Fujifilm Finepix HS10 / HS11 review Photo Gallery by Jacky Lee at pbase.com

Fujifilm Finepix HS10 / HS11 review

Welcome to my 41 pages of Fujifilm Finepix HS10 / HS11 pictorial review.

Except otherwise expressly stated, all photos were taken by HS10 / HS11 (with firmware version 1.00) in jpg format and handheld condition (sorry for my handshake if any). They were resized and sharpened by Adobe Photoshop CS2 before uploading to the web.

Website Updates:
15.6.2010: No more updates would be added to this review page. Please leave me any of your comments if you wish me to take some more samples / test shots to you. All comments are welcome!
12.6.2010: A new page of "ISO Push" is added (version 1.02).
3.6.2010: A new page of "High ISO Samples" is added (version 1.02).
1.6.2010: More 100% crops of photos are added to the page of "Sample Photos of Firmware 1.02".
31.5.2010: More photos are uploaded to the page of "Sample Photos of Firmware 1.02".
29.5.2010: Some 100% crops of photos are added to the page of "Sample Photos of Firmware 1.02".
28.5.2010: A new page of "Sample Photos of Firmware 1.02" is added.
25.5.2010: A new page of "Multi Motion Capture" is added (version 1.01).
24.5.2010: A new page of "Raw vs Jpg" is added (version 1.01).
23.5.2010: It was really very difficult to take photos of the moon in Hong Kong in the last couple of weeks with overcast sky all the times. A new set of moon photo (firmware 1.01) is added to the page of "Telephoto Shots".
15.5.2010: A test (firmware 1.01) on Light Fall-off effect with an original hood attached in front of the lens is added to the page of "Light Fall-off Test"
14.5.2010: More tests (firmware 1.01) on flash performance for an external flash unit is added to the page of "Flash Test".
13.5.2010: A new page of "Flash Test" (firmware 1.01) is added.
12.5.2010: A comparison of light fall-off effect (firmware 1.01) between HS10 with and without filter is added to the page of "Light Fall-off Test".
11.5.2010: A new page (firmware 1.01) of "Light Fall-off Test" is added. More photos (firmware 1.01) are added to the page of "Black and White Mode".
10.5.2010: A new test (firmware 1.01) is added to the page of "Different Settings of File Size". More photos (firmware 1.01) are added to the page of "Colour Graduations".
9.5.2010: A new page (firmware 1.01) of "Bokeh Samples" is added.
8.5.2010: A new test of different sharpness setting (firmware 1.01) is added to the page of "Sharpness Test".
4.5.2010: A new test of image stabilization (firmware 1.01) is added to the page of "Image Stabilization Test". Some 100% crop photo samples are added to the page of "Sample Photos of Firmware 1.01".
3.5.2010: A new page of "Lens Flare" is added. More photos are uploaded to the pages of "Macro Mode", "CA Test" and "Sample Photos of Snapshot (mainly portrait photos)" and "Flash Performance".
2.5.2010: A new page of "Chrome Mode" is added (firmware 1.01).
1.5.2010: A new page of "Movie Mode" is added (firmware 1.01).
30.4.2010: Two new pages of "Sample Photos of Firmware 1.01" and "Different Settings of Finepix Colour" are added. Two new tests on dynamic range and distortion control in macro mode with the new Firmware 1.01 are added to the pages of "Dynamic Range" and "Distortion Control" respectively.
29.4.2010: A new page of "Sepia Mode" is added.
28.4.2010: A new test is added to the page of "Distortion Control".
27.4.2010: More photos are uploaded to the page of "Super Macro Mode".
26.4.2010: More photos are uploaded to the pages of "Sample Photos of Snapshot", "Pro Low-light Mode", "Distortion Control", "CA Test", "Macro Mode" and "Colour Gradations".
25.4.2010: Two new pages of "Flash Performance" and "Black and White Mode" are added. More photos are uploaded to the pages of "Dynamic Range", "Super Macro Mode" and "Colour Gradations".
24.4.2010: A new page of "Panorama Mode" is added. More photos are uploaded to the pages of "Wide Angle Shots", "Macro Mode" and "24mm vs 720mm".
23.4.2010: A new page of "Pro Low-light Mode" is added. More photos are uploaded to the pages of "Colour Gradations" and "Telephoto Shots".
22.4.2010: More photos are uploaded to the page of "Shutter Speed Test".
21.4.2010: Two new pages of "Different Settings of Colour and Tone" and "Colour Balance" are added. More photos are uploaded to the page of "Night and Indoor Shots".
18.4.2010: A new page of "Resolution Test at Different ISO" is added.
16.4.2010: Two new pages of "Image Stabilization Test" and "Depth of Field Test" are added.
14.4.2010: Two new pages of "ISO Performance" and "Motion Remover Mode" are added.
12.4.2010: A new page of "Dynamic Range" is added.
11.4.2010: A general resequence of the test, including addition of new pages of "Sample Photos of Snapshot", "Super Macro Mode", "Distortion Control", "CA Test", "Resolution Test at Different Aperture" and "Zoom Capability".
7.4.2010: Setup of this review of Fujifilm Finepix HS10.

News:

30.11.2010: Firmware 1.04 is released and incorporates the following items.
1. Custom white balance can be set correctly when an external flash is mounted.
2. On slide show mode, sound of movie recording data can be performed on the HDTV which is connected with the camera via HDMI interface.

You may update the firmware by following this link: http://www.fujifilm.com/support/digital_cameras/software/firmware/s/finepix_hs10/fupd.html

25.5.2010: Fujifilm has released a new firmware update version 1.02 for HS10 / HS11. According to the official website, the firware corrects the problems below.
1. In Raw data a line is visible where colors slightly change when developed by Raw File Converter.
2. Battery indicator turns on too early.
3. When "Image Disp." in set-up menu is set to "Zoom", sometimes image corrupts.

26.4.2010: Fujifilm has released a new firmware update version 1.01 for HS10 / HS11. According to the official website, the firware corrects the problems below.
1. Some distorted images with pin-cushion type can be captured at AE bracketing mode
2. Sometimes unclear details in images
3. In RAW + JPEG mode, JPEG images are sharper
4. Soft image or not smooth enough color gradation in D-range 200, 400% than in 100%

Please have a look at my comments to HS10 in my message left at 29-May-2010 07:34 after my 2-months usage.

