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Fujifilm Finepix HS20EXR
by callancool I first published this review on my website www.point-n-shoot.co.uk in May. You can see it in it's original form with Product Images and several of mySample Images. It was superseded by the similar HS30 EXR last year (Lithium Battery and 2X digital zoom were the only major upgrades), and the HS30 will be superseded by the HS50 EXR will ... be available in February 2013 with a massive 42X optical zoom and a new 16MP EXRII sensor with Phase Detection Autofocus that Fuji claim to be the worlds fastest Autofocus. That's the intro over, so let's get on with the review itself. It Looks like a DSLR, it feels like a DSLR, it zooms like a DSLR, it focuses like a DSLR and it shoots like a DSLR. It's not a DSLR, but does Fujifilm's HS20 EXR perform like a DSLR? Released last year to both applause and criticism alike with photography enthusiasts being split down the middle, opinions being either that it's a great camera or a noisy beast. What is beyond doubt, though, is that the because it's just about as close to a DSLR as you can get for a fixed lens camera it has a legion of dedicated users. HISTORY. Back in 2010, Fuji unveiled the HS10 EXR, a 10 Mp bridge camera with a 30 X zoom lens, Raw image capture, Full 1080p HD movies, high speed shooting and DSLR style controls. Limiting the sensor to 10 Mp meant lower noise un images, and even though the majority of fixed lens cameras were now sporting 12 & 14 Mp sensors, serious photographers who didn't want to carry heavy DSLR's and lenses around loved it. It featured a 'Back Side Illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor (the circuitry is at the back and the pixels at the front so more light hits the pixels for less noise). It was an immediate hit with photographers, and a year or so later it was superseded by the HS20 EXR, with an increased pixel count 16 Mp sensor, and quite a few extra frills. Fuji's EXR sensors are supposed to give cleaner images in lower light, and the EXR cameras which feature them are the top of the range models for each camera type Fuji produce. 16 Mp was a big leap from a 10 Mp sensor, and there were fears about how effectively the camera would handle noise. Up until January 2012 the HS20 was Fuji's top of the range consumer camera, with only the 'Professional' series X-10 (3 X zoom) and X-100 (fixed length optical lens equivalent to 35mm) being more expensive. Fuji's SRP was originally £399.00 However, that month Fuji released the SX-1 and X-Pro 1 'Professional' series cameras , as well as 'Two' updated versions of the HS20. The HS25 and HS30 (both EXR). PRICING. As the HS30 EXR features an improved 16Mp EXR sensor, a larger improved electronic viewfinder, Lithium Battery and a few minor enhancements. in between it and the HS 20 sits the HS25 EXR, which lacks the HS30's improved viewfinder and lithium battery, as well as the Raw shooting mode which made the HS20 so popular which makes the HS25 more of a downgrade than an update. At the moment the HS25, whilst widely available in the US, is only sold by Jessops in the UK. With a US Price of around $400.00 translating to £252.00, Jessop's price of 5p shy of £330.00 seems very excessive (especially as it's almost £115.00 more expensive than it sells the HS20 for though it's a web only collect at store price and stocks are limited). This brings us back to the HS20. Whilst it's not officially discontinued, there are now three bridge models above it, which means that the UK street price of £299.00 has dropped significantly to around the £220.00 mark, I've recently seen it sold new on Amazon's marketplace for £199.00, though stocks seem to have sold out very quickly as one day they were listed as for sale, the next they were nowhere to be seen. Fuji's own shop had refurbished models listed for £179.99, though they didn't any in stock at the time. Currently , you can get a refurbished model for £199.00 plus £5.00 delivery.They didn't have new models listed as for sale, indicating it might be discontinued soon. PACKAGING & CONTENTS. The camera comes well packaged. This camera came from Fuji Direct, and inside the courier's polythene bag was a sturdy plain brown box. Inside this was the camera's retail box. This box was constructed of thinner card, although a little thicker than used in your average point and shoot camera, but then the HS20 is considerably bigger than your average point and shoot, and needs a stronger box. Inside the box, the camera is packed in a bubble wrap, and the accessories are loosely packed in the box. The strap, lens cap, AA batteries and leads are all packed in one small clear bag, with the leads being packed in their own bag. The paperwork and CD rom were in their own poly bag on the bottom of the box, and the camera, leads/strap/cover and lens hood (also in its own bag) were on the top. There was no cardboard frame holding the items in place, but the top and bottom of the box was lined with 1" thick blue foam pads, to protect the camera from damage. FIRST IMPRESSIONS. The strap is relatively easy to fit, though getting the ends through the second plastic toggle was a little fiddly, I had to press the end of the strap down to narrow it to get it go in and then gently pull the toggle over it. The lens cap was much more straightforward, though as with other bridge cameras, you loop it around the strap. Weight wise and size wise it's very much like an entry level DSLR. In fact Nikon's entry level DSLR is both smaller and lighter. It feels extremely solid, and is comfortable to hold. The sheer number of buttons and dials you can press is daunting, if you include the two dials and four presses of the Direction Pad then there's a total of 19 things to press. For the beginner, it's a little like overkill, but if you're upgrading from another bridge model then many of the buttons should be familiar. However, dependent upon whether you're in shooting or playback mode, some buttons have different functions, especially the Command Dial, which has nothing written on it. For example, to change the aperture in Aperture mode you simply turn the dial, but do it in manual mode you press and hold the EV button and turn the dial. The back is dominated by the large 3" LCD