I purchased the 1800 after seeing a HSN demo on the camera. First, I must be honest by stating I am a retired journalist who shot her own photos, and a long time Nikon owner and more recently a digital Canon SLR owner. I still shoot and sell my work, mostly scenery and automotive photos.
The camera interested me because I was looking for a great camera, small enough to fit in my handbag. What the S1800 offered was a pretty good camera, not real great, but really nice. My beef is there is no RAW capabilities, but I guess that was to be expected at that price. Unlike above reviews, I think it is a battery hog and unlike my Canon, I can't plug the battery into the wall socket overnight. I purchased this camera because HSN really pushed the video. Eh, not so great. If you want great videos break down and buy a dedicated video camera. The video capability is good though if you chance upon a rare opportunity to shoot something. A lot of shake with the video. Finally, the lens cap wants to fall off all the time giving way to a possible lens damage while toting it in my handbag.
Now the plus side. It shoots a great image, especially in the wide lens mode. Great panorama when you need it. The camera is way above the little boxy point and shoots for stabilization because of the hand grip style. The telephoto is as good as you are going to get in a non SLR. I compared it side by side with my Canon's lens and it gives the lens a run for its money, but I also must agree a tripod is almost a must for the long shots. After you learn all the whistles and buttons you will have a pretty nice camera for the price. Half of the features could be eliminated like blink and smile, but it is likely a consumer driven factor.
All in all I gave it four stars. For my professional work, I will of course stay with my trusty Nikon film and Canon digital SLR, but for a fun camera with compact features--go for it.I have recommended it to all my point and shoot friends as a step up camera Fujifilm FinePix S1800 12.2 MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 3-Inch LCD
If you are one of those digital camera users who want some of the high end features of an SLR without the big price tag this might be right for you. It is so new hardly anyone knows it is slowly coming out on the market. Got mine at a special launch on HSN. Though there have been mixed reviews as to how good it is I don't have any complaints. Like zoom capability? The Fuji S-18 has as much as anyone practically needs. My only knock is you have use a tripod when using full zoom power unless you have a steady hand. The super Macro feature is great too if you like getting things really close up. Amazing resolution overall. The 3 inch LCD is nice but like all LCDs is hampered in bright light conditions, super sunny days. Thats where the good old Standard View finder comes in handy. It is better than most and works great in all conditions, even if you have wear glasses like me. Indoors or on less sunny days the LCD is just fine. There are a lot of really great features that are easy to use and figure out even if you don't ever read the operation manual you can upload on to your computer. Good all around product if you are looking for an upgrade or even a first time buyer. At the price point it sells for you get a lot of camera for a very good price. Though it uses AA batteries, alchaline or rechargables, and they seem to last a long time. Got a great little battery from Amazon that brings your batteries back to life in almost no time at home or on the road. You don't have to worry about fidling around with your camera settings and killing your batteries befor you take a picture....like me. Check it out. Nice camera based on Fugi's S-15 with a couple of extras thrown in. Recommended!
I bought this camera mostly for the zoom and the quality of the lens you get for only around 200 bucks. This camera does not have a RAW mode so it's really a point and shoot BUT it has many different features you might find in professional SLR cameras that cost hundreds more. If you know what you're doing, you can do a lot of manual shooting. I'm not going to give it a 2,3,4 out 5 because I don't' like the cheap plastic feel or that it's too light or that I don't like the color, like some of the other reviewers mentioned.. How cares??? I give it 5 stars because the quality of the pictures is great and for what this camera is designed for, it does beautifully.
I've been using my Finepix S1800 for almost two weeks now, and I have to say that I'm truly impressed. Although Amazon's not going to like this, I didn't buy it from them. I bought mine from a competitor at a lower price... Mine was reconditioned by Fuji, and came with no neckstrap, lens cap, or batteries. If you buy it new, you get those items. Anyway, I got this camera because I couldn't afford a Nikon D5000. I'd been using my film cameras, as well as a digital Olympus C-700, and felt it was time to get something better than the old Olympus. This Finepix fit the bill. It functions flawlessly, the lens seems pretty good, and the software menus within the camera are a breeze to master. The only gripe I have with the camera is that it doesn't do RAW format.. I can live without it. The images I've shot are sharp at all focal lengths, and the low light capabilities, especially the built-in Infrared AF, are pretty good, too. Oh, yeah, probably the most exciting feature of this camera is the Dual Image Stabilization. It has allowed me to get tack sharp shots at shutter speeds that would be impossible to get with a 35mm SLR. I've shot handheld shots at well over 200mm focal length at 1" and even slower! It's just amazing to rack the zoom all the way out to the equivalent of 504mm, and shoot at 1/60", even 1/30", and know you can get the shot. Just astounding. IT WORKS. It's wonderful in macro mode, too. Although undoubtedly there are better digital superzoom bridge cameras out there on the market, I seriously doubt if any come close to the S1800 in terms of value. The camera is inexpensive, well-made, handles well, and is fun to use. It's a nice machine. Oh, one caveat - it's REALLY fussy about the memory cards it can take - SanDisk and Fuji SDHC cards are recommended. The cards MUST BE CLASS 6 TO WORK WITH THIS CAMERA! Do not try to use a regular SD card, or anything less than a Class 6 card. I picked up an 8GB Fujifilms SDHC card for around $30 that gives me over 1,700 shots at the S1800's largest, best image quality - I can live with that.
To sum up -- get this camera. - Fujifilm - Super Zoom - Finepix - 18x Zoom'
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