Consumers have historically had two choices when it comes to digital cameras: Get a cheap pocket camera that takes iffy pics, or pony up the big bucks for a DSLR that takes nearly perfect ones.

For many of us, neither choice is great. I’ve never been happy with the quality of pictures from the point-and-shoot cameras I’ve had, and DSLRs are too complicated for my random shooting needs — plus, I’m worried about breakage and theft with those pricey shooters.
Enter the midlevel “prosumer” camera, which combines some of the high-end features (namely much higher photo quality) of a DSLR but doesn’t cost an arm and a leg and isn’t any more difficult to use than a pocket camera. Fujifilm’s FinePix HS10 isn’t unique in this category, but it’s probably the best of its kind that I’ve used to date.
Oversized compared to a pocket cam (you’ll need to use the neck strap), the HS10 features a huge lens with 30x optical zoom, a 10-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 3-inch LCD that tilts up or down for easy viewing, three image stabilization systems, a panoramic photo system, HD video recording at 1080p, and a super slow-mo 1000fps capture mode. Whew!
My favorite feature has to be the zoom system: No digital buttons for slowly moving in and out here. Just twist the lens to quickly zoom in on the action, and twist the other way to zoom back out. It’s a very natural and easy-to-master way of zooming, and once you use it you won’t want to go back to boring and slow buttons. Plus, with 30x at maximum zoom, you can even use the camera in lieu of binoculars.
But the absolute best part of the HS10 is the quality of the photos it takes. I’ve never used a camera before that performed so well in low light without a flash, and shots take I took after sundown in Venice look completely clear and have no fuzzy grain in them. Indoors or outdoors, the HS10 performed outstandingly well, and I almost never had to resort to using the flash except in the dead of night. The anti-jitter image stabilization features work well too, letting you grab a quick pic even while you’re on the move.
The only drawback is the size: At 1 1/3 pounds, it will weigh you down after a long day, and there’s no stowing this camera in a pocket when you aren’t snapping shots. You get used to having it around your neck of course, but it’s a commitment that you don’t have to worry about with a smaller camera that can be shoved in your back pocket when you don’t need it.
(Source: Yahoo! News)