screen. It's a 460,000 pixel screen which means images look absolutely gorgeous when viewed on it. Colours look well saturated, and fine detail looks pin sharp, and zooming in to magnify images doesn't make images look blocky. It can, in fact, make images look better on screen than when viewed on a computer. On the top is the burst mode button, and the exposure button, as well as the shutter button surrounded by what appears to be the zoom lever, but is actually the on off switch, a big clue being the words 'On' and 'Off' at the rear. Move the switch left or right to turn it off and on. A major gripe with users is that if you have the auto power off enabled then once the cameras switches off you have to turn it off then on again. The big mode dial at the rear has 11 positions, whilst the blank command dial is somewhat smaller. Above the lens is the pop up flash, which can be adjusted in intensity depending upon lighting conditions, and used as a fill in or a full flash. The range varies between 12.5 at the full telephoto length and 23.3 inches at the 24 mm wide angle. Behind this is the Hot Shoe mount for an external flash. The front of the camera is dominated by the whopping 30 X optical zoom lens. It has a 58 mm diameter, and a thread to attach filters or telephoto converters to extend the telephoto range. 2 X converters can be bought on Amazon from about £10.00, giving you an unbelievable 60 X optical zoom. I can't comment on image quality at 60 X magnification, especially on a cheap £10.00 converter. It's a manual zoom without a motor, to zoom in you twist it to the right. Behind the zoom ring is a manual focus ring. In manual focus mode the camera has an annoying feature of zooming in on a focus point to show you focus has been achieved, though it can be turned off. I found that you start turning the focus ring and as the image starts getting sharper it would suddenly zoom in without warning, ruining your concentration. Once turned off, focusing became a lot easier. It's better to use the LCD screen rather than use the gauge at the bottom of the screen. To the sides, looking at the front you have the outputs for usb, A/V out and micro HDMI out (HDMI lead not supplied) on the right, whilst the SD card slot is on the left. Don't swap a card over whilst the camera is powered on as this locks the camera and could lead to damaged images. The camera takes SD/SDHC & SDXC cards. There's 5 dedicated buttons to the left of the LCD screen, for ISO, Auto Exposure (AE), Autofocus mode (AF), Focus type (AF CSM) and White Balance (WB), which have different functions in playback mode indicated by a blue icon next to the button. On the bottom is the battery door and the tripod mount. The Battery door has no metal hinge, so be careful when you open it. To open it, slide the catch first. Battery life is fantastic. It uses 4 X AA batteries. The 4 supplied Panasonic alkaline batteries lasted just under the manual's claimed 300 shots, which were a mixture of flash off and on, though mainly off. Putting 4 NIMH Rechargeables from Asda actually exceeded the claimed 400 shots by about 50%. I'm not sure of the exact count, but by the time they ran out of power the image count had increased from the 290 odd shots taken with the original alkalines to well over 850. There's a menu item to select for the battery type you're using in the setup menu, so be sure to select the right type to extend your battery life. The tripod mount is made of plastic, and some users have had an isue with the thread on this, Be sure not to overtighten this. MODES Auto mode is the standard point and shoot mode. None of the advanced EXR features are used, though you can choose manual focus. The autofocus system is competent and uses 256 segments for a precise exposure. Focusing is fast and reliable, and though it's not the fastest in its class it won't let you down when you need to capture images quickly as shutter lag is just 0.1 seconds. Images come out really well. EXR mode uses the sensors EXR features to produce better images, and there's four flavours of EXR, EXR Auto (where the camera chooses the best mode and image size for any given scene), and an EXR Priority mode with a choice between Resolution Priority (crisp clear shots with high resolution), High ISO/Low Noise (to reduce noise in high ISO images) and D-Range Priority (up to 1600% Dynamic Range). Programme Auto mode sets the exposure automatically, whilst letting the user select shutter and aperture manually. Advanced Mode has two variations, Pro Low Light, and Pro Portrait. Pro Low Light combines three images for lower noise in low light conditions, whilst Pro Focus blurs the background for portraits, whilst giving lovely skin and pin sharp subjects. There's three strengths of background blur (Bokeh). The camera achieves this very well. SP1/SP2 Mode stands for Scene position, and allows the user to set 2 of the scene modes for quick recall. In reality it's just like Scene mode on a normal point and shoot, but it remembers the last scene for you. Having two positions means you can select your two most used scenes in from the menu.There's 17 scene modes to choose from, though if you add the two advanced modes it brings the total up to 19, and the three additional EXR modes, HR, SN and DR bring it up to 22. Sadly, there's no scene for 'Museum' or shooting objects behind glass, though there is a Text mode, as well as Greenery, Cat, Dog, and all the other usual suspects found on most new digital cameras. Aperture Priority lets you select the Aperture size to control how much light to allow into the camera, and the camera sets the best shutter speed. Aperatures range from F2.9 up (large) to F11 (small). Shutter Priority is the reverse of Aperture Priority. The user sets the shutter speed, and the camera sets the best Aperture. Shutter speeds range from 1/4000th of a second to down to 15 seconds (PASM modes - 4 secs in auto modes) and there's a Bulb (B) setting that lets you keep the shutter pressed as long as you want for up to 30 seconds. Motion Panorama lets you choose between 120/180 and 360 Degree panoramas. The camera stitches them together. Be aware that if you zoom in, you might not get a full 360 degree image. It's easy to use, just sweep the camera along the line in the centre of