My very first digital camera was a Fujifilm bridge camera, so when we decided to get Josh his very first camera it was to the Fujifilm bridge range that we looked at first and it didn’t take long to find what we were looking for. Enter the Fujifilm HS20EXR.
Like all previous Fujifilm cameras we had owned, this camera is a remarkably versatile outfit in a very compact and lightweight package, perfect for little hands.
The HS20EXR looks and handles like a DSLR and boasts a non-interchangeable 30x zoom lens which covers a 35mm equivalent focal range of 24-720mm. It also features mechanical image stabilisation, a twist-barrel manual zoom and focusing controls.
Other highlights of the camera include a 16 megapixel EXR Back Side Illuminated CMOS sensor, a 3-inch tilting LCD monitor, electronic viewfinder with eye-sensor for automatic switching, full 1080p HD movie recording with stereo sound, ISO range of 100-12800, High Speed movie capture at 320 fps, continuous shooting at 8fps, 0.16 second auto-focusing, full manual controls and support for the RAW file format.
The zoom on this camera is amazing, and the image stabilisation sensational – 30x/720mm hand held with lovely crisp results and good quality images. This gives the camera an unbeatable range without the need for lots of lenses.
It’s very easy to use with lots of settings to explore and play with.The quality of the photos and the variety of the settings make it almost impossible to get a bad shot, with a choice of through-the-lens or movable LCD screen.
One of my favourite features of the HS20EXR is the tilting LCD flip screen. This allows you to see things and have more control when shooting from unusual positions; you can get really low on the floor or use the camera from above to create a birds-eye view.