Bridge Camera - Fujifilm HS20EXR

[Dave Dodd]

Hi all
I'm looking at getting a fujifilm s4000 and just wondered what peoples thoughts/experiances etc were ?

Update i got myself the titled bridge camera in the end, after reading endless reviews and not wanting a dslr.

I have started a photobucket album, to show my pictures/progress using this camera, which i will be updating periodically.

Click here HS20EXR

cheers Dave

[eyeayen]

It depends what you want it for. Bridge camera's can be expensive and for the price you could buy a used SLR. The quality will be much better but you might have to invest in a couple of lenses to equal that of the bridge camera.

I don't know much about the S4000, Fuji are generally good with colours. And it is a cheap camera, I'd still put some extra towards a used SLR, the quality will be miles better.

[Chris56]

You certainly get a lot of camera for your money with the Fuji!

With cameras its very much a case of "you get what you pay for" - although you get a large aperture and high zoom, at that price you are more likely to get better image quality from a top-end compact (the Panasonic TZ-8/10 range at a similar price is unbelievably good).

As eyeayen said, it depends on what you want it for: if you are wanting to get seriously into photography there is no substitute for an SLR. If you want to mostly take high quality snap-shots a high-quality compact will be good value (plus the added portability).

[Dave Dodd]

Thank you for the feed back, i know what your both saying and yes dslr would be better but its all the extra lenses

did all that 15yrs ago with 35mm film 55mm lens 200mm foom lens and 500mm lens + a doubler + huge tripod + big bag and that was just to photograph rally cars for fun (oh and trains )

it inc's the large zoom, does wot a compact does but looks like a dslr.

fujifilm do seem to have a large bridge range its just which one (ltd to approx £175 tops)

[eyeayen]

Get yourself on ephotozine linky and go through some of the reviews.

Similarly dpreview clicky are both to be trusted.

Tomorrow go to Tesco or a newsagent and purchase a copy of What Digital Camera, good reviews and a section in the back listing everything. Then when you're sure of what you want go to the shop, find one, look at it, try it, handle it, take a picture and ask them to print it. That way you'll know what you're getting. Even try a few different shops and a few different camera's.

£175 isn't a massive budget but you should be able to pick up something decent for that. I understand what you're saying with the extra lenses with the DSLR but I've bought bridge camera's for myself and my girlfriend a while ago now and wish I'd saved and got an SLR instead.

I'll look into it a bit more tomorrow and see what else I can turn up.

[Chris56]

Thats ok Dave - didn't realise you were a trainspotter!

Do you still have all of those lenses? if so you can look at buying a DSLR body that will take the lenses.

Be carful with buying a camera with such big zoom on a budget - its quite easy to build an optical system that will zoom in 30x, but its something else to obtain a stable, sharp image at that zoom.

[chris brown]

Hello Dave.
I sent you a pm.