the LCD screen and a progress bar at the bottom shows you how far you have left to go with your pan. Manual Mode lets the user set aperture, shutter and exposure independently for creative results, though you must know what you are doing to achieve the best results. LENS. The 30 X Fujinon lens is manually operated like a DSLR and starts at a wide angle of 4.2mm/24mm (35mm equiv) going uo to 126mm/720mm (35mm equiv) at full telephoto. The lens produces sharp clear shots throughout the range with image quality only softening at virtually full telephoto length. As with many cameras edge sharpness suffers slightly, though it hardly shoes unless you look closely. There's no digital zoom, at all, so you don't get the fuzziness that it produces. There's a two-step image stabilisation that uses sensor shift techniques, and this works really well. Also, when using EXR mode, there's an Advanced Anti Blur option in the menu that combines three separate images to reduce blur. The camera seemed to produce reasonably sharp images at full zoom with it off, as my indoor shots indicate. Purple fringing in high contrast areas seems well controlled, though if you look hard enough you'll see some. The supplied lens hood will help eliminate sun flare. There's a 58mm filter thread that allows you to attach filters such as Polarizing, ED, UV and coloured filters, as well as telephoto and wide angle converters to give you an almost DSLR like environment. Filters fit exceedingly well, and don't degrade the excellent Fujinon lens. Telephoto converters can be hit and miss. Sony and Raynox produce acclaimed telephoto converters, but at £170.00 for the Sony and £400.00 for the Raynox, they cost up to almost twice the cost of the camera. You can get cheap converters from a tenner, but they don't seem to work well with the HS20. Images look extremely soft and hazy around the edges. In fact they seem suited to cameras with smaller with lens barrels like Canon's G series Powershot models. I tried two different models, with extremely disappointing results for both. MANUAL A 136 page manual is provided on the disc to print out. My printer can print double sided and produced a booklet for me with ease, just select 'Booklet' There's 7 pages of warnings, a 'Legend' page and 3 pages of contents before you get to page 1. It's well written, but is hard to follow at times. It will often lead you to other parts of the manual, having you thumb through the pages to get more relevant information on a feature. There's no hyperlinks in the PDF file so if you don't print it out then you're forever clicking to get to the relevant section, or typing the page number in the box, but as page 1 of the PDF is actually page 'i', the front cover and not page 1 of the manual, you're 12 pages out. There is a printed quick start manual in the box to get you started, but it's a basic affair, you're better with the full manual. MENU As with the manuals, menus are a tad complicated too. There's two reasons for this. Firstly, there's so many modes that each mode disables various functions, you'll often go looking for a function to change and find that it's greyed out. This is annoying. There's two menus, a shooting menu and a setup menu. Unlike most cameras which have the separate menus along the top, the HS20 EXR's 2 menus run down the side. The camera usually defaults to shooting menu. Secondly, there are a lot of options in the HS20's setup menu that you'll find in the shooting menu on other cameras. Depending upon the shot being taken, you'll often find a lot of time in between both menus. In fairness to Fuji, the menus are accessed like most cameras, and they look good. You can even change the menu colours, there's several to choose from. Once you've got used to the camera, the menus become relatively easy to navigate. There's usually between 4 and 6 pages to each menu depending on the mode you're in. PERFORMANCE There's no mistaking that the HS20 is a fast camera. It's not the fastest bridge camera, but it's right up there with the others. Startup time seems terribly slow as the camera starts with a white screen and the image gradually appears. It's the same resuming from playback mode, though this can be shortened a lot by pressing the shutter button as soon as you switch on. It can take pictures at 12 frames a second, and seems to live up to this claim. Auto focus is fast, taking approximately 0.1 seconds on average, though depending on the light and the contrast between the subject and background. At full zoom, focus takes a little longer, and sometimes the camera cannot autofocus, leaving Manual Focus as the only option. Write times to the memory card are very fast. I used a class 1 memory card for the review and it found saving 8 Mp EXR images was extremely nippy. Put a fast card in the camera and images are saved extremely fast. However, Raw image processing is quite slower than with a DSLR, though there's not many bridge cameras with raw capability. Some users think that it's slow at savng images to a memory card, but, whilst it is slow when it merges images to form a singe image like in the advanced mode, Jpeg performance IMAGE QUALITY Image quality is generally good. Daylight shots are generally good, with good colour and contrast. They look better on the 460,000 pixel LCD screen than on a computer. A big concern is that the sensor is only a half inch model with 16 megapixels. Issues of noise do arise, although the EXR mode 'High ISO and Low Noise' or the Pro Low Light option in the advanced shooting mode reduces noise to acceptable levels. At most levels up to ISO 800 noise isn't a major problem. However, as with most cameras, it starts creeping in at ISO 400 and above ISO 1600 and above are unusuable, except for web shots, or where low light demands you The Back Side Illuminated CMOS sensor gives better low light than a non BSI CCD sensor. Exposure is generally good, with four options available, average, spot, centre weighted and multi. The latter has 256 areas for accurate exposure. Average, seems best for general work, and Spot works well for telephoto work. Multi is acceptable, but doesn't seem to give the best results, as white areas have a tendency to over expose. You can check exposure with the histogram, which is turned off and on