Camera Tests: 30x Zoom Bridges from Olympus and Fuji

After the race to the top of Megapixel mountain it now looks like camera manufacturers have turned their attention to the zoom. The current record is 30x, held by the Olympus SP-800 UZ and Fujifilm HS10 cameras we're testing today. Ironically though, these two cameras are worlds apart, both technically and in terms of their target audience.

The Fujifilm Finepix HS10 is an expert-style bridge camera that handles like an SLR thanks to its mechanical zoom ring, manual controls and wealth of shortcut buttons. It has a 10-Megapixel backlit CMOS sensor, films in Full HD with stereo sound and has a high-speed video mode that captures footage at up to 1000 fps. There are also plenty of advanced functions for you to get your teeth into, with a sweep panorama mode, a high-speed burst mode and more.

At the opposite and of the spectrum, the Olympus SP-800 UZ is more of a mass-market bridge. It has a similarly enormous zoom but the camera body is much more basic, as there's no viewfinder, few settings shortcut buttons, and no priority or manual modes. It has a 14-Megapixel CCD which only allows for 720p HD video recording, and you'll have to keep your hands off the optical zoom if you want to keep recording sound.

Beginner or expert? You decide.

Fujifilm HS10	Olympus SP-800UZ
Prices unavailable Recommended alternatives Editor's Choice Panasonic Lumix FZ150 Style and Substance Sony Cyber-shot HX100V Monster Zoom Canon PowerShot SX40 HS	MARCHANDS €     Amazon mark...  224.99  Amazon mark...  389.95  Compare prices

> Test: Fuji Finepix HS10
> Test: Olympus SP-800 UZ

> Product Survey: Bridge Digital Cameras



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