August 07, 2005

After playing with my new camera for the last few weeks, I decided that I truly like it, despite its few quirks. So here then is a quick review of the Fuji Finepix S20Pro, just in case you find yourself in need of a new camera.

When I got my S20 I already had a Sony point-and-shoot. I wanted something that offered more creative control as well as a better way of seeing the world. The S20 didn’t disappoint.

First, the sensor on the S20 captures a lot more detail than the Sony season. For comparison, I took photos of my favourite mouse (the one on the left was taken with my old Sony, and the one on the right with the S20):

Neither of the photos was colour adjusted, but the Fuji mouse is more pleasantly three-dimensional than the Sony mouse. The same improvement is noticeable when we look at colours. The S20 (on the right) seems to provide a better dynamic range and the colour are more realistic. The Sony makes the strawberries look indigestible.

It may seem strange to compare the Sony point-and-shoot to the S20, but they’re both in the same price range. The S20 pro has been significantly reduced in price over the last little while, simply because it has trouble competing with other megazoom cameras. It offers a rich set of features (full manual controls, add-on lenses, external flash, etc.) and you can pick one up for about $400-$500.

Whatever you do, don’t get a Sony — I’m using my Sony camera strictly for taking pictures in the rain.