using the Display button. Or in playback mode you can press the AF CSM button to do this. Overexposed areas blink black.The EXR D-Range mode does a great job of bringing out details, as does the 'Pro Low Light' setting in the advanced mode. In these modes, shadow details are noticeably improved. There's a noticeable lack of Chromatic Abhorrations (purple fringing) in shots, and they are generally sharp. Macro performance is great, producing clear images, as does Super Macro mode, which allows you to get as close as 1 CM from your subject. The camera takes excellent photographs. The two Auto modes (Auto and EXR Auto) produce great photo's, and even if you only ever use these two modes, you'll get great results. Night photos are good too if taken with Pro Low Light or EXR High ISO/Low Noise, but when taken in one of the P A S M modes noise can rear it's ugly head, leading to lack of detail. You can set the noise reduction level to Standard or High in the menus, but images in this mode can lack fine detail. Generally speaking, EXR mode gives the best fine detail, though P A S M modes allow the user the control to take better exposed images. There are three levels of sharpness, Soft, STD and Hard, and three levels of contrast. Out of the camera, the default STD setting of sharpness produces slightly soft images. This can be tweaked in your preferred image editor. Image quality is good across the whole zoom range, dropping off noticeably at full zoom. There is also a noticeable loss pf quality at the edge of the image, but it's nothing to worry about. Again, it's worse at full telephoto length, but it's not bad enough to be a problem. Raw images show a good amount of detail, though compared to the average DSLR, they are slightly disappointing. It must be said that none of it's main competition has raw capture, and with raw images you can recover a lot more blown highlight. Even when shooting JPEGS the images produced can still recover some blown highlights, as you will see from the image of the dessert on this page. The shadow detail on the swirl of cream has been recovered with considerable success. With The EXR modes, shooting at 8 Mp gives better quality images than any of the competition at the same 8Mp resolution. At full resolution there are better superzooms out there, particularly Sony's HX 100V and Canon's SX 40 (albeit the latter shoots at 12 Mp). It's images are not far behind though. The HS20 EXR boasts dual image stabilisation, which at full zoom works really well. In fact, it's fair to say it works a treat. Even handheld shots at long focal lengths come out sharp. It's worth noting that even indoor shots without flash come out sharp. VIDEO The camera's video specifications are impressive. It can shoot full 1080p HD movies, as well as the lesser 720p HD, and 480p standard definition video at 30 frames a second, along with High Speed video with 480p at 80 fps and 320 x 240 pixels at 160 fps and 320 x 112 pixels at 320 fps. High speed modes are without sound and are designed to playback slow motion. There's a dedicated Record button, just press to start recording, and press again to stop recording. However, don't expect it to replace your HD video capture device as it has a serious flaw. When you zoom in, the video quickly loses focus, and it takes 2 - 3 seconds for the autofocus to work. Whilst in focus video is of good quality, if you're capturing something where you need to zoom in and out a lot, such as your son's footie match, then the video is spoiled by this. Also, when focused properly it can sometimes jerk in and out of focus without even touching the zoom control. You're better off prefocusing before starting to record. Having said that, it's video is a lot better than many other cameras you can buy today. Yoou can see a sample movie here. VIEWFINDER The HS20 is equipped with a 200,000 pixel Electronic Viewfinder(EVF). It's fitted with a Diopter so that it can be adjusted for spectacle wearers. I found that with or without spectacles on I needed the same setting for my short sightedness. A button on the rear of the camera switches between the LCD and viewfinder, but there's also a sensor by the switch that automatically detects when you put the viewfinder to your eye and turns the LCD of, which works extremely well and is usefull on bright sunny days if you can't view the LCD. However, in practice, if you flip the LCD up too high, or you move your hand across the sensor, or even hold the camera too close to your body, then annoyingly it will switch to the viewfinder. The default for this feature is off, though you can enable it in the setup menu. Using the viewfinder instead of the LCD keeps the camera steadier, and at longer zoom lengths gives sharper images. In my opinion, it's not the sharpest EVF I've used. PLAYBACK Playback is achieved the same way as on any normal camera, left and right on the Dpad thumbs through the images, but you can also use the command dial to do this, but be aware it flicks through in the opposite direction. You can use the Display button to cycle through the information options to decide what you see on screen, and also press and hold the AF C-S-M button to see full shooting information for your images. As there's no zoom lever, you use the ISO and AE buttons to zoom in and out of your images. As with most cameras, zooming out on an image that's not magnified on screen will produce a thumbnail view. There's four levels of zooming out, and you don't get the usual grid, it's more like a slideshow with the main image highlighted centre screen, and the preceding and following images either side. Zoom out more, and you get more images in a similar style display, refreshing different from your average display. What is unusual is if you zoom out four times you fill the screen with not a dozen images like most cameras, but a staggering 97 images. To make it stand out from the rest the highlighted image is the size of four thumbnails. There are 10 rows of 10 thumbnails, less the ones obscured by the highlighted image. The image quality of the screen is excellent. 