First 4 hours with the HS20

Hi all,

My HS20 came 4 hours ago and I just finished processing my first batch of images and posting them to my Smugmug site. This is not my first superzoom. I have owned the Sony H9 and H50, and the Canon SX20IS, and I got satisfying images from then all...with the Canon being, image quality wise, certainly the best. I have been looking for a replacement, only because I want a more rapid continuous mode for birds in flight than the Canons miserable .8 fps. For me it came down to the HS20 or the Sony HX100V...and since the Sony is not yet available and I leave for FL on Monday to teach Point and Shoot for Wildlife workshops at the FL Birding and Photo Fest, the HS20 it is!

And, even after 4 hours I am pretty sure there will be no regrets.

You can view my first set of images at
http://weiw.lightshedder.com/Landscape-Wildlife/FirstFuji/

As you will see, I tried everything from macros to sweep panoramas...and experimented with several of the modes and scene settings. All of the images in the gallery were processed in Lightroom from jpeg, and resized to 4000 pixes on the long side for upload to Smugmug (since my wifi connection times out trying to upload a full sized 16mp image

I am not, by the way, interested in "straight from the camera" images or image comparisons. I am interested in what can be done with the image once you get it home, and what the final result looks like. Lightroom is part of my creative process and has been since the beta of version 1.

Observations:

1) love the controls! Dedicated buttons win over finicky menus every time, and the control dial is such a good idea!

2) the lens has remarkably little distortion at 24mm and up. Way less then the shorter zoom on the Canon. And it is SHARP!

3) there is NO purple fringing and, so far, no visible chromatic aeration, and both should have shown up in this afternoon's images. This is amazing in 30x zoom on this small a sensor! Great lens, great internal processing.

4) while Landscape Scene mode and Flower are great, I was really surprised how well EXR Auto works. I am going to have to see if I can do any better making my own choices. Already I am beginning to doubt it.

5) Sweep panorama is simply the best thing since sliced bread. I did the occasional pano with my Canon SX20IS, stitched in PhotoShop Elements PhotoMerge...but the Fuji makes it way easy (and such fun).

6) So far I am impressed with the image quality. Definitely a CMOS sensor, with the characteristic pebbly image structure, but the image detail compares favorably with the Canon SX20IS's ccd...and that is saying a lot, since the SX20IS has always been ranked at the top of the superzooms for image quality. I think the HS20 is even a bit better. (Maybe even a lot better...I need more images to judge.)

I will have a lot more to say as I learn this thing...and there is a lot to learn.

Meantime, anyone on the fence should take a look at my first set of images. I am a happy man this evening.

(A new camera is like get a new set of eyes!)

... Congratulations on your new camera, and that is a very nice set of images. Hope you have a lot of fun with it.
--
Cheers, Dave.
Have fun - take lotsa pix.

http://eyemindsoul.blogspot.com/

congratulation on your new purchase. Good to hear you enjoying it so far. The results speak for it and if this heat thing is not an issue any-more we may see some more people comming out the woods and post shots of the HS20

Stephen, Hi. Thanks for sharing some of your images. I think some of the landscapes look very nice. I couldn't stop myself checking the clouds, and while sometimes they have blown out sections, mostly the camera keeps that in check and generally the clouds seem to have quite a pleasant tonal gradation. I can't decide which is my favourite image but provisionally the final one. Think that would look good on someone's wall. Where I'm less enthusiastic (and I appreciate you've only just started using the camera!) are with the close-up shots - of the daffodils (colour seems too dull), the lichen (doesn't seem sharp). Of course I don't know if some are close-ups or at full zoom, would be interesting to discover. Anyway, I very much look forward to seeing some more of your work with the HS20 soon. I have an FZ18 and whilst reasonable on a bright day it is very poor at high ISOs, mediocre at full zoom and the video is very average. Thanks.

Stephen Ingraham said:

Hi all,

My HS20 came 4 hours ago and I just finished processing my first batch of images and posting them to my Smugmug site. This is not my first superzoom. I have owned the Sony H9 and H50, and the Canon SX20IS, and I got satisfying images from then all...with the Canon being, image quality wise, certainly the best. I have been looking for a replacement, only because I want a more rapid continuous mode for birds in flight than the Canons miserable .8 fps. For me it came down to the HS20 or the Sony HX100V...and since the Sony is not yet available and I leave for FL on Monday to teach Point and Shoot for Wildlife workshops at the FL Birding and Photo Fest, the HS20 it is!

And, even after 4 hours I am pretty sure there will be no regrets.

Click to expand...

Congragulations on your new toy.

Stephen Ingraham said:

You can view my first set of images at
http://weiw.lightshedder.com/Landscape-Wildlife/FirstFuji/

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link I to am trying to decide how to replace my P712 superzoom and every photo I can inspect helps.

Stephen Ingraham said:

I am not, by the way, interested in "straight from the camera" images or image comparisons. I am interested in what can be done with the image once you get it home, and what the final result looks like. Lightroom is part of my creative process and has been since the beta of version 1.

