They might look like DSLRs but they can reach way further in a compact body. If you are looking for the best Fujifilm bridge cameras, look no further. Bridges or superzooms are often unsung in the world of photography but they are extremely useful because of how far they can reach without towing a bag.
What are bridge cameras?
The bridge camera is a form factor that is between a point and shoot and a DSLR, the sensors are often small sensors for the larger form factor, but bridges offer incredible zoom power very often at high lens speeds. They also tend to be very affordable
Now, about Fujifilm bridge cameras, Fuji has now jumped into the mirrorless and compact camera arena and pretty much forgot about all other form factors, so all of the selection of the best Fujifilm bridge cameras below are pretty much discontinued and only available used.
This is not a problem however because just because there is something new out there doesn’t mean they stopped being good. These are the perfect cameras for travel photography and sports / bird photography without needing to carry a backpack’s worth of long lenses.
With that being out of the way let’s get onto the list…
6 Best Fujifilm bridge cameras
| Name | Sensor | Lens (Eff) | Megapixel | Raw | Get it |
| 1. Fujifilm FinePix S1 | 1/2.3″ | 35 mm | 16.2 | YES | Check on ebay |
| 2. Fujifilm FinePix SL1000 | 1/2.3″ | 35 mm | 16 | YES | Check on ebay |
| 3. Fujifilm FinePix S9900W | 1/2.3″ | 35 mm | 16 | NO | Check on ebay |
| 4. Fujifilm FinePix S9400W | 1/2.3″ | 35 mm | 16 | NO | Check on ebay |
| 5. Fujifilm FinePix S8400W | 1/2.3″ | 35 mm | 16 | NO | Check on ebay |
| 6. Fujifilm FinePix HS50EXR | 1/2″ | 35 mm | 16 | YES | Check on ebay |
When it comes to the best Fujifilm bridge cameras, they are like twins that you cannot tell apart. Physically they are pretty much identical and they are also similar in terms of image quality and zoom power. There are differences that we will detail below, this is a list of the best Fujifilm cameras after all, and the show must go on, but you cannot go wrong with any.
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✔️ The best one ✔️ Best stabilization ✔️ VERY long zoom ✔️ Video and slow mo ✔️ Great macro mode ✔️ Weather sealed ✔️ Raw support | ❌ Discontinued |
This tops our list of the best Fujifilm bridge cameras for a few reasons. First this is the only one with sensor shift stabilization, the most accurate stabilization, important to keep those images sharp when you are using the telephoto.
Speaking of which it can go from 24mm to 1200mm, so it’s perfect for anything from street photography to a far away bird. The aperture goes from f2.8 at the wide end all the way to f5.6 at the telephoto end. Considering how far this camera’s zoom can reach it is pretty impressive. The image quality is excellent for this sensor size.
The versatility doesn’t stop there either this can shoot a subject as close as 1cm, or 0.49 inches. This is pretty incredible if you shoot macro, especially coupled with the stabilization so you can get sharp images of any ladybugs, bees or flowers.
You won’t need to twist yourself to get the shot wither with a fully articulated LCD, you can get low and high shots easily. Or if you like to shoot reportage, street photography there is a built-in viewfinder.
If you shoot view, again remember the stabilization but this offers the ability to do slow motion at 480 fps for that impressive effect. If you just shoot images, this is one of the rare few bridge cameras that shoot RAW and you can shoot up to 10 frames per seconds making it hard to miss anything.
There is wi-fi built-in and it is sealed against dust and weather so it’s great if you are outdoors and it starts getting dicey.
Fujifilm Finepix S1 Sample Images
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✔️ Optical stabilization ✔️ Raw support ✔️ Even better for macro ✔️ Tilting screen | ❌ No wifi ❌ Discontinued |
This camera is comparable to our first choice. It has the same sensor and zoom range from 24 to 1200mm. The aperture is negligibly slower at the wide angle side, it starts from 2.9 and ends at 6.5 at the telephoto end (the S1 is 2.8-5.6).
