It's big, it's beastly, and it's back, this time with EXR technology. Read our full Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR review here.
Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR Report
Fujifilm is back at it again with a new flagship Super Zoom digital camera, and we got a chance to flog it all day and night. The Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR is the successor to last year's Finepix HS10—a camera that left us with conflicted emotions. The pomp and circumstance engulfing the new Fujifim Finepix HS20 EXR is its—yes, you guessed it—brand new 16-megapixel EXR CMOS sensor. That means we get Fujifilm's EXR shooting technology merged with a Backside Illuminated Sensor, and image and video quality becomes the hot topic of this review. Not only did Fujifilm cram a new sensor into the Finepix HS20 EXR, but the camera now offers SDXC card support, a higher 12,800 ISO cap, and more pixels in the LCD. That's about it, compared to last year's Finepix HS10. Therefore, Fujifilm did not improve upon our suggestions riddled throughout the Finepix HS10 review, so many of our shooting-oriented gripes were relived yet a second time. The Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR is an odd duck, so take a leap into the pond, shall we?
Design
To most users, the Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR will look identical to last year's Finepix HS10, save a few minor button assignments. The camera still rocks a 30x optical zoom lens, though that magnification seems antiquated in this day and age when compared to the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS's 35x optical and Nikon Coolpix P500's 36x optical zooms. It's still a killer magnification, though the Finepix HS20 EXR lacks a crucial component—optical image stabilization. Its electronic sensor shift image stabilization left us stranded in video mode, bringing on the jitter like a kindergartener in the midst of a Pixi Stix binge. Fujifilm had the chance to integrate optical image stabilization, but they migrated over the same flawed system.
Also, Fujifilm did nothing to alleviate the stubborn zoom lens barrel. Its jerky movement made it impossible to zoom in or out smoothly, complicating our video experience even further. So already, with its unrefined zoom barrel and inadequate electronic image stabilization, the Fujifim Finepix HS20 EXR does not appear to be the best option for recording videos, does it? But we haven't even brought up its wandering Continuous Auto Focus. Yes, the Continuous Auto Focus with a mind of its own, which needed a heavy dosage of Ritalin in order to pay attention to the subject matter. Video mode on the Fujifilm Finepix HS20 needed some major help, and could not match the likes of the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS or Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40.
But as a compact Super Zoom, the Finepix HS20 offers an excellent fleet of controls. Along the left side of the LCD, we have ISO, White Balance, Manual Focus, and Exposure settings, which are dictated by the Control dial located near the Shutter button. This allowed us to rapidly rifle through controls and apply them with ease, and echoed the utility of a basic DSLR. Fujifilm also boosted the HS20 EXR's 3-inch foldout LCD resolution to 460,000, though we found the picture quality to lag behind. The Mode 4-way directional pad had a quick function that toggled RAW shooting, but we found this was ill placed because we inadvertently hit it without knowing. This year, the HS20 EXR offered SDXC card support, and Fujifilm carried over the AA battery power supply, which is great for tourists who need to pop into a local pharmacy to replenish the Energizers. If Fujifilm would fix the lens zoom control, implement optical image stabilization, and amend the wandering Auto Focus, then the Finepix HS20 EXR would be a force, but right now, these shortcomings are major hindrances in the camera's design.
Shooting Features
As evidenced in the previous section, The Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR is a monster that needs taming when it comes to certain key features. However, the monster within is more powerful than most cameras in its class. The camera can shoot down to a 30-second shutter speed with Bulb option, toss the ISO up to 12,800 (at a smaller resolution), offer up plenty of White Balance modes, bracketing, high-speed shooting for action, exposure compensation via the Control dial—you name it. Few cameras of this ilk are as powerful as the Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR, and we never felt short staffed when it came to manual controls.
Then there's the EXR technology, which utilizes a sensor that can shift its pixel array to accommodate High Resolution, Wide Dynamic Range, and High Sensitivity & Low Noise scene modes. The Dynamic Range can also be adjusted on the Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR from 100%, 200%, or 400%, just like on any of the company's EXR cameras. We found that shooting in EXR Auto mode was a reassuring autopilot, as the camera did a fine job discerning between scene types. When scenes were rife with contrast or backlighting, the Finepix HS20 EXR would shift into DR (Wide Dynamic Range) mode. Low light scenes defaulted to SN (High Sensitivity and Low Noise) mode, and all other scenes seemed to fall into HR (High Resolution) mode.
Aside from being a manual beast and offering one of the premiere Auto modes on the market, the Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR was equipped with a gaggle of Scene modes located in two individual selections on the Mode dial for quick customization. But that's not all. The Finepix HS20 EXR obliterated the cheesy tourist remover feature found on the HS10 and went with their Advanced Mode, which included Pro Low Light and Pro Focus. Pro Low Light captured a series of images and blended them together—the typical HDR type capture, only geared for high sensitivity. Pro Focus utilized a shallow aperture to attain artistic background blur. Although these modes were not necessary for the advanced photographer, they were solid tools to have for the beginner.