Click to expand...

Yes, I only hope they support HS20 Raw, if you haven't, I would suggest sending them email to support HS20 Raw.

Stephen Ingraham said:

Observations:

1) love the controls! Dedicated buttons win over finicky menus every time, and the control dial is such a good idea!

2) the lens has remarkably little distortion at 24mm and up. Way less then the shorter zoom on the Canon. And it is SHARP!

3) there is NO purple fringing and, so far, no visible chromatic aeration, and both should have shown up in this afternoon's images. This is amazing in 30x zoom on this small a sensor! Great lens, great internal processing.

Click to expand...

I hope you do not mind, I took the liberty of taking some crops on one of your postings. Well I wouldn't say NO fringing, however it looks pretty well controlled. These are 100% crops of your Fungai?? crop of the center is CA free



.

However it does rear it ugly head in the corners, this us the upper right corner. But, for 30x lens this seems minimal.

Stephen Ingraham said:

I will have a lot more to say as I learn this thing...and there is a lot to learn.

Click to expand...

Looking forward to your opinios

Stephen Ingraham said:

Meantime, anyone on the fence should take a look at my first set of images. I am a happy man this evening.

Click to expand...

Yes I am one of those still on the fence and this why appreciate your post to help me evaluate this camera, especially posting the larger size photo's which are really needed to evaluate quality.
--
Regards Jim
We All Need Water!

Wonderful images Stephen, great to see what an experienced photographer can do with this camera.

I find your comments re. the Canon SX20 very interesting, I have the Panny FZ35 and I think my HS20 is definitely better, and the FZ was rated very close to the SX20. Actually, I don't believe that image quality has been improved since the FZ35/SX20, so this Fuji is quite a significant development for those interested in superzooms.

Hi Russell.

I have owned the FZ18 and also the FZ35, if you are looking at the Fuji as a possible replacement, I don't think you will be disappointed.

It is very feature laden, but once you work your way around the camera and get a grasp on the different modes, it becomes a joy to use. High ISO performance is just on a whole new level.

Daniel.

Russell Fielding said:

Stephen, Hi. Thanks for sharing some of your images. I think some of the landscapes look very nice. I couldn't stop myself checking the clouds, and while sometimes they have blown out sections, mostly the camera keeps that in check and generally the clouds seem to have quite a pleasant tonal gradation. I can't decide which is my favourite image but provisionally the final one. Think that would look good on someone's wall. Where I'm less enthusiastic (and I appreciate you've only just started using the camera!) are with the close-up shots - of the daffodils (colour seems too dull), the lichen (doesn't seem sharp). Of course I don't know if some are close-ups or at full zoom, would be interesting to discover. Anyway, I very much look forward to seeing some more of your work with the HS20 soon. I have an FZ18 and whilst reasonable on a bright day it is very poor at high ISOs, mediocre at full zoom and the video is very average. Thanks.

Click to expand...

Thanks Daniel. Yes I am looking for a replacement for the FZ18. If the HS20 has better IQ especially at the long zoom end, is much better at high ISO, focuses faster, has better burst mode and better dynamic range then yes I am interested. I like to take the FZ18 to football (soccer) matches and it's ok in good light, the zoom can pick out individual faces (although not too clearly) at the other end of the stadium, but it's very slow at focusing on fast moving action. By the time it's focused, the players are elsewhere. I have an SLR which has unfortunately developed a lens contact error which'll take weeks to fix with Jessops incredibly slow service, and a compact p&s and they all get used in different situations, but the FZ18 is the most versatile. I take it you have the HS20?

Daniel Lowe said:

Hi Russell.

I have owned the FZ18 and also the FZ35, if you are looking at the Fuji as a possible replacement, I don't think you will be disappointed.

It is very feature laden, but once you work your way around the camera and get a grasp on the different modes, it becomes a joy to use. High ISO performance is just on a whole new level.

Daniel.

Click to expand...

Nice set for a first time round with the new camera.

However the flowers dont appear particularly sharp ( or at least aren't on my monitor) and as someone else said they seemed a little washed out. What film simulation were you using as that may also make a big difference.

Nice country side though for making some excellent keepers, keep em coming.
Love dat Fuji
http://akiwiretrospective.blogspot.com/
Fuji HS10,Pentax K1000, Pentax sf7, Pentax zx-50

Russell Fielding said:

Russell Fielding wrote:

Thanks Daniel. Yes I am looking for a replacement for the FZ18. If the HS20 has better IQ especially at the long zoom end, is much better at high ISO, focuses faster, has better burst mode and better dynamic range then yes I am interested.

Click to expand...

I have had my HS20 for nearly 3 weeks now and I think I can confidently say it ticks all those boxes.

Put it this way, my FZ35 was a fairly significant upgrade over my old FZ18, and my HS20 is quite a bit better overall than the 35.

