The Fuji Finepix S6000fd, known as the S6500fd in Europe, is definitely an outstanding digital camera. There are two fantastic features which make this camera unique.

First, its sensor has a usable ISO sensitivity range of 100-3200. Throughout this range it produces images with less noise than any camera in its class. Up to ISO 800, its images are very usable, showing only slight softening of details at ISO 800. At ISO 1600 and specially 3200, loss of detail is evident. Then again, only DSLR cameras can do better. For this reason, the noise levels at those settings should not be considered a negative point unless choosing between this camera and a more expensive DSLR.

The second special feature is its 10.7X mechanically-linked wide-angle optical zoom lens. This lens, which takes a mouthful of words to describe, does not have any equivalent except on the S9000 and S9100, which both have the same Fujinon lens. Its zoom range is equivalent to 28mm-300m in 35mm terms. This optical zoom range, from wide-angle to super-tele-photo, covers most photographic needs. The mechanically-linked zoom on this lens, like all mechanically-linked zooms, is a pleasure to use. It allows precise and quick zooming, as precise and as fast as a hand can allow. There is also a fly-by-wire focus ring on the lens barrel which is used to control manual focusing. Besides the Fuji cameras which share this lens, there are no other wide-angle ultra-zoom cameras on the market. The performance of this lens is superb, it produces sharp images from corner-to-corner, does not show any vignetting and very little optical distortion. On the downside it does show a bit more chromatic aberrations that average, but nothing to get concerned with.

Given its full-manual controls and superb image quality, this camera is a worthy alternative to a DSLR camera for reasons of economy and simplicity. Obviously, at its current price and given its zoom range, no DSLR can compete in terms of cost. Contrarily to a DSLR, the Fuji Finepix S6000fd does not suffer from sensor dust and its live-preview means not having to anticipate exposure problems. Much simpler indeed.

Of course, there are reasons to chose a DSLR over this one. At high-ISO, large prints from a DSLR will show more image details, assuming a sufficiently good lens. Using the typical kit-lens, the amount of details should be similar overall. Then, there is the versatility of choosing from a wide-range of lenses, including ultra-wide lenses, bright prime lenses, tilt-shift and fisheye lenses. Most importantly though, the S6000fd cannot compete in terms of speed. Yes, it is fast and responsive, but not compared to a modern DSLR. Shot-to-shot speeds are much faster with DSLR cameras and so is continuous shooting. At 2.4 FPS, the Fuji Finepix S6000fd manages only 3 shots. At 1/2 FPS, it goes up to 40 shots but that is not any faster than shooting a single frame at the time.

The bottom line is that the Fuji Finepix S6000fd is a very capable camera and is recommended for most types of photography. For action and sports, if we had to recommend a non-SLR, the S6000fd would be the one. Otherwise, a DSLR such as the Pentax K100D or its non-stabilized sibling the K110D is recommended in the lost-cost DSLR category.