Welcome all comments!

<< Page 1: Zoom Capability >>	<< Page 2: Resolution Test at Different Aperture >>	<< Page 3: Resolution Test at Different ISO >>	<< Page 4: 24mm vs 720mm >>	<< Page 5: ISO Performance >>
<< Page 6: High ISO Samples >>	<< Page 7: CA Test >>	<< Page 8: Lens Flare >>	<< Page 9: Sample Photos of Snapshot (mainly portrait photos) >>	<< Page 10: Distortion Control >>
<< Page 11: Wide Angle Shots >>	<< Page 12 : Telephoto Shots >>	<< Page 13: Light Fall-off Test >>	<< Page 14: Depth of Field Test >>	<< Page 15: Bokeh Samples >>
<< Page 16: Image Stabilization Test >>	<< Page 17: Dynamic Range >>	<< Page 18: Colour Gradations >>	<< Page 19: Colour Balance >>	<< Page 20: Sharpness Test >>
<< Page 21: Different Settings of File Size >>	<< Page 22: Different Settings of Colour and Tone >>	<< Page 23: Different Settings of Finepix Colour >>	<< Page 24: Raw vs Jpg >>	<< Page 25: Macro Mode >>
<< Page 26: Super Macro Mode >>	<< Page 27: Shutter Speed Test >>	<< Page 28: Night and Indoor Shots >>	<< Page 29: Flash Test >>	<< Page 30: Real Life Flash Performance >>
<< Page 31: Panorama Mode >>	<< Page 32: Pro Low-light Mode >>	<< Page 33: Multi Motion Capture >>	<< Page 34: Motion Remover Mode >>	<< Page 35: Chrome Mode >>
<< Page 36: Black and White Mode >>	<< Page 37: Sepia Mode >>	<< Page 38: Sample Photos of Firmware 1.01 >>	<< Page 39: Sample Photos of Firmware 1.02 >>	<< Page 40: Movie Mode >>
<< Page 41: ISO Push >>

comment |

William and Mary		25-Feb-2011 16:25
We are grateful to you for making all this information on testing the FX10 available. It has been an enormous help to us in appraising this camera. We thank you warmly

Graham		16-Dec-2010 04:20
I am now using the Duracell (Eneloops). They work fine at 2000, so I hope they stay charged as long as advertised.

Graham		30-Nov-2010 14:16
Starbird, the Eneloop batteries are available here in Canada as Duracell and PC brands (the latter is a Loblaws store brand, and therefor much cheaper. The secret is to only use a slow (trickle) charger - do NOT fast charge your Nimhs, it lowers their life expectancy. Anyway here is my question. Since they are currently only 2000 mAh, do you find them adequate in the HS10? I found that the camera is not responsive to my older 1800s, even when fully charged. It definitely needs a high drain battery, but I can't afford to experiment. I believe that there are 2800 mAh coming soon, but we always get these things later than your Asian markets. Let us all know if you have any answers.

Starbird77		16-Nov-2010 18:37
I love using the Sanyo Eneloop for my HS10! I also use these batteries for the Olympus SP-570 UZ. Great and consistent battery life! Don't settle for lower quality rechargeable batteries. This brand and type is the best to date.

Guest		16-Nov-2010 13:52
I just checked my HS10's firmware... It already has the v. 1.03 in it. :-)

Starbird77		16-Nov-2010 10:50
I was actually deciding whether to get the Canon SX30 IS or the HS10... the HS10 looked more appealing. Thank you again, Jacky for this amazing, detailed review!

Starbird77		16-Nov-2010 10:24
Let me add that a bridge camera can also produce stunning photos, but for printing and publication purposes, a DSLR rules. For me, a camera is a camera regardless of brand, model and type. And that is why I own several brands, models and types of it. I just had to acquire the HS10! :-)

Starbird77		16-Nov-2010 10:16
I would say, a great, balanced and objective review of the HS10! Thank you for this very comprehensive work you've poured your heart into. As a result, I got the HS10 yesterday and immediately used it; fiddling and tweaking the various settings and plethora of wonderful features the camera had to offer. I've read so many, many reviews and I've always wondered why there were a lot of negative comments about the camera. I concluded that many of those who have posted comments do not really understand the camera very well. My old bridge camera was the Olympus SP-570 UZ, and I've taken thousands of photos with it despite some of its weaknesses. A bridge camera has a category of its own and can never produce stunning photos like a DSLR does. I own a DSLR, too and I use it when and if I have to. But, a bridge camera like the HS10 is just wonderful to have and use. The auto-focusing even in the longer zoom range is good! I struggled with my Olympus 20x zoom in this area. I instantly fell in love with the 'pro low light ' mode and the HS10 can handle 'noise' fairly well. The HS10 has been with me for less than 24 hours. Still a lot of clicking, tinkering and tweaking to do to understand the photo application for different kinds of environment and lighting. The only grievance I have is, the electronic viewfinder is really small making it hard for me to aim and focus. The Olympus SP-570 UZ even had a better EVF. I am extremely dependent on the EVF. I use it 99% of the time. :-) I will post more comments after I've spent more time with this amazing camera. Alice (Quezon City, The Philippines)

Grahan		27-Oct-2010 21:26
Technical boffins have confirmed that Firmware Version 1.0.3 for the HS10 contains the following fix: Correction of Korean text in the image search function This from the finepix website, explains why it isn't being touted as an inportant upgrade. Not sure how the poor Koreans feel about that.

Guest		24-Oct-2010 15:17
Checked it again ( you got me doubting myself). 1.03

Jacky Lee		24-Oct-2010 14:00
It is very interesting to note that your HS10 is upgraded to firmware 1.03, which could not be found in the Fuji official website

Davis		23-Oct-2010 21:26
My HS10 arrived 19 Oct with firmware version 1.03

Graham		20-Oct-2010 03:36
Hi Nauzer, Glad you found your Quicktime converter. Now try Oloneo.com for their amazing HDR manipulation features. The Beta version is currently free and it is one of the few programs that support Fuji .raf RAW files. You can convert camera raw straight to TIFF, and then play with the results in Adobe or any other software of your choice. I do not recommend using Silkypix for RAW conversion as it only saves to jpeg, at which point you should have shot jpeg on the HS10 in the first place.

nauzer -India		17-Oct-2010 15:24
To : Graham in Toronto, Hi Graham, I have zeroed in on : "Ojosoft Total" software to convert my Quicktime files to any other type I want. Its a paid software but its damn simple and good. B rgds/Nauzer

Guest 2		02-Oct-2010 15:59
This is a fantastic review - thanks! Re image quality - I am a Canon 50D user with 2.8 lenses - but like many others am tired of hauling kitbag around. What size image has anybody printed up to? I like prints at 12" x 18" minimum... Anybody taken the HS10 to a wedding?!

