Fujifilm Finepix HS20 EXR announced

Yet another increase in pixel count? Why do people need such large file sizes when most people just view their images on a computer screen which i believe can only display approx 2MP. 6MP is quite enough to print good quality A4 size prints. I suppose it sells cameras to the "my sensor is bigger than yours!" brigade.

i agree with david arrowsmith,if fuji wanted to bring out a new camera,i think that they should have continueous shooting for up to 15 or 20 frames not as the hs10 has now---only 7---also i would have improved the lense from 24-720 to maybe 24 to 850,things like that would have been better in conjunction with the improved sensor.

Comments are fair, however, why don't they actually improve some of the accessories for the hs10,eg. there still is no cable release or remote system for the hs10.

The main drawback with the otherwise excellent HS10,as I found out,was the slowness of frame capture,especially the speed of writing Raw files to the SD card. Also flash photography could be quite slow. The older Fuji's were quicker to use,so I knew they would fix this on the next model. If the new HS20 rectifies the speed of operation of it's predecessor,it should be a clear winner in the Superzoom,all-in-one category,as it is a classy camera,and the images were great. I'd even sell my new Lumix FZ100 and buy one,(once the price has come down a bit!) The HS10 is certainly slower to use than the latest Panasonic FZ45 and FZ100 Superzooms.

I hope that the production model DOES include the lens hood shown. A backward step with the HS10 was that the camera was supplied without a lenshood. A further wishlist item is to have a printed manual rather than just a .pdf.

I'd like to know if it manages to track focus while in continuous shooting mode - or if like most cameras it leaves the focus stuck on the first image. Shame that it doesn't have an external mic jack.

Can't wait to read reviews on the HS20. This could be the bridge camera I've been looking for. Hope I won't be disappointed !

Sounded great , then i read it has AA batteries , why !!!!

AA is a good thing you can always buy them if u ran out of juice, on last holiday batt in my new nikon went dead just like that and i was stuck f...

I was looking forward to upgrading my HS10 when a new version came out. I don't think Fuji listen to comments users of their cameras submit. It looks like they have kept the gimmicky sensor next to the viewfinder, making the viewfinder very small, especially for spectacle users. They seem not to have installed a cable release socket, like the one fitted on the Fuji S9500. It's no use telling us to use the two second timer, while you are doing that, quite often your subject has long gone! Looks like there is no lens hood again, you can use one off the S9500 if you have one. It seems they have enabled the hot shoe so you can now use an external flash. It looks like the HS20 is another rush job, as was the HS10. What a wasted opportunity to get it right this time. I wonder how many Firmware upgrades we will have to download this time? 3 out of 10, You Must Try Harder!

I just read the camera's spec on the Fuji website and it says it does come supplied with a lens hood and also does have cable release using part number RR80. Seems to me from the information available so far, that they HAVE addressed the major issues reported in the HS10 e.g. image quality, zooming and that annoying delay when changing the dial setting etc. I was just about to buy the HS10 but will now wait for this camera to be available and read the reviews once people have actually used the camera. You have to admit, there isn't much out there in the same price bracket that comes close!

Does anyone knows what the main difference is between EXR construction vs EXR processing? In terms of image quality which is meant to be better than the other?

Carlos: Fuji is, in its very cautious marketing way, stating that EXR processing should produce results as good as an EXR sensor. The EXR sensor is, however, an entirely different construction to a standard CMOS. We believe that by adjusting the way data is output from the sensor using EXR processing that it can partly mimick the EXR sensor's construction, but it's arguable as to whether this will produce results that are truly the same... we'll have to wait and see!

I hope they fixed the write times, because quite frankly on the HS10 they are awful.

I have upgraded from hs10 to hs20. It is faster, pictures are comparable to my nik d300. however most cameras have a temperature problem and most be kept off between shots. hope they can fix this.

I have read from other user reviews that it overheats after a while and it has to be turned off constantly to remain cool. I hope this is going to be corrected before they ship units to the Middle East otherwise they will be completely unusable here.

Is there any update on the bugs of HS20: overheating, rough zoom operation, video problems, autofocus?

sample shots look stunning. Extremely crisp, no sign of barrel distortion. To be honest the larger CMOS looks better than the EXR in my F300EXR.

It does not have an overheat problem at all. I've disassembled this camera and can confirm that the problem is with the camera firmware or heat sensor. The processor does not get hot.

Fujifilm have announced a fix for the 'problem'. As the poster above me commented, it is not actually overheating, it just thinks it is. See here for more info: http://www.myfinepix.com/news/firmware-update-for-finepix-hs20-overheating

I bought the HS20EXR and it is truly an amazing camera. Initially it was showing the overheating icon after a few minutes operation. I have since updated the firmware from version 1.01 to 1.02 and since then I do not remember what the overheating icon looks like even if I use it for more than one hour continuously. Pictures are great even at full zoom and the manual focus is great for nighttime zoom photography. After a week's use the manual zoom barrel becomes smooth to operate. Video auto focus? You can shoot decent video if CENTER auto focus is used rather than CONTINUOUS.