Best bridge camera advice.

[Hinfrance]

Update on HS20EXR.

What with it being very foggy today I have had a chance to take some low light shots. My conclusions so far are that in good light the camera will give great results in 16mp mode at ISO 100/200. The jpgs are if anything better than the RAWs as the camera applies (some) lens distortion correction to the jpgs automatically and they have good colour and dynamic range. 200% dynamic range is available at ISO 200, 400% at ISO 400, but in these circumstances ISO 200 appears to be plenty. Sharpness is still set to low and NR to standard.

Switching manually to 8mp mode does not seem to offer much in the way of improvement.

In lower light (ie in the fog  ), however, switching to EXR (8mp) mode using the dynamic range setting produces a very noticeable improvement in both noise and resolution performance. So this feature clearly works, at least on my camera, and I reckon that I can now reliably get images I am happy with in most circumstances. Going above ISO 800 in any circumstances leads to a world of pain. The lens appears to be where most of the money has been spent, and that cannot be criticised. Panorama mode works well too, but trying to keep the camera level as you pan over more than the low setting of 120 degrees is not easy. All right, I have managed it yet. 180 degrees, let alone 360 degrees seems an awful long way around. 

I have not yet tried any of the scene modes.

Video is another issue entirely. It works and you can take still pictures during recording. Focusing after zooming is not a strong point and it seems to take ages. So it cannot replace a video camera, but it's a useful emergency add on.

I'll be continuing the testing over the weekend.

[Beaux Reflets]

Looking at the various moon shots taken with bridge type cameras, it appears to me that they will be as good as the lenses optical aspect and the quality of sensor. I have never really bothered with inbuilt digital zoom or 'intelligent' in camera zoom processing, opting to utilise post processing to enlarge the view. I have yet to play around with the HS20 but here's a shot using the S8000fd.

[tonysturn]

If only it would snow ..

I was only joking ........ stop now !!

[Hinfrance]

Snowing heavily here in the Dordogne. As we live at the top of a pretty steep hill and discretion is the better part of valour, I'll let someone else skid across the junction at the bottom into the oak trees on the other side of the 'main' road first.

[SuffolkFox]

Hi,

As well as living in a lovely area, with lots of parkland, estuaries and wildlife, I am off on holiday to Wales next month. With this in mind, I have been looking at getting a decent camera, to replace the 'point and press' one we currently have.

I looked at loads of bridge cameras, and nearly plumped for the Panasonic FZ45 or 48 - but reading this thread, I have gone back to my original hunch - the HS20. There have been some lovely pics on here, the kind of wildlife pics I have wanted to take for ages.

Just wanted to say thanks to Tony and the other posters on here - I'll let you know how I get on!

[Mick]

Hi SuffolkFox, and welcome to CC   

Thanks for dropping in and letting us know you found this thread useful.   

Hope you stick around and join in with the fun.

Rgrds

Mick aka admin.

[Hinfrance]

Welcome SuffolkFox.

Don't forget that the upgraded HS30EXR is out now, with supposedly a better sensor and definitely a better EVF. But at twice the price . . .

[Graham]

  Hi Foxy.
                  Come on in, the water's lovely!
                                 Graham.

[Oldboy]

                  Come on in, the water's lovely!
                                 Graham.

Not if you've got your feet in first! 

[Markulous]

You could always go with the Fuji HS10 which, I'd guess, you can pick up very cheaply these days as per:
http://cameracraniums.com/forum/index.php?topic=2759.0

[SuffolkFox]

Apart from price, what would the advantage of the HS10 be?

[Hinfrance]

Well it's widely reckoned that the HS20's increase in pixel count was a retrograde step in image quality. And it's true that the HS20 is a beggar to get good noiseless pictures out of.

The HS10 is a rather good bridge. Which is why they are MORE expensive than the HS20, on Amazon this morning HS10 £268.94, HS20 £214.95. It was because the HS20 only cost a smidge over £200 that I bought one

[Markulous]

Ah, we must've got the 10 before there was widespread acknowledgement of the 20 as we paid less than £200! I really put up the images as it showed what could be done with the HS10

[Beaux Reflets]

Apart from price, what would the advantage of the HS10 be?

Pop in and look at the Fuji site - http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/ - The specs will help you decide. The camera advances, re zoom and sensor are quite apparent if you read a few independant reviews etc. - You may even look at the Fuji X-S1 as a contender on your list as there appears to be a relationship regarding physical lens size : sensor ratios - Choice depends on what you want and expect to achieve.

The biggest advantage that I have found is the ability to manual zoom; which helps to overcome the auto focus system problems picking up on the scene contrast which may not be the focal point you desire (when for example trying to capture birds amid the branches in a tree and the sky to branch contrast is greater than the plumage at certain focal lengths).

[SuffolkFox]

Eeek!!!

Jessops tell me that the HS20 is no more! Gonna go and play with some cameras tomorrow, rather than buy an HS20 from Argos!

In the meantime, can anyone suggest an alternative? I liked the look of the HS20 for the manual zoom, AA batteries, good quality photos etc.
Is the HS25 worth the extra £100 odd??
Panasonic FX48 maybe?

Just wanna go get my new toy and play!!!