HS20 EXR Tips (1 Viewer)

[MonkeysClaw]

Hi Everyone , just joined the site hopefully to help with tips and advice. i recently bought a HS20 EXR and already am very pleased with the camera with basic shots i have taken of local landscapes. I wonder if anyone could help me with a bit of advice regarding low lights shots. my daughters ice skate and i love taking action shots of them. unfortunately previous photos taken with my Lumix DMC FS12 always resulted in very yellow based photos due to the lighting from the bulbs used in the rink. How can i combat this with my HS20 and what would be the best settings for action shots. Unfortunately i am very new to this type of camera coming from the old point and click method. Any advice would be invaluable .... many thanks .... Keith

 

[njlarsen]

Keith, not able to help, just wanted to say welcome to Birdforum!

Niels

 

[kennethwfd]

I am learning to use the HS20, and it does seem to have some issues with quality above ISO 400 & low light shots http://http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/photo-video/3290794/fujifilm-finepix-hs20-review/.


You can use it in full auto mode, or one of the semi auto settings - A for aperture priority or S for shutter priority.

Wonder whether the colour balance could be improved by post processing your existing shots

This video has been posted in another thread under fuji on this forum HS20 V DSLR http://youtu.be/rfnv9pRUJrU

 

[iveljay]

Page 43 of the manual describes how in unusual detail (for a camera manual) how to set a custom white balance. I havn't tried it with my HS20 but regularly do it with my slrs for 'accurate' colour reproduction when its needed. It is quite simple usually and saves much aggro post processing, or complaints that you have got someones dress the wrong shade of whatever. Just remember to fill the viewfinder with your white target when setting up.

The only problem is if you encounter a mix of lighting, used in some venues to add interest, this can be almost impossible to sort and you will have to compromise.

You will find that different photo editors make the job more or less difficult, if you want post process. I keep an old copy of Paintshop Pro 9 on an XP machine as it had one of the best tools for quickly removing colour casts around.

Page 81 of your manual tells you how to manually tweak colour balance - don't if you are just starting out - many people find it difficult to get right.

I may have a play later on tonight to see if it works as well as it should

 

[iveljay]

Just had a play - takes seconds to do and even remembers your last custom setting if you switch off or do other things, just as it should. It got rid of the yellow cast in my last tungsten lit room far better than the auto setting. Just remember to take an A4 sheet of white printer paper with you.
Page 43 even has pictures of what buttons to press.

You may find the EXR High ISO - Low Noise setting useful. Even though it will reduce the number of pixels available, you will gain overall in much sharper pictures under poor light. This thing has so many bells and whistles it really is interesting getting it to perform at its best.

 

[Giansqualo]

I moved from the HS10 to the HS20EXR... I have enjoyed them both for their zoom but I cant say its very useful for things like Birds in Motion especially considering the shutter is even slower on the HS20 then the HS10.

Best advice is to not use Auto mode and Tinker around.. I am really looking into getting something else for Wildlife photos though. While you can get some quality shots it really is a huge struggle in lower light and high speeds. Shall Keep my HS20 for street photography, Thats where its a winner for me.

 

[Keith Dickinson]

It is possible to get decent flight pictures with the HS20, you've got to work at it though. http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/422222/limit/recent this bird was taken having first focussed on the ground below it to get the exposure and rough area of focus, then half pressed the shutter, found the bird in the eyepiece and judged when the focus looked best before fully pressing the shutter.

 

[Wildmoreway]

I have got both an HS10 and an HS20, the HS10 seems better at handling low light than the HS20.

 

[Gordon]

There is a lot of info re using the HS EXR20 - not specifically regarding bird photography - on this site:
http://akiwiretrospective.blogspot.co.uk/

cheers
Gordon