Tag: bridge camera

What the listing stated:

ALL ITEMS IN THIS LISTING ARE FAULTY 
FAULTS MAY VARY BETWEENS ITEMS

SOLD AS IS 

NO RETURNS

EBay

I’ve purchased three cameras as a job lot in an auction. All of them have issues but the issues have not been clarified. This is very much a “Suck it and see” auction where I get what I’m given. I’ve paid £24:22GBP for all three and that includes free postage. I’ve purchased from this seller before who is a bonafide Camera business based in South Wales. He has no time for faulty items though, quick in and out is his way of working, no time to fix stuff. I’ve got three good cameras in this bundle and this works out at just about £8:00GBP per camera. And where can you get cameras like this for those prices nowadays.

I really don’t know what the specific issue is with this camera only that it is faulty. I guess we will just have to wait it’s arrival for a full assessment. In the meantime here is a little bit about it.

Fujifilm FinePix S9500 or FinePix S9000 is a bridge digital camera released by Fujifilm in 2005 and intended for the enthusiastic amateur. It is a member of the Fujifilm FinePix family and has been superseded by the Fujifilm FinePix S100fs. It has a long list of advanced prosumer features, like combining having wide-angle ability (28 mm equivalent on a 35 mm camera), full range of manual settings, mechanical zoom ring, high ISO-sensitivities, and some of the versatile features of Live-Preview Digital cameras (LPDs) like movie mode, movable LCD panel, and macro mode.

Wikipedia

Assessment:

Wow. Another camera in a fantastic condition as part of this damaged package of three. And I owned one of these when they first came out in 2005.

I really had to look hard to find the issue with this camera, I have checked every menu, mode and function and it is working absolutely perfectly. Then I found the issue when removing the battery.

Unbelievable, the only issue with this camera is a loose battery contact plate under the battery door. These are normally sealed with moulded plastic, but it looks as if this one has come adrift. It just needs fixing back in place, I can’t believe this is all that is wrong with this camera. Apart from needing a little clean.

And an added bonus with this camera was that it came with a 2Gb CF card. This just so happens to be the biggest drive size these cameras take. You can also use TF cards. Again, this was a very welcome bonus.

Repair:

Probably the simplest of repairs you’ll probably see. I really apologise for this being a bit of an anticlimax to anyone wanting to see a technical repair, because you won’t be seeing one. But just sit and think it over for a moment, that someone was prepared to dispose of this perfectly working camera as it was not working in their eyes. We really are a throwaway society. And then there are simple people like me who love these items. And we fix them.

All it took was a hot soldering iron and a pair of tweezers. The metal plate was held down and what remained of the broken plastic welds protruded above the plate. Using the hot iron the welds were melted back to secure the plate in place as it had been when it left the factory. There you go. Job done. Simple.

Result:

For £8:00 I have brought myself a little bargain here. Ok it’s 20 years old now, works perfectly and does what it was built for. Capturing history, your personal history, both good and bad and creating moments for you to treasure forever.

It doesn’t matter what the megapixels are or any of that chuff the “purists” insist you must have in a camera, just push the button and treasure the output for the rest of your days. These cameras are the ones we should be carrying for fun, to learn about photography, the cameras the kids should have now that we had 20 years back, they still have that life in them and the ability to teach and encourage a younger generation to get into photography. And before you say they have phones, that’s not the same. They’ll learn more from one of these on a phone free afternoon, then they ever will by being interrupted by “Soshul Meeja” all day.

Get out there, get your kids recording their world. They’ll thank you one day.

And yes it works well, the Camera is in cracking order and only missing a strap and maybe a lens cap that I may procure later down the line.

The good thing is that it has been saved from disposal, and has years of good honest life left in it.

Thanks for passing by, you know it’s always appreciated.