Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP

Another camera from Fujifilm announced today is the ‘life proof’ Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP.

The Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP is a a sleek looking camera that comes with a 3x optical zoom, 10 megapixel image sensor and 2.7 inch LCD. It is designed for use in water to a depth of 3 meters (which I guess is why it is ‘life proof).

The Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP has an ISO range of up to 1600, face detection, auto red eye removal, captures VGA video (one touch video button), is powered by a lithium Ion rechargeable battery, comes i black, green and pink and will hit stores in March with a retail price of $199.95 USD.

Also announced by Fujifilm today was the Fujifilm Finepix S1500fd.

Fufifilm FinePix Z33WP News Release

Fujifilm Launches Waterproof FinePix Z33WP For Active Families

‘Life-Proof’ FinePix Z33WP Captures Treasured Moments Anytime, Anywhere and in Any Conditions

Expanding the popular Z-series digital cameras for young-at-heart, trend-savvy consumers, FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. delivers flexible functionality and form to active and hip users with the launch of the FinePix Z33WP digital camera. Perfect for budding photographers who want to experience life to the fullest, the FinePix Z33WP enables users to capture those precious moments, regardless of the conditions and share them easily with their extended network of friends and family members.

Life-Proof
The 10-Megapixel FinePix Z33WP is available in three striking colors – green, pink and black – and is ready for any adventure including underwater activity up to approximately 10 feet (3M)! A 2.7”, 230,000 dots resolution LCD screen – the largest of any Z-series camera yet – and Fujinon 3x Optical Zoom lens allows for a clearer view of those not-to-be-missed moments on the beach, on the ski slopes, hiking in the mountains or boating at the lake. It’s also perfect for everyday activities in the rain, the pool or any other place you might think twice about taking a conventional digital camera.

Intelligent Scene Recognition
Adding ease to outdoor navigation, the FinePix Z33WP is equipped with a new SR Auto (Automatic Scene Recognition) mode that enables the camera to intelligently recognize six types of scenes automatically. For each picture taken in this mode, the Z33WP will optimize the ideal exposure, focus, white balance and ISO for the scene to ensure the best quality picture is captured with ease. In addition, Fujifilm’s Picture Stabilization is powered by high sensitivity for faster shutter and operational speeds to help reduce camera shake, keeping real life moments as true to form as possible.

Easy Sharing
The family-friendly Z33WPalso features Fujifilm’s handy Blog Mode which allows for easier sharing with friends and family members. The Blog mode automatically resizes a photo to a standard 640×480 pixels (VGA) or 320×240 pixels (QVGA) image size and enables 12 in-camera editing features such as Zooming, Miniature effect, Illustration and Painting, cutting the need for extra time with home editing.

In addition to these innovations, the FinePix Z33WP is loaded with the following handy features:

• Face Detection Technology: Operating in tandem with automatic red-eye removal, the FinePix Z33WP identifies up to 10 human faces in a scene, and sets the correct focus and exposure, regardless of where subjects are located within the frame.
• Automatic Red Eye Removal accents the aforementioned features by lending an extra touch to that group shot. The Z33WP automatically checks for red eye and self-corrects it in each and every person in the photo, saving time on post-editing.
• Couple and Group Timer Modes: Working in conjunction with Face Detection technology, detects two faces in ‘Couple Timer Mode’ and up to four faces in ‘Group Timer Mode’ in a frame.
• One Touch MOVIE Button: Capture VGA quality movie clips at 30 frames per second with sound to capture all of those once-in-a-lifetime moments.
• Battery Life: The long-life rechargeable Li-ion battery (up to 200 shots) allows for extended use without worrying if the camera is going to last for the duration of the trip.

“With the success of the FinePix Z20fd for the Gen Y crowd, it is only a natural progression for Fujifilm to provide active, technology-savvy families with the unparalleled style and function that everyone demands in the 21st century,” said David Troy, marketing manager, Consumer Digital Cameras, Electronic Imaging Division, FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. “Today’s users not only want to experience everything life has to offer, but they also want their camera to be able to experience and capture it with them.”