Nauzer Batha		29-Sep-2010 17:11
Thanks Graham, shall try this URL out. Wrm Rgds/Nauzer

Graham in Toronto		22-Sep-2010 03:22
Nauzer, there are many tools on the internet that will allow you to convert Quicktime movies into other formats. Some of these are free dowmloads - go to Videohelp.com and look under How To (convert) for many recommendations, along with user reviews. Don't dispose of your DVD player just yet, as you will have to convert the Quicktime files sooner or later, if only for the sake of your friends who ask for copies.

Jacky Lee		18-Sep-2010 01:57
I would recommend Sanyo Eneloop 2000mAh because of its stability.

Xavier		16-Sep-2010 21:30
Wouahh, I'm about to buy the HS10 and have just seen your tremendous test job. A huge thumb up, bravo ! By the way, what battery would you recommend ? Xavier from Paris.

Jacky Lee		16-Sep-2010 13:36
I don't have a DVD player so I may not be in a good position to give you any comments about yout enquiry. Any other friends here may help?

Nauzer		16-Sep-2010 05:04
Dear Jackie, Tks for acknowledgement to the firmware querry, but any suggestions to my other question on "Quicktime" recording which I had posted anticipating to receive your advice ? Rgds.

Jacky Lee		14-Sep-2010 14:23
So far I haven't heard of any updates to the firmware of HS10. I will let you know if a new firmware is released.

Nauzer		14-Sep-2010 13:46
Hi Jackie and Everyone, Just heard that Fuji has come out with one more latest firmware update for HS-10 to its existing 1.02 Any clue if this is correct ? Rgds / Nauzer

Nauzer		14-Sep-2010 13:41
Hello Jackie, I just transferred / downloaded a small video shot with my HS-10 on my PC and it plays back only with Quick-Time. I transfered that by burning a CD but it does not play on my DvD player. Guess kinda stuck with viewing on my PC only. What is the way out of this besides getting a new DvD player that could perhaps play CDs recorded with Quick-Time ? Pls advice. Thanks.

Jacky Lee		30-Aug-2010 17:24
Graham, Thx for your info.

Graham in TO		24-Aug-2010 14:13
PS to the OLONEO story. I neglected to emphasise that the current Beta is relatively bug-free from what I can detect. It is the perfect RAW conversion program, even if all you do is save as a TIFF and switch to Lightroom, PSE or CS2 (and up) for furher manipulation. It doesn't have tools to correct barrel distortion or CA, however - HS10 internal workings on the JPEG files still work miracles in that regard. It does do a good job of noise elimination on merged multiple shots from what I can tell.

Graham in Toronto		24-Aug-2010 14:05
Jacky, For the benefit of your own experimentation and that of your guests, there is a new program in Beta 2, that you can download for free, called OLONEO. It imports HS10 RAW files quickly and then allows you to play around with the HDR and other processes intuitively by using sliders. The "detail" slider is particularly useful as it appears to add subltle sharpness to the softer "out of camera" JPEG images. It does everything in real time, and is super fast and responsive. There is a user blog on Flickr, including one extensive review by a pro. He compares the multi shot HDR capability with three other programs with startling results. It has changed my hesitancy about keeping the camera. Since it is free at the moment, I urge everyone to give it a try, especially as we know SILKY only converts to JPEG, whereas OLONEO will give you a more useful and standard TIFF file. It loads an endless array of camera RAW formats, as well as JPEG and TIFF files. I hope this note is useful.

Syafi		22-Aug-2010 04:52
Hi, Jacky you said the HS10 is not a good camera for family to catch babies and kids photos as well as fast moving object, is it because of the camera slower speed in recording images and clearing its buffer, Would it be better and faster if instead of 10mp i used 5mp for example to catch these kind of fast moving object and kids playing in park. Thank you.

Guest		17-Aug-2010 12:34
Hi Jacky, I was just hanging about the web, looking for pictures taken by Fuji HS 10. I'm a French guy and I ordered this camera in the end of July (but it is currently out of stock). Anyway, while waiting after it, I've enjoyed your work very much as the quatlity of the picture sounds real good and it gives me a good idea of how extended the HS 10 features are. I hope my future camera will already be updated according to the last 1.02 firmware. Lookin' for some fresh news. THANKS !

Jacky Lee		13-Aug-2010 15:11
I am sorry to hear about your sad story. I guess it may be just a problem in some individual units since I have also heard from two of my readers reporting the same to me recently.

Graham		13-Aug-2010 01:40
Hi Jacky, I finally got my hands on the HS10, and guess what? The bugger keeps freezing on me. Every time this happens (triggerered by a variety of different actions on my part) I have to open the battery cover to kill the power, and then reboot. Have you, or any of your readers had similar experiences with this model? It shipped with firmware version 1.02, and the thing that sets it off seems to be any attempt on my part to reverse an action by pressing the (wrong?) button. Most irritating - I shall of course return it for a replacement, and pray that this was simply a malfunction on this single unit.

Jacky Lee		11-Aug-2010 19:05
Hi Guillermo, In the shooting menu, you can set the "HS movie speed" where you can change the fps rate to take slow motion video. You may find a sample of 10ftp here:http://www.pbase.com/middlehill/image/123452389

Nauzer Batha		10-Aug-2010 15:04
Ok Jackie, Tks for your kind revert. I will try out the 30Sec timer for my night alphabet photography. In the mean time - I eagerly await your find on a remote for HS-10. Pls do contact me via email when you find one . Thanks again.

