Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 10 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 4Mb.

The Fujifilm FinePix HS10 produced images of very good quality during the review period. This camera handled noise very well, not becoming obvious until the relatively slow speed of ISO 800 and then becoming progressively worse at the faster settings of ISO 1600 and 3200. Only the fastest setting of ISO 6400 isn't worth using.

Chromatic aberrations were well controlled, with limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations. The 10 megapixel images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpen setting and require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera sharpening level.

Macro performance is excellent, allowing you to focus as close as 1cm away from the subject when the lens is set to wide-angle. Commendably barrel distortion is well controlled even at the 24mm focal length. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and adequate overall exposure, although there is noticeable vignetting at 24mm.

The anti-shake system works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range. The maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds allows the cameras to capture enough light for most after-dark situations.

The Pro Low-Light scene mode produces better image clarity at high ISO levels at the expense of a loss of fine detail. The Sweep Panorama mode works largely as advertised, making it simple to take hand-held low-light and wide-vista shots, although there is a clear ghosting effect around any moving subjects.

Noise

There are 7 ISO settings available on the Fujifilm FinePix HS10. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:

JPEG	RAW
ISO 100 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)
ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)
ISO 1600 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)	ISO 3200 (100% Crop)
ISO 6400 (100% Crop)	ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Fujifilm FinePix HS10's 30x zoom lens provides a focal length of 24-720mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

24mm	720mm

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little bit soft at the default sharpening setting, and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

File Quality

The Fujifilm FinePix HS10 has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

10M Fine (3.87Mb) (100% Crop)	10M Normal (2.22Mb) (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Fujifilm FinePix HS10 handled chromatic aberrations very well during the review. Just a little purple fringing was present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)	Example 2 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Fujifilm FinePix HS10 offers a Super Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 1cm away from the camera. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject in Macro mode (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro Shot	100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Fujifilm FinePix HS10 are Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro, and any of those modes combined with Red-eye Reduction. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (24mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (24mm)

And here are some portrait shots. Neither the Auto or Red-eye reduction mode caused any amount of red-eye.

Flash On	Flash On (100% Crop)
Red Eye Reduction	Red Eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Fujifilm FinePix HS10's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 30 seconds at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

Night Shot	Night Shot (100% Crop)

Anti Shake

The Fujifilm FinePix HS10 has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length	Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)	Anti Shake On (100% Crop)
1/3rd / 24mm
1/2 / 245mm

Panorama Mode

The Fujifilm FinePix HS10 allows you to take panoramic images very easily, by 'sweeping' with the camera while keeping the shutter release depressed. The camera does all the processing and stitching. The main catch is that the resulting image is of fairly low resolution - 720 pixels high and 5760 pixels wide - and also moving objects are recorded as "ghost" images.

Pro Low-Light

The Fujifilm FinePix S200EXR's Pro Low-Light scene mode produces better image clarity at high ISO levels, with the camera automatically taking a series of four high sensitivity/low-noise shots in quick succession which are then combined together using in-camera processing into an image with less noise than the single exposures. The main drawback is a noticeable softening of fine detail.

Off	Off (100% Crop)
Pro Low-Light	Pro Low-Light (100% Crop)

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Fujifilm FinePix HS10 camera, which were all taken using the 10 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Fujifilm FinePix HS10 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Fujifilm RAW (RAF) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

As of February 2025, we are no longer providing full size sample images or videos for download.

Please contact us if you have any feedback on our new policy.

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Pop-up Flash

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Rear of the Camera / Tilting LCD Screen

Rear of the Camera / Tilting LCD Screen

Rear of the Camera / Tilting LCD Screen

Rear of the Camera / Tilting LCD Screen

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

With a wealth of innovative features, shooting modes for every experience level, not to forget that amazing 30x zoom, the Fujifilm Finepix HS10 is one of the best super-zooms around and also a viable alternative to a DSLR camera. The HS10 only misses out on our highest award thanks to less than stellar image quality in low-light, slow RAW processing speeds and the high price tag.

The HS10 has been frequently compared to a DSLR throughout this review, and in most respects it's almost the match of any entry to mid-range model. Fujifilm are pitching the HS10 as an all-in-one alternative, with no need to buy or change lenses thanks to the 30x lens, which is remarkably distortion-free and admirably fast at either end. The manual zoom and focus rings further reinforce that DSLR feeling, as do the external flash hotshoe, shooting mode and command dials, tilting LCVD screen, full range of manual shooting modes and even RAW format support. In short, the HS10 is a great alternative to a fully-fledged digital SLR - and with 1080p movie recording on-board, it could also replace your video camera too.

There are a couple of areas where the Fujifilm HS10 just can't compete with a DSLR, though, most notably the pedestrian processing speeds for RAW files and the poorer image quality once you get above ISO 400. Having to wait a couple of seconds between every RAW image quickly becomes annoying, despite the headline-grabbing 10fps burst mode, and noise quickly rears its ugly head at ISO 800, becoming progressively worse throughout the rest of the ISO range. The average quality electronic viewfinder is also no match for even the cheapest optical viewfinder. The HS10 admittedly fares better in these areas when compared to other super-zoom compacts - just don't expect it to offer DSLR-like quality and performance and you won't be disappointed.

The price-tag of £439.99 / $499.95 again makes less or more sense depending upon what you're comparing it to. Taken as a super-zoom, it's easily the most expensive model on the market, but also the most capable in terms of features. As a DSLR doppleganger, the HS10 clearly makes a lot of economic sense if you want the DSLR handling experience but don't mind a drop in image quality or responsiveness.

The HS10 is Fujifilm's most advanced and most well-realised attempt at a do-it-all, Swiss Army knife camera, offering an awful lot of bang for your buck with not many compromises to dampen the overall experience, making it a well-deserved recipient of our Highly Recommended award.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	5
Features	5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4
Value for money	4.5

Specifications

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