Fujifilm HS10

[KrishnenduKes]

The first time I heard about this camera was here (http://www.thephotographer.in/darkroom/showthread.php?t=720)

I did not want a compact camera. I did not want a superzoom. I did not want anything. I was happy with my DSLR. A very close friend of mine started the hunt for a beginner's camera wherein one could change, vary controls similar to a DSLR but without the feel of the bulkiness, without being encumbered with a plethora of lenses not knowing what to put, possibility of RAW and packing some good features.

There was another thread on P&S cameras (http://www.thephotographer.in/darkroom/showthread.php?t=875) running wherein I started harvesting information to help out my friend who suddenly started having a dire need for a camera "in the next 12 hours"! I was running from pillar to post taking advice from Anvancy, Synn and looking around for stuff. And then finally I came down to three choices, namely the following:

Nikon P100: An excellent camera, only drawback, no RAW
Panasonic FZ35: Another excellent camera, only drawback, more expensive in India despite being 100USD cheaper EVERYWHERE else in the world! I really regret living in this country for having such few choices but then lets not digress!
Fujifilm HS10: Finally advised for this since this was giving the person whatever the requirements were and fitted the cheque perfectly as well.

So here goes:

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0881.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0893.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0865.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0864.jpg

The Control Dials
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0843.jpg

The Zoom at full wide at 24mm equivalent
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0848.jpg

At 80mm
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0849.jpg

135mm
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0857.jpg

300mm
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0852.jpg

And at an extraordinary 720mm!
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0854.jpg

The other controls
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0884.jpg

Tilt Screen
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0867.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0868.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0859.jpg

The Package came in this box:
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0873.jpg

Part of the accessories offered by Fujifilm to lure the buyer
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0872.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/MG_0877.jpg

You can view larger resolution of the photographs here (http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/showphoto.php?photo=1042&size=big&cat=)

I helped the person buy this camera in a bit of a hurry. Nevertheless, the person is extremely happy with the purchase. The cost came out to be 21800 INR with papers and 2years warranty. It also came with 4Ni-mh batteries and charger. A 4GB card was also included.

Thanks to the members of thePhotographer.in (http://www.thephotographer.in/darkroom/) for helping out in making this choice. The moment I manage to get my hands to use this little devil, I will try to present some photographs of what it can do! :D

[ashishtamhane]

The moment I manage to get my hands to use this little devil, I will try to present some photographs of what it can do! :D

Eagerly waiting for that!
:)

At a price of 21800 rs the camera is excellent value for money!

[synn]

So the cat is finally out of the bag!!! :D

I'd personally have picked the Panny though as the DPReview group test suggests, it has an image quality way ahead of that of the Fuji. But hen again like you said, the pricing is horrible.

I don't really get the appeal of the Fuji btw. It has a manual zoom lens, the bulk and pretty much all the controls of an entry level DSLR. WHich means you're giving up that gorgeous APS-C sensor for something that's waaay smaller and would give you noticeably inferior results in anything other than optimal lighting conditions. All for that extra reach. But really, does anyone NEED that much reach? Are they realistically gonna shoot something that needs more zoom than say, 300mm on an APS-C? Witht he Panny or the Nikon, we're safely removed from the realm of DSLRs with emphasis on ease of use and acceptable image quality. This one here blurs the lines and not necessarily in its favor.


Forgive my thoughts though, because I (Like many others here) are on the other side of the fence. My thoughts may not necessarily reciprocate that of a lay person. :)

[KrishnenduKes]

So the cat is finally out of the bag!!! :D

This one here blurs the lines and not necessarily in its favor.


Forgive my thoughts though, because I (Like many others here) are on the other side of the fence. My thoughts may not necessarily reciprocate that of a lay person. :)

Interesting subtle disclaimer there.

I personally would have gone for the Panasonic too if not for the 3K overpricing! But definitely not for the Nikon for its lack of RAW! I am told there are other interesting features too. Let me get hold of it and discover it in its true glory that quite a few have talked about!

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

Play with it sometime Ken.You will know that P&S also has now advanced.

But didnt u check the S200EXR first?Or each camera shop told you that buy this instead of that?

It looks like my S6500.:)

Anvancy

[KrishnenduKes]

Play with it sometime Ken.You will know that P&S also has now advanced.

But didnt u check the S200EXR first?Or each camera shop told you that buy this instead of that?

