fujifilm finepix hs10 review: 2011

fujifilm finepix hs10 review from Customer 1
I've been waiting for this camera ever since I found out about it a month ago and flew down to the camera shop as soon as they told me it had arrived. I had read all the specs and seen the pics of the camera, and wanted to find out if it was all style and no substance, or if there really was a heart inside the beast. The shop owners opened the box for me to inspect, attached the screen protector, strap and lens cap string, and I took it for a spin before I even left the shop.

Before I say anything more, I'd better let you know my digital camera background. I've been using them ever since they first came out about 10 years ago. Sony DSC-30, Kyocera SL300 (world's first 3.3 fps limited only by size of memory card), Nikon S4, Canon 350D, Nikon s10, Nikon P90, Pentax k-x. In addition, I have always used mobile phones with cameras- xcute (world's first 3 mpxl mobile phone camera), SE k810, k850, Motorola ZN5, Samsung Innov8, SE Satio. So i've used a wide range of digital cameras.

Initial feeling:

1. Camera felt lighter than I expected, even with the 4 AA batteries in place.

2. Solid plastic, yet at the same time a little hollow.

3. Great grip- right side hand grip is deep and rubberised for gripping.

4. Thankfully the lens cap has a string attaching it to the shoulder strap- no chance of losing it or wondering where to put the cap when you take it off.

5. Lots of buttons at the back. Going to have to refer to the manual quite a bit.

6. The "chrome" ring on the bottom right feels a bit cheap. Though I guess use of plastic helps reduce the weight.

7. It's amazing how friendly store people can be once you buy something from them. I was dripping sweat- hot day, so they gave me a cup of water :)

8. The screen is beautiful. I can't say it enough. It's very clear and bright, even with screen protector on.

9. The lens has an INCREDIBLE zoom range- 24mm to 720mm (35mm format) and feels very smooth when you manually zoom.

10. Zooming ring has good grip, but the pattern isn't attractive.

11. Shop owner told me the lens is 58mm diameter- that's good because I can use my IR and UV filters.

12. Electronic view finder is ok, but I find for "bridge" cameras they tend to be small in size. Only the dslr's have eyepieces which are a good size which is comfortable for your eye. Ignoring the size, the EVF quality is good, and you may have read about the sensor next to it, which activates the EVF when you bring your eye to it. So the 3 inch LCD screen turns off and the EVF turns on when you bring your eye to the EVF.

What about the photos?

13. Really good. I've taken about 100 photos so far, mostly at night. You have to be quite steady, even with the shake reduction function on (there are 4 options for shake reduction!!!), especially at the maximum zoom. But if you are, then the photo is very very good and sharp. Not quite as sharp as the Pentax k-x, which is known for it's low light performance, but it's pretty damn good. It's certainly good enough for me. Colours seem accurate and bright. Focusing in good light was pretty fast. Focusing in low level light was slower. In poor light it might even hunt for 2-4 seconds and flash a focusing light. It takes about 1 to 3 seconds to save a photo, so it's not high speed unless you use that function.

14. The focusing is active. That is on auto, it will focus on faces, and even if those people are moving around, you can see the focus square remain glued to their face. My friends had to move side to side pretty fast for the HS-10 to lose the lock.

There are so many fancy functions on this camera that I have really only just scratched the surface of what this baby can do. But I'm very glad to say there is substance in the HS-10. If you are in the market for a bridge camera, the HS-10 should definitely be on your shopping list.

Added 15th April 2010.
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Despite the overcast and rainy conditions which plague me whereever I go, I've taken another 120 odd photos during the periods of "only" cloudiness and intermittant sunshine.

15. The photos are 24mm and at 720mm have differing sharpness. Colour is good for both though.

At 24mm, you can see the whole photo, but you quickly see grainy outlines when you try to zoom in.

At 720mm, the photo remains surprisingly sharp when you enlarge or zoom in on the photo. Not quite the same sharpness as my Pentax k-x, but much better than I expected.

16. I've always had high zoom cameras and each time I buy up, I get surprised by how much closer I can get to a subject. This time though, I noticed something new. Usually, if I take a photo at the widest angle and then one at max zoom, you can see how much closer you can zoom in because you can usually see the surroundings around the object to compare with.

This time however, you can zoom in on something that looks like a little dot in the 24mm photo and it's so close that you literally can't tell it's a zoomed up photo because it looks like a totally different photo.

eg: I was on an overhead walkway and took a 24mm photo of the road. A traffic light was about 400 metres ahead. I zoomed in and I got a clear photo of the back of 2 cars and the licence plates. You'd think I had been standing just 5 metres away with a normal camera it was so good.

