We all indulge in clicking pictures!
Clicking pictures of our favourite stars in sports stadium or at live shows, those rare birds or bees during vacations at a resort or anything that attract our attention with the compact cameras that we wield all the time, gives that soul satiating feeling. But this feeling evaporates the moment we download our handy work on the PC and see the results on the monitor screen.
Our favourite stars, those gleaming rare birds and bees or what ever we have clicked, appears like small specks in the sea of every thing else. The reason? Well the compact cameras we randomly use doesn?t have long enough zoom lens (they generally have 3X or 5X zoom) to bring the far off objects closer, unlike expensive professional DSLR cameras.
To overcome this shortcoming in the non-DSLR cameras for the serious photographers among us who want the versatility and performance of a DSLR system without the bulk and expense, the Fujifilm Corporation has recently introduced their 30X optical zoom camera ?FinePix HS10? in the Indian arena.
Though ?FinePix HS10? is not the only 30X optical zoom camera in the market (the other being the Olympus SP-800UZ), its DSLR camera-like looks and handling, and many other standalone features make it a desirable option.
Complete with a snap-up flash and hot-shoe for the external flashgun, ?mode and command? dials on the top, an ergonomically designed right hand grip with shutter release and power-On button, twist-barrel type manual zoom and focusing control rings on a large lens in the front and a large (3inch) LCD monitor screen and the electronic viewfinder on the rear, the Fujifilm ?FinePix HS10? almost looks and feels like any high end digital SLR camera.
The 10.3mega pixel camera has a ?BSI-CMOS? image sensor and ?Fujinon? super zoom lens (35mm camera equivalent of 24mm X 740mm, F2.8~5.6) to pull those distant objects close enough to fill your viewfinder window. The newly designed image sensor with rear illumination and increased light gathering ability (that significantly reduce noise in low light conditions) combined with high power zoom lens ?HS10? is capable of taking stunningly bright and sharp pictures. To make it easier to handle long telephoto range and eliminate image blurring during handheld shooting, a vibration stabiliser has also been incorporated in the camera design.
The 3-inch LCD monitor on the rear of the camera is tilt-able and can be pulled out and adjusted, a very useful feature if you are shooting from low angle, close to the ground position. The electronic viewfinder on top of the monitor has an eye sensor for automatic switching (between the display screen and viewfinder) and a diopter adjustment wheel, to fine tune viewfinder according to your eyesight.
The decently designed and sturdy built, ?FinePix HS10? digital camera can also transform in to HD movie mode (1920 x 1080 resolution, 30 fps) by simply pressing a dedicated ?movie record? button. And to challenge your creative urge and catch a bullet in its flight, the ?HS10? can shoot slow motion (high speed) movies at up to 1000 fps. And to watch the resultant HD footage directly on the LCD panel, a mini HDMI output socket (along with an USB2 socket) has been provided.
The FinePix HS10 sports a full complement of sophisticated manual and automatic shooting modes and photographic controls. The external controls give the serious photographer direct access to virtually every control they will need for uninterrupted shooting, and the body includes dedicated buttons for key-functions, such as adjusting ISO, white balance, focus and metering.
The camera is powered by four ?AA? type alkaline battery cells and rechargeable Ni-MH or Lithium cells can also be used. With advanced functionality, sophisticated photographic controls and SLR-like handling, the MRP of Rs 27,999 makes ?FinePix HS10? an excellent buy.