The FinePix Z33WP will debut in late March at a retail price of $199.95.

Tags: Fujifilm Cameras, New Cameras

Fujifilm Finepix S1500fd

The Fujifilm Finepix S1500fd replaces the popular S1000 from 2008 in the Fujifilm lineup. This solid camera has a10 megapixel sensor, 12x optical zoom (33mm at its widest) and a 2.7 inch LCD.

It has a maximum aperture range of f/2.8 to f/5.0 across its focal range and an ISO range up to 1600.

The Fujifilm Finepix S1500fd has a wide array of shooting modes but can also be operated in full manual mode or aperture and shutter priority - giving a lot of control to its user. It is powered by four AA batterires.

Expect to see the Fujifilm Finepix S1500fd in stores in March for a retail price of $249.95 USD.

Fujifilm Finepix S1500fd News Release

Compact 12x Optical Zoom FinePix S1500 Extends Feature Set

D-SLR-Style Camera Sports Dual Image Stabilization and Automatic Scene Recognition

Valhalla, NY, February 17, 2009– FUJIFILM U.S.A. Inc. today announced the successor to the wildly popular FinePix S1000 with the introduction of the FinePix S1500.

Ideal for advanced amateur photographers who are looking for an affordable, SLR-styled digital camera, the 10-MegaPixel FinePix S1500is wrapped with an eye-catching black casing and has a Fujinon 12x optical zoom (33mm-396mm equivalent) offering great range and flexibility. Building on the legacy of Fujifilm’s S-series digital cameras, the FinePix S1500 includes Fujifilm’s Dual Image Stabilization and SR Auto (Automatic Scene Recognition).

Automatic Scene Recognition

SR Auto (Automatic Scene Recognition) enables the FinePix S1500to intelligently recognize six types of scenes automatically. For each picture taken in this mode, the S1500 will optimize the ideal exposure, focus, white balance and ISO for the scene to ensure the best quality picture is captured with ease.

Dual Image Stabilization

Dual Image Stabilization is a marriage of mechanical sensor shift stabilization, to steady the photographer’s hand, and Fujifilm’s Picture Stabilization Technology, which uses fast shutter speeds with ISO high sensitivity, to prevent virtually all types of image blur. As a result, an increase in clarity and sharpness is achieved, even in low lighting conditions.

Rounding out the FinePix S1500 powerful feature set is a large 2.7″ high-resolution (230k dots) LCD, electronic viewfinder (EVF) and ISO levels of up to ISO 1600 at full resolution.

Fujifilm’s FinePix S1500 also offers the following useful features:

Full Manual Photographic Control: Photo enthusiasts and advanced photographers have total control with manual adjustment options for various camera settings including resolution, ISO, aperture, shutter speed and more.

Face Detection with Automatic Red Eye Removal: Face Detection operates by identifying and prioritizing faces in a framed scene, and then adjusting the focus and exposure accordingly to ensure the sharpness and clarity of human subjects in the picture, regardless of background. After a shot is captured, each detected face is instantly checked for red eye. If it is found, it is corrected automatically, saving the time-consuming process of fixing it later.

Instant Zoom: Instant Zoom makes it easy to frame and compose shots with moving subjects at high zoom settings. A selectable frame on the LCD screen lets you bracket and track the subject in standard wide view. When the shutter is released, Instant Zoom boosts the zoom ratio and captures only the enlarged area as a full-sized image, keeping the subject in the frame.

Continuous High Speed Shooting mode: This mode allows moving subjects to be captured by shooting high-speed shots of up to 15 frames at 7.5 fps at 2MP and six frames at 3.3 fps at 5MP.

Panoramic Shooting mode: Users can capture, combine and save a maximum of three consecutive shots at 3MP resolution each as a panoramic picture.