It looks like my S6500.:)

Anvancy

The camera guys were open on all the three options that we presented. I did not present the S200EXR option for a reason that I do not recall anymore since the time we did the choices...

[powerslave]

Congrats on your purchase! I'm interested to know why you went for something not-so-pocketable. You can carry your 5D anywhere you can carry this. Of course this offers truckloads of more features.

Pretty nice cam though!

EDIT: Just read the post carefully and noticed it's for someone else. The earlier reply was from work where I skimmed through the post quickly.

[KrishnenduKes]

Congrats on your purchase! I'm interested to know why you went for something not-so-pocketable. You can carry your 5D anywhere you can carry this. Of course this offers truckloads of more features.

Pretty nice cam though!

EDIT: Just read the post carefully and noticed it's for someone else. The earlier reply was at work where I skimmed through the post quickly.

As I said, it is not mine. I helped a friend in making this choice!

[KrishnenduKes]

I managed to get hold of the camera today for some time. And I tried to make some use of it.

Now to show you some photographs of what I did this morning.

Parametres: All shots were taken at

-f5.6 at Aperture priority
-at ISO100
-In JPeg format
-Resized and sharpened identically

At 24mm:

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/120.JPG

At 200mm
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/222.JPG

At 500mm
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/49.JPG

At 720mm
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/58.JPG
Note that you can read the number on the registration plate!

And some close ups
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/DSCF0258.JPG

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/DSCF0260.JPG

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/DSCF0261.JPG


Just a little comparison side by side of the 200mm of the HS10 and the 200mm shot with my 5D in f5.6 and ISO100, both resized and sharpened identically.

5D 200mm f2.8 at f5.6
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/39.JPG

FUJI HS10 at 200mm
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/medium/222.JPG

I found the results to be quite interesting. Next time I get the camera, I will try out the RAW modes and try to discover the other features, notably the moving Panorama the 7fps burst and other stuff!

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

do not even think of trying the motion remover feature.Total useless.PS is x times better than that.

Just try shooting a short vid at around 120fps and slow it down to either 25 or 30.(remember the higher fps u go in video the lower the resolution becomes.)

Did you find twisting the camera at 720mm too much??

Anvancy

[KrishnenduKes]

Did you find twisting the camera at 720mm too much??

Anvancy

Twisting??

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

Twisting??

how did you find turning the zoom?

Anvancy

[KrishnenduKes]

how did you find turning the zoom?

Anvancy

Oh I am perfectly fine by it. Most zooms turn like that! I was not surprised. However, since I do not know this camera well enough, I could not get it to AF at 500mm or higher for objects this close. I may have to change some settings.

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

Oh I am perfectly fine by it. Most zooms turn like that! I was not surprised. However, since I do not know this camera well enough, I could not get it to AF at 500mm or higher for objects this close. I may have to change some settings.

Did you try to focus in macro mode??sounds funny but at times it does.

Do not laugh if the camera takes couple of seconds(2-3)for capturing RAW.its slow.

And also during the lowlight situations.it will not focus as a DSLR.but it will focus fast in terms of p&s.

Anvancy

[powerslave]

I am impressed with those images. Could you do 100% crops (or just put full size versions on www.imgur.com) please?

Pixel Peeper alert.

[KrishnenduKes]

I am impressed with those images. Could you do 100% crops (or just put full size versions on www.imgur.com) please?

Pixel Peeper alert.

Ok. Will do. In a while, a day or two. Coz I do not have access to my HD right now.

[powerslave]

No problem. That 30x is impressive though. Really really impressive.

Did you try shooting far away objects with it? (As opposed to the relatively close subject, that was the toy car.) Just wondering how good the IS is on this thing at 720mm.

720mm! Wow.

[synn]

You can get f5.6 at 720mm? That's pretty neat.

[KrishnenduKes]

No problem. That 30x is impressive though. Really really impressive.

Did you try shooting far away objects with it? (As opposed to the relatively close subject, that was the toy car.) Just wondering how good the IS is on this thing at 720mm.

720mm! Wow.

I will try that too.

You can get f5.6 at 720mm? That's pretty neat.

Yeah, I am getting increasingly impressed by some things that this cam can do! Hope to get to use it some more.

I am trying to find what features to turn off to make AF faster. The manual is so complex... finding it tough. The AF is almost as slow as my 5D!

[KrishnenduKes]

Did you try shooting far away objects with it? (As opposed to the relatively close subject, that was the toy car.) Just wondering how good the IS is on this thing at 720mm.

