Fujifilm FinePix JZ500 Conclusions

CONCLUSIONS
In my opinion, the JZ500 is a bit pricey, but I like it and I had fun shooting with it. We are right in the middle of our spring color season in the Ohio Valley and I shot the SD card equivalent of exposing dozens of rolls of slide film trying to capture that almost riotous explosion of nature's colorful exuberance. Overall, the JZ500 did a good job for me and with the exception of its sudden power crash tendency (when the battery is exhausted) and its irksome play/review button, I have no complaints about the camera.

The JZ500 is obviously targeted toward snap-shooters and casual photographers rather than photography enthusiasts - and that's OK. The JZ500 is a very good choice for someone who wants to take good pictures but doesn't want to get too involved in the photography process; someone moving from a fairly basic first digital camera like the Canon A3100 IS would love the JZ500's 10x zoom and easy pocketability. It is also a very good choice for travelers, backpackers, hikers and mountain bikers who want a tough, lightweight, "go anywhere" camera.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Ultra-Compact 
• First rate optics 
• Very good image quality 
• Nice feature set

Cons:

• No manual exposure capability
• Pricey 
• Battery life could be better 
• No Optical viewfinder 
• No handgrip

Individual Ratings: *

Image/Video Quality 
Features 
Design/Ease of Use 
Performance 
* Ratings averaged to produce final score