Guillermo		10-Aug-2010 08:26
Hi! I have a question for you, how you find the slow motion video feature? Also, would you please take a burst in 10fps of some subject in action (sports, cars, etc) Thanks!

Jacky Lee		06-Aug-2010 15:34
Hi Nauzer, HS10 has 30s long time exposure, which I believe suits most of the situations. As far as I know, no remote control could be used with HS10. Instead, you may use 10s timer to minimize the vibration. I am still searching one locally made "remote" control if there is one.

Nauzer Batha		04-Aug-2010 16:58
Dear Jackie, 1) Unfortunately HS-10 has no Bulb setting. How can we alternatively compensate for long exposure shot. ? 2) Such a good camera and no IR or corded remote ? Can a locally available corded remote be compatible through the DC -In jack ? k rgds/Nauzer - India

Cheryl		17-Jul-2010 15:12
I wanted to say THANK YOU. I have had this camera suggested to me and after researching it online was left very confused as to whether it would take the pictures I'm looking for. I am stepping up from a compact to this and am now convinced this will do me fine. Reviews are great but in this case a picture truely does say a thousand words. Thank you for all the effort you have put into posting all of these pictures.

Jacky Lee		10-Jul-2010 05:08
No post-editing were applied to all 100% crops. For sure is that I would recommend to use L in taking photos in most of time in order to capture the finest details, but if you are running short of memory, using S is not a big problem. What you have to do for large prints is just to upsize the photos in photoshop.

Graham		09-Jul-2010 17:28
Thanks again for your courtesy. I see no real problems with any of your shots, assuming that the crops on page 2 have not been edited in any way. I also apologise if I am not following your samples properly, but they are so prolific that I have had a problem keeping up. As you can tell, I am an enthusiast, but not an expert in any way, 10x8 being my largest print size to date, I think even 5 mp may suit my ordinary snapshot use, and save 10mp for the occasional creative outbursts.

Jacky Lee		09-Jul-2010 17:12
Corner softness can usually be seen for such a camera with a high zoom lens. You may refer to my P.2 test page for more detail. Regarding your concern about the file size, you may refer to my P.21 test page for more detail.

Graham from TO		08-Jul-2010 12:37
Thanks Jacky, but I was wondering if you had an opinion at all about the alleged "softness" (or smudging, as one critic described it). I don't typically print larger than the ten by eight that my Canon printer supports (might try 11x17 at the outside one day), so my main concern is clean definition at that level. On my Lumix FZ7, I usually scale back to 4mp for snapshots at 4x6, and wonder what the hs10 is like at the 5mp setting. Any comments? BTW you are the most patient photog I have encountered for a long time, answering all the questions must take up a lot of your time.

Jacky Lee		08-Jul-2010 11:47
All posted pictures were post-processed in Photoshop in two steps (except the 100% crops) as mentioned in my desciption at the top of this page: "They were resized and sharpened by Adobe Photoshop CS2 before uploading to the web." You may refer to my 100% crop to see the "real" performance of HS10 in some of the sub-folders of my test. Regarding the in-camera sharpening engine, you may refer to my P.20 test page. Since resizing of photo would result in blurred image, a certain degree of unsharp mask must be applied in order to reflect the "original" sharpness of the photo. HS10 is a very portable camera for daily and travel use.

Graham in Toronto		07-Jul-2010 14:34
Wow! I spent hours researching this camera on the net, and now your efforts have rewarded me with the most helpful of all information. Most reviews say images are soft, and I see that you indicate that most of your posted pictures have been post processed in Photoshop. What steps do you take? I do not want to do any post procesing 90% of the time so do you feel that the in-camera sharpening will satisfy me? How do you feel about posting a few un manipulated (straight from the camera) shots when you get the time, perhaps indicating what level of sharpening you employed? I am really keen to get a good portable camera that avoids all the lens changing of a DSLR, and this looks like a winner.

gulam		05-Jul-2010 04:23
thanks lee

Guest		04-Jul-2010 10:24
Absolutely bravo! A great and detailed and useful report for all level. Particular novice like me with this complicated but functional prosumer DC. A great leads for me to the different setting in camera use. I will download the report and use as supplement to operation manual!

Jacky Lee		04-Jul-2010 05:02
Hi gulam, The zoom range of HS10 is 24-720mm. I didn't test the exact angle of view of the zoom range, but the theoratical DIAGONAL angle of view should be somehow between 84 degree to 3 degree.

gulam		04-Jul-2010 04:22
please let me know angle of view of hs10

Jacky Lee		03-Jul-2010 17:51
Hi gulam, (1) Pls be reminded that the sensor of HS10 is 4:3 in format while 300D is 3:2, so it is hard to compare the exact diagonal angle of view between these two cameras. (2) 300D is a APS-C camera while HS10 is only a bridge camera. I guess the image quality of an APS-C camera must be better than a bridge camera with a such a small sensor of 1/2.3". (3) When comparing noise performance, you have to compare apple to apple, but not apple to orange. The noise performance of a large sensor camera should be better than that of a small sensor camera. (4) In conclusion, if you need quality, buy a lens to your 300D; if you need convenience, buy HS10 (24mm-720mm), which covers you at least 3 lens: 24-105, 100-400 and 600mm. (5) The other choice for you is that you may buy both the cheap lens AND HS10. Do the image quality comparison by yourself (remember to take into account the factor of convenience). Then you may get your own answer and you can choose to resell either the cheap lens or HS10 after your test/use. I always suggest my friends to buy both of your potential choices if you can bear the little risk for reselling them at a discount to the 2nd hand market, with the benefit that you can know better about the gears, and most importantly, your purpose/habit of photography!

gulam		03-Jul-2010 14:25
please let me know angle of view of hs10 lense and how compare to dslr 300mm focal lenth , i have canon 300d 6 mp image is far superb then hs10, but i wanna buy zoom lense i have option 18-200 and 70-300 (very cheap) and hs10 noice is killing me i am feeling that fuji cheated me

Norbert Lohrum		21-Jun-2010 14:15
Hello Jacky, I own a Konica-Minolta Dimage A2 since about five years. Even though I'm almost happy with it, I've searched for a potential replacement. So I was curious about the HS10 since I read the first announcement about it. Here in Germany (maybe also in other countries), a large discussion about the image quality of the HS10 happens. This made me unsure about to buy the HS10 or not. Your well commented pictures and crops told me the truth: The image quality could be better but is good enough for my purposes and the outstanding Telephoto and Macro capabilities are just amazing. So I decided to buy a HS10. Thanks a lot for your fantastic work. You made my day :-) Best regards from Germany, Norbert Lohrum

