My primary interest is wildlife, and especially birds. So the long zoom is essential. Just remember this is a compact camera for a zoom this powerful, it uses a small sensor to accomplish this, so don't expect miracles. The high rating is for cameras in this class, not to compare it with $2,500 DSLRs with 18" long lenses.
The EXR 1/2" sensor is what sets this camera apart from other mega zoom cameras in this price range. Because of the way the pixels are arranged, it can take higher quality photos at 8 MP, rather than lower quality photos at 12 or 16 MP. Trust me, 8 MP is still plenty of resolution, it's the noise (especially false colors) that destroys a photo, not the resolution.
The1/2" sensor is a little bigger than many other mega zoom cameras, but not as big as DSLR sensors. This means that the image quality is a little better than other cameras in this class. But since the size of the lens is proportional to the size of the sensor, the lens isn't a foot long. It's a good compromise.
EXR Hi ISO low noise (S/N) mode combines pixels to form "super pixels" to reduce noise . This adds a fuzzyness to the images when looked at up close. But this is less objectionable than noise.
This mode does not allow digital zoom. But it does allow you to take "snapshot" photos in low light where others would fail.
EXR Resolution Priority mode lets me set the ISO, and maintains a 16 MP picture and allows for digital zooming. This is my favorite EXR mode for long zooms in good light, especially where I might have to crop later.
EXR Dynamic Range Priority splits the pixels in two, such that half of them fire at higher sensitivity and half at lower sensitivity, simultaneously . It then combined the two images to produce an 8 MP picture that brings out details in shadows while not washing out bright area of the picture. This mode disables flash, and overrides the ISO I set. But it does allow for digital zoom.
EXR Auto not only selects one of the above EXR modes, but may also select a "scene" mode, such as beach, portrait, or landscape. It may also select a macro mode, or even the "Pro Low-Light" mode. It senses whether there is a face in the scene, or a moving subject, and adjusts accordingly.
Pro Low Light is one of the "advanced" modes. It will take 4 frames in rapid succession and layer them to bring out detail and reduce noise. This is very impressive, but requires a still subject and a still hand (or tripod). Since it fires the shots at 11 frames/second, the overall exposure time is still only about 1/2 second, but that is still too much time for a moving subject. For example, it will take four shots at 1/8 second, f/5.6, and ISO 3200 to produce an OK image, where at ISO 400, and f/5.6, the shutter would be 2 seconds. 1/8 second is hand-holdable. 2 seconds is not.
It is still a challenge to get a good crisp, image in very low light, but it is significantly better than hand held ISO 3200. It sometimes also produces a darker image, which makes sense since the camera knows that it is a dark scene.
One of the characteristics of small sensor cameras like this is that they have an exceptionally deep depth of field. This means that the subject matter and the background are often both in focus. This can be a good thing, if that's what you're looking for, but some times, you want the background to be out of focus so that the subject "pops". This is called "bokeh". Another advanced mode of the HS30 is called "Pro Focus Mode". This actually takes two photos. One with the subject (and often the background) in focus, and one with the background out of focus. It then merges the 2 photos to leave the background out of focus. I'm not sure how the camera chooses what is to remain in focus, and what is not, but so far, it has done a pretty good job.
One of my favorite modes is called "Natural & Flash". This takes two photos in rapid succession. The first without the flash, and the second with the flash.
ISO 200 has pretty good S/N and allows better speed than ISO 100. That's probably the best default, except for very bright conditions. ISO 400 starts introducing noise, but it really isn't that bad.
The flash is surprisingly powerful, but depletes the battery. Buy extra batteries. It is also extremely fast. I have used the built in flash strobe to stop the the wings of a humming bird in flight.
The battery charger that comes with the unit comes with a 3' cord, which is a bit cumbersome when traveling. I recommend buying batteries and a charger that plugs directly into the wall (without a cord).
