Can someone please explain to me as to why there is such a large number of people that complain and claim that their older Fuji S200EXR model had far superior still image quality as compared to their newer HS10/HS20 models ? Some review experts claim that it is due to Fuji's decision to change from their Super CCD sensor to the CMOS sensor ? Is this true ? Your opinions.

G'day SS

Without you or me or the 'experts' shooting the same subject side-by-side with the various cameras under review, to me, there's no way to emphatically determine 'best'

Professional sites [I guess like DXO] that have full systems and the controlled conditions remain unchanged - they can make valued judgements the likes of which we cannot

So it comes down to a subjective evaluation coupled to a set of good eyes, whereby the examiner can determine optical sharpness and colour IQ and then toss a coin

Phil

My own thoughts (I owned both...), I would agree that the still image quality was superior on the S200EXR.
As to whether that was down to the sensor- hard to say.
Both camera's had different lenses,different processors etc...and IQ is a combination of all of those factors...

I found the S200's images were far crisper,the lens performed better,the stabilizer was FAR superior- as was the focus system/accuracy- though maybe the AF on the HS10 was struggling due to the poor stabilizer...
I also found the handling/build far more agreeable,though much of that is dependent on individuals taste. Battery power on the S200 seemed far better also from its Li-ion power pack.

To sum up- I thought the S200EXR was a MUCH better camera... and the only thing that would make it feel a bit dated would be the processing speed by today's standards.
AF speeds have improved massively,as has burst speeds,buffer size,shot to shot times etc...

Still a decent camera if you're in no hurry...

I guess it would be fair to assume that the reason for the superior image quality of the Fuji S200EXR over later models was a result of an absolute perfect combination of sensor, processor and lens.

I'm not sure I'd use the word "perfect",but it was certainly better than the later "HS" models,in my opinion.