Guest		13-Jun-2010 18:32
having read a few reivews and many forum comments this is the camera i will purchase in the next few days.... thanks for this particular review and its detail

Ralf		29-May-2010 11:41
Hello Jacky, thank you for the exhaustive answer, also on behalf of many other users. You confirm my impressions, gained using the last 3 generations of Fujifilm bridge cameras and that Fuji has managed to make it all work well with a new sensor and 30x manual zoom. Thank you again for your highly professional approach!!! Ralf

Jacky Lee		29-May-2010 07:34
Hi Ralf, Thank you for your appreciation. My little pieces of comment over this camera could be summarized as follows: (1) HS10 offers 24mm with 30x zoom (to 720mm). There is currently no other competitor with such design. I am a user of SLR for nearly 20 years and has been seeking for a single lens/prosumer camera with wide angle and long zoom capability for daily use. I had Tamron 28-300 in the past but still it is too heavy to be a daily-carry camera. I have been waiting and waiting, from the 10x megazoom era, 20x megazoon era and now 30x megazoom era. It is really a good news for me since HS10 starts from 24mm, which is very useful for taking landscape / architecture photos. (2) In terms of sensor size, although there are many critisms about why Fujifilm did not choose a large sensor in HS10 (e.g., 1/1.7") as a flagship model, I don't think that the 1/2.3" BSI CMOS does a poor job. For sure is that if Fujifilm chose 1/1.7", the image quality may be better, but the drawback is that the overall size and weight of HS10 would also be increased to such a degree that it may not be suitable as a daily-carry camera. Small camera means that it is better for you to take street snapshots with long zoom end since your subjects would not easily realize what photos you are taking. (3) In terms of colour, HS10 always produces natural gradations, both in sunny and cloudy days, which is not the same taste as the Fuji SuperCCD (like slide). Personally I love this arragement because it leaves more flexibility in post-editing. If you don't like post-editing, you can still produce saturated images by setting HS10 in slide mode or adjust the "Colour and Tone" setting inside the HS10 menu. (4) High ISO performance is very good. I don't expect a 1/2.3" sensor could deliver such high quality in high ISO. The newly developed BSI technology and the in-built jpg processing engine in HS10 should be appreciated in this aspect. (5) CA control is excellent. I can hardly find any CA in photos with high contrasty edge. If you take raw, CA will not be corrected. (6) Distortion control is also good in jpg. You can hardly find any noticeable distortion in wide angle shot in daily use. For sure is that if you are serious architectual photographer, you would choose DSLR or even lens with manual perspective control. Distortion remains there in raw images. (7) Lens flare control is nice. In most of the time, the lens flare is acceptable while sometimes you would find lens flare in terms of some small circles at the opposite diagonal side of the light source, which could easily be removed in PS. (8) Light fall-off is not a big issue in wide angle shot in daily use. (9) HS10 is not a camera for serious protrait shots although it can zoom to 720mm because the min. focus distance is 2m. The DoF and bokeh effect could not be comparable to DSLR. In my experience, for head shot or half body shot, 300mm is desirable because the min. focus distance could be shorter, thus resulting in a blurrer background. Despite this, DoF and bokeh effect in macro or super macro shots are quite impressive because you can get closer to the subject to create an even blurrer background. (10) Image stabilization is rather effective. (11) Built-in flash is reliable in most of the times, but sometimes images would be over-exposued if you adjust auto ISO 1600 or higher. I usually set auto ISO 400 when using built-in flash. (12) Focus speed is acceptable in properly-lit situations, but rather slow in poorly-lit ones, and sometimes even fail to focus unless you activate the focus assist lamp. Focus assist lamp is not always desirable because it may disturb your subjects. Remember to switch off the focus assist lamp when you take street snapshots. (13) MF ring is only a gimmick, which is not useful in my opinion. (14) Sweep panorama in handheld situation is not good. You may have to try many many times to get a successful panorama shots. (15) Pro-low mode is very good in low-light scenes without tripod. (16) Multi Motion Capture and Motion Remover Mode are not as good as demonstrated in Fujifilm website. There are many restictions for such modes to deliver successful results. (17) Black and White mode is good. (18) Final words: HS10 is good for daily shots, street snapshots, landscape, architecture, close-up, flower and night shots, but not good for protrait, sport, fast-moving objects and baby.

Jacky Lee		29-May-2010 06:28
Hi Martin, I have only updated the new firmware 1.02 for three days and it may not be fair enough for me to make a comment of it over the previous firmware. But so far, what I really notice is that photos of DR200% and DR400% taken by firmware 1.02 are obviously better than that taken by firmware 1.00. In other aspects, I don't see any obvious difference (in terms of picture quality).

Ralf		29-May-2010 06:19
Hello Jacky, I have been following your site for over a month and can only thank you for making this increduble effort to share this camera with the rest of the world. It seems that you prefer to let the pictures you take do the talking, but I would like to have your personal overall impression of the HS10, not compared to other cameras, but what you think, as a fotographer, of this product, and especially as a clearly consumer oriented camera. Thank you in advance, even if choose to avoid an opinion/judgement, I am sure you have made plenty of people happy with this site!!! Ralf

Martin		28-May-2010 20:06
Hi Jacky, an thanks for super-quick reaction :-) Whats your impression about the new Firmware ?? Does the quality became better ? I´m a bit bit courius about your Fotolocations ! I´d been in Hongkong 5 years ago, and I really liked and enjoyed your Homecity !! I still wear everyday a watch, I bought in Hongkong :-) Greetings Martin

Jacky Lee		28-May-2010 17:11
Hi Martin, Sample photos of firmware 1.02 are uploaded.

Martin		27-May-2010 18:18
Hi Jacky, the new 1.02-Firmware is now 2 days old, and the world (expecially me ;-)) ) waits for your pictures, explanations and experiences with it !! (Text isn´t ment totally serious, just a little ;-)) ) Greetings from Martin/Germany

Jacky Lee		27-May-2010 14:43
Hi Bob, Yes, Fujifilm released the new firmware 1.02 on 25.5.2010. I will upload some of the new photos taken by the new firmware asap.

