I've had the camera for about a month now. I would consider myself a very amateur photographer. But I love this camera. It's more than a point and shoot but not quite a DSLR, I'd call it an advanced Digital camera. It can be used as a point and shoot but I think as your experience grows with the camera, the functionality and use of the camera becomes one of its greatest strengths.

The only con I have is minor. The face detection function doesn't seem to trigger as often as I think it would (considering 90% of my photos are of my baby son) and often the detection picks up things that aren't . . . well faces.

Other than this, it's a great camera. Even the video capture is impressive. Highly recommended to those who want more than a point and shoot but don't want to commit to the more expensive DSLR cameras.

I use this camera for taking pictures at soccer matches. The camera is easy to use and takes very good action shots. I am pleased with the performance.

Was considering upgrading to a D-SLR type camera from my typical point-and-shoot camera, but I have to admit I was intimidated by price and complexity. I found the Fujifilm S8100fd to be the perfect blend of advanced features, price and complexity level. I wanted something that had a good telephoto/zoom lens and this one is awesome. The stability really helps keep things from being blurry and the advanced modes (multi-shot, movie, flash and no flash at same time [sounds odd, read the manual]) are really cool. This camera helps me take better pictures in almost any scenario. Add in an 8GB SDHC card and you have the ability to store thousands of photos and hours of video. Love this camera!

I've used Fuji products for many years. I've had an S7000 for several years and love it but wanted the added zoom and megs. The S8100fd is lighter, well laid out, and does all that I want in a camera. I was a professional photographer about thirty years ago but left that career to work for Fuji for about six years. I started using Fuji products at that time (employee discount!) and haven't stopped. I was hooked on both their film and cameras. Fuji continues to make great inovative products. The biggest negative on the S8100fd is the sharpness on the rear screen when reviewing pictures. You really can't get a confident feel for the quality of what you just shot until you review it on the computer. My S7000's screen is much better. I also can't get used to the speed control for the zoom. It is too quick for precise adjustments. Other than that, it is the most camera for the money right now and I love the wide angle to tele opticals. The pictures have been sharp and well balanced for color and contrast.

Image sensor has a lot of noise.
Zoom works fine, but plastic can not hold optics properly centered and image is not sharp (out of focus).
It is a big step back in quality from older products.
Do NOT recommend.

I find the camera a disappointment. The macro option is totally unsatisfactory. Who wants to tote 2 cameras? The Fuji 8100 for everything but close-ups, and another with a functional macro. I'm really dis-satisfied.........JR Shelton

We have had a Fuji S5000 for about 4 years, shot over 18,000 pictures with the camera. We shoot pictures of our daughters softball, 5 sequential shots at a time. It really adds up on the picture count, of course we don't save all of those pictures. You always get at least one good one out of five. Wanted to replace the old S5000, internal battery backup had died. When you replace the batteries, had to reset the time, date, etc.
Did a lot of research for a replacement and settled on the Fuji S8100fd. The two biggest reasons was: 1) Option for 7 Frames per Second or 16 Frames Per Second. 2) 18x Zoom.
We have been very, very, very pleased with the picture quality and the very high frame rate. It was a great purchase!
Cons: Cannot screw a filter on the end of the lens, that option has saved the lens on the S5000. We do not like the lens sticking out, ie not protected like the S5000. Will have to be a lot more careful with the S8100fd.
Would buy it again! Great Fuji product!

I am not a photographer, and I have no wish to set this and that and that and that in order to take a picture, nor do I want to trust an auto that produces pics that nobody wants to look at. THIS CAMERA SOLVED THOSE PROBLEMS. I use auto and sometimes the anti-shake and sometimes the fast shot for moving objects, that's it. On 18x full optical, the shots are better than anything I've ever gotten on a digital (and I've had three or four of slightly lower price).
If you're like me, and simply want a camera that will take the shots you expect without undue preparation and messing around, this is the camera for you.

I did a lot of research online before buying this camera. So far, I just love it! I have to take a lot of pictures in low light without a flash and this camera is really coming through for me in those conditions. I highly recommend it!

With the 18x zoom lens, you can do almost everything you want. I have taken couple shots with the 18x, very details, but your hand need to be very steady, even with the stablize function on. This is normal however. The only thing which is weak on this machine is the video, you can't zoom during video is taking. The new Nikon P80 can zoom. Many other brand offer the zooming in video taking like the Panasonic, and canon. Other than that, if you are a part time pro, it is more than enough, face recognization, M, P, S priority, you name it, it has it. Saving picture is a little slow. i haven't printed any pic yet, but will soon. Size and wt is pretty much the same compare to the the Nikon P80, Panasonic, Olympus. these are the only 4 brands having 18x zoom camera.

I LOVE ALL ASPECTS OF THIS CAMERA ESPECIALLY THE FAST SHUTTER SPEED. HOWEVER, I AM FINDING IT DIFFICULT TO TAKE CLEAR PICTURES AT NIGHT OF SPORT EVENTS LIKE CAR RACES. SEEMS TO BLURR???

My Fuji S5200 went 'black' after three years, so I purchased this S8100 in hopes that it would give me the same great success I had experienced with my previous Fuji. So far, I have not had the same results. It offers more features and an increased zoom, but I miss the photo quality. Portrait mode doesn't seem to be as good, black sometimes appears purple in low light conditions, and noise while focusing is a little distracting. I've only had this camera for a month and I'll continue to try different settings to improve on photo quality, but I sure miss my incredible Fuji S5200!

