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Fujifilm Finepix HS10
by easycom
I got this camera about 3 years ago, and it's finally time to give an honest opinion. It's a camera that left me with mixed feelings, and you'll see why, in just a bit. While most people would call it a bridge camera, it's actually more than that, it's a hybrid. That means it not only takes the shape and some of the settings a DSLR would ... have, and what most bridge cameras do, but also features a manual focus-ring and a 30x exclusively manual optical zoom. Design-wise it looks exactly like an entry-level DSLR, so if you're aiming to impress, you definitely will.
Nowadays 10 mega-pixels is nothing to write home about, but that's actually not the downside of the camera. As long as the lighting is good, and I mean "I'm walking in sunshine" kind of good, you'll take great photos. Sharp, good and natural looking colours, even at 30x zoom. However, on a cloudy day, inside or any other low-light situation, without flash you'll end up with a ton of blurry, ugly, noisy, ashamed of yourself and your camera kind of pictures. With flash it does deliver a lot better, but still, make sure you have steady hands because the image stabilization is something I hardly dare to mention. Tripod is a must, especially if you want to take a nice photo of the moon, which I did, and the result was quite impressive.
The good:
- it has a manual 30x optical zoom
- it takes four AA batteries, so draining your rechargeables always leaves you with the option of getting some regular batteries at any shop
- has a pop-up quite capable flash, plus a hot-shoe for external flash
- loads of dedicated buttons, dials and settings to choose from. You do feel in control, just like with a DSLR
- features a manual focus-ring
- though all plastic, still feels quite sturdy
- very good grip with a rubbery feel to it
- good day-light photography
- fantastic macro capabilities
- lots of scene-modes
- great and quite accurate auto setting
- you can pre-set 2 scene modes
- has full manual settings
- features manual aperture (don't expect miracles though) and shutter mode
- tiltable LCD screen
- has 45Mb of internal memory (for about 10-12 pictures)
- the lens allows for filters and other accessories
- works with SD card (above class 6, recommended class 10)
- with four 2500mA batteries you get around 350-400 shots
The bad:
- only 10 mega-pixels (unless you're easily impressed by the numbers, disregards this)
- disappointing low-light capabilities
- image stabilization is next to non-existent, especially in low-light conditions
- on a hot day (above 30 Celsius) it can overheat after extended use, and will shut itself down
- sometimes images end up corrupted when viewed and zoomed in-camera (but there is a firmware update for that)
- manual aperture setting is far from what a DSLR would give you
- the electronic viewfinder is of low quality and almost pointless
- low resolution LCD screen
- slow auto-focus: so slow that you'll miss the action most of the time, so not for action photography
- burst-mode and RAW images capabilities are nothing to write home about
- video, while up to full HD, is sub-par and shaky
- quite heavy: around 600 grams with batteries
The Finepix HS-10 is a camera that impressed everyone else but me. There were times I loved it, and times I absolutely hated it. Takes too much time, too much effort, and a lot of luck to get a really good picture, however given the tiltable screen combined with the 30x zoom, it is a nice camera for candid photography.
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Fujifilm Finepix AV250
by Nepenthe
I was given the Fujifilm Finepix AV250 upon the unfortunate breakage of my previous camera, a General Electric point and shoot. For some years, I'd yearned for a "proper camera", but this camera has showed me that you can achieve quality photography with a humble point and shoot.
=Introduction=
The ... Fujifilm Finepix AV250 is a little silver camera - also available in a shiny black - fronted by a 3x zoom lens, a flash bulb, and simple "Fujifilm" branding. The opposite side holds a large glossy screen, zoom controls, mode buttons, including playback/review, timer, macro, and flash controls, and navigation buttons for traversing the firmware's various menus. The bottom has a tripod socket and a cover for two AA batteries and a SD or SDHC card. Mine cost around £50, so I was completely unprepared to discover such a good camera.
=Use=
The AV250 is a surprisingly light camera, but not so much that it runs the risk of dropping from your hand! It doesn't, incidentally, come with a lanyard or strap, so I do sometimes fear for its safety when leaning over high drops. It takes photographs up to 16MP, and stores them to a SD card. It apparently has some internal memory, but I suspect that mine is faulty, as it saves only to SD cards - that isn't really a problem for me, however, as I have plenty of SD cards, and your experience of what seems to be a one-off production error may vary.
The camera's flash can be quite harsh, but it can be deactivated using the circular button set on the side facing one's face. This button's neighbour governs macro mode. Other modes, such as portrait (softer colours) and night (slower shutter), can be reached via the menu button.
The menu button also allows access to things such as ISO, white balance, and exposure compensation. Incidentally, there isn't very fine-tuned control over white balance - it's limited to several named, preset options, such as "natural" and "fine" - but it isn't too much of an issue for me. You can also choose resolution here, as well as image quality - I recommend "fine" to realise the full potential of this camera.
Your nice, shiny, crisp captured photos can be reviewed by hitting the button with a little play symbol, but the HUD sadly covers up much of the picture and you can't get a very good idea of what exactly you've taken until you transfer the pictures to your computer.
The motion sensor deserves a special mention - in some point and shoots, the blurring can be horrible, but, despite my fervent attempts to wave things in front of this camera and produce some unsightly blur for testing reasons, I can't squeeze any out of it.
=Conclusion=
For £50, I expected a camera similar to my previous. What this is is a powerhouse of the point and shoot world. The images it produces are dazzling, features such as face detection and automatic programming have yet to fail me, and it's very intuitive to use. I give this camera an easy five stars.
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Fujifilm Finepix S4000
by robert128
I own this camera and have done for about 5 months now. I got it because I started college studying media and photography and needed something to get me started. This camera is so simple so anyone can just pick it up and take some pretty amazing photos and it is even compact enough to take on holiday or just a day out. It has great ... features such as panorama mode which is when the camera take 3 individual photos all side by side and stitches them together to make a long photo. This is great for landscape views. It takes 4 AA batteries which is good because you don't have to worry about charging it before you go out, just remember to take spare! I love my camera and the photos I have taken with it. I would recommend this camera to anyone who was thinking of starting photography.
It is always good to look for accessories. When I got mine I bought a Fugifilm case, 8MB SD card and a tripod. I paid £210 for the camera from Tesco Direct and the accessories cost a total of £30. If you are looking to buy this product I suggest you have a look around for accessories as they can make a big difference to the camera.
If you have the money to buy a DSLR rather than an SLR then do it! With this SLR you cannot change the lens which means you are limited to what you can do with it. It is always good to have wide angle lens as well as your standard lens. Spending a little more will get you a lot more.
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