Bob		27-May-2010 11:58
Thanks for a very informative revue. Your revue has given me the confidence to buy the HS10 and i'me very happy with it.....Just thought i would let you know that there is a new firmware 1.02 out now.

Jacky Lee		27-May-2010 02:36
Hi GULAM KHATRI, I don't have P100 and 300D so it is not fair for me to comment on the comparison of the image quality of the three cameras. My advice is that: (1) P100 starts with 26mm while HS10 starts with 24mm. If you always take wide angle landscape photos, P100 may not be good enough. (2) The closest focus distance of HS10 is 1cm while that of P100 is 10cm. If you always take macro shots, HS10 would be better. (3) HS10 offers 30s long time exposure while P100 offers 8s only. If you love light painting, 8s may not be long enough. (4) HS10 supports external flash while P100 does not. A greater flexibility is offered by HS10 in this aspect. (5) P100 does not record raw format. If you love full control of post-editing, P100 may not be good enough. (6) HS10 has portrait beauty skin mode, while P100 does not. (7) HS10 support sweep panorama, while P100 does not. (8) LCD resolution of P100 is better than HS10. (9) HS10 is nearly 1.5 times heavier than P100 (incl. batteries). You may find review of P100 here: http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4300&review=nikon+coolpix+p100 http://www.photographybay.com/2010/02/23/nikon-p100-hands-on-review/ http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/nikon_coolpix_p100_review/ http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/nikon/coolpix_p100-review http://www.adorama.com/alc/article/Product-Review-Nikon-Coolpix-P100 http://www.neutralday.com/nikon-coolpix-p100-in-depth-review/ http://www.photoxels.com/nikon-p100-image-quality.html

GULAM KHATRI		26-May-2010 11:57
HELLO FRIEND I AM CONCIDERING BUYING NEW CAMERA I HAVE CANON 300D WITH 18-55 LENSE , I AM CHOOSING NIKON P100 OR FINEPIX HS10 , REASON . 1 I NEED ZOOM , 2, I NEED VIDEO AND STILL IN SINGLE PACKAGE , MAY I KNOW IMAGE QUALITY OF HS10 / P100 WILL BE BETTER THEN MY CANON D300 ?? PLEASE REPLY SOON AND IF POSSIBLE PLEASE REPLY ON GULAMKHATRI@GMAIL.COM

Jacky Lee		24-May-2010 18:41
Hi cat, A new page of "Multi Motion Capture" is added (version 1.01) for you. I will take more photos in this aspect in the coming days.

Jacky Lee		18-May-2010 01:53
Hi cat, I will test the "multi motion capture" in a couple of days and post the photos here asap. Thanks for your advice.

geodumi74		17-May-2010 09:19
Incredible work you've done here. THANK YOU

cat		16-May-2010 13:40
Hi Jackie Many thanks for your in depth review, I have got my HS 10 last Friday and testing it. May be I missed something in it (but not sure ;-))), have you tested the "Multi Motion Capture" ? I have tried it with no effective result as if instead copying the 5 photos to a single one, it was choosing the best one. And the manual is wrong for this feature as in English and French there is the same comment for "Multi Motion Capture" and "Motion Remover". It seems you need to choose 0,5 or 1 sec in between shots to get some result. Thanks for your "lights" on this topic - Cat - France

Jacky Lee		12-May-2010 08:44
Hi Martin, Thank you very much for your appreciation.

Martin		11-May-2010 18:52
Hallo Jacky Lee, last saturday I - finally and happily - received my HS-10 Cam. Your Page with the lots of sample pics had been really a help for choosing the right adjustments in the programms ! Thank you very much for your work, and for sharing it freely with us ! Greetings from Hamburg/Germany Martin

Jacky Lee		08-May-2010 16:53
Hi Andrew, Pls refer to the below link for the sharpness comparison: http://www.pbase.com/middlehill/hs10_sharpness_test

Andrew		08-May-2010 06:33
Jacky - wow - what a lot of work you have done, great compositions. Can you take some pictures with sharpness on the 3 settings - hard, standard, soft? Two web reviews have commented on the standard setting being too aggressive. thanks

Jacky Lee		05-May-2010 07:02
Hi Thomas, You may wish to refer to here to have a look at the sample movies: http://www.pbase.com/middlehill/hs10_movie_mode

Thomas		04-May-2010 21:46
Thx for all of the photo's I also bought this camera based on these pictures (here i could see how it would perform in low light). I'll receive my camera tomorrow and i hope my photo's will be as good as yours. I'm very interested in the movie feature. That is the main reason I bought this instead of a low-class DSLR. thanks

Guest		02-May-2010 08:37
Thank you for your wonderful pictures. Pictures of Jacky Lee and Dave Lloyd are the best! Other 1000 HS10-users produce s.h.i.t., cry/write nonsens about it and send back the camera :-)

Jacky Lee		01-May-2010 14:19
Hi guest leaving msg at 01-May-2010 05:40, I haven't tried to use external flash since what a pity that external flash does not support metering. BTW, I will try this function in a couple of days.

Sbolo		01-May-2010 06:26
Thanks, Jacky. Judging from the clips, I think the camera performs adequately in this area, although they are not as sharp as I expect, and the camera also seems to be a bit slow in making exposure adjustments.