I have had my camera for about a month. I am not a photo hobbyist just want good pictures. I use it on 10MP mostly but can take low resolution frames for posting on the internet. The the 18X zoom really makes it easy to use as I don't have to move around a lot to frame my pictures. I can also take macro and super macro pictures which is great when I am trying to explain something to someone on the net and I can take a cloe up picture and send it to them. The 4 AA batteries is also great because sometimes my rechargables run out and all I have to do is put in regular alkaline batteries and I am back to taking great pictures. The feature of digital screen or viewfinder is great for preserving the batteries and I really like that feature. The review pictures after you have taken them is easy to initiate and recover from to be back to taking more pictures. I am using a 4G sd card and at 10MP I can shoot 1500+ frames before I have to download. I have not used the video feature yet but I look forward to it being as great as the rest of the camera

i bought this camera from amazon since a month, i was wondering weather to buy the nikon p80, or the canon g9(my sister has)
i found this camera great but it has some weak but acceptable points:
1- shooting in auto mode is a problem since it shoots with hi iso making some noise even in acceptable light condition, the g9 is much better in this aspect. so always shoot with manual (p) mode
2- the lcd could be better, the g9 also has much superior lcd quality

the nice things about this camera is the picture quality, very sharp and precise, macro also is good. focus is great and i noticed a better focusing than the g9 and also focuses faster
as far as i know, i find this camera very good.

I'm not an expert photographer by any means...I was a frustrated mom who was always missing important moments because my sleek & slim camera that fit into my backpocket would not 1) shoot fast enough to capture the moments, 2) zoom in close-enough, 3) focus fast enough, 4) take pics in the darkest of auditoriums.

I did a little research and in the short while that I've had this camera (2 months), I have found many reasons to love this camera, here a few main ones:
a) The auto feature is truly awesome, as long as you remember to click open the flash - it will use the flash as needed...(drawback - flash doesn't open automatically in auto feature - pro- this is one of the few cameras in this price range that has a built-in flash)
b) It has the most zooming capability for a camera in this price range
c) love the editing features available on the camera - you can crop/edit pics ont he camera itself
d) it has a sports feature that takes like 25-30 pics every 5 seconds (or something like that)....I've tested it and have 60 shots of my daughter jumping up and downs and it captured every strand of her hair flying in mid-air
e) I took pics in a pitch dark room that only had black lights with people dancing and the pics came out looking like all the lights in the room were on and people were posing for the pics
f) I only bought the SD memory card and I can take like 400-500 pics before I have to worry about running out of space (and you can still take the card out after it's full and still take quite a few more pics on the camera's basic memory).
g) it uses regular batteries - nothign is more infuriating than you're camera running out of battery juice and you can't find replacement batteries at the local grocery/pharmacy store when you're on vacation.

The main drawbacks to this camera that I noticed are:
a) there is no Fuji bag that fits this camera...you will have to get your own generic camera bag (don't understand why Fuji just doesn't make one to come with it)
b) It's not sleek and compact (for those potential buyers who are looking for that)....for moms this is not really a problem because generally your purse is the "family purse" where everyone's belongings finds its way into your bag/purse....this is actually one of the mid-range in weight for cameras that are comparable to its features
c) none of the local stores carry this model(Circuit City/Best Buy/Frys/Ritz Camera/etc)to play around with prior to purchasing - I was able to only purchsae it from Amazon - I had to guess when comparing to other models in the store in terms of size/weight/feature capabilities/etc.

I've already made some amazing photobooks from the pics that I've taken from this camera.

I bought this camera from a local camera shop during my vacation and it is wonderful. I needed something besides my point and shoot with image stablization and this fits the bill. I wanted great photos and didnt mind a bag to haul around. It is easy to use, has great zoom and photo clarity. The focus is fast so we rarely missed what we were after.

Great camera in good light but gets grainy in dim lighting, but most digital cameras are that way. The zoom works nice and the shake prevention seems to be good. The AVI video is very good but the sound is a little harsh and tinny, could be better. The functions are all well laid out and easy to use with very little searching through endless menus. Has a nice clear big LCD screen and the electronic viewfinder is good for using outdoors in bright sunshine. The flash is very good and lights up a large area, one of the best I've seen on a P/S type camera. The macro functions are second to none. Using four AA batteries is great and no recharger needed. You can take pictures in nearly total darkness that look great, although a little grainy using high ISO settings. Wish it had an auto lens cap and wish zooming in on a reviewing a recorded photo taken was a little faster. Overall a very nice camera with a ton of useful features and a joy to use. I highly recommend this camera.

It's worth the extra $100 over the next step down. Great photos right off the bat, and I'm sure they'll get better when I learn everything about the camera--just have to find the time to check out the cd/dvd that came with it.

I make closeup shots of animals, and fast-moving shots of sports events. Great results for both.

This is my first digital camera and I am not disappointed. Im an amateur photographer who had an idea of what to look for in a camera without going over budget. This camera is great for the price, I've only had it a week and there are still so many features I gotta work into. I love it and cant wait to get really confortable with it.

I am new to camera's so i didn't know what to be expecting, but i was really impressed with the amount of features this camera posses. The 18's optical zoom is amazing it really helps when i want to take pictures of people that are doing thing embarrassing and then making fun of them. The flash is ok but it is not the best i have seen. The picture quality is amazing. Overall this is an amazing camera for the price and i suggest buying it.