460,000 pixels ensure they look good on screen. Even the image noise can be seen if an image is excessively noisy. However, the images look too sharp. You can zoom in on an image and see detail displayed spectacularly, like the hairs on the back of the leaf on a flower, but you won't be able to get that clarity by cropping the image on your computer. In fact, images show more colour, clarity and contrast than when viewed on your P.C. or laptop. The screen is a flip out screen, and flips up by 90 degrees, or flips downwards 30 degrees. Putting the screen at a 90 degree angle means you can look down and put the lens in close whilst being able to view the screen and get the shot. The screen is great to use, even in sunlight, and I was able to view the images on an overcast day with lots of light, whereas my wife's mobile phone screen was virtually impossible to view. CONCLUSION There's no doubting that Fuji was aiming at nearly all possible markets when it designed the HS20 EXR. The 30 X zoom, 16 Mp sensor, and easy EXR modes are designed to appeal to the point & shoot user who wants the best possible easy to use super zoom camera, whilst the advanced features are aimed at DSLR users who don't want to carry around lots of lenses and accessories. However, I feel that Fuji have missed out on both sets of markets. Whilst it's true that many DSLR users want an 'Everyday' camera they can use without the burden of taking all their kit with them, these users demand the best, cleanest images possible, and the HS20 doesn't deliver that. It's true that it delivers outstanding image quality for it's price, but these users prefer cameras with larger APS-C or 4/3 sensors as the images produced are much cleaner. However, that's not to say that Fuji has missed the best market with the HS20, it's a well-respected camera, and is the Fuji camera of choice for the advanced photographers on the myfinepix website for Fuji users. As point and shoot super zoom it can't be faulted, especially at 8 Mp EXR modes. The defining reason for it not catching on as much as it should have was the cost. At launch it was priced at well over £400, beyond the pockets of most point and shoot users. It's new reduced price tag should redress that to some point. Pound for pound, the HS20 EXR is the best featured super zoom for the money. All it's main rivals are around or above the £300.00 mark. In fact, stocks of the HS20 are selling out quick. The only other camera around the £200.00 price point with Raw shooting and a 30 X zoom is Kodak's Easyshare Z990. With it's DSLR like features it will appeal to those who wan't a DSLR but could never afford the entrance fee.The introduction of the HS30, which is regarded as having even better image quality, and Fuji's 'Professional' X-S1 bridge models, mean that the HS20's plummeting price is good news all round. The HS20 can now be bought cheaper than Fuji's new 'SL' range of bridge cameras, and is much better specified than them. Even Fuji's the new HS25 EXR (in between the HS20 and HS30 and exclusive to Jessops at £330.00) is over £100.00 more expensive and lacks Raw image capture, thus not being as good.. And although you can pick up a HS30 EXR for under £330.00, many users say the the improvements are not worth the extra £130.00. With all it's features and EXR modes, the HS20 EXR is every bit an 'Enthusiast's' camera. If you're considering going down the DSLR route but don't want the hassle of carrying a heavy camera with several lenses around, then it's the perfect upgrade. If you're already a seasoned DSLR user looking for an 'All in one' everyday camera, you'll probably be disappointed by it's images, and would be better off looking at a camera with a larger 2/3rds or APS - C sized sensor. BUILD QUALITY 5 FEATURES 4.5 IMAGE QUALITY 4 EASE OF USE 3.5 (Advanced user) EASE OF USE 4 (Point & Shoot user) VALUE 5 OVERALL 4.5 = 90% Highly Recommended. Read the complete review |
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Fujifilm Finepix S4000
by Jessiejo I wanted to buy a camera as my old one had bitten the dust but I couldn't afford to buy a Nikon or Canon so with the help of my parents who are keen photographers we came upon the Fujifilm Bridge camera as a good compromise until finance improve. I really love the look of the Fujifilm it is not too big and bulky or heavy to carry ... around. I have also found that the different settings on offer are easy to use as I am not as well clued up on the ins and outs of photography as my parents. They are easy to use because when you select a setting you get a full description of the use by way of the viewing screen of through the view finder depending on the option you have selected to take your photo. Having the option of using either the view finder or the display screen at the back to take a photo is excellent because depending on what your doing you have the option. I would say that if taking photos outside in bright light then the display screen is difficult to use so having the option of the traditional view finder is perfect for such occasions. The zoom is fantastic as you are able to take those lovely scenic shots from a good distance. There is also the panoramic option which I have played with a little bit but need a bit more practise with. The quality of the photos is excellent being 14 mega pixels. There is also the option to use as a video camera to capture those special moments. My only negative would be that there is a slight delay when taking the shot which is only a problem when I am trying to take a photo of my daughter as she dosen't always sit still for long so sometimes that perfect shot that was there when you pressed the button is not quite what you get as the end result but this is typical of a bridge camera. I would rate this camera as great for starting out or if finances cannot stretch to the more expensive Canons and Nikon digital camera's Read the complete review |
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Fujifilm X10
