Fixepix S1800 - decent low-end cam?

[Wag]

http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/s/finepix_s1800/

Already available at Amazon and a few retailers in the $215-$229 range. It appears to be Fuji's replacement for last year's popular S1500. Some pretty good additions here-, particularly 12mp/18x optical zoom, panorama mode, a large 3" LCD display, and 720p HD video (just to name a few).

At this low price it definitely looks very attractive to me, someone who is a beginner, but would like access to a wider range of features (I'm into birdwatching) when I'm ready.

What do people think of this sort of camera? Seems ideal at this price range.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Look'n for reviews myself.
I almost bought its predecessor the S1500 because of its build quality and form factor alone. But the sample photos were lackluster and I couldn't bring myself to spend money on a camera that spit out crappy photos. Colors were washed out, and full res shots looked like a mess.

I can only hope the S1800 takes decent photos. The price is right.

 

[Wag]

Look'n for reviews myself.
I almost bought its predecessor the S1500 because of its build quality and form factor alone. But the sample photos were lackluster

I doubt the pics will be much better here. The problem with most of these sort of low-end cams is the users, not the cams themselves. They use them like one-shot cams, and know nothing about macros, ISO, etc,etc. But who knows?