As all of the previous reviewers have stated, the Fuji 4900 is an excellent camera.
Coupled with the Epson Stylus Photo 1280, I have made excellent 16" x 20" prints that look as good or better as film prints.
My Epson Stylus Photo 820 does an excellent job with 8" x 10" prints as well.
The Fuji 4900 is just an excellent camera EXCEPT for the poor battery life. I got tired of the constant need to recharge the NP-80s ( I have 6) so I bought a PowerBank MH-DPB180M battery pack from J&R Electronics and no longer have that problem.

I just wanted to let everyone interested in this camera to be aware of something. This camera uses a 2.45 Megapixel image sensor and interpolates that to create a 4.3 MP image. I thought it was worth noting since the FinePix s602 was put into the 3-3.9 megapixel category, even though it has the capability to produce a 6 megapixel image. Just wanted to pass along the info...

The image quality produced by this camera is spectacular. However, I think Fuji has some scope for improvement in terms of the user interface. I find setting the time and selecting the image quality to be a bit tedious.

I've owned this camera for a few months now, probably the best I've ever had. If you want SLR functions but don't want to spend a lot, this is the one.
What I like:
1. Powerful optical zoom at 6X
2. Good resolution up to 2400x1800
3. Short lag time between shots
4. Switching between shoot and play mode is fast
5. Selectable ISO from 125 to 800

Improvment I'd like to see in the future model:
1. I prefer optical view finder over the electronic one; it's hard to see if subject is in focus when using manual focus, especially under sunlight
2. Better manual focus feel; the electronic focus steps just doesn't feel like an analog one, you know what I mean if you are familiar with regular SLR cameras
3. Faster recharge time; the included charger needs 5+ hours, I decided to buy a generic quick charger + battery
4. No B function for long exposure

If you are taking photography class, this is a good and affordable camera to own. You can practice a lot without wasting rolls of film.
Fuji's newer model in this class is S602, it has higher res, movie mode with sound, longer exposure to 15 sec. Price is still better than its competition, should be worth considering.

I've been using the Finepix 4900 for several months right now and I love the camera's features. I think the one big negative point about this model is the poor battery life. If you use the flash and the LCD display, expect about 40 shots before you get the low battery indicator. I would recommend purchasing a second battery and charger for long trips.

The LCD viewfinder is another problem. The image you get from using the viewfinder isn't very clear in low light situations. My previous digital camera was the Fuji MX-2900 which had an optical viewfinder. If you get a chance to compare an LCD viewfinder to an optical one-you would agree that the optical works better. This also puts another strain on the battery life issue too.

Enough on the negatives. The best part about this camera is the image quality. It's excellent and I love the 6X optical zoom. I would avoid using the digital zoom whenever possible. The lens on this model was the main reason for purchasing this camera.

I don't claim to be all that knowledgable about cameras, films and photography, but for the uninitiated, this is as good a camera is you could possible need if you're anything like me. My 70 year old father, who'd not taken pictures in years, picked up the basics pretty quick.

The camera is old and a bit clunky for today's streamlined standards, but for someone like me it makes it harder to drop and the photos are as good as newer models (if not better).

The biggest grumble for me is the memory card. It takes SmartMedia cards which are smaller (memorywise) and more expensive.

This review is probably a few years late.

Fuji 4900 is great camera. Lots of different modes of operation, easy to switch different modes of flashes (auto, force on, force off, red eye, slow flashes). Impressive 6X optical zoom.

There is a adapter tube and clear UV filter lens at ebay.com, they are reasonably priced.

One note about batteries. Make sure you get batteries with > 2000 mA-hour. There are batteries that look the same, yet only has 1200 mA-hour, i.e. lasts half as long.