Fujifilm S8200 vs Samsung WB250F: A Hands-On Superzoom Smackdown from a Seasoned Reviewer

Choosing a superzoom camera today feels like picking between comfort food and experimental cuisine - you want something reliable, juicy, and satisfying, but not bland or gimmicky. The Fujifilm S8200 and Samsung WB250F, both announced at the dawn of 2013, aim to satisfy the budget-friendly enthusiast craving focal length versatility without hauling multiple lenses. Having tested thousands of cameras over 15 years, I can say these two are archetypes of their class - born from the era when bridge-style superzooms were wildly popular among travelers and casual shooters looking to pack light but shoot far.

This comparison dives deep - sensor tech, image quality, autofocus behavior, ergonomics, shooting performance, video capabilities, and more - to help you cut through marketing fluff and find which of these two is truly worth your hard-earned dollars today.

Let’s unpack them - from body to pixels, from studio glimmer to wildlife forest shadows.

The Physical Feel: Size, Weight, and Handling - First Impressions Matter

If there’s one place these cameras loudly declare their design philosophies, it’s their body style and ergonomics. The Fujifilm S8200 embraces the traditional bridge camera look, sporting a SLR-like build that immediately signals “prepared for serious zooming.” Meanwhile, the Samsung WB250F opts for a compact form, clearly prioritizing portability.

The Fujifilm tips the scales at a hefty 670g with dimensions roughly 123 x 87 x 116 mm - chunky and substantial enough to inspire confidence in sturdy handling. Its pronounced grip and raised viewfinder hump feel like a nod to photographers who appreciate tactile control and don’t mind adding a bit of pocket weight. For me, this camera felt solid and balanced during extended handheld shooting sessions, especially when using the extreme telephoto end of its monster 40x zoom.

In contrast, the Samsung WB250F weighs in at a featherlight 226 grams and presents itself in a neat 106 x 62 x 22 mm body footprint - pocketable and discreet, ideal for street and casual travel photography. You barely notice it hanging from your strap, but the trade-off here is less heft to steady long zoom shots and fewer physical dials or buttons for instant access.

If you value extended superzoom reach and a more substantial handfeel, the Fujifilm’s build edge should not be underestimated. Yet, if stealth and convenience win your heart, the Samsung’s petite size is a persuasive argument.

Control Layout and Top Panel Features: Balancing Quick Access vs Minimalism

Peek at the top view control consoles, and the design philosophies continue to diverge. The Fujifilm S8200 sports a familiar DSLR-inspired top plate: mode dial, shutter release surrounded by zoom lever, and various physical controls making manual shooting less fiddly.

The Samsung WB250F opts for a svelte top panel with fewer buttons and no dedicated mode dial, reflecting its compact styling and simplified interface for casual users. While it does offer manual exposure modes, toggling them feels less intuitive without dedicated controls.

For users who enjoy fiddling with shutter priority or aperture priority modes on the fly - say, for controlling depth of field in portraits or managing exposure in tricky lighting during landscapes - the Fujifilm’s control layout translates to faster adjustments and less menu diving. The Samsung’s simpler layout, meanwhile, is more approachable for point-and-shooters but may frustrate enthusiasts seeking quick manual control.

Sensor Size and Image Quality: More Than Just Megapixels

Both cameras share the same sensor size: a 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS chip measuring 6.17 x 4.55 mm, typical for superzoom compacts of this generation. However, their resolutions differ: Fujifilm packs in 16 megapixels, Samsung sticks with 14.

Does this 2-megapixel difference matter? Not hugely - what matters more is how these pixels are handled by the image processor and the quality of the lens delivering photons to the sensor. Fujifilm’s sensor offers a wider native ISO range, from 64 up to 12,800, promising more flexibility in challenging light; Samsung caps at ISO 3200 with a minimum of 100, indicating more conservative noise control but less high-ISO reach.

Practical takeaway: Under bright daylight, both deliver decent image quality with a typical lack of the low-noise richness you’d expect from larger sensors. In dimmer conditions, Fujifilm’s higher ISO ceiling theoretically gives more headroom, but due to the small sensor size, noise - and accordingly, image softness - still appears above ISO 800.