Movie Recording: VGA quality at 30 frames per second with sound.

14 Pre-programmed Scene Modes: The FinePix S1500 features 14 pre-programmed scene modes that offer a one-touch setting for almost any situation.

SD / SD-HC Compatible slot: A single media slot that accepts SD/SD-HC media cards.

Operates on 4xAA Batteries: The ultimate in convenience and accessibility, using AA batteries means in a pinch, more batteries are just moments away. Four x AA alkaline battery power delivers 300 shots and up to 700 shots using lithium AA battery.

“Fujifilm’s FinePix S1500fd offers advanced amateur photographers an affordable, SLR-styled digital camera,” said David Troy, marketing manager, Consumer Digital Cameras, Electronic Imaging Division, FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. “Sporting a Fujinon 12x Optical Zoom for greater range and flexibility and Automatic Scene Recognition, the FinePix S1500 offers its user an efficient, feature-rich digital camera making it easy to capture amazing images.”

The FinePix S1500fd will debut in March 2009 at a retail price of $249.95.

Tags: Fujifilm Cameras, New Cameras

Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR

The Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR is one of two new cameras from Fujifilm to be announced today and it is one that breaks new ground for the manufacturer.

The F200EXR features a 12 megapixel image sensor, 5x optical zoom and 3.0 inch LCD screen and is the first camera to feature the new Super CCD EXR image sensor which looks very promising:

This new sensor allows users of the Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR to choose three different settings for the sensor to optimize the resolution in different ways depending upon the conditions (particularly lighting) when taking a shot:

• Fine Capture Mode (High Resolution), which deploys all twelve million pixels, and is designed to offer the finest detail of intricate subjects when light is full and even;
• Pixel Fusion Mode (High Sensitivity and Low Noise), which caps two adjacent pixels together to produce six million large photodiodes, which are big enough to absorb light in the darkest of conditions, to produce low-light shots of extraordinary quality with minimal noise and grain; and
• Dual Capture (Wide Dynamic Range), which captures different exposures with two sets of six million pixels, which, when combined, gives an excellent level of detail in highlights and low lights that would otherwise be lost.

In EXR Auto mode you can allow the camera to choose the best of these modes for the circumstances or you may choose to override the camera and choose your own.

The Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR has dual image stabilization, High Definition stills output, ISO of up to 12800, full manual controls (as well as Aperture and Shutter Priority) and a number of ‘film simulation’ modes.

As a previous user (and fan) of Fujifilm F series cameras I’m interested to see the reviews that the Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR is given - they’ve previously been well regarded as among the best low light point and shoot cameras going around and with this new image sensor this could well break new ground again.

The Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR will hit stores in February 2009 with a recommended retail price of $399.95. It is available for order at Amazon for this price.

Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR News Release

Fujifilm Debuts Super CCD EXR Technology With Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR

Top-of-the-Line Professional Features in a Compact Digital Camera

Following the long line of award-winning F-series models, FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc., today announced its latest and greatest, the FinePix F200EXR digital camera, introducing the world to Super CCD EXR technology. Combining the 12-MegaPixel, Super CCD EXR with a powerful Fujinon 5.0x wide angle optical zoom lens and a larger 3.0″ high-resolution LCD, the FinePix F200EXR is Fujifilm’s most advanced compact digital camera yet.

First announced in September 2008 on the tenth anniversary of Fujifilm’s FinePix cameras, Super CCD EXR is a revolutionary new sensor developed in the rigorous pursuit of high image quality.

“There is strong demand in the digital camera market to increase the number of pixels on a sensor, which, all too often, is used as a convenient yardstick for image quality,” said David Troy, marketing manager, Consumer Digital Cameras, Electronic Imaging Division, FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. “Consumers have realized there’s more to a good picture than just the number of MegaPixels, and with our Super CCD EXR sensor we prove that true image quality is about a combination of many factors like tone, hue, color fidelity, dynamic range, sharpness, and resolution – all brought to life vividly in the FinePix F200EXR.”

