Fujifilm FinePix F600EXR Review: A Sharp Low-Light Shooter

As I mentioned in my "First Look," the F600EXR is very similar to the F550EXR. Based on looks alone, you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart. Both use a 1/2.0 inch, 16 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS EXR sensor, have a 15x optical zoom lens with a lens range of from 24 through 360mm (35mm film camera equivalent), have a built-in GPS for geo-tagging your photos, can shoot in RAW mode and can take HD movies at 1080p resolution. The only significant differences I can see is that the F600EXR employs motion detection in Auto EXR mode to reduce blur, a Landmark Navigator feature to improve the functionality of the GPS, and an intelligent digital zoom which effectively doubles the telephoto range of the lens.

The F600EXR is packed with attractive features. In addition to those mentioned above, it also has an advanced mode with options for "Motion Panorama 360," which enables you to take easy panorama shots simply by sweeping the camera horizontally or vertically, "Pro Focus," in which the camera takes three shots and combines them to create an image with a blurred background, and "Pro Low-Light" in which the camera combines four shots to reduce noise and blur. Another interesting feature of the camera is a dynamic range adjustment mode in which the camera combines shots to increase detail in high contrast shooting situations.

I brought the F600EXR with me to Williamsburg, Virginia, which is a restoration of what was once the Virginia capitol back in the colonial era, and had fun taking photos and movies. Overall, I enjoyed my experience with the F600EXR. Let's take a close look at this interesting camera.