Fujifilm FinePix S2000HD 10MP Digital Camera with 15x Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom

This was a gift for my daughter. She researched it, and this is the only thing she wanted. It was packaged well, and we were very happy with it.

I'm glad that I picked this camera. It takes real nice pictures once you get in on the right setting. I gave it a 4, because I wish they would have more instruction on the how to set the shutter speed. I would recommend this product.

I love this camera. My uncle bought it for me and sent it to me through Amazon. I am no camera expert, but then again it was only 200$.
The camera feels small and compact, but powerful and agile. It has plenty of features that I have no idea what to do with! There's so many. The video quality is great, much better than I would expect from a camera that's meant for point and shoot. The batteries seem to last me plenty, but then again I don't take hundreds of photos every 10minutes.
I recommend this great camera at such a great price.
=)

I have owned several digicams over the last 9 years. This camera was my first Fuji. I was initially very excited over all it's features but Fuji should be ashamed they released this to the market as is. All the reviews stating is has trouble with autofocusing and with overexposure are 100% correct. If you are lucky 2 out of 10 photos will be more or less in focus. The rest are most likely to be blurry no matter what settings you use on the camera or overexposed. I guess if you were willing to just do manual focus you might have a chance though.

The videos are very subpar. I was expecting to be able to hear the zoom motor during movies which you can (very loud and clear) but it was a big surprise to be able to also hear the autofocus itself when you are not zooming going "click, click, click" throughout the movie. Add to this the fact that the movies are as blurry as the pics and you have a dud.

Finally, the LCD will inexplicably flicker (go off for a few seconds, come back on, go off for another second, and then come back on). I would be tempted to say mine was defective but I got 2 from Amazon and they both did this. Needless to say I did not keep this camera.

So then, why are some people giving this good reviews? I can only conclude that they have never had a digicam before and hence compared to a cheap film camera the pictures look great. However, compared to a decent digital camera they are horrific. The professional sites more or less all recommend you buy something else and I have to agree. I just wish I had looked at their reviews closer before buying this.

If you want to see some sample video from this camera go to vimeo.com and search for S2000 HD. I put up an example where you can clearly hear all the noise from the zoom motor and autofocus. Decide for yourself.

I have read many of the reviews on this camera before and after I purchased it and the biggest issue I have with the S2000HD is the proprietary USB ports/cables -- a shameless and unnecessary grab at our wallets by FujiFilm. Aside from that, this camera has everything a serious amateur photographer could want at a price that is unbeatable.

I saw the S700 about a year ago at local RadioShack and I was very tempted to buy that camera but held off since it did not have true IS (neither mechanical nor optical). A friend of mine did buy it and loved it; he bought some filters for it and his photos were amazing. This was very influential in my decision to purchase the S2000HD since it has the same basic specs as the S700 with many added features; if a lesser model could produce such "finepics", surely an upgraded version would do that and more. I'm glad to say, my logic was correct!

Before purchasing the S2000HD, I went to 3 top digital camera review websites. A close contender for my money was the Canon SX110 IS. Since I already owned the Canon Optura 20 and the A620, I was leaning towards getting the Canon since I was already familiar with their products and had some compatible accessories. In fact, the SX110 garnered a point to point and half higher rating on all three reviews I read which was not surprising to me. While not a huge difference it was enough to make me pause: was the S2000HD the wiser choice; more bang for the buck but I knew Canon and although pricey, in my mind it would be the sure bet. Canon = quality which tends to be true most of the time.

On November 21st, I took my vows with the S2000HD and from the first moment I removed it from the box up to now just over a month later, my love has only grown.

A word on battery consumption: a few reviews have lodged complaints that the batteries do not last long. This has not been an issue for me at all; in fact I have been impressed with the battery life considering the large LCD display on the back. I have a feeling people are not setting the battery type in the main setup menu correctly or they might have bad batteries.

Last word: for the serious amateur on a budget, the S2000HD is worth every penny.