But the 35 is still a little quicker in operational speed, I think it would be safe to say the HS20 is quicker than the FZ18 though.

When the HS20 is operating in 'pixel binned' mode @ 8mp, it has a pixel density not far off the Panasonic LX5, so it is not hard to see why the image quality is so good.

Hi Stephen

Congrats on your new camera - looks like you're enjoying it already with excellent results.

I agree with you about the button layout etc - the handling of this camera (and that of the HS10) makes it a pleasure to use in the field.

Andrew

Did you apply a lot of sharpening to the images ? To say they have a "pebbly" image structure is an understatement. Where these at base ISO as well ?

Compositionally some really nice images but they don't even really resemble a photo when viewing the actual image, more like a digital recreation of a scene.

I've got a HS20 on order, as I really liked the manual zoom ring, not to mention the amazing range but I'm thinking I may end up being pretty disappointed based upon these images.

I'm a sports photographer for a living, so I've got some high end long glass, but its just not fun to carry around 10lbs lenses (unless its for an assignment and even then after 18 holes of following golf etc its a drag)

I certainly didn't expect a superzoom to rival any DSLR, even a smaller crop sensor one, but the sheer lack of any actual detail in these shots is making me thinking maybe a superzoom, even what is apparently one of the best on the market right now, just isn't going to meet my image quality standards.
--
http://www.millsartphotography.com

If you're happy with that I.Q. then I'm happy for you. All I can say is your Canon must be ultra bad and you are an easy man to please.

Try it at half resolution (size M) it's got to be better than what you have shown here, in fact I've not seen anything this bad from the HS20 since it's launch. In fact I've not seen that much mush from any EXR camera to date.

Paul.

millsart said:

Did you apply a lot of sharpening to the images ? To say they have a "pebbly" image structure is an understatement. Where these at base ISO as well ?

Compositionally some really nice images but they don't even really resemble a photo when viewing the actual image, more like a digital recreation of a scene.

I've got a HS20 on order, as I really liked the manual zoom ring, not to mention the amazing range but I'm thinking I may end up being pretty disappointed based upon these images.

I'm a sports photographer for a living, so I've got some high end long glass, but its just not fun to carry around 10lbs lenses (unless its for an assignment and even then after 18 holes of following golf etc its a drag)

I certainly didn't expect a superzoom to rival any DSLR, even a smaller crop sensor one, but the sheer lack of any actual detail in these shots is making me thinking maybe a superzoom, even what is apparently one of the best on the market right now, just isn't going to meet my image quality standards.
--
http://www.millsartphotography.com

Click to expand...

He's shooting it at full res instead of half res. The image above is ISO400 I never looked any of the others, after seeing that one I was shocked, it looks like an oil painting.

Paul.

I do plan to do some side by side comparisons with the SX20IS today, weather cooperating. Though I definitely like the camera, the jury is still out.

The daffs were blowing about in a high gusty wind for one thing...but I am still experimenting.

Very nice, I get my Fuji F550 today some time (whenever FED EX delivers it) and will post some pics.

I'm very much like you in that, all my images are processed the way I want to see them, and use both Photoshop and Lightroom all the time.

I have an old Sony H5 and thinking about upgrading that also. the more I see photos of the HS20 the more I think I would like to ad it to my arsenal.

The super zoom cannot replace a DSLR for image quality, but for ease of use and not lugging around 15 lbs of stuff its very nice.

Thanks for sharing, again very nice images.

wll

Thanks in advance
can't wait

Rai

Stephen Ingraham said:

I do plan to do some side by side comparisons with the SX20IS today, weather cooperating. Though I definitely like the camera, the jury is still out.

Click to expand...

I have to agree with Paul here.

I own the S100FS, if this image is straight out the HS20, AND ISO100, it is truly appalling! - Sorry but this is the truth.

The image i've attached is what i would call a poor image from my S100, poor as in ill-planned, bad light balance & so on.

This is base ISO (100) of the S100FS, & yet it is an infinitely better image imho.

One would expect with the march of time newer cameras to have better image quality or at least remain consistent, NOT get worse. The trade off being faddy gimmiks instead.

Sorry but if this is really reflective of what the HS20 can do... & yours is NOT faulty, then i'll pass..

But if you're truly happy with the results, then good for you.

BELOW: Rough S100FS example, straight out the cam, poorly prepared, NO PP.

PAUL TILL said:

If you're happy with that I.Q. then I'm happy for you. All I can say is your Canon must be ultra bad and you are an easy man to please.

Click to expand...

I've got an SX20 Paul - no comparison to those oil paintings . even the SX210 a much hated pocket camera with a 14Mp overstuffed CCD sensor looks way better (as it happens the SX210 comes alive with PP)

Full size 14Mp - casual test shot.. and the SX20 easily beats this camera, I can upload an untouched sample from that too at some stage if you want . . Folowed by a couple of SX210 Swans resized with loadsa zoom









--
A Problem is only the pessimistic way of looking at a challenge