Fujifilm FinePix HS50EXR Digital Camera
I am not a professional photographer, but I am our family photographer and have been taking pictures for many years. I even studied photography and did some darkroom work in high school and college.
The two camera I've been using, before the HS50EXR, is a digital Canon - Powershot A720 IS with 8.0 mega pixels and a 6x optical zoom and a Canon DSLR - Rebel T3 which I have two lenses for, the standard 18-55mm and a telephoto 55-250mm. I've been using both of them a lot lately as I've been documenting a garden project and taking a lot of wildlife photos. I have to say, the FujiFilm is amazing in comparison and will enable me to do everything I need to do with this one camera, much easier then before.
This is considered a bridge camera - somewhere between a digital and an SLR, but I have to say I like it MUCH better then my Canon Rebel T3 - as a family photographer I've found it daunting to figure out some of the settings on my DSLR and with the FujiFilm, it does it for me. I love the EXR mode and how the camera selects the best setting for your pictures, it's good for those of us who just want to be able to take really nice pictures.
A problem I've had recently with my SLR camera has been needing to constantly switch between my regular and telephoto lenses. This camera has an amazing 1000mm zoom. It takes pictures very quickly and the manual zoom is easy to use and has worked great. I have taken pictures of everything from landscape to close up with just a twist of the lens. You just zoom, half click to focus and get a great picture. The colors are sharper then both of my Canon cameras as well and the auto focus has worked perfectly, and takes just 0.05 seconds - it's fast and clear.
You can also take excellent quality 1080 HD video with full stereo. You can use the camera in manual mode, if you want to do your own settings and there are some great advanced options for filter effects (things like miniature, pop color and soft focus) and 'scene position' option for over a dozen different conditions like, portrait, landscape, sports, night, sunset and more.
I have to say I adore this camera and it looks like my other cameras are going to be gathering dust from now on. I give the FujiFilm FinePix HS50EXR my highest recommended!
Get your Fujifilm FinePix HS50EXR Digital Camera Now!
Simple and Easy Review: I have had the HS10 and HS20 and both were excellent cameras.
BalasHapusThe HS50 is easy and simple to use on EXR (fully automatic) mode or as complicated (Manual mode) as you want.
Build quality is solid.
Focusing is now on par with a low end DSLR level, meaning it's dam fast in great light and very quick in low light.
Battery life is excellent but the HS50 uses a proprietary battery, but you can get aftermarket batteries.
The HS50 is set up for a eyefi card which means it will keep transmitting even if the camera is turned off until it has uploaded all your pictures!
Accessories such as the remote that worked on the HS20, 30, 35 will not work on the HS50 which has a different input.
You will need a 2.5mm adapter to use a standard external microphone with this camera.
The Standard Fuji Flashes such as the HS42 flash (or compatibile pin flash) will work.
Overall, an excellent camera, incredibile zoom, Fast focus, great pictures!
There exists an important space between DSLR cameras and point-and-shoot cameras. Although the point-and-shots have begun to push upwards and the DSLRs downwards, neither has been able, up to now, to quite fill the gap. This space is where certain cameras, often dubbed the "bridge cameras," exist.
BalasHapusBridge cameras look like DSLRs but without the interchangeable lenses. They are larger than a typical point and shoot, but carry many point-and-shoot characteristics.
The Fujifilm FinePix HS50EXR fits right into the bridge camera space and does a superb job doing so. Feature rich, well made, fitting perfectly in the hand, this feels and acts like what it is--a very well thought out, very well designed, quality camera. It is so capable at what it does that it can easily fool you into thinking that indeed it is a DSLR.
Of course, it is not a DSLR--a fact that readily makes itself apparent. The viewfinder is electronic. When the camera is powered off you see nothing through the viewfinder. You can not remove the non-interchangeable lens. The lens that comes attached to the camera remains attached to it for life. However, it's a decent zoom lens and the lens does accept commonly found 58mm filters--a very good thing. The zoom range is amazing, it shoots RAW, has manual controls. It is the perfect beginner's camera and a credible back up camera for professionals such as myself. In fact, it meets or exceeds nearly every item on my backup camera checklist.
Sure there are some things that I wish had been included.
As a manual shooter, having separate controls for aperture and shutter speed would have been nice. The HS50EXR does have manual aperture and shutter speed control. However, it is necessary to push the +/- button to change the command dial to one or the other adjustment mode. This kind of restriction tempts me to use aperture or shutter priority to save me from the inconvenience--and that is simply not my shooting preference nine times out of ten.
The viewfinder is a bit large protruding out of the back of the camera far more than on my DSLR. It is a small annoyance now, but no doubt I will get used to it over time.
Of bigger concern is that the lens is a manual zoom. There is no motorized zoom in the camera. Not much of an issue for stills, to be sure, but a very big issue for video. If Fujifilm wants to offer video in their cameras, a motorized zoom is a must.