by Nibelung LIKE A LEICA? There are two answers to that question. One is 'Yes I would' and the other is 'Yes, it is a bit isn't it?' I'm currently running two digital cameras. One, a dinky Olympus all-weather job, which if I'm honest has a picture quality that is a bit compromised by its toughness and water-resistance, and the ... other, my Nikon D90 DSLR which I love to bits but mustn't drop or get wet. There are just one or two snags with this combo. The latter is a trifle large to lug around on holidays involving air flights, and the other, well, I'm just not sure I'd entrust it with being my only camera when visiting places I may well not go back to in this lifetime. Having taken the big chunky Nikon D90 to Jordan recently, I resolved that there had to be some middle ground. Petra, both by day and by night was stunning as were some of my photos, but as for my neck, it really took a beating with the Nikon's not-inconsiderable weight slung around it for literally hours on end. It was during our escorted tour of Jordan that I noticed one of our fellow travellers sporting what appeared to be the modern day equivalent of a Leica range-finder camera around his neck. What immediately set it apart from the current crop of 'advanced compacts', was its retro styling complete with lots of 'luverly twisty knobs an' stuff', and....oh be still my beating heart whilst I complete a roll on the imaginary drums.....a real optical viewfinder! No more peering into it at arm's length unless you actually want to. Of course, being a digital camera, it also had the 'de rigueur' electronic viewfinder on the back, doubling as a viewing screen for existing pictures. However, that doesn't stop the Fuji Finepix X10 looking a tad old-fashioned (in my mind, a good thing, especially in 10 years time when all of today's styled offerings will look dated) and being technologically up-to-date at the same time. Hints of a bygone era include a "Fujinon Lens" logo looking not unlike the old Zeiss Ikon badge, and construction of both top and bottom plate from matt-black magnesium alloy, not some strong plastic or other, both of which matter to an old git like me. Leatherette hides the rest so I really don't care what that's made of, just don't tell me. The rotary knobs are apparently milled from solid metal and move and click like they ought to. You can even use an old-fashioned cable release with it, since the shutter release is threaded to take one. To be honest, I'd rather have shelled out the extra money on the Fuji X100 which has an even more retro matt-chrome finish and a brilliantly-designed hybrid viewfinder combining optics with electronic overlays, but it had one drawback apart from being dearer. It had one fixed focal length (i.e. non-zooming) lens that was not interchangeable - shame. The 'non-interchangeable' I could forgive but the deal-breaker was the fact that the only lens it did have couldn't be zoomed. Come on guys, one or the other surely? The X10, on the other hand, has a 28mm-112mm (when compared to a 35mm camera) zoom. Ok, it's not interchangeable but with a 4x zooming range is going to be useful enough for most purposes, more useful certainly than the 'short zoom' supplied as part of the entry level kit on some DSLRs. It also happens to have a maximum aperture of f2.0 which is also pretty damned respectable for its type. The 12 mega-pixel sensor on this camera is 2/3rds of an inch diagonally which is not too far short in size of those fitted to many DSLRs. This is a sensible thing for Fuji to have done, by not joining in the 'race' to be the compact camera with the 'mostest' mega-pixels. There's little point in boasting 16 mega-pixels on a sensor the size of my little finger nail. The tiny individual pixels, whilst bringing daylight sharpness to a new level just cannot react to light in the same way that larger ones can and so let themselves down in anything but perfect light. WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES Or in this case - a year. There are definite advantages to hanging back when any new shiny toy appears on the scene and in this case, I didn't even know about it, let alone want one. With the iPhone 4, it was getting cut off if you held the phone in a particular way; with the X10, it was 'orbs'. Orbs? Yes, instead of the expected 'sparklies' you'd get when say photographing rippling water against sunlight, or a disco mirror ball, you got big circular white marks like someone had hole-punched your picture and given it a white backing. However, all new stock since May 2012 has been rectified with a new sensor and a new firmware version, and to their credit, Fuji have offered to take back all that slipped through the net for a sensor and firmware upgrade. Buying prior to Christmas 2012, this was of little concern to me. All I had to do was make sure that I bought from a volume seller with a large turnover like Amazon themselves, and with their price of just over £300 being as good as anyone else's, it was them that got my business. PC World wanted £346*, but at least I got to handle the thing there! I'm not convinced that with an RRP of nearly 'half a grand' it would have been worth it, especially looking at all the small 'system cameras' with interchangeable lenses there are out there at the moment, admittedly with no 'real' viewfinders. (* Maybe the difference can be accounted for by the fact that the Dixon's Group actually pay UK corporation tax!) Like lot of higher-priced cameras these days, there's no memory card (SD in this case) included but these seem to get cheaper every time I search one out. The camera does however have a 'reserve tank' if you like within its own memory but it's nowt but a few photos in size. MORE THAN JUST AN UGLY FACE Well, perhaps not ugly, but maybe a bit rugged and 'lived-in'...........but that's enough about me. This camera has most of the features you'd expect from a DSLR except for the bulk and the ability to look through the lens in an optical viewfinder. There's a similar range of exposure modes, from fully manual to fully auto, taking in shutter- and aperture-priority along the way. You can even cobble together two separate custom modes gleaned from experiences, like shooting cats (not literally) in a coal hole, or in my case 'Petra by night'. Therefore I'd say it's ideally-suited to a downsizing SLR-owner with neck-ache or an aspiring point-and-shoot merchant who wants to delve deeper into the black arts of photography. Neither is likely to feel limited by what can be achieved here and both can give in and used the fully automatic EXR mode when lack of brain cells demands. Sadly, the built-in flash is too puny for anything but fill-in or domestic indoor work. Forget about lighting up a cave with it. Having said that, it does