There is also stabilization but it is only optical, it does the job but it’s simply not as good as moving the sensor. Gone also is the weather sealing and wi-fi.
If you don’t need these extras then this is exactly the same zoom range, albeit slower. But where this camera really shines is in it’s macro feature, it can shoot as close as 0.15 inches! Coupled with the stabilization this makes it pretty attractive to macro shooters. The screen can tilt making it helpful for the low angle shots.
If you are not into macro, you still have 10 frames per seconds to capture your subject and this is also one of the rare few bridge cameras that can shoot raw.
Fujifilm SL1000 Sample Images
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✔️ Larger sensor ✔️ Raw support ✔️ Excellent image quality | ❌ Shorter zoom ❌ Discontinued |
This is one of the oldest, bust still one of the best Fujifilm bridge cameras on this list. Since everything is about tradeoffs, the S1 (first choice) has all the bells and whistles from sensor stabilization to WIFI, the second choice the SL100 has a few features less but the same 24-1200mm lens but this has a shorter 24-1000mm zoom range.
It’s still at the top however because of the sensor, it has a half inch sensor vs the 1/2.3″ the other cameras on this list have. On one hand that means increased image quality and on another it means better Bokeh (blurred background). So if you want to blur the background this does a better job and it is also stabilized to keep those images sharp.
The bigger the sensor the bigger the lens needs to be so that is why this cuts the lens a bit short. Couple that with the macro that can shoot as close as 0.15 inches and you have a killer macro. You can shoot raw with this and the image quality blows the other ones out of the water.
It’s just a shorter zoom range with no WIFI or sealing. But if you are looking for the one with the top image quality, this is it.
Fujifilm Finepix HS50EXR Sample images
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✔️ Great zoom range ✔️ Wifi ✔️ Stabilization | ❌ No raw, jpg only ❌ Discontinued |
If you like macro, the previous SL100 is the recommendation. If you do not care about macro much but want wifi then this will fir the bill. It has the same staabilization and zoom range of 24-1200 and same aperture from 2.9-6.5.
So it is very comparable. Macro is excellent with a close 0.3 inch possibility buit this is a fixed screen so you will have to go down when you shoot. You do however gain wi-fi. This is one of those bridges that only shoot JPGs so if you are a pro or like to manipulate your images look ath the top two choices.
Similarities are where it counts with 10 frames per seconds, 16 megapixels, viewfinder, video recording, etc. Instead of a battery pack this runs off a 4xAA battery. You can get rechargeable ones but one of the best things about this is whenever you are out and about shooting and you run out of juice, AAs are available everywhere.
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✔️ Great zoom range ✔️ Wifi ✔️ Stabilization | ❌ JPG only ❌ Lesser stability ❌ Discontinued |
We have reached the end of our selection of the best Fujifilm bridge cameras. When a camera comp-any starts naming their cameras in the thousands and only changes a few numbers, that means that these are only incremental differences. The following camera is VERY comparable to the above S9900W but as the numbers indicate they are previous models.
Both of them are 50x zoom from 24-1200mm f2.9- 6.5 and can shoot 10 fps. The only change really is the 5 axis stabilization that the 9900w has. This one while it also has stabilization is just not as good.
Stabilization is important for when you shoot telephoto as your hands will move making the image blurry. So the only reason to chose this would be if you are on a budget.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this article about the best Fujifilm bridge cameras. You can’t go wrong with any of them as they all have long zooms, 10+ fps and stabilization. The top choice with no frills and everything included from WIFI to top stabilization is the Fujifilm S1, the second comparable choice is the SL100, that has no sealing, wifi and a slower lens.
If you don’t mind the shorter zoom, the image quality of the HS50EXR is one of the best in a bridge camera mostly due to the sensor size. Last option is the 9900W and the 9400W if you are on a budget. Happy shooting!