Fujifilm Finepix F550 EXR

The stylish and robust Finepix F550EXR is aimed at serious photographers, with RAW image format support and manual exposure modes.

A rear-illuminated EXR CMOS sensor provides 16-megapixel resolution and the FinePix has three special modes for the extended dynamic range it provides, for challenging light situations, as well as fast, 11fps burst mode.

The camera sports a 15X zoom lens, starting at a wide 24mm and reaching 360mm tele; a very useful range, and the lens is mated to an image-stabilised sensor to avoid blurry shots.

An accurate GPS is included, and the 3in 460k-dot LCD is nice and bright but half the resolution of those provided with the Nikon Coolpix and S8200 and Sony Cyber-shot WX30 also reviewed in our 2011 travel-zoom camera roundup.

The small grip of the F550EXR feels good to hold. Control buttons and wheels are well-placed and operate a mostly logical menu system. Unfortunately, the reasonably powerful flash pops up even when the light is good, right beneath where you place your left index finger to hold the camera.

After updating the firmware, battery life improved markedly and so did image quality. At ISO levels below 400 images are detailed with little noise, although JPEGs can be a little soft and despite the EXR feature, the camera is prone to blown highlights.

Using RAW, the F550EXR produces big files – over 24MB. The F550EXR can halve the resolution to 8 megapixel to eke out more dynamic range in difficult lighting. It happens without warning though, which is a bit annoying.

Video at 1080p HD and 30 frames per second isn’t as good as the competition provides. As with still images, the auto-focus on the F550EXR can hunt around during video recording, and even miss completely at times.

RAW image support makes the Fujifilm Finepix F550EXR an interesting choice for advanced snappers, but we'd prefer higher image quality for such a pricey camera.