Guest		01-May-2010 05:40
Hi Jacky, Do you use external flash? If yes, post here some photos with external flash with your comment. Thanks

Jacky Lee		30-Apr-2010 19:14
Hi Sbolo, You may wish to click the below link for the sample movies: http://www.pbase.com/middlehill/hs10_movie_mode

Jacky Lee		29-Apr-2010 09:55
Hi Jean-Luc, From my rough measurement, for single shot, the delay is about: (1) jpg shot - 2s (2) raw shot - 5s (3) raw + jpg shots - 7s In continuous shooting mode, the delay is about: (1) jpg (max. 10fps - but only 7 frames could be recorded) - 10s (2) raw (max. 5fps - but only 6 frames could be recorded) - 22s (3) raw + jpg (max 5fps - but only 5 frames could be recorded) - 24s

Guest		29-Apr-2010 07:13
Hi Jacky What's wonderful site. It's a temple for the pictures! About the HS10, I have read that the delay between 2 shoots is around 2sec for jpeg and 5 for raw and also the delay after one shoots sequence (around 15 seconds). It's the reality for you? Jean-Luc in Toulouse, France

Chris		28-Apr-2010 22:29
Thanks Jacky. I appreciate your thoroughness in highlighting what this camera can actually do. It really is all about the pics. I am now even more convinced I made the right decision in purchasing this camera. Thanks/ Chris/ USA

Jacky Lee		28-Apr-2010 22:16
Hi Sbolo, Let me do it in a couple of days.

dadi		28-Apr-2010 15:26
Hello Jacky. Great job! I am very interested in buying this camera. Your shots help me to decide. I think ... yes! Greetings from Rome, Italy.

Sbolo		28-Apr-2010 12:17
I should really appreciate if you would post a few movie samples. Nothing fancy, just random clips of everyday scenes to show us how the camera performs. Some people have uploaded such clips to YouTube and elsewhere, but most of them are so badly taken (mainly due to wild zooming & panning) that they can be hardly regarded as "samples". I trust you can do a much better job. Thanks for your efforts in hosting this great site.

Jacky Lee		27-Apr-2010 06:54
Hi Andy, The lens hood of HS10 is the same as that of S9600. https://secure.fujifilm.co.uk/shop/consumer/digital/digital-accessories/spares/lens-hood-for-finepix-s6500fd-s9500-s9600-16830

Jacky Lee		26-Apr-2010 17:10
Hi guest leaving msg at 22-Apr-2010 09:57, I took a photo of portrait, aiming to have a blurred background here: http://www.pbase.com/image/123973858

Karissa		25-Apr-2010 12:45
I have to post my comment again as you have been adding great reference pictures here so frequently. It is the best HS10 pictures site with excellent information and sample pictures. Thank you so much, Jacky.

Jacky Lee		24-Apr-2010 12:59
Hi guest, Manual focus is not a good experience to me. The manual focus ring is too narrow (only 1cm wide) and designed extremely near to the camera body (behind the zoom ring, which is 3cm wide). A normal man's finger would find the focus ring difficult to turn. What's more is that manual focus is not easy to use. Although the center of the frame (both in LCD and EVF) would automatically be enlarged (I don't know the enlarged figure -- 10x?) for your better determination of whether the object is in focus, the resolution of both LCD and EVF is too low for you to determine the exact focus point. However, I think that AF is reliable (although not fast enough to be compared with DSLR), except in extreme dim condition where the object distance is too far away in such a way that the AF illuminator could not reach the object. In extreme dim conditions where AF illuminator could reach the object, the focus is still good.

guest		23-Apr-2010 17:46
Thanks for your review, your work is really great that provide a fair view for us...! I have not tried the camera but how do you evaluate the manual focus ring?... do you think it really works? or just a gimmick?..

Jacky Lee		23-Apr-2010 16:53
Hi nemo66, I also tried the panorama mode but the result is not impressive. The image is not clear enough. http://www.pbase.com/middlehill/hs10_panorama

nemo66		23-Apr-2010 08:21
Now more than 700 images shoot with one charge on Eneloops.Still going on with red warning. To bad that i will send back the HS10 because of unpredictable bad image quality from middle zoom up, sometimes even at wide. Issues like dust inside the lens after just a couple of days, stuttering power-on dial and bad implemented "special features" like panorama mode that seems to be the worst from all cameras with this feature on market, crackling noise in movies, zooming almost impossible while filming because lacking smoothness....and many other issues makes my decision final. I am really sad about that....

Jacky Lee		22-Apr-2010 16:30
See whether I could get some models for the portrait shots. Any volunteers from Hong Kong?

Guest		22-Apr-2010 09:57
Great photos! I've been waiting for a review of HS10 like this since the official release. My question was also answered that it can produce photos with shallow depth of field (w/ blur background) even at full telephoto/720mm (like the shots of the birds). If you don't mind, can you add portraits of people(w/ blur background)?Thanks.

nemo66		22-Apr-2010 08:13
Regarding Batteries! I managed to get more than 500 images using Eneloops. Most of time is used EVF and no flash. Think that´s a very good readout.

Jacky Lee		22-Apr-2010 07:48
I did not try the video function because I am not a good videoman. If you wish, I may try to take some and upload them to the web in a couple of days.

Guest		22-Apr-2010 02:45
Thanks for this review. Did you try the video (1080p) function?

Karissa		22-Apr-2010 01:21
Hi Jacky, thanks for the great photos. I bought the camera before seeing your pics and I am happy to have bought a camera that is capable of all these beautiful shots. Really appreciate your effort to arrange the pictures into different categories. Looking forward to seeing more great photos form you. Thanks/Hong Kong

Morguenov		21-Apr-2010 19:20
Best megazoom! I see sample photos.

Jacky Lee		21-Apr-2010 19:17
Hi Akhilesh, No original full size sample photos are uploaded because each of them amounts to about 3M in file size. I have to pay more to pbase.com if my account capacity is increased. Despite this, I have already made some crops of the original full size photos in 100%. Click on the 22 pages to see the enlargements if you wish.

Akhilesh Singh		21-Apr-2010 19:11
The review is good, but the images are very low res. Please post the full resolution images.

Shaun Gibbs		21-Apr-2010 06:56
Hi Jacky Lee, These are really great pics from the HS10. Can't wait to get mine. I love the night pics especially. Thanks Shaun Gibbs

Jacky Lee		20-Apr-2010 07:12
Hi Kevin, I use 4 nos. of Sanyo Eneloop 2000mAh to drive the camera. LCD display is always on without flash. The batteries can take 200 shots before the batteries warning signal blinks, after which you can still take more than 100 photos before all power is consumed. If you set in continuous shooting, 600 shots could even be taken. Regarding the flash performance, I would say that Auto flash is very accurate for indoor shot at 24mm focal length. No obvious light fall-off could be noted at the corners, which proves that the flash could cover the entire 24mm angle. However, force flash and slow sync is not a good experience. It always over-exposes the object if it is too near to the camera. I would prefer to use Auto all the times. You can set flash compensation in the menu in 1/3 increment from -2/3 to +2/3. Although it would be better for Fuji engineer to design a flash compensation button separately, it is rather unfair for us to compare it (being a prosumer camera only) with DSLR.

