FinePix HS10 10 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 30x Wide Angle Optical Zoom and 3-Inch LCD

As a Pro journalist who is mainly a writer, I needed to be able to take photographs to go along with my race reports. I had been using film all along when the digital revolution invaded my space. Since my bread and butter was in the words, and mags and papers often hired separate fotogs to take the pics, I was not about to spend 4-6 grand on a digital SLR camera, I stuck with my film SLR. I was on the hunt to get a smaller lightweight rig that could supplement my main camera and upon much research, fell into this camera. First off, I read where fotogs whose living depend on their pictures were in love with "the little camera that could." The non-detachable lens will reach out to an amazing translated 300mm zoom, it's quite impressive. Lenses zoom that far out will usually lose a tremendous amount of light, somehow Fuji makes this work and it takes terrific pics even at great focal lengths. And they won an international award for the lens design to prove it's righteous. The body of the camera looks and feel very much like a slightly scaled down SLR rig so owners of those won't feel any different. The camera's flash is useful only indoors or at closer ranges outdoor to fill in areas. It will NOT compete with the separate hot shoe flashes designed for SLR rigs. There are several program modes and the aperture, white balance, shutter speed and a host of other adjustments can be made to give the desired result or effect. The camera being digital has a mode where you can see the exact settings for a particular shot, or all of them if you so choose. It makes the Fujifilm a great teaching tool. I learned more from the camera itself than I could've in a class room. Best bet for newcomers or those not wanting to experimenting is to leave the rig on "P" for program and let the camera decide the settings. You can't go wrong with that. My only gripes as a motorcycle race journalist are shutter speed, and reset times. The camera will get a decent action shot but the time it takes the batteries to capture, process and save the picture, the next rider has flown past me. A higher quality SD card I'm told would help quite a bit but it still will never take rapid shots like a true SLR camera. It can be compensated for to a degree but compared to an SLR is is slow in that sense. All of the Pro reviews I read they said the same Im saying to you, it is THE top of the line "point and shoot camera." An 800 lb gorilla of a point and shoot, or a point and shoot on steroids if you will. All of the Pro photographers who chose thing thing use it for simpler shots, or when they want a lightweight alternative to bulky lenses and heavy equipment. Ive attached some picture to give you an idea of what you cam do with this amazing little camera. It has become "GO TO" rig when not at the races. This truly is the little camera that could.

Likes Excellent lens and image stablization. Great picture quality (most of the time). The tilting LCD display allows more shooting versitilty. The HD video and sound works good with even light. Here are the specs that I pulled from my HD video files: Video Stream 12.9 Mbs, 1920 x 1080 (16:9) at 29.970 fps, AVC Audio Stream 1,536 Kbps, 48.0 KHz, 2 Channels PCM OR Video Stream 9,203 Kbs, 1280 x 720 (16:9) at 29.970 fps, AVC Audio Stream 1,536 Kbps, 48.0 KHz, 2 Channels PCM Dislikes No Manual settings for focus or exposure in video mode. If you shoot video during an evening concert or game that has spot lights, the faces will be over exposed. The focus will wander in and out in marginal lighting at a distance during video shooting. If the video had manual video control like the Panansonic DMC-FZ35 you could make much better HD videos in certain conditions. Maybe Fujifilm could add manual video conrtols with a firmware update (I HOPE). There is no real manual focus (for still pictures), you can just tweak the auto focus in some modes (except SR Auto & video modes). But you can lock the focus and/or exposure with some shooting modes (not in video mode). Manual exposure compensation works in 3 of the 25 shooting modes. Dynamic Range can only be changed in 4 of of the 25 shooting modes. The basic manual lists many more (4 pages) shooting mode restrictions.