Generally speaking, it selects a high ISO too often. I suspect because the most common complaint is picture blur caused by camera shake. But maybe I'm being too critical here. Noise in ISO 400 isn't that bad. I may be looking closer than I should. I haven't printed any hard copies yet for a side-by-side comparison.
Another feature that sets this camera apart is the manual zoom ring on the lens barrel. This functions much like the zoom on a traditional SLR. It is much faster and precise than the typical lever and motorized zoom.
The camera has two "intelligent digital zoom" levels 1.6X, and 2.0X. I find that the quality of the 1.6X digital zoom is excellent, and almost indistinguishable from the optical zoom alone. The 2.0X zoom does start to degrade image quality, but still very usable.
It seems that none of the other flash manufacturers provide TTL flash units for Fuji. The Fuji EF-42 is an excellent, powerful flash, and I highly recommend it.
This is a solid (ie relatively heavy) camera. Still lighter than a DSLR, but still a substantial weight. As such, the large grip with a protrusion for your thumb is very ergonomic, as are all the controls.
Manual Focus:
The manual focus ring is my greatest disappointment with this camera, because it is not physically coupled to the focus mechanism, but rather a controller for the focus motor. This means there is a slight lag as you are focusing, resulting in over-shooting your intended focus point and having to back track.
Also, the focus "meter" shown on screen tells you if what it thinks should be in focus is in focus, not the focus distance. This is pretty much useless because I'm usually using manual focus because the camera doesn't know what to focus on in the first place (the branches in front of the bird, or the bird). It also doesn't tell you if you need to bring the focus in or out, so there is a lot of fidgeting.
Since the focus ring is just free-spinning, there is no stop when you are focused on infinity or nearest focus. When looking through the viewfinder at a blurred image, you don't know whether you are focused in too far, or out too far, so you have to try spinning the ring in both directions until your subject is in focus, and once again the focus lag hinders this. While this system is superior to the typical point and shoot manual focus system (with push buttons), it could certainly be much better.
Using the AE/AF lock button (below the movie button) to force an auto-focus even when in manual focus mode is very helpful, and makes up for much of the above shortcoming.
The EXR 1/2" sensor is what sets this camera apart from other mega zoom cameras in this price range. Because of the way the pixels are arranged, it can take higher quality photos at 8 MP, rather than lower quality photos at 12 or 16 MP. Trust me, 8 MP is still plenty of resolution, it's the noise (especially false colors) that destroys a photo, not the resolution.
The1/2" sensor is a little bigger than many other mega zoom cameras, but not as big as DSLR sensors. This means that the image quality is a little better than other cameras in this class. But since the size of the lens is proportional to the size of the sensor, the lens isn't a foot long. It's a good compromise.
EXR Hi ISO low noise (S/N) mode combines pixels to form "super pixels" to reduce noise . This adds a fuzzyness to the images when looked at up close. But this is less objectionable than noise.
This mode does not allow digital zoom. But it does allow you to take "snapshot" photos in low light where others would fail.
EXR Resolution Priority mode lets me set the ISO, and maintains a 16 MP picture and allows for digital zooming. This is my favorite EXR mode for long zooms in good light, especially where I might have to crop later.
EXR Dynamic Range Priority splits the pixels in two, such that half of them fire at higher sensitivity and half at lower sensitivity, simultaneously . It then combined the two images to produce an 8 MP picture that brings out details in shadows while not washing out bright area of the picture. This mode disables flash, and overrides the ISO I set. But it does allow for digital zoom.
EXR Auto not only selects one of the above EXR modes, but may also select a "scene" mode, such as beach, portrait, or landscape. It may also select a macro mode, or even the "Pro Low-Light" mode. It senses whether there is a face in the scene, or a moving subject, and adjusts accordingly.
