Thursday, January 6, 2011

New Fuji's on the way.

Fujifilm have announced their new range of cameras for 2011.
There are some very interesting cameras to be introduced. The new F series cameras look to answer a lot of criticism that have surrounded some of the cameras from 2010.


This also seems to be true of the HS10, with the arrival of the HS20 as its newer brother.
Still 16mp on a small sensor is going to be a big ask. A lot of us will be more than a little interested in the reviews from the likes of dpreview.com as to whether it overcomes some of the issues surrounding the HS10. Only time will tell. My first thoughts are that it may be an improvement over the current model, but is it going to be enough to justify a price tag that here in New Zealand could be  be over $1500.00NZ


Assuming a buy price (as per Amazon Full price $599.99 US), factoring exchange rate 25% + 70% markup + 15% GST (sales tax) plus shipping costs of lets say for arguments sake $10.00 US we get a camera at an introductory price of $1478.55. In stores. And if you think I'm joking here is the current price from a major retailer for an HS10 currently on special http://paulscamerashop.co.nz/camerashop.php?sid=581&ref=pricespy


Or from another major retail chain http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/fujifilm-hs10-digital-camera.html


For this sort of money I would want it to do everything that an entry level DSLR can do, but with a fixed manual zoom lens as the HS10 currently has and according to the Fuji the HS20 will have.


If this scenario comes to pass it will be quite some time before I would consider even thinking about an HS20. It is perhaps very wise of Fuji to offer a better range in the bridge camera line, even if we have to give up manual zoom and a few other things to keep us interested.


So we wait with baited breath for our questions (and our prayers?) to be answered.
In the meantime if you havent already seen the site pop over to Fuji here: http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/

6 comments:

  1. I agree with you Ralph I was happy to pay $360 for an HS10 but wouldn't be willing to pay $500 for a slightly improved version. I'm curious to see if image quality at high ISO is significantly better.

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  2. Will wait also to see how the new HS20 goes over before even thinking about purchasing it. I mainly bought the HS10 as a bridge camera on my way up to a good reasonably priced DSLR.

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  3. I am beginning to think that a entry level DSLR with a 28mm to 300mm zoom would be the way to go if the HS20 is grossly overpriced.

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  4. If the HS 20 retains the poor small sensor then I for one will steer well clear...

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  5. I use the hs20exr, I have to say I enjoy it. I see grainyness at around 1to1 and above magnification, but no real big thing, I don't see any real noticable noise till I get up past the ISO 800 range and the HS20 I have does have the half sensor.

    My Fujifilm S1000fd has proven to be a real good camera it too shows grainyness at real high magnifications. I never realy noticed the grainyness though untill the higher mp was used. Normal magnifications and prints are great at 8x10 with both of my fuji cameras.

    I only wish there was more written to explain buttons and menues on the hs20, the manual tells you what they are, but realy don't tell you how to use the manual focus assist, don't realy tell you about the white ballance shift. Having more of a manual in paper and pdf would be a GREAT improvment from Fuji. Other wise they are doing a wonderful job with their products.

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  6. Yes it a common complaint, and it seems Fuji is not alone in their lack of information.
    Reading through various forums has shown that it seems to be the case rather than the exception.
    Even the big players such as Nikon and Canon are guilty of poor manuals although not as bad as some.

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