I've wanted a new camera for a long time. The last camera I purchased for myself was a Sony DSC-V1, a 5MP, 4X that was pretty impressive when it was new; but that was years ago. Of course, I lusted after DSLR's, but knew they were unaffordable for me. So recently, I decided to check out the "bridge" camera segment. My first object of interest was a Panasonic FZ35. It was well-enough reviewed, but I decided to keep looking. I really wanted a flash hot-shoe and manual zoom ring. These features led me to the Fujifilm S200EXR. It seemed to be "the one". Again, it was well-reviewed, but the challenge was to find one from a reputable dealer. While I was looking for one, I came across a mention of the HS10. But everybody knows that 30X lenses are full of compromises, right? Then, I saw a review on The Register's website ([...]), and decided to have a look. When I finished reading, my camera situation had changed. At least on paper, the HS10 appeared to be everything I was looking for, with a whopper lens, at an affordable price. With some reluctance I ordered the HS10, knowing that I could return it and order the S200EXR if I wanted to. I received it about a week and a half after ordering (free shipping), and happily dug into the camera. Two things impressed me immediately: the camera body and controls felt very well done, and of course the lens. Holy cow, what a lens! F5.6 at full zoom, with no barrel distortion that I could tell. And, the manual zoom ring is nice to use. Now, there have been some complaints in reviews about the zoom ring's placement, in relation to the onboard flash. It is true, the flash housing extends about halfway over the zoom ring. However, with a proper camera grip, your non-shooting hand will be supporting the camera body and lens from underneath. Therefore, you can zoom in and out unimpeded. And about the camera's "feel", it is much nicer than most entry level DSLR's. The body is glass-reinforced nylon, which feels very solid. And the controls all have a wonderful tactile feel. Trust me, I'm OCD about this. Even the Nikon D90 I played with doesn't have as nice a tactile feel. So far, I've used the camera just about every day since I've received it. So, here are more impressions, both good and bad: * You can't run out of zoom. I haven't encountered a single situation where I thought, "If I just had a little more..." However, auto-focus performance isn't great at the long end of the lens. YMMV. * A flash hot-shoe is good, but the HS10 communicates with it at a fairly primitive level. Then again, my flash is quite old, so a modern flash may integrate better than mine does. * The controls are about as logical as they can be. Nothing has stood out to me as being poorly-placed. The level of control over the camera is exceptional; people used to DSLR's will not be underwhelmed, but novices can put it in auto and they won't be overwhelmed. * Connectivity is good, but I hate proprietary USB plugs. What's wrong with Mini USB? And, the supplied cord is staggeringly short. Come on, Fuji, give us a better cord. * AA batteries are good. They're far more useful to me than proprietary batteries, even if they last longer. I don't worry about having to replace an unobtanium battery, and Sanyo Eneloop AA cells work extremely well. * The 3" display is nice. I understand the Nikon P100 has far higher resolution on its screen, but the HS10's is adequate. Not great, but adequate. The tilt feature is really nice to have, and the screen is useable in bright sunlight, as long as you position it correctly. The viewfinder is reminiscent of one on an old video camera I have, which isn't saying much. An eyecup would be really nice, but every additional doodad would push the cost of the camera up. * The camera's speed is more P&S than DSLR. I haven't tried all the permutations of auto-focus functionality, but Single AF doesn't seem to be as fast as the competition. And, shot-to-shot times are not great. (Putting the camera into Continuous AF should speed things up, but also drains the batteries faster.) And, manual focus has been pretty much useless so far. Maybe I'm missing something. * The high-speed shooting modes are pretty neat, but somewhat difficult to master. I've gotten amazing results, but far more duds, at least so far. As I get more familiar with everything, the consistency of good shots should increase. * Now, about image quality: So far, I've just shot in JPEG, and have not tried RAW. There is natural artifacting in JPEG, because of the compression. Also understand, a camera can not *improve* a subject, just detract from it. So the goal is to give as exact a representation of the subject as possible. That being said, this camera does well at "getting out of the way" of the image. It's focus and exposure have been dead on, for the most part. And the lens has not detracted from image quality, at least that I can tell. I can't discern any distortion or color deviation at any focal length. That's a remarkable achievement for such an ambitious lens. At full image resolution there is a little mottling of detail, but that may be a result of JPEG compression. But, I have taken shots that still show good detail at full size. Again, YMMV. In conclusion, this camera should not be confused with a DSLR in terms of overall image quality. The sensor is very nice, but very small. This, to me, is probably my biggest gripe with the camera. However, to use a larger sensor would dramatically raise the cost of manufacturing, and the end user price. To achieve the same level of zoom (range and quality) with a DSLR body and sensor you would have to purchase a thousand-dollar lens, give or take. So, compromises are inevitable. But I think Fuji has wrung a LOT of performance out of a small sensor, and has succeeded in producing a very capable camera for all but the most demanding users. I am very satisfied, and am looking forward to many years of enjoyment from this camera.

I bought this camera on pre-order because I have had much success with the Fuji line in the past. This is a great camera even after four years of very heavy use. My only complaint with this camera is with the white balance inside very large rooms. It seems like a small issue, but for professional use, this camera is great for video and outdoor use, and for home photography, but in large halls, the white balance seems to turn to yellow.