In another example, I took a 24mm pic of an outside wall of a very colourful shopping centre. It's about 6 storeys high, so ground floor shop windows look like dots. When I zoomed to 720mm through the window, I got a very clear photo of the inside of the shop, with no reference to the outside of the building wall at all.

This zoom is POWERFUL.

I have no idea what the next generation of zoom lenses will allow us to do when they go to, say 850mm, 1000mm plus!

17. f stops seems pretty good.I can take close ups of flowers and have both foreground and background nicely out of focus.

18. Do keep a steady hand. Brace yourself against a pole or solid object if you can. It really helps in taking a sharp photo. It has good image stabilisation, but it's not a miracle worker.

Thanks again all for reading :)

Update 1st May 2010
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19. I've taken a few more photos and can say the following. The daytime photos are good. Not quite as good as my Pentax kx, but good. Sharpness, colour, detail are all more than acceptable. The lens is great for portraits, and the zoom speaks for itself. The tiltable screen makes the camera much more versatile than a fixed screen camera too.

20. There are two areas that I find the camera disappointing.

The first is the time needed to save each photo- 2 to 3 seconds. It's pretty slow. In comparison, my Pentax kx is just take the photo and instant save. Granted, most non dslr cameras are also non instant picture saving, but it seems even slower than my Nikon s10 and Kyocera sl300r, or even my Motorola ZN5 mobile phone.

The second is photo viewing software. Firstly, it's not so easy to view multiple photos because it enlarges the picture you have the cursor on, so it covers the photos next to it. Secondly, as has already be noted by some disappointed reviewers, deleting a photo takes you right back to the end. If you've got hundreds or thousands of photos, that's a real irritant. It's true that holding down a direction on the chrome ring will very very quickly flick through the photos to get you back to where you were, but it's a real hassle.

At least on the other hand, when you connect to the computer, there is only 1 folder for the photos, unlike my nikons, which have numerous folders "100dscn", 200dscn" etc.

21. Finally, I've taken a few videos and I've found the HD vids all look smooth on the camera LCD, but very jerky, kind of frame by frame, when i play on my computer. I don't have this problem if I record in 640 x 480 (320?) format though. It's probably my computer being old, but I wonder if anyone else has this problem?

Thanks again for reading :)

Edit 19th April 2011
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I ended up selling my HS10 last year for two main reasons. Writing times were too slow, and the software for reviewing photos was poor. I mean- deleting a photo and taking you to the very end again is pretty bad when you've got hundreds or thousands of photos on your card.

But the reason I'm adding a bit here is that I've been following the reviews of the Fujifilm HS20, which was released recently. It seems to have taken care of most of the problems I mentioned- quicker writing speed, and viewing and deletion of photos, and added a new problem instead- overheating of some part of the camera, which causes the camera to cease working. I can say that for all the hundreds of photos I took with the HS10, I never had overheating for a problem.

Such a pity that Fujifilm can't get such a fantastic camera right.

fujifilm finepix hs10 review from Customer 2
Well...I did it! I made up my mind and purchased the Fujifilm Finepix HS10. After months of reviews, trials and testing, mainly between the HS10 the Sony HX1 and the Canon SX20 I spent the $500.00. First let me say the HX1 and the SX20 are great cameras and both offer things that should be incorporated into the HS10 and then again the HS10 has items that those cameras could use as well.

I am a professional photographer and have been for over 30 years, I have owned everything from a Yashica TL-Electro to a Fujifilm AX-3 to a Nikon F3...and those were my early years. Since then I have had Fuji's lone of S Pro cameras as well as Nikon's and Canon's pro equipment so I know a few things about cameras and their capabilities. Ok, for my HS10 review.

First let me say I was not sure about the manual zoom lens on a digital camera but then again I was used to them since I have plenty of SLR's. However, I must say I really like the manual zoom for still photographs but when it comes to the videos I really do not care for it. In the video mode it is just too jumpy for my taste and does not make for a smooth video. Also, believe it or not you can hear the manual zoom sounds on the video sound track but I have heard of other cameras, including the HX1, that has the same issues with their auto zoom so this is something the camera manufactures need to work on.

The next issue I have is that the camera does have problems focusing when the lens is zoomed out all the way. If you back off the lens just a little bit it seems to focus fine just not at the full zoom. Other then that I have no other complaints about the camera...yet!

