Fuji FinePix S9600 Zoom 9.0 Megapixel Digital Camera

Great range of aperture, focus and zoom, perfect for beginners and people who don't want to spend an absolute fortune on add ons/extra lenses although you really should invest in a UV filter (about £15) as scratch protection because if your camera lense gets a scratch there's nothing you can do about it but replace the whole camera.

One note, CF can be faster than XD if you get a decent CF card, and this is really noticable if you want to take RAW shots, my fuji-film XD card takes about 9 seconds to store a RAW shot, but my Sandisk 2gb Extreme III CF Card takes about 7 seconds. Sure the CF is bulkier but I never see it, its capacity means I never have to change it over (in fact I leave my XD card in as well as back up, yes you can have both card types in at once and switch which to use with the camera's software!)

Tip: You can search on flickr.com for shots taken with this camera or others.

I have owned this camera for about two months now. This is the first serious camera that I have bought, in the past I have bought point and shoot type's but wanted to get a bit creative with my photography. The manual has all you need to know, but if like me it's all new then forget the manual & get snapping & use it as a referance to see where you went wrong, theres lots & lots to learn. The LCD menu's are easy to use & the quality of pictures are amazing. Very happy with the S9600 and I think it's a good stepping stone to a full on DSLR as you will not have to fork out more money for different lenses. I read a lot of reviews on many sites and only read one or two in a hundred reviews slaging it off but hey you can't please everyone. Buy a large capacity memory card when you order as internal memory is very limited.

Outstanding, brilliant, a dream of a camera. I ordered this last Sunday and it was delivered on Tuesday!

I am still going through the 'fiddling phase' but the photographs I have taken thus far are amazing. The detail is pin sharp. The camera could not be easier to use. Who needs a DSLR. Give this a try and save yourself a few hundred quid. You will not be dissapointed. it has certainly rekindled my desire for photography.
I bought a play.com 4Gig CF card with mine. Top notch again!
An inspiring bit of kit.