Kevin		20-Apr-2010 06:44
Thanks for your effort, the review is very good and useful for the people who are considering buying the camera. I would like to ask about the battery of the camera, how many photos can be taken for 4 AA batteries? How is the performance when using the flash?

Jacky Lee		19-Apr-2010 06:20
Hi Nemo66. I also notice the same problem reported by some of the bloggers in some forums about the inconsistent performance of HS10, but from my two weeks' experience, there is no such problem with my HS10. Maybe I am lucky.

nemo66		18-Apr-2010 18:23
Hello again. And thx for reply. I already seen the crops, well... Why i asked for full size images? Simply, because of the eagerly discussed (in many forums) inconsistent image quality. Mushy and blurry shoots, oof, blotches random in picture, all this along with outstanding iq, from the same camera. I just wonder what´s going on with this thing?! Did Fuji really pulled out an defective product? From my experience with the S10 i can only agree with that statements, as example i made an image, 5 sec. later the same again, almost, first one is really garbage while the second one near perfect. And i don´t believe it´s a faulty camera because i am not the only one with this exp. What i believe is there are big problems in the readout of the sensor and the further conversion in the jpeg engine. What is your exp. with iq?

Jacky Lee		18-Apr-2010 16:44
Hi nemo66, No original full size sample photos are uploaded because each of them amounts to about 3M in file size. I have to pay more to pbase.com if my account capacity is increased. Despite this, I have already made some crops of the original full size photos in 100%. Click on the 20 pages to see the enlargements if you wish.

nemo66		18-Apr-2010 11:35
Why no original full sized samples?

Jacky Lee		15-Apr-2010 16:12
Hi Michael, no tripod was used in the photo.

michael		15-Apr-2010 13:17
All is the best shots, I like it.Under the shot no.123616566,do you have to use a tripod or monopod under such as so slow shutter speed - 1/3s? Thanks

Jacky Lee		14-Apr-2010 10:16
Hi Grabejud, Manual focus is not a good experience to me. The manual focus ring is too narrow (only 1cm wide) and designed extremely near to the camera body (behind the zoom ring, which is 3cm wide). A normal man's finger would find the focus ring difficult to turn. What's more is that manual focus is not easy to use. Although the center of the frame (both in LCD and EVF) would automatically be enlarged (I don't know the enlarged figure -- 10x?) for your better determination of whether the object is in focus, the resolution of both LCD and EVF is too low for you to determine the exact focus point. However, I think that AF is reliable (although not fast enough to be compared with DSLR), except in extreme dim condition where the object distance is too far away in such a way that the AF illuminator could not reach the object. In extreme dim conditions where AF illuminator could reach the object, the focus is still good.

Nitin		14-Apr-2010 08:28
Guest Very nice job done. Many many thanks to Jacky LEE. It provides great guidance to a person like me in taking decision to buy camera. I think after seeing photo results I would go for this camera. Thanks again. INDIA

Jean-Luc		14-Apr-2010 07:21
hanks Jacky The paper specifications are only promises but for the HS10 the reality keeps these promises. Thank you still Jean-Luc

Grabejud		14-Apr-2010 02:45
nice review, it seems the lens and the bsi sensor works great. i was planning for s200exr coz i previously own a S100fs, but it seems the hs10 grabs my interest most. Not that it can match a canon 550d in quality but coz of its very good balance in everything, noise in high iso using the bsi is awesome but mostly the 720 telephoto lens with 24mm wide is a gem, CA seems very very well controlled and taken cared of (which is a bane in s100fs). Now, im ditching in my pns lz10 for this .. btw, can i ask your feedback on the manual focus? cant wait to get hold of this one..

Italian		13-Apr-2010 07:08
bad english for a poor italian mouth :=) Rumour = noise. Tks

Rudiyanto		13-Apr-2010 04:20
Thank you for your effort in testing HS10. I become more convince to buy this camera. Now I am in a waiting for this. Indonesia

Jacky Lee		13-Apr-2010 04:16
If I am correct, the rumour is that 720mm is digital zoom, but not optical zoom, right? From my use, the camera zooms all the way from 24mm to 720mm optically. The only problem is that usually when the camera is zoomed to 720mm, the ISO would be automatically increased (if you are using Program mode) in order to get a clear picture to prevent handshake. In this way, the sharpness, colour and contrast would decrease with increased noise in high ISO setting, expecially when the ISO is increased to 1600 or above, resulting in a seemingly digital zoom image. In bright sunlight, there is no such problem if you can keep the ISO at 100. See my 720mm shot with ISO100 and you would find that the details are pretty good: http://www.pbase.com/middlehill/image/123452365 http://www.pbase.com/middlehill/image/123452366 http://www.pbase.com/middlehill/image/123452390 http://www.pbase.com/middlehill/image/123452395

Italy		12-Apr-2010 19:12
Many Many tks for this wonderful review that can open the eyes to a lot of of people. The night scene is amazing, making pictures really rich. I'm really thinking to go on with this camera, only last doubt is about 720mm rumour. You think that in good light condition, like your pictures of the pool and the details ( the only in pretty good natural light), 720 can be used with really good results? naturally tripos mandatory to exit from handshake problems ... tks tks tks/ Italy

Guest		12-Apr-2010 18:36
Thanks for this review. I walt for the HS10 in Germany. The Pictures are very nice, Night Scene wonderfull. Danke/Thanks aus Deutschland (Germany) S.Malina

Guest		12-Apr-2010 14:52
Great review, well done. I have decided to buy a HS10 before having seen this review, now I'm more convinced and waiting impatiently... Thanks / Spain

David		12-Apr-2010 13:30
Appreciate your time/effort for posting these HS 10 images ... your convincing I made the right choice, bought this Camera pre-release on-line, now expected to arrive/have delivered next day or so here in Australia ... I know what I'll be doing this weekend ;-)

Guest		11-Apr-2010 08:27
Great review pictures. They show quite clearly the capabilities of the HS-camera. As I'm planning to buy one this is of great help. Thanks Jan Struik , The Netherlands

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