And the list goes on. The Finepix HS20 EXR has a fairly decent Auto mode and a designated Panorama mode, which utilizes a 360-degree Panorama Sweep technique. We have a Top 4 burst capture mode, Best Frame Capture, and Auto Exposure Bracketing mode in addition to a Super Macro mode that allowed us to shoot from 1 centimeter away. Not many cameras can touch the Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR—it is a beastly creation of the manual control persuasion. However, we could have used some additional refinement with the Manual Focus, which was jumpy, just like the Zoom control. Also, the poor screen resolution made it difficult to focus properly. Lastly, the camera is one of the slower cameras in this class. The camera takes its sweet time after snapping a shot, and wading through certain menus and Playback mode seemed to drip by like molasses in a freezer. If only Fujifilm fixed the camera's impending hardware quirks—the Finepix HS20 EXR would be untouchable with this royal suite of manual controls.
Still Image Quality
As quirky as the Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR may be, it produced some of the best images we've seen from a Super Zoom in this class. The camera is stocked with a brand new 16-megapixel 1/2-inch BSI (Backside Illuminated) EXR Sensor, which is slightly larger than last year's 1/2.3-inch chip and packs significantly more megapixels than the HS10's 10-megapixel cap. As with any backside illuminated sensor, the Finepix HS20 EXR's wiring resides behind the actual chip, allowing more light to spill in. If you choose to shoot in EXR mode, the pixels are arranged at a 45-degree angle orientation and shift depending on the shooting environment. For instance, if you're shooting in DR mode, the pixels will split and capture two separate images, thus combining them within the camera to provide an image with minimal highlights and shadows.
Amidst all of this technology, the Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR was one of our best performers. Many times, our EXR results trumped that of Program AE or Auto mode. Colors and detail in bright light were fantastic when dialed in correctly, and the camera's low light performance was killer. Even when we shot in super low light at ISO 100 and cranked the Shutter down to 30-seconds, the Finepix HS20 EXR produced a great image. Noise management was better than most competing cameras, including the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40. Therefore, we can safely report that the Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR will give you the best image quality out of a Super Zoom in this class and price range, even after having just seen the Nikon Coolpix P500.
We shot in RAW + JPEG and analyzed our test images in the provided Fujifilm software. We will say that we preferred the JPEG performance to the RAW performance, but that's entirely due to the software output of the RAW files to JPEG conversion. However, our native JPEGs were crisper and provided more refined noise elements than the RAWs. This is just one of those cameras that will be fine if it's knocked into JPEG mode. The following are native JPEGs.
Compare these converted RAW images to their corresponding matches above to see the difference in RAW conversion output quality vs. native JPEG quality. We like the JPEGs better.
While the Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR stands at the top of the mountain when it comes to still image quality, its video mode is exceedingly lackluster. In fact, it was one of the most frustrating video modes we've used on a camera this year. As noted throughout the review, the HS20 EXR's electronic image stabilization is inadequate, causing all types of jitter, frame waves, and blurriness at larger zoom magnifications. Furthermore, the Continuous Auto Focus could not hold a line worth a damn, and lastly, the Zoom control was jerky, obliterating the ability to zoom in on anything smoothly. This is a deadly trio of death in any video mode, and it was anything but good.
Video quality was not the best either. We're shooting H.264 .MOV files at 1080p 30fps, so one would think decent quality could be achieved. Sound was muffled, resolution was fuzzy, and the HS20 EXR could not shoot in anything remotely close to low lighting conditions—it was sad. So, you'll have to rely on the Fujifilm Finepix HS20EXR as a still image machine with a secondary emphasis on videos. Well, maybe a last resort emphasis on videos. At least the camera offered slow motion video capture at 320fps, 160fps, and 80fps (though the resolutions are tiny).
Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR : infoSync Diagnosis
The Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR is a quagmire if we've ever come across one here in the infoSync labs. On one hand, the Finepix HS20 EXR is like Doctor Jekyl—intelligent and proficient to an exacting science. The camera is a powerplant filled with manual controls and top-notch still image quality for its class, courtesy of EXR technology. We've also got a 30x optical zoom Fujinon lens, 3-inch foldout LCD with more pixels, and an exceedingly intuitive and convenient button and control configuration strewn about the camera's body.
But then Mr. Hyde rears his hideous head and clamors about with a highly inadequate Zoom control, sad electronic image stabilization, jumpy Manual focus, almost nonexistent Continuous Auto Focus, and menus that have a tendency to fall asleep at the wheel. If it weren't for the deplorable aforementioned traits brought on by the Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR's Mr. Hyde persona, the camera would be untouchable—that we are sure of.
But sadly, we did not enjoy shooting with the Finepix HS20 EXR to the extent of the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS or Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40. This is a darn shame. Fujifilm needs to read this review and fix what needs to be fixed on the next iteration of the company's flagship Super Zoom, or they'll be stuck in the same rut they seem to be treading mud in now. Sadly, we can have our cake but we can't eat it too with the Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR. If you crave nothing but the best in still image quality within the Super Zoom genre, and can deal with the cautions we have laid out here, then you'll be fine with the Finepix HS20 EXR. However, we would recommend looking at the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS or Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40 first.
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