Neither camera supports RAW shooting, a sore spot for enthusiasts wanting maximum post-processing control. You're stuck with JPEG compression artifacts to some extent regardless of camera choice.

The OLED vs LCD Screen and Viewfinder Experience: Framing Your Shot

In the age of glossy touchscreens and electronic viewfinders, these older cameras have interesting approaches:

• The Fujifilm S8200 features a 3-inch fixed TFT LCD at 460k-dot resolution, complemented by an electronic viewfinder (EVF) with 200-dot resolution.
• The Samsung WB250F boasts a 3-inch 460k-dot TFT LCD with touchscreen support, but no EVF.

From my experience, the Fujifilm EVF is a useful addition in bright outdoor lighting, where LCD legibility can struggle. Though its resolution feels like looking through a smudged window by today’s standards, it allows for eye-level composition, which many photographers prefer, especially when shooting wildlife or telephoto.

Samsung’s touchscreen provides an intuitive way to navigate menus and focus points, which is a pleasant surprise for a 2013-era camera. However, the lack of viewfinder means you always shoot relying on the LCD - a potential drawback in harsh sunlit environments.

On balance, if you frequently shoot outdoors under bright conditions or want the flexibility of eye-level framing, Fuji’s EVF is a meaningful advantage. For casual shooting and travel snaps, Samsung’s touchscreen LCD can speed up operation and focus selection.

Zoom Lens Reach and Optical Performance: Stretching the Frame with Confidence

Here we get to the superzoom essence:

• Fujifilm S8200 offers a whopping 40x zoom: 24-960mm equivalent focal length, aperture ranging from f/2.9 to f/6.5.
• Samsung WB250F delivers a solid 18x zoom: 24-432mm equivalent, aperture f/3.2 to f/5.8.

In practical terms, Fujifilm’s ultra-telephoto reach lets you get much closer to distant subjects - think distant wildlife on a hike or launching rockets on a family trip to the space center. Its brighter aperture at wide-angle (f/2.9) also helps in lower light and will generate marginally shallower depth of field. Although at the long end both lenses are quite slow (f/6.5 and f/5.8), optical image stabilization helps to counteract handshake.

Beware: at 960mm equivalent, the inherent softness and chromatic aberrations become a limiting factor. Even with optical stabilization, I rarely found the footage tack sharp near the extreme telephoto end without a tripod. The Samsung’s more modest zoom benefits from slightly better center sharpness at longer focal lengths, suggesting an advantage if sharpness at mid-telephoto range (around 200-400mm) is your priority.

Autofocus and Focusing Versatility: Speed, Precision, and Targeting

The Fujifilm S8200’s autofocus capabilities are, frankly, quite basic: fixed lens, no phase detection or contrast detection autofocus, no face detection, and no autofocus tracking - essentially a one-trick pony in this domain. You had manual focus as a fallback, but no continuous or multi-area AF. This means sports action or wildlife subjects don’t get much love from this camera’s AF system.

The Samsung WB250F delivers a more advanced contrast-detection AF system with face detection and basic subject tracking. It has single AF, AF tracking, and selective AF areas accessible via touchscreen taps. For street photographers or those shooting spontaneous moments with people, Samsung’s AF system provides better reliability and speed.

Neither camera sports phase detection or animal eye AF, unsurprisingly, given their era and classification.

For ease of use and shooting moving subjects, Samsung takes this round.

Burst Shooting and Shutter Speeds: Catching Action in the Blink of an Eye

Sports and wildlife photographers live and die by their camera’s burst rate and shutter speed range.

• The Fujifilm S8200 claims a 10 fps continuous shooting speed, which is impressive on paper but doesn’t specify buffer depth or AF during bursts. The shutter speed ranges from 1/8s to 1/1700s.
• The Samsung WB250F goes up to 8 fps with shutter speeds from 1/16s to 1/2000s.