However, even with these concerns, this is one great camera at a very reasonable price. In addition to the camera, you get a strap, a lens cover, a lens hood, a built-in flash, a charger, 1080P 60 FPS, stereo sound video capability, a USB cable and brief, but very readable instructions. Not too shabby. And the image quality on stills or video is quite good.
This is a fun camera with nice features, great performance and it includes a decent menu system. It is, above all, intuitive and easy to operate. With or without your user manual, you will be up and running shortly after opening the box. It takes longer to charge the battery than it does to learn the camera. Well done Fujifilm!
Length:: 4:39 Mins
BalasHapusI have to caveat the video that it was inadvertently cut short due to size restrictions on video reviews. Please watch the video for an in-person look at the camera. I'm including my overall observations below since they were truncated from the video:
PROS:
-Great zoom range in one lens
-Macro ability down to 1cm
-16FPS for great action shots at kids games
-LCD Viewfinder works flawlessly in sunlight (no wash-out)
-The unit is light!
-Lots of advanced features for seasoned pros (manual mode, aperture priority, built in panorama functions, full manual)
-Full autofocus 1080p video
CONS:
-Awkward on/off button. Feels like a zoom setup from most point and shoot zooms
-The zoom is backwards from the Canon zoom. I constantly found myself zooming out when I wanted to zoom in.
-Eye Viewfinder is electronic and not a true viewfinder (i.e. optical), just an alternate way to view the LCD screen.
-Unit has a hard time focusing quickly at anything above 600mm. It hunts for a while and needs a lot of light to find lock.
FINAL OBSERVATIONS:
I have shot the Canon xD line (now have the 7D) so I'm used to a camera that has the ability to accept multiple lenses, programming setups, etc. Having spent the weekend with this camera I can honestly say that I was pleasantly surprised at just how competent this HS50 unit is. Sure it's an digital zoom, sure it leaves f2.8 immediately upon most the zoom at all, but the quality of the photos, the 16FPS, the ability to shoot full-time autofocused 1080p video with the push of a dedicated video button make this unit really stand out.
I would have no reservations forgoing my 7D and taking this instead on a family trip where space and weight were critical. The quality and features are there...for me, it's just overcoming the learning curve as I get used to a different platform than Canon.
I've been shooting with a SLR for years. First with a 35mm film SLR and then with a DSLR. I generally find point and shoots overly simple and can't match the ability of SLRs to capture great shots.
BalasHapusThe Fuji FinePix, however, does an amazing job in bridging the gap between a DSLR and a all in one.
First, let me say this is a fairly large camera. It looks very much like an SLR and handles like one. For its size, though, it is very light. It is comfortable in the hand, and the build quality is very nice. The only part of the camera that feels a little flimsy is the battery door.
The controls feel secure and well thought out. Perhaps for people used to digital zooms on smaller cameras, who may accidentally shut off the camera when intending to zoom, as the on and off switch is in a place common to zoom controls on lower end cameras.
There is a large LCD screen for viewing your shot, and reviewing your images and movies. For SLR users like me, who perfer to use a eyepiece, you can use that by shutting off the LCD screen. The only drawback to that is, unlike a SLR where you are actually looking through the lens, the eyepiece is, instead a small camera so image quality through that option is a little less than I would have liked.
The lens has focal lengths of 24 to 1,000. I need to have two lenses for my DSLR to match that, and this has it in an all enclosed package. For people not familiar with focal lengths that amounts to a 42X manual zoom. Manual zoom is important to take quality long distance shots as it doesn't diminish quality of the shot the way that digital zooms do. As a digital zoom is basically just a software thing that cuts and resizes the image as you zoom. There is an optional digital zoom, but I don't suggest that.
The camera has a wealth of options that would make for an overly long review to go over here. I will say that there are options for the serious and expert photographer. You can choose manual mode; you choose aperture and shutter speed. There is a shutter priority where you choose the shutter speed and the camera chooses the aperture, and aperture priority where you choose the aperture and the camera compensates and chooses the shutter speed.
There is also an purely automatic mode for quick point and shooting, as well as pre-programmed advanced modes as well as the EXR option which can pre-set options for tilt shift, low light, depth of perception, and on. You name it, between the EXR option and the Advanced presets, the camera can compensate for you.
You can choose ISO speeds from 100-3200. You can also set it to automatically adjust the ISO with a maximum setting you prefer, so if you want a maximum ISO of 800, but want to also shoot outdoors without changing settings the camera will do that for you and perhaps change to 200 or 400 as needed.
Picture quality is wonderful. The camera shoots and automatically focuses quickly. Boot time for the camera is also on par with high end DSLRs. From the time you turn on the camera until you can shoot is very fast. No missing shots here.
Video quality is very good, as long as you have a fast SD card. I would suggest a class 10 at lest. The camera has a mini HDMI output so you can view your images and movies on your television.
To connect to your computer you unfortunately have to use their proprietary USB cord, which is included. It would have been nice to use standard MICRO USB.
This is a great camera. Good for seasoned shooters, newbies, and everywhere in between. Well constructed, and easy to learn. I will probably be finding myself using this camera more and more, and using my CANON DSLR less and less.
BalasHapus