Choosing Between Fujifilm Finepix HS20, HS25 EXR & HS30 EXR

See my HS20 website http://akiwiretrospective.wordpress.com/

Yes. See Amazons listing

Hi James. You don't mention budget so I assume all three cameras are within the financial requirements.

Go for the HS30. The increased AF speed, better EVF and the digital zoom are all good things to have.

Otherwise go with the HS20. The HS25 in my opinion is a complete waste of time. It doesn't have Raw capability, not important to me but could be to you, has the older EVF as in the HS20, uses AA batteries rather than Lithium, so really doesn't have anything major new to offer, its just made for Jpeg only shooters.

On the issue of batteries, I come down firmly in the AA camp. I use Panasonic 2600mh Ni-MH batteries. I have three sets that I use and I use a slow charger (16hrs on trickle charge), nothing kills an AA faster than constantly fast charging. I have 2 sets of AA Energizer fast charge ( 2 hrs) that I use as well for those times when you need a fast reload but they ain't cheap.

The Panasonic's give me on average 700+ photos with the ability to review them all in camera as well as all the normal stuff you do when out with the camera. My LCD is never off and ordinarily nor is my I.S. I tend to use mostly continuous focus so as you can see that's a lot of power. If you use the correct batteries ( Panasonic's ) which have a very slow discharge rate, you get very good battery life for minimal dollars.

For even better performance you could use longlife Lithium AA but they can be as expensive as the Battery in the HS30. You could use Sanyo eneloop AA's as well, and reports are they last even longer on a single charge.

This is one thing Pentax has got right with their DSLR's in that you can use AA or Lithium block batteries. There aren't too many stores outside of a camera shop who could supply you with a battery for an HS30 while you are in a different country but AA batteries can be found in every corner store and are as readily available as a can of Coke.

It comes down to basically where you are likely to find yourself going and whether a second HS30 battery is in order ( I would suggest it is so factor that into the price. ). IQ wise, personally I don't think there is any real difference between the HS20 & HS30.

Images like this are achievable from either camera and I'm still perfecting the technique.

Love dat Fuji
http://akiwiretrospective.wordpress.com/
Fuji HS20EXR
Fuji HS10,
Pentax K1000, Pentax sf7, Pentax zx-50