720mm! Wow.

Presenting the "Far Away Object" at various focal lengths. No use talking about IS, coz I could not hold the camera steady at anything more than 300mm. In fact at focal lengths longer than 300mm, I could not even find my subject!!! So I put her on a tripod.

Ok here you go:

24mm equivalent
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/DSCF0334.jpg

200mm
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/DSCF0335.jpg

500mm equivalent
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/DSCF0336.jpg

And 720mm!!!
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/DSCF0337.JPG

The EXIF is identical for all photos other than for the focal length:

Camera Maker: FUJIFILM
Camera Model: FinePix HS10 HS11
Image Date: 2010-07-14 13:22:03 +0530
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 0.0016 s (1/640)
ISO equiv: 100
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Auto
Light Source: Unknown
Flash Fired: No (Manual)
Color Space: sRGB
Photographer: Krishnendu


All photos resized and sharpened identically.

I think the camera does a pretty neat job!

[Devaiah PA]

Presenting the "Far Away Object" at various focal lengths. No use talking about IS, coz I could not hold the camera steady at anything more than 300mm. In fact at focal lengths longer than 300mm, I could not even find my subject!!! So I put her on a tripod.

Ok here you go:

24mm equivalent
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/DSCF0334.jpg

200mm
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/DSCF0335.jpg

500mm equivalent
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/DSCF0336.jpg

And 720mm!!!
http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/565/DSCF0337.JPG

The EXIF is identical for all photos other than for the focal length:

Camera Maker: FUJIFILM
Camera Model: FinePix HS10 HS11
Image Date: 2010-07-14 13:22:03 +0530
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 0.0016 s (1/640)
ISO equiv: 100
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Auto
Light Source: Unknown
Flash Fired: No (Manual)
Color Space: sRGB
Photographer: Krishnendu


All photos resized and sharpened identically.

I think the camera does a pretty neat job!


Is that a telescope in front of a camera :)

[ashishtamhane]

I would like to mention something here.

Dpreview.com had conducted tests on various Super Zoom cameras and the Nikon P100 won there and the Panasonic FZ38 and Canon SX20 IS were the joint second winners. They had also included the HS10. Your take on this?

I would like to know how good is the camera's image quality.

[KrishnenduKes]

I would like to know how good is the camera's image quality.

I have seen the dpreview tests. There is one sure drawback in the P100 and the FZ... they cannot shoot RAW! :)

As for the image quality, I have put up the images right up there. Have a look!

[ashishtamhane]

As for the image quality, I have put up the images right up there. Have a look!

The HS10's images look fine to me, but I am a beginner in photography and thus would like to have your own opinion on the HS10's image quality compared to the Nikon P100 and the Canon SX20IS.

I also got some information from my relative that, historically, Fuji's lenses are not that good compared to Nikon and Canon, and he said that you are better off with a Nikon or a Canon rather than the Fuji. Is this true?

Thanks.

[powerslave]

I have seen the dpreview tests. There is one sure drawback in the P100 .. they cannot shoot RAW! :)


FTFY.(link (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0907/09072704panafz38.asp))

The FZs have supported RAW shooting for a long time now.

[KrishnenduKes]

FTFY.(link (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0907/09072704panafz38.asp))

The FZs have supported RAW shooting for a long time now.

Ok! Thanks.

[simba_smiles]

@Ken...

Samples at 500mm and 720mm are amazingly crisp. IS should be really good in a camera with such capabilities.......but since you used a tripod, it's hard to know for sure.

How about testing the camera's IS, by taking the same 500mm and 720mm shots, first with a tripod, and then holding it steady in your hands. Being a DSLR user for such a long time, with a wide array of big lenses, I'm sure your hands will be a lot steadier than most users.

.....Simba

[KrishnenduKes]

@Ken...

Samples at 500mm and 720mm are amazingly crisp. IS should be really good in a camera with such capabilities.......but since you used a tripod, it's hard to know for sure.

How about testing the camera's IS, by taking the same 500mm and 720mm shots, first with a tripod, and then holding it steady in your hands. Being a DSLR user for such a long time, with a wide array of big lenses, I'm sure your hands will be a lot steadier than most users.

.....Simba

Not really true. I have really shaky hands! :(

But to get back to the topic, it is near impossible to make a clear shot hand held at those focal lengths of 720mm! It is even tough to find your subject!