(With supplements) Extremely versatile - and much better than its reputation

I have the HS10 since May 2010 and several gigabytes of material "Missed". Many photos and a few videos. I have acquired as a successor to the S6500fd. Although the new bridge is four years younger, the image quality is not or hardly better. I would describe as fairly equal.
The advantages over the S6500fd: longer focal length, tiltable display (often missed), hotshoe, uses the same AA batteries and also offers the raw RAW, even parallel to JPG. The Hi-Speed ​​function, in which a very special moment leaves frame of three images, is class. That the processing times of the photos are much, especially in RAW, I can get over, because situations in which you have to shoot immediately afterwards, occur only in a blue moon. For me at least. I stayed at the Holiday nimble lizards can shoot nonstop, because they keep coming back to her suntrap. The kite surfers on the beach have been spending hours on the road, so that the processing times were secondary.

My three key experiences: I was trying to photograph a number of snakes. Unfortunately, the very shy, so I saw them always disappear quickly. In one case, lying on a rock at me, about five meters away. Thanks to 30x telephoto I came so ran "close", as I would have bowed directly over them. I uploaded the photo here.
The second experience was a picture of the moon composed of six developed RAW images. Since the individual crater rims got out razor sharp. That's me not nearly succeeded with the S6500 in this quality.
The third crucial experience I had with a city tour, when I was allowed to carry a Nikon D700 for a while through the city. The objective was the well over two kilograms hung on belt. By contrast, the HS10 is a flyweight - despite their size.

Conclusion: the camera has its strengths clearly in the extreme telephoto range, between Wide and Tele I can live well with the image quality, in the extreme wide-angle range, they unfortunately weakens. That means for me: a star deduction.
Who needs a maximum of images that fit into an A4 photo book can be accessed safely. For really large formats such as giant poster or photo wallpaper eh helps only a digital SLR ...
The special functions such as Motion Remover, Panoramic, Low Light mode etc. I think largely superfluous. But who wants to have it, it gets it.

A word about the video function that I use rarely: it seems to me quite well, even if manual focusing is not possible and generate the constant exposure corrections loud noise. For a great slow motion function is built. You should be limited because of the shrinking image quality at 120 fps (640 x 480). Everything is slower, barely spicy. Among the keywords "Grosseto kite surfing HS10" can be found on youtube a video that I created with the HS10. The images stutter sometimes what might be a consequence of the post (compression). But on the field, I'm not an expert, so I immerse not that. The shaky video shows first of all that a tripod is just the films extremely important.

In my opinion the best alternative from the house of Fuji in bridge area: The S100fs.

Addendum dated July 8, 2010:

"Pixel mud":
Now I have the camera for about a month and I'm getting better cope with it. I've learned how much better the shot in RAW mode images. Since matscht with appropriate postprocessing even at wide angle nothing more. I have uploaded two comparative Photos to show a lawn with stone slabs.

High-speed shooting:
In a horse race I have now tried the high-speed mode for the first time. As goes without a signal on the start box and the horses are in zero-Come-Nix up and away. The moment when she losgaloppierten, I pressed the button. The camera has five images are recorded, two before and two after the triggering (can be adjusted variable). The result is so impressive that I now often use this function so as not to miss a "crucial" moment. With practice, no problem.

Addendum of 03/11/2010

This camera must be earned really. The images succeed increasingly better. Last weekend I have from Munich Mountain zooming in (30x): since even individual trees were dissolved (about 100 kilometers away!). The trick: the camera on the tripod, five RAW images shot on the shooting mode and self-timer. The "developed" five RAW images (on noise reduction completely omitted) and the images with a program into a single photo stacked (overlaid). The result: zero noise at full sharpness.

What weaknesses I see today? I think the output from the camera jpegs stink tremendously from against what is able to benefit from the raw images. Actually, a star deduction. Why still five stars? The price has since fallen, so that the price / performance ratio is significantly increased.

Addendum of 23/03/2011

A few days ago I photographed the planet Saturn (ISO 100, with patch 1.7 times teleconverter). The camera has managed to make the ring of Saturn recognizable. I have posted the picture in an Astronomy Forum. A user "never thought" that "a Saturn with a telescope without Digiknipse is possible". I put the picture here in the gallery.

I can not understand why some reviewers have problems herauszukitzeln ordinary photographs of the camera with the best intentions.