recess itself very neatly, when out of use. Speaking of close-ups, you can actually come as close as 1 centimetre in extreme macro mode, but you'd need to use the electronic viewfinder for this as the optical affair wouldn't even be looking at the same thing, being set as it is about 4 cm to the left and 3cm above the actual viewing angle of the lens. This is 'parallax error' in the extreme, and for most normal distance and panoramic shots, not an issue but the closer you get, the more of a 'discussion document' the actual view in the finder becomes. FUJI MOVES IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS..... .....its wonders to perform. Just when you think that 12 mega pixels means exactly that, you find that in general use, the camera seems to use half of that, keeping the other half in reserve to perform all sorts of wonderful adjustments to achieve its best result. It's tantamount to 'bracketing', that feature that causes serious snappers to take three shots of everything, with three slightly-different exposure settings, 'just in case', except in this example, it only takes one shot. It can also be set to 'bracket' four exposures together, but cleverly combines them all into one single 'best guess', saving only one to the card. This leads to the need for a tripod, and can lead to some eerie effects if anything moves during that time - hence the shots of rock-solid backgrounds and blurred traffic that seem quite fashionable these days even in daylight. You can shoot up to a 360 degree (i.e. full circle) panorama. This works a little like shooting movie, with the camera giving you a rough guide as to speed and direction of 'panning', stitching 7 photos together as it goes. Again, for best results, a tripod is advised. You already have an electronic spirit level in the electronic viewfinder, and I guess that this in one case where its use is imperative to avoid your full circle becoming a spiral. Of course, purists will want to shoot in 'RAW mode' which just plainly and simply uses all 12-megapixels shot on a generously-sized sensor, leaving the photographer with the very best resolution available, and possibly quite a while poring over Photoshop. Cleverly, Fuji have side-stepped the issue of needing a tiny servo motor to extend the lens when turning it on or when zooming, as these have proven, to me at least, to be the first thing to render a camera an 'uneconomic repair' to use those dreaded words. No, here, you turn on the camera by twisting the lens until it reaches its 28mm setting. Further zooming is then manual also, but quicker than waiting for a rocker switch to do its stuff. NIGGLES Battery life isn't brilliant - claimed to be around 270 shots, it really depends on how much showing off your results to friends you do in between charges. To be on the safe side think more in terms of 'smart phone' rather than the Duracell 'drumming rabbit'! The good news is that a spare battery can be had for as little as four quid on e-bay, and indeed this was one of the things I bought in advance of actually receiving the camera. You can of course, once you trust it implicitly to take photos, turn off the electronic display altogether to lengthen the time spent away from the mains charger - useful if you spend the night in a desert like I did and went mad taking pictures of sunset and sunrise! Unlike many DSLRs, there's no means of tilting the electronic viewfinder - it remains s(t)olidly attached to the back of the camera, but if you've got the sun in your eyes, you can always revert to the optical job. Having sung the praises of this camera and its real optical viewfinder, it may come as a surprise to hear me complaining about it too. My major gripe is that, like many optical finder cameras before it, it only shows 85% of the final picture area when shooting in 4:3 mode, which makes the finder more of an aiming device than an accurate representation of the final article. True, it does follow the zoom, and true, the extent of the cropping improves when selecting another format like 3:2, 16:9 or 'square' but it's completely devoid of any electronic information whatsoever. By experimentation, I've found that the 3:2 mode, which is more like A4 proportions for printing, has the same 'height' as the viewfinder, although it's somewhat wider in its view. However, it would be more worrying if the optical job showed you more than was actually being taken - now that would be a turn-off! The auto-focus only beeps to confirm a fix, there being no 'green LED' or some such in the viewfinder. There aren't even any cross-hairs to help with levelling it. True, the electronic version at the back actually has that 'spirit level' which you start off by calibrating against something known to be on the level - so don't use an MP's shoulder. The other drawback with the optical finder is that you can actually see the lens in the bottom right corner, a view which becomes more obtrusive with additions like lens hoods and filters. Because the lens has such a dinky and non-standard thread (40.5mm) for filters and the like, the common practice is to buy a two part lens hood, the first part being a step-up ring giving a 52mm filter thread, and the second part, the hood itself. I bought a cheap after-market job, but even the official lens hood at an eye-watering 50 quid is the same. Of course, it doesn't take a genius just to move the camera a tad to check what you can't see and then move it back. IIRC, a lot of viewfinder cameras were like this back in the day. The only problem with the lens-hood/filter ring is that it's open-backed (yes, even the official one), which leaves dust free to get in behind the filter, which slightly detracts from the reason why many people fit a 'skylight' or 'UV' filter in the first place, i.e. to give them a smooth easy-to-clean surface that isn't the lens itself. On reflection, I think I'd try extra hard to buy that non-standard UV filter and fit it directly to the lens if I could. They're not too difficult to source via e-bay. ON BALANCE I'd much rather have it, than not have it. Its results would do justice to much larger and heavier kit, thanks to the larger-than-normal sensor in a camera this size. Its box of tricks works superbly and you are tempted to leave it on its 'EXR' mode setting where it more or less does everything but tell you that your subject matter is crap. It's comforting to know that you can fall back to being able to select shutter speeds or apertures yourself and even focus manually ('annually' in my case). The super-close macro is impressive as is its ability to stitch together shots into a complete 360 degree panorama. Build quality is superb and you really do feel like you're handling a useful and trusted antique (that just so happens to be an advanced digital camera!). My neck is quite grateful too! Read the complete review |
