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I had spent my first day with the HS20EXR and was generally very pleased with the functionality and performance. Make no mistake, this is not a DSLR, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. This camera packs some capabilities and features that I would dream to have in one of my DSLRs. Although it's not a large camera, for those who've used the HS10, you'll already know that the build feels solid and the handling is somewhat like a smaller DSLR. The menu system is fairly easy to navigate and more common functions, like exposure, focus, and flash modes are easily accessible via dedicated controls. Be prepared to spend an hour or so getting familiar with the controls and menus it may be intimidating if you're brand new to this type camera, but most experienced photographers will pick it up quickly.
A couple of early concerns materialized. First, I experience the temperature warning display that has been noted in some early reviews. However, I didn't see any degradation in performance even with the warning lit. Upon calling Fujifilm, they quickly sent a replacement and I'm happy to say the problem didn't reoccur to that extent, but later I experienced temp warnings in warmer and more continuous use conditions. Another minor irritant while shooting was that the display froze for a moment while focus was obtained. If shooting a moving object, this could mean the difference in getting or not getting the shot. After some further testing, I discovered that this problem seemed related to the "Multi" focus mode. I did not experience the same degree of delay in Center, Area, or Tracking modes.
The flexibility in shooting is remarkable, given the standard PSAM controls, plus some really interesting advanced features, there's few still shooting situations the camera will not handle. Those extras I found very appealing are the EXR High-ISO/Low Noise (SN mode), the Pro Low-Light modes. In SN priority mode, I was able to shoot at higher sensitivities up to ISO 1600 with very low noise and even ISO 3200 was very usable. I'm sure I'll get flack for this, but I have to admit some shooting modes outperformed my D300. I believe this has more to do with the HS20's high ISO performance than general lens clarity or image detail, in which most DSLRs excel. The Pro Low-Light mode is another trick-up-the-sleeve that combines 4 exposures taken in rapid succession into one very low noise image even in very dim light.
Not surprisingly, the HS20 autofocus did seek a little in low light, but not much more than my DSLRs in the same setting. The zoom lens was impressive for such a small package and both wide and full zoom shots were crisp. There are many more modes and options, but none of these bells and whistles would mean much if the end results didn't deliver. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised at the sharpness of the full sized 16MP images I really expected to see a lot of artifacts from noise reduction and other in-camera processing. On the contrary, my "pixel peeping" revealed clean edges and very good fine detail. Pictures of my cat actually show individual fine hairs instead of the painterly effect of some compact cameras. It seems like Fuji took lessons from predecessors and managed to squeeze more image quality out of their tiny sensor than many of us expected.
One of the cool benefits of the CMOS sensor is speed. Once I figured out the continuous shooting modes, I was tickled at being able to fire off 8 fps in full resolution. I also played with the 11 fps mode which works with at 8MP and felt like I was shooting an old movie camera instead of a point and shoot digital.
One issue of concern to me was the processing speed or write speed of the files to the card. This was a common complaint for the HS10. What I found was that the write speed is improved, but don't expect DSLR performance. A JPEG Fine image would write to card in under 1 second to my SanDisk Extreme Pro, and a RAW file averaged 4 seconds. Now before you say "WHAT?", let me explain that that is the write time itself, HOWEVER, due to the internal cache, the camera is ready for the next shot in less time than the write time. I found that generally it was ready almost instantly shooting JPEG and with RAW, there might be a second or two delay for an individual image. In burst mode, the camera was able to cache all images in the burst without pausing, although after capturing the images, the write time again took 4-6 seconds depending on the image sizes. So not a perfect situation, but definitely an improvement over the noted problems of the HS10.
The video was very easy to use and looks acceptable for simple scenes at wide to normal viewing angles. At full zoom, images were shaky and focus was slow. Plan on using a tripod for long zooms, and careful zooms and panning. With the manual zoom barrel, which is really geared toward still photography, zooms can be awkward during video recording, without the smoothness of the typical motorized zoom. The video issues were not a big deal to me since the features that attracted me to the camera were for still images.
One area that is still a minor irritant is the electronic viewfinder. It is still pretty low resolution and is difficult see small details in your scene. Given a bright outdoor scene, it does allow composition without fighting the glare on the LCD, but it seems like they could have could have packed a little more resolution in there to make it more useable. That problem is offset somewhat by the articulating LCD screen. It allows you to view from odd angles and with a little extra manipulation you can usually get a clear image even outdoors.
Another minor nit pick is the inclusion of alkaline batteries with the kit. Not only do alkalines not last very long with this camera, they actually heat up during use possibly contributing to some of the temperature issues. I quickly replaced them with NiMH Eneloops and surprisingly, the camera's operation actually sped up noticably. If you buy this camera, invest in some good rechargeable NiMH batteries you'll be much happier.
The software accompanying the camera is not impressive, but it does what it needs to. It comes with picture management software Finepix Studio so you can view and organize your images. It also includes a RAW file converter (Silkypix) which allows you to adjust and save captured RAW images as TIF or JPEG images. Adobe Camera Raw didn't initially recognize the HS20's RAW format, but is now supported so if you are used to the Adobe workflow, you'll be happier with Adobe Camera Raw.
On day one, I took a liking to this camera and gave it a starting rating of four stars. As I got more familiar with the HS20, I've posted sample images and video and links to these can be found in the attached comments. Although I've identified some issues that could be improved, this camera actually exceeds my expectations for a point and shoot. I can capture images that rival an entry-level DSLR, and not have to carry around 20 pounds of equipment (camera body, wide and telephoto lenses, tripod, etc.). The HS20EXR more than meets my desire for a relatively small travel or hiking camera that still has good reach and image quality. If I could, I'd give a rating of about 4.6 stars. I don't love everything about the camera, but as a whole, it's fun to use and a great photo-taking machine for the price.
Pros: Shooting speed, low light performance, image quality, flexible shooting controls, massive sharp zoom range
Cons: Slow autofocus/instability during video, low quality EVF, display lag on shutter release
UPDATE April 19th, 2011: Firmware update to address the temp warning. Everything else is working fine.
UPDATE April 29th, 2011: Adobe Camera Raw now supports EXR RAW files. Great news!
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