Fujifilm FinePix F900EXR Review: Experience
I’ve been a fan of compact cameras for a long time. As a mountain biker and skier, carrying a camera with me in the mountains is as important as carrying any of my other gear. After years of making image quality my priority when choosing a small camera, I finally saw the benefits of a long zoom pocket camera. After a lot of searching and reading, I decided to buy the Fujifilm F900EXR. The feature list looked like the perfect blend of image quality and zoom. I made the decision to buy the camera just before I set out on my mountain bike for a 7-day thru-ride of the Colorado Trail. What better way to break in a camera than a week in the Rockies?
Grizzly Adam & His Fujifilm FinePix F900EXR Camera
After familiarizing myself with the controls, and unlearning some of the habits I developed using other cameras, I was ready to take the F900EXR into the wild. I wasn’t disappointed. Sacrificing image quality for a pocketable 25-500mm zoom was a great experience. Instead of being limited to the 3x zoom range of my Sony RX100, I now had the freedom to capture both wide-angle landscapes and distant peaks. The range of the F900EXR’s lens and the fast auto-focus system were invaluable for grabbing quick shots of other riders on the trail.
I used Fujifilm’s EXR Auto Mode with Motion Detection on my trip – that’s Fujifilm’s advanced auto system. It selects from over 100 “shooting patterns” to get the best settings and image quality for each photo – even in low light and even with moving subjects. It worked really well. I would like to have taken more time for each shot, but on the Colorado Trail, forward progress is top priority. Being able to stop and quickly get a picture was important. The F900EXR’s quick boot up time made that easy. The only time the camera lags is when writing RAW or multiple images to the card. But since I was shooting in JPEG format, write times were acceptable. I could quickly pull the camera out of my pack’s hip pocket, boot it up, frame the shot, get a great exposure (or three), and be pedaling again in just a minute or two.
Fujifilm FinePix F900EXR – Tiny Rider – Colorado Trail
Between the EXR Auto mode and the long zoom, I was able to capture high-contrast landscape scenes and action photos with clarity and speed. And while I could have taken my higher-end, large sensor pocket camera for the image quality, I would have missed out on some fantastic shooting opportunities that the F900EXR opened up. One of those opportunities came at 12,022-foot (3664m) Kokomo Pass. A summer storm had just washed over the area. The clouds were strung out beautifully; the evening light bathed the world in gold. It was the perfect time to be in that wonderful spot. I used the F900EXR to capture a wide-angle view of the scene, and then zoomed into the distant peaks and took a picture of them. Both photos are among my favorites from the entire trip. And both would have been impossible without the F900EXR’s 20x optical zoom.
Fujifilm FinePix F900EXR – Kokomo Pass – Wide-Angle Photo
Fujifilm FinePix F900EXR – Kokomo Pass – Zoomed In
One feature on the F900EXR that I was previously apathetic about, is built-in Wi-Fi. I‘ve always treated Wi-Fi as a throw-away feature on a camera. I’ve since learned that was a short-sighted view. Wi-Fi on a camera is fantastic! The Fujifilm F900EXR’s Wi-Fi capabilities are solid. The free mobile app connects a mobile phone quickly to the camera, and in 2 or 3 minutes, a picture can be taken, transferred to the phone, edited, and posted to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Wi-Fi on a pocket-sized point-and-shoot camera is stellar, and a great reminder that a pocket camera beats a camera-phone every time!
Fujifilm FinePix F900EXR – Built-In Wi-Fi
Continue reading for the Fujifilm FinePix F900EXR Image Quality.
Like I need yet another camera!
Yes, the zoom on the XZ-1 is restrictive in some situations.
But I currently have no need for anything better in my pocket.
If I was in your situation, with those opportunities out on the trail, I’d make the same decision I think.
The photos of the f900exr on your site show very nice DR for a small sensor camera. Its probably the weakest area of any small size sensor camera, glad to see fuji taking care of this.
Thanks again for the excellent reviews.