HS20 v other bridge cameras (1 Viewer)

[mallingbirder]

Interested in Fuji HS20 for wildlife pics, not after direct comparison to DSLR. Anyone had any experience with photographing birds in flight. Any comments?

Thanks

Adam

 

[mookadabird]

The main problem will be using the Fuji is the electronic viewfinder, it's hard to track motion with those. Also it will be slow to focus compared to an SLR. I know you are not looking for a comparison to an SLR, but I did find a video that has an intriguing review / shoot out with the HS20 vs. the Nikon D700 with some big glass on it. I think it's a little over the top, but it shows the HS20 can hold it's own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfnv9pRUJrU

Personally I'd invest in an SLR like a Canon Rebel T3i (EOS 600D if you are in Europe) http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos600d/ - Remember camera bodies come and go, but you marry a lens system.

 

[Tanager]

Adam,

I have the Fuji HS20. I think its a great little camera and a vast improvement over the HS10. Taking flight shots with any of the bridge cameras is going to be difficult, and if this is what you will be mainly using it for then you would be better going down the SLR or Micro 4/3s route. It is not impossible to get flight shots, it will just take more luck and perseverance. The photo below is taken with the HS20, and I have managed to photograph House Martins flying around the house.

My main reason for getting the fuji was that I didn't want to carry my Canon 20D and 400mm lens in addition to my telescope. The fuji covers the same focal lenght as the 400mm, and yes the image quality is not going to be or is as good as the SLR but it is a compromise that I am happy with. I went for the Fuji over other bridge cameras because of the manual zoom ring and the lack of CA in the images. I bought my fuji at the end of April and have yet to change the batteries in it, I am quite frankly amazed by these Lithium AA batteries that you can buy.

Let me know if you have anymore questions about the camera.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[mallingbirder]

Cheers fellas, all very useful, I'll let you know how I get on.

Adam

 

[upstarts1979]

Adam,

I have the Fuji HS20. I think its a great little camera and a vast improvement over the HS10. Taking flight shots with any of the bridge cameras is going to be difficult, and if this is what you will be mainly using it for then you would be better going down the SLR or Micro 4/3s route. It is not impossible to get flight shots, it will just take more luck and perseverance. The photo below is taken with the HS20, and I have managed to photograph House Martins flying around the house.

My main reason for getting the fuji was that I didn't want to carry my Canon 20D and 400mm lens in addition to my telescope. The fuji covers the same focal lenght as the 400mm, and yes the image quality is not going to be or is as good as the SLR but it is a compromise that I am happy with. I went for the Fuji over other bridge cameras because of the manual zoom ring and the lack of CA in the images. I bought my fuji at the end of April and have yet to change the batteries in it, I am quite frankly amazed by these Lithium AA batteries that you can buy.

Let me know if you have anymore questions about the camera.

Cheers,

Mark

I too am looking at buying this camera , you state your 400mm is the same focal length as the lens in the HS20. They state it is the equivalent of 720mm at max (x30 setting) could you give me your opinion of that.
B John

 

[Hor Kee]

I too am looking at buying this camera , you state your 400mm is the same focal length as the lens in the HS20. They state it is the equivalent of 720mm at max (x30 setting) could you give me your opinion of that.
B John

John,

A 400mm lens coupled with an APS-C crop sensor of most non-pro DSLRs (e.g. Canon's Rebel series and Nikon's D90) will give you a perceived magnification of 600+mm. With a DSLR's higher pixel count, you can crop the images manually to increase magnification later.

That said, the HS20 is a great bridge camera for its class. I like the manual zoom as one can leave it fully zoomed in when idle. it gives much better start-up time when one encounters birds, compared to the Canon SX30IS and Nikon P500 where the lens retracts when not in use. :t:

 

[Tanager]

Hor Kee,

Thanks for explaining that, you beat me to it.

All the best,

Mark

 

[upstarts1979]

John,

A 400mm lens coupled with an APS-C crop sensor of most non-pro DSLRs (e.g. Canon's Rebel series and Nikon's D90) will give you a perceived magnification of 600+mm. With a DSLR's higher pixel count, you can crop the images manually to increase magnification later.

That said, the HS20 is a great bridge camera for its class. I like the manual zoom as one can leave it fully zoomed in when idle. it gives much better start-up time when one encounters birds, compared to the Canon SX30IS and Nikon P500 where the lens retracts when not in use. :t:

thank you Hor

 

[Happisbirder]

Hopefully of some use to prospective buyers of the HS20EXR are these photos - both handheld and un-edited from the camera JPEG's - of a distant (400m?) soaring Buzzard and a perched Sparrowhawk taken through a small gap in foliage at c.50m range...

James

 

[upstarts1979]

Hopefully of some use to prospective buyers of the HS20EXR are these photos - both handheld and un-edited from the camera JPEG's - of a distant (400m?) soaring Buzzard and a perched Sparrowhawk taken through a small gap in foliage at c.50m range...

James

Hi James
Thanks for posting, I am not looking to win any competitions, so as a birder I am not looking for perfection, I just want a bit more than 'pin pricks'. I have a fuji S7000 at present with x6 optical plus x 3.2digital = x19. Although it is great for macro, I struggle with any bird more than 20 yards away. At my reserve many of the waders are close 30 to 50 yards mostly, have you got any examples of similar situations to show me?
B John
ps I am almost sold on the HS20, I just need examples of what I need it for to tip the balance.

 

[Happisbirder]

Hello John et al...

The camera is still new to me (or vice versa!) so I haven't done a huge amount of work with it yet. I am, however, pleasantly surprised with many of the results. I have uploaded some wader shots, as requested, most of which fall to within the distance range you quoted John. The Little Stint was slightly further away - c.80m, the Knot were at a slightly closer range - c.20m. Again, the photos are as they came out of the camera as JPEG's, without any editing.

If you want to view some video taken with the camera I have uploaded a short sequence of the Knot to YouTube.

The 30x quoted by Fuji is, in my opinion, somewhat misleading as the lens doesn't magnify 30x 'what the human eye sees'. The focal range is 4.2mm - 126mm (equivalent 135 24mm - 720mm), ie full zoom equals 30x the widest setting. I think the human eye is closer to 50mm so 30x would require an equivalent 135 focal length of 1500mm. I may be wrong but this is how I understand it... |:S|

Hope the photos are of some help in your decision making John!

James

 

[upstarts1979]

Hello John et al...

The camera is still new to me (or vice versa!) so I haven't done a huge amount of work with it yet. I am, however, pleasantly surprised with many of the results. I have uploaded some wader shots, as requested, most of which fall to within the distance range you quoted John. The Little Stint was slightly further away - c.80m, the Knot were at a slightly closer range - c.20m. Again, the photos are as they came out of the camera as JPEG's, without any editing.

If you want to view some video taken with the camera I have uploaded a short sequence of the Knot to YouTube.

The 30x quoted by Fuji is, in my opinion, somewhat misleading as the lens doesn't magnify 30x 'what the human eye sees'. The focal range is 4.2mm - 126mm (equivalent 135 24mm - 720mm), ie full zoom equals 30x the widest setting. I think the human eye is closer to 50mm so 30x would require an equivalent 135 focal length of 1500mm. I may be wrong but this is how I understand it... |:S|

Hope the photos are of some help in your decision making John!

James

Cheers James for all your trouble , much appreciated. Won over . Birthday next month, will be checking out prices.
good birdingB John