Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

"The Fujifilm FinePix HS20 EXR is a new super-zoom digital compact camera. Looking and handling like a DSLR, the bridge-style Fujifilm HS20 EXR boasts a 30x zoom lens which covers a 35mm equivalent focal range of 24-720mm and also features mechanical image stabilisation and twist-barrel manual zoom and focusing controls. Other highlights of the camera include a 16 megapixel EXR Back Side Illuminated CMOS sensor, a 3-inch tilting LCD monitor, electronic viewfinder with eye-sensor for automatic switching, full 1080p HD movie recording with stereo sound, ISO range of 100-12800, High Speed movie capture at 320 fps, continuous shooting at 8fps, 0.16 second autofocusing, full manual controls and support for the RAW file format."

Super-zoom digital compact cameras pose a quandary for many photographers. While they offer an incredibly versatile lens with a very long format zoom, there are always compromises in a lens that tries to do as much as these do. Compromises can include such things as image distortions at the extremities of the lens and perhaps being a little short on the wide-angle end of things. But, there are advantages to such a powerful lines in a compact camera format. They are small enough to easily carry around for extended periods, and they can replace one or more lenses that you would normally have to carry in your kit if you are using a DSLR with multiple lenses. I personally have debated the relative merits of these cameras over the years, but have ended up going the DLSR route with a set of lenses to cover multiple situations. However, with the advances that cameras like this one have demonstrated, it may be time to reconsider.

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"The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 is a new super-zoom camera featuring a wide-angle 24x zoom lens, 14 megapixel high-speed MOS image sensor and 11fps continuous shooting at full image resolution.... [It] shares a lot in common in terms of its external design with its popular predecessor, the FZ38, with a few key improvements that make an already very capable camera even better."

At first look, Panasonic's DMC-FZ100 struck me as an almost ideal upgrade from my Canon S3 IS: a large zoom range that starts at an effective wide-angle (25mm equivalent), 1920x1080i video recording (with built-in stereo mics and the ability to zoom while recording), a large rotating LCD screen, and both a pop-up flash and a hot shoe. Toss in a 14.1 MP image sensor, and the myriad of features that nearly every digital camera seems to come with now, and what is there not to like? And, indeed, Photographyblog.com gives the FZ100 a very thorough - and quite favorable - review. But there are some areas that deserve thought: the price tag is relatively high ($499.99 US), and, like many of its competitors, the FZ100 appears to have advanced its mega-pixel count beyond the capabilities of its image sensor. Most users may not notice the image shortfalls - and, after all, most super-zooms struggle in some areas - but potential buyers should read the full review to obtain a better understanding of the benefits and trade-offs of Panasonic's "Ultimate Hybrid Digital Compact Camera."

"The Fujifilm FinePix S1600 is a new super-zoom digital compact camera that looks and feels like a DSLR. Featuring a 15x zoom lens with a 28-420mm focal range, 12 megapixels and a 3 inch LCD screen, the Fujifilm S1600 offers full manual photographic control for the more experienced user and an Automatic Scene Recognition mode for beginners."

Although it may indeed be a case of "another day, another superzoom," FujiFilm's FinePix S1600 does appear to have at least one thing going for it: a remarkably low price tag ($229 CAD MSRP) for its feature set - so much so that I literally had to look twice to be certain that that was not a misprint! Although at a 15x zoom it stands near what is now the lower end of the "superzoom" market, the S1600 includes a number of competitive features, including image stabilization, 720p video, a panorama mode, and a "Natural Light & With Flash" mode that takes two pictures in quick succession, with and without flash. In addition, Photography Blog gives the S1600 a nice review, and it includes two items that I find very attractive: a 2-year manufacturer's warranty, and the ability to run off AA batteries. Indeed, the primary drawback from a personal perspective is that it is not officially available in the USA: instead the US market starts with the S1800, which adds an 18x lens and lists for $229 (USD), but is readily available for less.