mike21mike21
Well-known member
Call it a sickness but I love ultrazooms. Maybe its just the quest for the ultimate UZ.
Anyway, I picked up the SX30IS at Keeble and Shuchat here in California yesterday for $429 - very surprised that it is available since Amazon had not given a ship date yet.
Had a quick few minutes this AM so shot off a few comparisons. This is NOT rigrous so please no flaming. I uploaded the originals straight OOC, no workups at all. So, here is the DPR gallery full sizes rather than loading up this thread.
http://forums.dpreview.com/galleries/6628576675/photos/
ISO was set to lowest value ( 80-150), P mode, etc. The HS10 was accidently set to spot focus and vibrant, thus the off exposures...and I'm sure you can tell i'm right-eyed thus the consistent upward slant to the right (can't wait for the Sony A55 with the dynamic level indicator...maybe that will help since gridlines do not). Sorry about this text strikethrough. Not sure why it does this!
SIZE: The sizes are interesting. The little FZ is the smallest and lightest, the HS10 with the 4 eneloops is the heaviest. I love the FZ feel although the HS10 fit my hands better than the SX30IS. I like the HS10 grip best but I really don't care for the manual zoom - makes zooming during videos very jerky. Note that the line-up shot is wide-angle making the HS10 look maybe larger than it is. It is no doubt bigger and deeper than the Canon, no mistake.
EVF: The HS10 is the worst by far, dim and distant. The FZ is the biggest and brightest. The SX30 was fussy with positioning, it would dim if the eye was right down the axis. Only HS10 had dynamic LCD/EVF switching (which is slow and inconsistent).
SCREEN: The HS10 has the best LCD screen of all IMO. The FZ does not articulate which is a pain sometimes, and I didn't like the SX30IS side hinge - although it was nice to be able to close the LCD altogether. I can live with the SX30IS but i like EVF/LCD switching (ala T2i which I also have). I can't help but think that there could be more features from the Canon T2i that would dramatically help the Canon SX30IS.
CONTROLS: The FZ is the easiest and most intuitive to find the variables, the HS10 least so. The SX30IS did not flow that easily, maybe it takes time. The Canon does have (like the FZ) a quick icon list of variables easily obtained. I like the Canon wheel but it spins easily and can change things on the fly if you aren't careful. I don't like the wheel on top of the HS10. The Canon slideshow was great fun BTW.
SHOOTING FUN: I love the FZ series - its always fun taking shots with that camera line. I found the various zoom assisting features of the Canon to be surprisingly useful. The zoom-ups during focusing and playback were awesome. I did not try the gimmicks like toy mode, etc. The HS10 was near agony, slow, confusing, and a dim EVF. I will say though that the HS10 pix always look way better on that LCD that they do thru the EVF and I love the HS10 implementation of the Sony Handheld Twilight and Panorama modes.
IQ: Hard to judge under a bright California sun with a low ISO. As you can imagine, IQ is often an issue of how well the IS worked for that one shot. I used Mode 2 (IS on during shot only). All three did well, IMO. The SX30IS had a lot of PF that I could see although the HS10 had it as well. It was most apparent in the Tower zooms. The FZ must be correcting for this in the camera.
ZOOM: No real difference between HS10 30X and the Canon 35X. Significant resolving power differences between the FZ and Canon/Fuji.
All in all, I was surprised how much I liked the SX30IS and how different it was from the T2i. The FZ is the peppiest and most fun. The EVF is much better and the size and weight are advantages (to me). If I venture out, I am likely to take the SX30IS however because of the lens. I will get used to the feel eventually. I just wish the Fuji was faster and had a better EVF.
I will add more later and will be more diligent about exposure and focus. Also, low light and flash shots. Oh, and the inevitable moon shots.
Anyway, I picked up the SX30IS at Keeble and Shuchat here in California yesterday for $429 - very surprised that it is available since Amazon had not given a ship date yet.
Had a quick few minutes this AM so shot off a few comparisons. This is NOT rigrous so please no flaming. I uploaded the originals straight OOC, no workups at all. So, here is the DPR gallery full sizes rather than loading up this thread.
http://forums.dpreview.com/galleries/6628576675/photos/
ISO was set to lowest value (
SIZE: The sizes are interesting. The little FZ is the smallest and lightest, the HS10 with the 4 eneloops is the heaviest. I love the FZ feel although the HS10 fit my hands better than the SX30IS. I like the HS10 grip best but I really don't care for the manual zoom - makes zooming during videos very jerky. Note that the line-up shot is wide-angle making the HS10 look maybe larger than it is. It is no doubt bigger and deeper than the Canon, no mistake.
EVF: The HS10 is the worst by far, dim and distant. The FZ is the biggest and brightest. The SX30 was fussy with positioning, it would dim if the eye was right down the axis. Only HS10 had dynamic LCD/EVF switching (which is slow and inconsistent).
SCREEN: The HS10 has the best LCD screen of all IMO. The FZ does not articulate which is a pain sometimes, and I didn't like the SX30IS side hinge - although it was nice to be able to close the LCD altogether. I can live with the SX30IS but i like EVF/LCD switching (ala T2i which I also have). I can't help but think that there could be more features from the Canon T2i that would dramatically help the Canon SX30IS.
CONTROLS: The FZ is the easiest and most intuitive to find the variables, the HS10 least so. The SX30IS did not flow that easily, maybe it takes time. The Canon does have (like the FZ) a quick icon list of variables easily obtained. I like the Canon wheel but it spins easily and can change things on the fly if you aren't careful. I don't like the wheel on top of the HS10. The Canon slideshow was great fun BTW.
SHOOTING FUN: I love the FZ series - its always fun taking shots with that camera line. I found the various zoom assisting features of the Canon to be surprisingly useful. The zoom-ups during focusing and playback were awesome. I did not try the gimmicks like toy mode, etc. The HS10 was near agony, slow, confusing, and a dim EVF. I will say though that the HS10 pix always look way better on that LCD that they do thru the EVF and I love the HS10 implementation of the Sony Handheld Twilight and Panorama modes.
IQ: Hard to judge under a bright California sun with a low ISO. As you can imagine, IQ is often an issue of how well the IS worked for that one shot. I used Mode 2 (IS on during shot only). All three did well, IMO. The SX30IS had a lot of PF that I could see although the HS10 had it as well. It was most apparent in the Tower zooms. The FZ must be correcting for this in the camera.
ZOOM: No real difference between HS10 30X and the Canon 35X. Significant resolving power differences between the FZ and Canon/Fuji.
All in all, I was surprised how much I liked the SX30IS and how different it was from the T2i. The FZ is the peppiest and most fun. The EVF is much better and the size and weight are advantages (to me). If I venture out, I am likely to take the SX30IS however because of the lens. I will get used to the feel eventually. I just wish the Fuji was faster and had a better EVF.
I will add more later and will be more diligent about exposure and focus. Also, low light and flash shots. Oh, and the inevitable moon shots.