When it comes to moonshots, the Canon SX50HS is very much smarter than the HS50EXR.

I also have the Canon SX50HS superzoom camera. It has an opptional 4x digital zoom setting so the zoom range can go up to 200 times instead of the maximum 50 times optical zoom. That is so much powerful than the the HS50EXR camera which with 42 times optical zoom and 2 times digital zoom can go up to only 84 times maximum.

Now you might think that the digital zoom feature of the canon would give it a useless grainy look. Yet this light camera can display the craters of the moon. See photos in our other blogs. (Link will be provided later). This shows that Canon has a high IQ (image quality)

But the amazing thing about the Canon is that it can take moon photos without any manual settings! Compare this with the Fujifilm HS50EXR. Shooting the moon in Auto mode will give us a glaring white object. We have to manually adjust the settings.

Here are some photos taken last July 13, a Sunday with the mon past the fullmoon phase.

The above shot was obtained with 1s0 400, 1/2 seconds, f4.5. Here is what we obtain with the auto mode setting for which the camera selected 1/20 s, f5.6, iso 400. 0 EV.

Much better is the following photo, this time taken with 1/100s, iso 100 and camera automatically selecting the fstop opening to f5.6, .

Now unless you align the lens with the subject, you might obtain a lens flare, a fairly common problem with Fujifilm cameras.

The metering system of the camera is fooled by the darkness of the background and the brightness of the single moon. It overexposes so set camera manually to shutter priority mode, use the following starting values: low ISO 100 value and 1/100s shutter speed and experiment.

A major change: a new blog name

Our Me and My Hs25exr camera was just renamed Me and My HS50EXR mirroring the fact that we are not using our waterlogged and unusable old hs25exr camera and instead we are using the SX50EXR as its replacement.

Boasting a 42x maximum optical zoom, this camera will hopefully provide a long service life for general photography.

A bad thing about the rubber strips of the HS50EXR in a tropical country.

Before I lost my HS25EXR due to water entering the camera last year, I experience the leader strips at the front and back of the camera coming off due to loosened adhesion of the white glue used by Fujifilm.

Now that I have the HS50EXR camera I was expecting a more solid higher quality workmanship and better materials. Instead the leather strip at the back of the camera loosened again from frequent use. The white glue is simply of poor quality. One can blame the heat and humidity of a tropical country, but we suggest Fujifilm do away with the fake leather strip to provide friction and instead texturize the plastic casing to provide non-slip grip on the back of the camera.

My Canon SX50HS camera simply does not suffer from this problem because it does not use leather strips for added grip. It does feel and look cheap however.

Fujifilm introduces new cameras.

I visited a camera shop in the basement of SM North and I was surprised of the new offerings from Fujifilm. Here is a list of the cameras(both new and old) and their prices.

X-T1	body-65,990, with 18-55mm kit lens- 85,990, with 18-135mm lens - 90,990
X-Pro 1	body-54,990, with 18mm/35mm- 68,990
X-E2	with 18-55mm-68,990
X-E1	with 18-55mm- 55,990 with 35mm- 53,990
X-M1	body- 35,990, with 16-50mm-39,990
X-A1	with 16-50mm-29,990
X-100S	with 23mm, f2-60,000
X-20	with f2-f2.8 4x zoom lens- 32,000
X-Q1	with f1.8 4x zoom, 21,990
X-F1	with 23mm, f1.8 4x -14,990
Finepix S1	with 50x zoom - 26,990
Finepix HS50EXR	with 42x zoom - 27,999
Finepix SL1000	with 50x zoom - 18,990
Finepix S9400W	with 50x zoom - 18,990
Finepix S9200	with 50x zoom - 17,990
Finepix S8600	with 36x zoom - 12,990
Finepix S4900	with 30x zoom - 8990
Finepix S4800	with 30x zoom - 8490

To be continued....

I am disappointed that the HS50EXR camera still costs very much. But I think it is a testament that this camera is a good value for the money.

The camera store dropped the price of the HS50EXR by 10,000 pesos. I was able to buy it at a price of 17,900 pesos and been using the superzoom camera for more than two months already.

HS30EXR cheaper than HS25EXR at Kim camera store

For comparison I bought my HS25EXR camera for 14,500.00 pesos, not at Kimstore but at SM. The HS30EXR, a more advanced model, is selling lower for 13,200 pesos at Kimstoreb .Here is the link: Kim store

.

The HS50EXR felt good in our hands but is expensive.

Last Sunday I visited SM lower groound floor with my older brother and we were happy to find fresh camera models from Fujifilm. The HS50EXR was there, even the X-Pro 1 and other rangefinder looking professional cameras. The HS30EXR was not available however.

The salesclerk allowed us to handle the display camera which is the most important advantage of a physical camera store. We were impressed by the superfast focusing, the capability of storing in RAW format, the side tilt swing screen, the electronic level gauge (not essential), and the overall build and ergonomics of the camera. It felt lighter than my HS25EXR as the new superzoom uses lithium batteries.

The price of the HS50EXR was P27,000.00 in installments. However when I mentioned that Kimstore is selling the camera at around P20,000.00 the salesclerk said he can offer the camera at a discount of P24,500 if bought in cash.
Note that the price of the Canon SX50 HS superzoom which has a 50x zoom lens is currently P25,000.00 at Canon dealers. Contrast this with the foreign prices of the superzooms from Canon and Fujifilm.

I have decided to wait for Xmas for the prices to go down. Until a real camera store will sell the HS50EXR camera below P20,000 something, it will remain a dream camera for me.

Further reading:

1. A non-biased review: digitalvesus.com
2. a review pitting the hs50exr vs canon sx50hs camera declares the canon model the winner! but read the article first and better yet try out the cameras!
   
   snapsort.com comparison: hs50exr vs SX50HS camera
   
   techradar.com
   
   
3. Thread discussions: Forum on hs50exr vs sx50hs
   
   
4. Official Fujifilm.com.ph product page: fujifilm.com.ph product page
   
   
   

I bought my HS50EXR camera for less than 18,000 pesos last December(?) (2013) at Camerahaus at the basement of SM North(near the food court. BAD NEWS: It is not available anymore at that branch when I last checked December 6, 2014.

Kimstore is selling the HS50EXR camera for about P20,000!

Kim store surprises us by offering the HS50EXR for a reasonable P19,800. I have not yet bought from this online store, but I have heard of its good service from satisfied customers.

If only I can touch it and try it before deciding to buy. I prefer a real store over a virtual one.