camera shake and an increase in the sharpness of the photo. Although Fuji cameras perform better than the opposition when it comes to higher ISO ratings you are still likely to see an increase in noise in the photo. This detracts from the overall quality of the shot.
In terms of ease I thought that the Finepix S6500fd was one of the better super zoom cameras. A degree of complexity is added because the camera has a set of manual exposure controls. These include aperture priority and shutter priority. This means it takes a bit longer to get to know this type of camera than a simple, point and shoot model. If all you are looking for is simplicity and a longer lens then the camera does have an automatic mode as well.