Fujifilm Digital Camera |
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1 review Brand: Fujifilm / Digital Camera / 12.2MP / Optical Zoom: 3.0x / LCD Monitor: 2.7-inch / Sensitivity: ISO3200 |
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11 reviews Fujifilm FinePix 2400 Zoom - Digital camera - 2.1 Mpix - optical zoom: 3 x - supported memory: SM - metallic silver - The FinePix 2400 Zoom offers a high quality 2.1 megapixel CCD, 3x optical zooming, continuous shooting, intelligent Auto White Balance and more to ensure high-quality pictu... |
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11 reviews Fujifilm FinePix 1300 - Digital camera - 1.3 Mpix - supported memory: SM - grey metallic - The Finepix 1300 is the very latest in entry-level digital cameras, combining 1.3-million pixel resolution for photo-like results with simple operation and a variety of shooting modes. With its fast ... |
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1 review Digital Camera / PC, Mac, 1280 x 1024 max. resolution, serial, TV interface, autofocus lens. |
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4 reviews Fujifilm FinePix 4900 Zoom - Digital camera - 2.2 Mpix / 4.3 Mpix (interpolated) - optical zoom: 6 x - supported memory: SM - metallic grey - The FinePix 4900 Zoom is the ideal camera for the photo enthusiast. Further developing the features of the popular MX-2900 Zoom, this camera combine... |
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11 reviews Fujifilm FinePix 40i - Digital camera - 2.2 Mpix / 4.3 Mpix (interpolated) - supported memory: SM - blue - The FinePix 40i combines three of the most popular technologies of the moment: high-resolution stills and digital audio playback (MP3), as well as offering an enhanced movie clip capa... |
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6 reviews Digital camera - compact - 14.0 Mpix - 24 x optical zoom - Fujinon - The lens elements used in the FinePix S4200 have been treated with multilayer Super EBC (Electron Beam Coating), the same process used for Fujinon broadcasting video lenses and large-format camera... |
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1 review Digital camera - compact - 14.0 Mpix - 18 x optical zoom - Fujinon - black - An 18x Fujinon optical zoom provides the equivalent of a 28-504 mm lens on a full-frame digital camera, but at a fraction of the size and weight! The wide-angle end focal lengths will be p... |
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Digital camera - 3D - compact - 16.0 Mpix - 20 x optical zoom - Fujinon 30 MB - blue - Long telephoto shots usually suffer from camera shake and subject movement which can ruin photos by producing blurred results. The FinePix F770EXR's highly effective CMOS-shift... |
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Digital camera - compact - 14.0 Mpix - 3 x optical zoom - Fujinon - red - For photographers looking for an everyday camera that'll deliver premium-quality images across a variety of situations, Fujifilm have created the FinePix JV300 - a budget-friendly, stylish, c... |
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| dooyoo Results 11 - 20 of 225 | ||
The Fujifilm digital camera range prides itself on having the entire spectrum of photography needs covered - from professional DSLRs to fashionable compact cameras. At the higher end, Fujifilm may not be as popular as Nikon or Canon, but there definitely are some more accessible and affordable models at the top end of the Fujifilm range than some of the other brand names. Take the Fujifilm FinePix S4000, it features 14 Megapixel image resolution as well as 30x optical zoom, 720p HD movie capture, and full manual controls, all for under 200 pounds. The Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR is another popular model, with an even higher, 16 Megapixel capacity. In a much higher price bracket is the retro-stylish FinePix X100 (this needs to be added to our catalogue), which features a hybrid optical / electronic viewfinder, 5fps high speed continuous shooting, HD movie capability, motion panorama, 12 Megapixel resolution and a single focal length lens (23mm F2). It's the perfect combination of portability and top quality results.
The company is arguably better known for its compact and lower end digital cameras, where they have tried to distinguish themselves through innovation and unique design according to many Fujifilm camera reviews we have. The Fujifilm Finepix XP30, for example, is a fun looking compact camera available in a range of colours and is virtually indestructible - waterproof to 5m, shockproof up to 1.5m, freezeproof to -10 degrees and dust/sandproof. The 2.7 inch LCD screen is also made with toughened glass to be scratchproof. The new Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W3 digital camera shoots in both 2 and 3D using 2x 10 Megapixel sensors and of course takes HD 3D video - make your own Avatar-rivalling 3D movie at home!
The company is arguably better known for its compact and lower end digital cameras, where they have tried to distinguish themselves through innovation and unique design according to many Fujifilm camera reviews we have. The Fujifilm Finepix XP30, for example, is a fun looking compact camera available in a range of colours and is virtually indestructible - waterproof to 5m, shockproof up to 1.5m, freezeproof to -10 degrees and dust/sandproof. The 2.7 inch LCD screen is also made with toughened glass to be scratchproof. The new Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W3 digital camera shoots in both 2 and 3D using 2x 10 Megapixel sensors and of course takes HD 3D video - make your own Avatar-rivalling 3D movie at home!
