The Fujifilm FinePix SL1000 ($399.95 direct) packs a 50x zoom lens into a the form factor that's best described as a mini-SLR. The 16-megapixel camera features a deep handgrip, a tilting rear LCD, and an eye-level EVF. It impressed us with a sharp lens and speedy performance, but it's not good enough to oust the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 as our Editors' Choice superzoom. The Lumix features a similar design, and although its 24x zoom lens isn't quite as ambitious, it maintains an f/2.8 aperture throughout its zoom range and it does better at high ISOs, making it a better option for getting the fast shutter speeds required to freeze action and grab steady shots at long focal lengths.
Design and Features
The SL1000 looks a lot like a scaled-down SLR. All of the standard signs are there—a protruding lens, deep handgrip, a big pop-up flash, and a viewfinder topped with a hot shoe. But the camera measures just 3.4 by 4.8 by 4.8 inches (HWD) and weighs in at 1.5 pounds. That it covers a 50x (24-1,200mm-equivalent) zoom range is impressive; a feat made possible by the 1/2.3-inch image sensor. That's the standard size for compact cameras, but it's much smaller than an SLR. The smaller sensor makes it possible for a lens that's not the size of a bazooka to cover such an impressive focal range. You can see the camera at its widest and most telephoto focal lengths below.
The big difference between using the SL1000 and an SLR—aside from not being able to change lenses—is that the lens zoom is activated by a switch, rather than a manual turn of the barrel. This makes smooth, even zooming a reality, but not everybody loves it. Fujifilm offers the HS50EXR and the top-end X-S1 for shooters who prefer a manual zoom control, but both are pricier, and they use slightly larger image sensors, so they're larger too.
There are two controls on the body to adjust the focal length; a rocker on the left side of the lens barrel itself, as well as one that's integrated in the shutter release (located at the front of the handgrip). The other controls are scattered about the body. On the top plate you'll find the mode dial, power switch, and buttons to adjust the exposure compensation and set the drive mode. Around back, there's a toggle button to switch between the EVF and LCD (there is an eye sensor, so automatic switching is possible), a record button for video, playback controls, and a control wheel with four directional settings. The wheel controls the self-timer, enables macro focusing, and adjusts the flash settings; the up direction is programmable, but by default adjusts the ISO.
The 3-inch, 920k-dot rear LCD is hinged so it tilts up and down. It's impressively sharp to the eye, more so than the 460k-dot screen found on the Panasonic FZ200. The FZ200 has a vari-angle design that swings out from the body and can face forward, which is one feature that the SL1000 lacks. The 0.2-inch eye-level EVF also packs a 920k-dot design. It's adequate for framing and confirming focus, but it's a bit lacking in contrast. What the FZ200 lacks for in sharpness in its LCD it makes up with its 1,312k-dot EVF. It doesn't sound like a lot more pixels, but it's a lot nicer to look through. An EVF is important with a camera with a long telephoto reach; you'll be able to get a steadier shot with the camera to your eye than is possible when holding it at arm's length and using the rear LCD to compose your shot.
The SL1000's stabilization system did a good job in helping counteract camera shake; I was able to get a shot of a static subject with crisp edges at an impressively low 1/50-second shutter speed when using the EVF; a similar shot using the rear LCD showed some blur. Even though it's a decent f/2.9 at its wide end, the lens narrows to a very modest f/6.5 when zoomed all the way in. This means that you'll be pushing the camera's ISO to its limits when trying to capture telephoto scenes in dim light, so you'll want to shoot at as low as a shutter speed as your subject matter will allow in order to get sharp images when zoomed all the way in. The stabilization system also makes it easier to keep your subject in frame, as it's easy to lose track of a subject when shooting with a 1,200mm lens, even one that's stabilized.
The camera's menu system is an overlay design, but it largely obscures your frame as you navigate through settings. The JPG color output control is one example of a setting that requires a trip to the menu. It lets you choose from Standard, Chrome, Black and White, or Sepia—other Fuji cameras that we've looked at have named the Standard and Chrome settings after classic film stocks, but even though there are no settings for Provia, Velvia, or Astia, the idea is the same.
Some shooting controls are directly accessible via buttons, but there are some common adjustments that will require a menu dive to adjust. The metering pattern requires you to jump into the menu to make adjustments, as do the autofocus settings. Raw shooters who occasionally like to shoot in burst mode will want find themselves changing the file quality setting with some frequency, as the SL1000 doesn't let you engage continuous drive mode if Raw capture is enabled. You can reassign the Fn button to one of these; an additional programmable control would have gone a long way to reduce the time spent in the menus, however.
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