The camera takes great photos, even low light without a flash or tripod and even fully zoomed. I used 4 "AA" Alkaline batteries and have taken over 400 photos and the camera is still going strong, no low battery indication as of yet. Out of all my "full zoom" photos, both inside and out, there are only about 2% that are out of focus. I have no problems with the EVF even though the size of the EVF is a bit small but it still works for me. The menus are clear and easy to understand but I find one aspect of it puzzling...If you place the camera into the silent mode, so there are no sounds audible, the flash shuts off and will not work not even manually. If you want the flash to work and not hear all the beeps and bells you have to turn the volume down on each, just a little strange for me.

I really like the fact that you can use filters on the lens, it takes a 58mm filter but if you use the 24mm setting a lot you may want to get the slim frame filter to help stop the vignette that sometimes occurs in the full wide angle setting. I do find it strange that the camera does not come with a lens hood although it does come with a lens cap but that is usually standard with most cameras. The image stabilization works great, I have tried it many times, even grossly moving the camera while taking the picture and 9 times out of 10 the photo comes out on focus. There is some noise when you get to the 800 ISO and over range but that's to be expected, no camera is perfect.

Anyway, that's my opinion for now, I am going on vacation next month so I will put the camera through it's paces then so I will post again later. All in all it's a great camera and I am very happy with the purchase, my only true regret is that the HS10 does not have an auto zoom feature.

fujifilm finepix hs10 review from Customer 3
Had this camera about 2 weeks now..I must say I love it...One camera, one lens, 24mm to 720mm shots with the twist of the lens...have taken clear shots of subjects over a half mile away and been able to see pretty good detail. Adjustments takes some getting used too. Helps to know a little about photography, shutter speeds, F stops, etc. Auto mode is not real good but works for those quick shots that dont have to be perfect..Full manual control lets you dial up your shot to near perfection. Shoots 1080p video, amazingly clear and vivid..This is no point and shoot camera, requires to you take your time and get the shot right and you will be pleased with the outcome of the images. Very sensitive to motion, if you have a shaky hand, use a tripod and timer button, or go with higher shutter speeds and lower f stop number. Shutter can be set to a full 30 second open time which makes this camera almost see in the dark. Again, tripod is a must for long shutter speeds. If you want a professional type camera without the $1000+ cost..I highly recommend this camera. The AA battery power supply is a plus as well. No down time while waiting to recharge. Throw in a new set while the others are charging if you use rechargable or just keep a fresh pack of AA lithiums with you..I use NiMH rechargable with a 12 volt recharger, plugs into cigarette lighter in vehicle, charges a set of 4 AAs in 15 minutes..I keep an extra set to switch to while the others are charging. Batteries will last a long time even after low battery indicator icon shows up on screen. Great camera, thumbs up Fuji, you did ok with this one.

fujifilm finepix hs10 review from Customer 4
I bought the camera for my fourteen year old daughter, who is taking a photography course at is high school.

The camera replaces my old Nikon coolpix, so I wanted something updated with some more advanced functions.

I read many articles for and against the Fuji HS10,
and compare with many similar cameras (Nikon P-100, Canon Si30, etc.) and against all, the Fuji excels.

Many said that the panoramic function was somewhat complicated and not always performed well, I must say that I took several pictures in this format, and is simple and the results are very good.

I'm so happy with the results, that I am looking foward to order a HS 20, as soon as they put it on sale.

Jose Rafael

Updated April, 3, 2011

It's been a month since we have the camera, and I can say that has produced spectacular photos.
You have to get used to the time it takes to record an image , but with a few tricks it can be improved.
Although still a little slow.

The truth is we're very happy with it.

fujifilm finepix hs10 review from Customer 5
The camerea itself is a very ggod one. More so thatn I thought - to my surprises. It was a 'stripped'....completley. It did not even have a cord or a card. It did nome with a charger./connetor to move the info and prepare the camnera. It certainly would have been more viable with at least a card and a manual although both are abailable on line.
My overall experince with the canera, now that I have provided the missing 'links' is good. It is a fine camera.
would have enojoyed recieving at least a manual and yeah,I know it's available on lne............yeah, yeah,

fujifilm finepix hs10 review from Customer 6
Great camera, shipped on time everything was ok with the camera not scratches, everything like new, just the box open but as i said everything was ok

