Hello people. The most anticipated review and pics have arrived!!. Ok.. its just me. As I'm recovering from a surgery I was limited as to the photos I could take today but it does give you an idea of what this camera can do. First, all are in JPG. I don't do RAW as I want to stay away from getting grey hairs lumbering through the processing of RAW files (sorry RAW fans, nottin' personal). As for the pics they've enjoyed about 10 seconds of processing each, from a bit of sharpening to very moderate contrast and this because where I am (Gatineau, Quebec) we had a hot hazy day and I went out at about 3:00 p.m. which would have left the outdoor pics hazy looking. No noise reduction of any kind was used. I also want to add I had bought and returned the FZ30 because although it is a fine camera and in some respects outperforms the s9000, I felt it was noisier than a daycare centre. All of the photos have the ISO indicated. I did not post the pics in their original size for those who like to view images under a microscope in respect to people with dial up who might like to be able to see more than one image per evening. so..

Focusing was fast and accurate
Focusing ring - great
Playback of images - sucks, slow, and the zoom-in feature on playback is probably the worst I've seen
LCD - looks great, sharp, tilts but not as much as some of the competitors but hey the sucker tilts and probably enough for most.
Blanking of lcd happens only when you use flash and lasts about 4 seconds (if this pisses you off tell yourself its your flash regenerating and you'll feel much better)
Noise - When you get good exposure, you get good results (see pics..no!! not yet!! first finish reading rest of my fascinating review!!)
Button display - My only complaint...would have preferred not to have to go to menu to change ISO - after all this is supposed to be one of this camera's key features. However, you get used to it. EVF works very well. Liked weight of camera...I don't like lightweight cameras. This one feels good when I hold it and makes a difference for me as to the handshake issue.
Flash feels slightly underpowered when shooting at ISO 80. So the camera in my humble opinion...really sucks...just kidding!! Oh relax, let the blood pressure go down. Deep breath..let's continue. Actually, this camera is a very pleasant surprise and I am definitely keeping it. However, I felt the metering of this camera is almost DSLR-like in that the camera seems to protect against highlights a little more than I would have expected for this type of camera which is why good exposure=good noise levels. I guess some could simply change the parameters to fit their own tastes. All in all, a keeper. Hope this gives you a little insight from one person's very limited experience with the S9000 (four hours approx) After I post this thread I'm taking a bath and drinking a Kaluhah baby and I'll head back to the laptop for your comments. See yah.

Anne in Gatineau

http://photoanne.com/annepics/S9000/