In real-world tests, Fujifilm’s 10 fps is viable mostly for still subjects or planned bursts - lack of autofocus tracking means you’ll often get many unusable frames if the subject moves unpredictably. Samsung’s 8 fps with AF tracking allows better capture of fleeting moments, though it also lacks deep buffer storage.

On shutter range, Samsung’s slightly faster max shutter speed (1/2000s vs 1/1700s) helps freeze action in bright environments, but neither camera supports electronic shutter modes or silent shooting, limiting their usability in stealth scenarios.

Image Stabilization and Macro Capability: Steady Shots and Close-Ups

Both cameras feature optical image stabilization, which is a must-have given the potential for camera shake at long focal lengths. From hands-on experience, both systems achieve about 2-3 stops of shake compensation. The Fujifilm’s longer zoom gives it a bigger challenge; stabilization is helpful but doesn’t completely negate the need for tripods at max zoom.

Macro-wise, the Fujifilm intriguingly claims 0cm focus distance for macro, effectively close-up to the lens, though with variable sharpness. Samsung doesn’t specify macro range, but in practice, it can focus reasonably close too.

Neither camera offers focus bracketing or stacking, and without raw capture, creative macro shooters will want to supplement with external gear or higher-tier cameras.

Video Capabilities: Does Your Superzoom Double as a Vlogging Sidekick?

Now, cameras aren’t just for stills anymore - video matters too.

Fujifilm S8200 shoots Full HD 1080p at 60 fps using Motion JPEG format. While MJPEG is easy to edit, it’s inefficient and results in larger files with lower compression quality compared to modern codecs. No microphone input or headphone jack limits audio control. Notably absent is touchscreen control or advanced video features such as 4K, so video versatility is very basic.

Samsung WB250F records Full HD 1080p video at 30 fps but does so with progressive codecs MPEG-4 and H.264, yielding higher compression efficiency and better file management. It also supports lower resolutions at varying frame rates, giving some creative flexibility. It lacks microphone inputs too but wins points for smoother video encoding.

Image stabilization assists both during handheld video, but again, both limited by their fixed lenses when seeking cinematic shallow depth of field.

Battery, Storage, and Connectivity: Staying Powered and Sharing Your Work

Surprisingly, given how “connected” things have become, both these 2013 cameras show their age:

• Fujifilm relies on 4 x AA batteries, which can be a boon if traveling where rechargeable proprietary batteries could run dry with no power source. However, AA batteries add weight and lower battery life compared to modern lithium-ion cells.
• Samsung’s specs don’t specify battery model but it weighs much less, so probably uses an internal rechargeable battery. This makes swapping batteries in the field trickier.

On storage, they both support SD/SDHC/SDXC cards with single slots - fairly standard.

Connectivity-wise, here’s a large dividing line:

• Fujifilm offers no wireless or Bluetooth features.
• Samsung came with built-in Wi-Fi (quite forward-thinking in 2013), allowing direct sharing to social media and some remote shooting options via smartphone apps.

This makes Samsung decidedly better for today’s on-the-go sharing habits, although neither supports NFC or GPS tagging.

Real-World Photography Use Cases: Which Camera Shines Where?

Let’s frame the suitability of each model for key photography genres.

Portrait Photography

• Fujifilm’s lens with f/2.9 aperture at wide end helps in creating some background separation, but no face or eye detection AF limits focusing finesse.
• Samsung’s AF system with face detection gives easier focus on eyes and expressions but smaller max aperture (f/3.2) limits bokeh quality.

Landscape Photography

• Both have fixed 1/2.3” sensors with modest dynamic range - neither excels in shadow recovery.
• Fujifilm’s longer zoom is irrelevant here; Samsung’s sharper mid-range zoom and touchscreen menus offer quicker framing.
• Neither has weather sealing, so caution outdoors.

Wildlife Photography

• Fujifilm’s 40x zoom is tempting for distant animals but slow and inflexible AF hampers capturing fast-moving subjects.
• Samsung’s reliable AF tracking and decent burst mode enhance chances of sharp wildlife shots, despite shorter zoom reach.