fujifilm finepix hs10 review from Customer 7
i searched for the right camera for almost 3wks reading review, after review, after review.. i reviewed both the d-slr's, the performance (bridge) cameras, And the point and shoot camera's.. i studied about megapixels, that the higher the megapixel doesn't always mean better image quality.. i studied focal points, iso's, etc. etc., and through every camera from the slr's to the p and a's this little hs10 had them All beat.. it matters none if your a beginner or a novice, this thing will keep you clicking that shutter button.. the 24mm-720mm wide angle lens is Outstanding at both ends.. with no zoom you can almost capture the world, with the zoom at 30x you can capture the world a little bit at a time, and the things you captured once shown will absolutely blow you (and your friends, pros to beginners)away!! and the Really good thing about this is it has So many d-slr type features that let you play around a little bit with your photography.. not only can you just point and shoot but you can also adjust the iso levels, the white balance, the focal point, you can adjust the exposure + or -.. it has a manual focus on it also that lets you decide what you want the camera to focus on, not the other way around.. which is Really nice in different types of settings..

i could go on and on about how good this camera is because it's a darn good camera.. my brother, he does it (photography)for a living and he was Very impressed by it.. he even said, you know how many lenses i'd have to carry around to get that range of views?? let's just say, as you can see, that this camera exceeded both mine And my brothers expectations.. i have a little photo blog at this address if you'd like to see just Some of what this camera's capable of.. lifeslaststand.com/wordpress i hope this review helps someone pick this camera cause i promise you, from beginner to someone trying to step up a little in a camera, this one is for you.. d tallman n.c.

fujifilm finepix hs10 review from Customer 8
I haven't had the camera for very long, but I've taken about 200 photos with it and I have to say that I'm really impressed with the image quality. I would recommend this camera to anyone looking for a good "bridge" camera. I just hope it lasts as I'm getting tired of returning things on Amazon!

fujifilm finepix hs10 review from Customer 9
I`m a photo addict. I can take 300 pictures in a few hours with my kids, everyday. I`m not professional, because I don`t earn money with it, but I`m kind a person that LOVES quality, brightness and colorful pictures. This camera does all of this and if you are interested about using manual options you gonna have amazing results too. It`s easy to try and do it.
The automatics are so easy and pratic, that you just click and for sure you have a good shot. If you have the feeling.. to look and see a beautiful picture, you`re going to Love this camera!! I got some pictures that people thinks that were taken by a professional.
My sister knows less than me about pictures, but she liked my camera and bought same for her. And she is really happy with it too.
By the way, this camera is not a camera for going in your bag.. it needs to have the right bag, because the lenses need to be carried safe and soft for impacts. I bought the pack with bag, tripod, bought some filters too. And the fact that this camera uses AA batteries in the beggining I wasn`t so happy with it. But, after 9 months of using, I just think that this is so pratic and easy if you are in your way, in any gas store you can find some new ones.

And at home so fast you can recharge, I bought a 30 minuts recharge (Kodak, about $20) and it works perfectly. I use a lot my camera and I can use 4 or 5 times without changing batteries. I take almost of my pictures without using flash. So 8 good AA batteries and you are ok! (ex: Kodak, Rayovac, Alcalinas.. these are good)

And don`t think about buying sheap batteries, they does work well. The pack of 4 batteries costs about $10, don`t try to save money paying less than that because you will throw your money away. I tryed 3 sheap brands and they doesn`t work even for 2 hours. Waste of money.

fujifilm finepix hs10 review from Customer 10
I have been looking out for HS10 for quite some time. Though Fuji has announced HS20, it was yet to hit the market and I thought the wait may not be worth and as such went ahead with HS10. The 30x zoom shots are equally great as that of the pictures taken at wide angle. Another cool feature that I loved very much is the panoramic feature. The HD Video was excellent and the audio recorded along with the video was also of good quality. I have been using Fujifilm S9600 before and compared to S9600, I see an increased battery life with HS10.

fujifilm finepix hs10 review from Customer 11
Hola a todos, tengo la camara desde hace un par de meses y debo decirles con sinceridad que me ha sorprendido, estuve buscando varias opciones antes de decidirme y me alegra haber elegido la Fuji, su calidad de imagen, su peso, y su uso amigable te da confianza, es importante darle una buena revisada al tutorial para poder potenciar más su uso.
En el representante de la marca en mi pais (Perú), te ofrece sin costo clases para mejor tu performance con la camara.

fujifilm finepix hs10 review

fujifilm finepix hs10 review

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

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