Monday, April 4, 2011

Fuji HS20 Real World Photos & User Review.

Jerry Beasley has been good enough to post a initial review of his brand new HS20 at Amazon. You can see his HS20 photos here at Photo net. Jerry is no slouch with a camera and his photos at Photo.net demonstarte this.
From the Fuji HS10
My initial thoughts are that I have seen as good or better from experienced users of the HS10. All the images are good, but none appear to have the Wow factor that so many people were hoping for from this camera. Thats not to say its without merit. The high ISO shots will be of great interest to those of us who will have occasion to be shooting in lowlight situations. The quietness of the new sensor could well prove to be what sways hesitant buyers to the HS20. Suffice to say that to date there is nothing that would sway me at present to part ways with my HS10 (which isn't even a year old yet) for its newer sibling.

Aig at Dpreview forums has posted an interesting comparison between the two cameras. Click here to go to the forum article. You may be surprised by the closeness of the two cameras when it comes to image quality and resolution.
From the Fuji HS20EXR

Pretty close to the same image quality from both cameras.In these two images I think the HS10 comes off a little better, but I am assuming that the HS20 photo was taken with standard settings. It will be more informative to see images from the HS20 once people have discovered which settings work best for the camera, just as has been the case for the HS10.

8 comments:

  1. Just ordered my HS20.
    I have been using the Panasonic FZ35 but always wanted better manual control, though the 35 is still a wonderful camera for what it is. The EXR technology seems to work well on the HS20 and should provide a little more flexibility (I hope).

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  2. Hi Shunda
    Good to hear that. I would be most interested in your thoughts about the HS20 once you have had it for some time.

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  3. Will do.
    I have bookmarked your blog and will let you know what I think.
    I plan on doing some comparisons with my FZ35 which should be interesting.

    By the way, your pictures are very good, you do the HS10 justice. Pictures like yours are what helped me return to Fuji again.
    Cheers.

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  4. Thank you. I have used several Fuji's for some time, and while they have there faults (as do others) they have always performed well for me.

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  5. I have just received my HS20, and am reading your imformative articles. Would reading your articles on best setting up the HS10 be useful for the HS20 as well? Or are the 2 cameras different enough that this might be confusing, and I had better stick to your HS20 articles only?

    Regards
    Stefan

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  6. Hi Stefan
    You are better off using HS20 only settings.
    Because the sensor is so different the two cameras share very little in the way they operate. The HS20 is faster, has a much better LCD and of course a completely different sensor as well as Jpeg engine.
    In terms of setup there really isn't much of a comparison. Even the P mode settings used with the HS10 dont give the same results.

    So go with all new settings, based on the ones here or some you setup to your own taste.

    Cheers
    Ralph

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  7. Use the EXR settings and the HS20 can produce some great images.
    It's faster than the HS10,and really,although it obviously looks similar,it's really a much different camera,and in fact,it's a lot more flexible,and easier to use,and has better Live View, than some DSLRs.
    The rear screen on my Pentax KX looks positively dim compared to the HS20,and is a lot slower to focus,so I seldom use it,whereas I use the Fuji's LCD most of the time.
    It's a nice camera to handle,whereas my Panasonic FZ100 always felt a bit small,and not like a "proper" camera,although still a good Superzoom,I think the HS20 is a better camera,in my view,having owned both cameras.

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  8. Yes the live view in the HS20 is very good IMHO. The Kx only has a 230,000 pixel LCD and of course the Fuji is double that, so that's probably got a good deal to do with how the Kx's LCD performs, but a lot of reviews still say that live view is too slow on a lot of modern DSLR's, which Fuji has had well sorted at least back as far as my s5700..

    I know what you mean about feeling like a proper camera. I have large hands and no compact is ever going to be comfortable to use by comparison. I like the heft and feel of the DSLR style body and coupled with the long zoom I find my Pentax SLR's stay at home a lot more these days.

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