Sports Photography

• Neither camera is ideal for serious sports - limited fast, accurate autofocus and buffering.
• Samsung’s AF tracking and touchscreen assist capturing quick moments.
• Fujifilm’s faster burst rate is handicapped by static focus.

Street Photography

• Samsung’s compact size and quiet operation provide portability and stealth.
• Fujifilm’s bulk and noisy zoom might be obtrusive.
• Samsung’s face detection AF and touchscreen quick focus target casual street shooters well.

Macro Photography

• Fujifilm’s close macro focusing distance gives an edge if you want tight flower or insect pictures.
• Samsung lacks explicit macro claims but performs reasonably close too.

Night and Astro Photography

• Small sensors limit noise performance; Fujifilm’s ISO 12,800 max could help, but noise dominates beyond 800–1600 ISO.
• No manual bulb modes or advanced astro features.
• Neither camera ideal for serious night sky imaging.

Video

• Samsung’s H.264 codec, touchscreen controls, and built-in Wi-Fi make it friendlier for casual video projects.
• Fujifilm offers higher frame rates (60 fps) but with heavier MJPEG format, limiting footage length and edit ease.

Travel Photography

• Fujifilm’s bulk and AA batteries may end up a burden on long trips.
• Samsung’s small size, Wi-Fi sharing, and lighter weight cater well to travelers who want versatility without baggage.

Professional Work

• Neither camera supports RAW or advanced tethering/workflow integration.
• Both serve as backup or casual cameras but are unlikely candidates for professional commissions.

Image Quality in Practice: Gallery and Samples

Here is a side-by-side gallery comparison of sample images from both cameras, showcasing everyday shooting scenarios including landscapes, portraits, telephoto crops, and low-light captures.

Fujifilm S8200 front Fujifilm S8200 screen back Samsung WB250F front Samsung WB250F screen back

Notice the Fujifilm’s tendency to add punchier colors but slightly more noise at higher ISOs, versus the Samsung’s more muted tones but smoother image edges. Neither substitutes well for larger sensor cameras in critical detail rendering, but the Samsung slightly edges Fujifilm in low-light autofocus and face detection accuracy.

Performance Scoring: Overall and Genre-Specific Ratings

After extensive hands-on testing referencing industry-standard evaluation metrics for such designs, here are summarized overall performance scores:

And genre-specific performance breakdown showing strengths and weaknesses per photographic discipline:

In summary, Fujifilm dominates in zoom reach and burst rate, while Samsung offers better autofocus, portability, and video codec efficiency.

Final Thoughts: Choosing Your Superzoom Sidekick

Who Should Pick the Fujifilm S8200?

• You crave a monster 40x zoom at a still manageable price.
• You want an EVF and more DSLR-style handling.
• You don’t mind 2013-level autofocus and no wireless sharing.
• You shoot mostly static subjects like landscapes or distant subjects where speed matters less.
• You prefer AA batteries for field replacement flexibility.

Who Should Opt for the Samsung WB250F?

• You prefer a small, lightweight camera easily slipped into a pocket.
• You value solid autofocus with face and subject tracking.
• You want to share images quickly via built-in Wi-Fi.
• You do casual video and appreciate more efficient file formats.
• You need better low-light AF and quick responsiveness for street or travel use.

Conclusion: Balancing Trade-Offs With Your Priorities

Neither camera dazzles by today’s mirrorless standards, but both represent capable superzoom choices in their class, priced under $500 with distinct compromises. The Fujifilm S8200 is the turbocharged zoom brute with solid handling, ideal if you want reach and more photo-centric controls. The Samsung WB250F, in turn, proffers smarter AF, portability, and connectivity born of the smartphone era invading cameras.

For someone reading this now with an enthusiastic eye and some budget flexibility, I’d nudge you toward the Samsung WB250F for its usability perks and smarter autofocus - especially if you want a reliable pocket companion for everyday life. But if you’re chasing that last bit of zoom and love a bridge-style camera with an EVF, the Fujifilm S8200 still holds its ground admirably.

In the end, the best camera is the one you carry, master, and enjoy shooting with. I hope this detailed, testing-backed comparison helps you make that call with confidence.

Happy shooting!