Pro Low Light is one of the "advanced" modes. It will take 4 frames in rapid succession and layer them to bring out detail and reduce noise. This is very impressive, but requires a still subject and a still hand (or tripod). Since it fires the shots at 11 frames/second, the overall exposure time is still only about 1/2 second, but that is still too much time for a moving subject. For example, it will take four shots at 1/8 second, f/5.6, and ISO 3200 to produce an OK image, where at ISO 400, and f/5.6, the shutter would be 2 seconds. 1/8 second is hand-holdable. 2 seconds is not.
It is still a challenge to get a good crisp, image in very low light, but it is significantly better than hand held ISO 3200. It sometimes also produces a darker image, which makes sense since the camera knows that it is a dark scene.
One of the characteristics of small sensor cameras like this is that they have an exceptionally deep depth of field. This means that the subject matter and the background are often both in focus. This can be a good thing, if that's what you're looking for, but some times, you want the background to be out of focus so that the subject "pops". This is called "bokeh". Another advanced mode of the HS30 is called "Pro Focus Mode". This actually takes two photos. One with the subject (and often the background) in focus, and one with the background out of focus. It then merges the 2 photos to leave the background out of focus. I'm not sure how the camera chooses what is to remain in focus, and what is not, but so far, it has done a pretty good job.
One of my favorite modes is called "Natural & Flash". This takes two photos in rapid succession. The first without the flash, and the second with the flash.
ISO 200 has pretty good S/N and allows better speed than ISO 100. That's probably the best default, except for very bright conditions. ISO 400 starts introducing noise, but it really isn't that bad.
The flash is surprisingly powerful, but depletes the battery. Buy extra batteries. It is also extremely fast. I have used the built in flash strobe to stop the the wings of a humming bird in flight.
The battery charger that comes with the unit comes with a 3' cord, which is a bit cumbersome when traveling. I recommend buying batteries and a charger that plugs directly into the wall (without a cord).
Generally speaking, it selects a high ISO too often. I suspect because the most common complaint is picture blur caused by camera shake. But maybe I'm being too critical here. Noise in ISO 400 isn't that bad. I may be looking closer than I should. I haven't printed any hard copies yet for a side-by-side comparison.
Another feature that sets this camera apart is the manual zoom ring on the lens barrel. This functions much like the zoom on a traditional SLR. It is much faster and precise than the typical lever and motorized zoom.
The camera has two "intelligent digital zoom" levels 1.6X, and 2.0X. I find that the quality of the 1.6X digital zoom is excellent, and almost indistinguishable from the optical zoom alone. The 2.0X zoom does start to degrade image quality, but still very usable.
It seems that none of the other flash manufacturers provide TTL flash units for Fuji. The Fuji EF-42 is an excellent, powerful flash, and I highly recommend it.
This is a solid (ie relatively heavy) camera. Still lighter than a DSLR, but still a substantial weight. As such, the large grip with a protrusion for your thumb is very ergonomic, as are all the controls.
Manual Focus:
The manual focus ring is my greatest disappointment with this camera, because it is not physically coupled to the focus mechanism, but rather a controller for the focus motor. This means there is a slight lag as you are focusing, resulting in over-shooting your intended focus point and having to back track.
Also, the focus "meter" shown on screen tells you if what it thinks should be in focus is in focus, not the focus distance. This is pretty much useless because I'm usually using manual focus because the camera doesn't know what to focus on in the first place (the branches in front of the bird, or the bird). It also doesn't tell you if you need to bring the focus in or out, so there is a lot of fidgeting.
Since the focus ring is just free-spinning, there is no stop when you are focused on infinity or nearest focus. When looking through the viewfinder at a blurred image, you don't know whether you are focused in too far, or out too far, so you have to try spinning the ring in both directions until your subject is in focus, and once again the focus lag hinders this. While this system is superior to the typical point and shoot manual focus system (with push buttons), it could certainly be much better.
Using the AE/AF lock button (below the movie button) to force an auto-focus even when in manual focus mode is very helpful, and makes up for much of the above shortcoming.
