High-quality movies combined with a long zoom lens
There are plenty of digital camera users who are bored with their snapshot cameras but who don’t want to move up to a bulky, expensive SLR.
Fujifilm's S2000HD is an attempt to hook casual users with its promise of high-definition movie clips, as well as enticing photo enthusiasts with manual controls, a 10-megapixel resolution and 15x optical zoom.
These – home movie makers and photo-heads – are traditionally two distinct groups, though, so it's a tricky balancing act.
Even with the four AA batteries required for power inserted, the S2000HD felt lightweight, which, coupled with clearly labelled controls and features such as face detection and automatic red-eye removal, suggests Fujifilm has gone for a family-friendly feel.
The advantage for such an audience is that, unlike with some rivals, the full extent of the zoom lens can be used when shooting movies, as well as for stills. For school sports days, a capture rate of an impressive 13.5 frames per second is available, although at a lowered resolution of three megapixels (at full quality it's only half a frame per second).
The camera is quick to power up, with a wait of a couple of seconds while the lens extends and the rear 2.7in screen lights up. Should screen visibility prove an issue in sunlight, there’s a smaller electronic viewfinder too.
The S2000HD boasts light sensitivity up to a superb ISO6400, but over 1600 the resolution halves to five megapixels to limit noise. Users also get a 55MB internal memory to get started but that's only good for a few snaps – an SD memory card is still required.
Pictures were a little soft and benefited from sharpening on the computer, while strong sunlight had a bleaching effect on exposures. Still, noise was well controlled up to ISO800 and just about usable at ISO1600, though we’d give settings above that a miss.
For £249, and for the average home user, the Fuji S2000HD is one of the better value large-zoom compact cameras on the market.
