Finepix S7000

[oooo]

Hello all, first time user here.

Im concidering buying the above camera. Has any one any experiance/feedback.

[raptrlvr]

I have the S7000 Finepix camera and I realy love it. I am an amature photographer who takes a lot of different types of pictures. Check out my photo album "raptrlvr". Almost all of these pictures were taken in the automatic mode on the S7000 camera. A few of the "time exposures" were taken in the manual setting of the camera. Feel free to contact me "raptrlvr@aol.com"

[oooo]

Cheer's for reply mate, i'll email my queries now.

[joshoc]

it's a great medium between pro and consumer. as a journalist but not a cameraman, i find i can use it to take shots that a magazine will accept, and for vacation pics it's unbeatable, great depth to teh images. But then I am not a pro.

Problem - I wanted to take a pic today, and my camera beeped three times when i turned it on, and said 'focus error' in the VF. Now the lens won't retract and it won't focus or take snaps. I Googled this error and it is widespread. Aparently Fuji aren't supporting it with a recall. Also, heard fixing this issue is $$$.

[raptrlvr]

I have had my S7000 for over 2 years now without any problems. I use it almost every day and it is always with me. I haven't heard of the problem with the lens not retracting or the focus error. I would hope that Fuji would stand behind thier products and fix this or thier reputation would go down the tubes. Jim

[joshoc]

Well, it seems as though this issue has been around for at least two years, from what I've gathered through web searches. The worst seems to be that the company hasn't taken responsibility for the issue (as they did with battery-drain problem with CompactFlash cards in 2004) I'm pretty shocked. Fujifilm is famous for lenses more than cameras, and to compete with Canon, Sony and Nikon you'd think they'd pull out all the stops.

[xbrit]

I have had my S7000 for 4 years and was still really pleased the the pictures and flexibility.

However I just picked it up to use it tonight and the screen shows a Focus Error and the lens will not retract.

I am really annoyed, it seems as though this is not an isolated issue I called the service center in Michigan and they quoted me $145 if a replacement lens barrel was NOT needed. This seems a little cheaper than others have been quoted so maybe a new barrel is needed.

Please post any similar experiences and I will let the board know the outcome of my repair.

If enough people have had this issue, should we write a complaint letter to Fuji?

[joshoc]

I have read about this happening to enough people that it seems clear there is a defect. And I've read it happened with other FujiFilm cameras. I am willing to help with any effort to contact the company. I'm a journalist and can probably get their contact details and a name or two. They should fix this: imagine how many customers it's losing them! At least two here in this forum.

[xbrit]

Now, I don't know what to do. The stupid thing is working today!! Maybe it got too cold or something????
I guess I will do nothing and just hope it doesn't happen again!!

[joshoc]

Well, I got an email from another Finepix owner who has the same probelm so I think the idea of contacting the company about this issue is a good one. Has anyone contacted them before and had a good experience, or have a contact person there? I sent them a message on their site, but never got a second reply for them on this issue. Hopefully they kicked it up the ladder.

[wgfwli]

I purchased a new S7000 3/3/2004 and have taken less than 1000 pictures with it. About 6 weeks ago the zoom and focus froze, then worked a few times and then quit completely. You can hear the gears running but apparently there is one broken or stripped. I sent the camera to FUJI at Edison, NJ for repair. They quoted $247 for new lenses assembly and labor. I refused the repair and they returned it to me. After reading this thread about other failures, I sent an email to FUJI complaining about the low time useage failure. IN return, they sent an email telling me to contact a supervisor at Edison. I did today and he offered to do the repair for $150 plus tax and shipping. Still to much since that is about what a used S7000 is going for on EBAY.
If anyone else has had any sucess getting a lower quote, please post a reply.
Thanks
Bill