As with previous award-winning F-series models such as the FinePix F10, F31fd, F50fd and F100fd, the F200EXR is a powerful, feature-packed compact digital camera aimed at consumers looking for the most sophisticated in feature-rich point and shoots.

The Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR offers 3 selectable modes in one sensor:

Fine Capture Mode (High Resolution), which deploys all twelve million pixels, and is designed to offer the finest detail of intricate subjects when light is full and even;

Pixel Fusion Mode (High Sensitivity and Low Noise), which caps two adjacent pixels together to produce six million large photodiodes, which are big enough to absorb light in the darkest of conditions, to produce low-light shots of extraordinary quality with minimal noise and grain; and

Dual Capture (Wide Dynamic Range), which captures different exposures with two sets of six million pixels, which, when combined, gives an excellent level of detail in highlights and low lights that would otherwise be lost.

In addition to the new Super CCD EXR sensor, the F200EXR offers the most advanced technologies available, including Dynamic Range Bracketing, Dual Image Stabilization, Face Detection 3.0, and ISO settings of up to an unprecedented ISO 12800, allowing you to capture any shot, any place and at any time with the lowest noise signature to date.

EXR AUTO

With EXR AUTO, the F200EXR recognizes the subject and scene, and automatically decides the optimum EXR shooting mode. With three options of Fine Capture Technology with High Resolution, Pixel Fusion Technology for High Sensitivity and Low Noise, and Dual Capture Technology for Wide Dynamic Range – that users can also select manually – the camera combines the best of EXR selectable sensor modes with SR Auto Automatic Scene Recognition.

New to the F200EXR are an extra-large 3.0” LCD (the better to see all your great photos), HD Photo to capture still photos at 1920 x 1080, HD output (to view high image quality on your HDTV) and new film simulation modes (based on Fujifilm’s legendary Velvia, Provia and Soft lines), including Sepia and Black and White modes.

Wider Dynamic Range – Up to 800%

Dynamic Range, or the gradations of light that exist between bright and dark in any setting, can be easily detected by the human eye, but not by most cameras. Through a combination of advances in Fujifilm’s new Super CCD EXR and Real Photo Processor, this wide dynamic range dramatically broadens tonal capability and guarantees exceptional rendition of photos with both bright highlights and dark shadows. This expansion of sensitivity captures greater detail, and subtle nuances of brightness and tonality that bring the photo closer to what the human eye actually sees.

In addition to these advances, the FinePix F200EXRhas a number of other impressive features:

• Super Intelligent Flash: The new “Super Intelligent Flash” is the flash control technology that lets you take flash-assisted macro shots without flash washout. Integrated in the AUTO mode, this next-generation flash system makes it easy to capture subjects and background in bright, clear and natural detail over the full flash range including ultra close-ups.
• Face Detection 3.0: Featuring automatic red eye removal, it can detect up to 10 human faces in a scene with super fast speed, automatically correcting focus, exposure, and white balance, regardless of where subjects are located within the frame.
• Dual Image Stabilization: Combines mechanical sensor shift image stabilization with the effects produced with higher ISO.
• Continuous Shooting: Top 3 /Final 3 at 1.4 frames per second at full resolution and Top 12/ Final 5 frames per second at 3-MegaPixels.
• High Speed Playback: No waiting for high resolution images to load during playback. The FinePix F200EXR can display images at full resolution at 10 frames per second.
• Portrait Enhancer Mode: Mimicking a professional photo studio setting, by using Face Detection and preset camera settings, Portrait Enhancer minimizes fine lines and small skin blemishes for smooth, natural looking portraits.
• Dual Shot Mode: In this selectable mode, the FinePix F200EXR quickly shoots two images in rapid succession - one with the flash and one without - and saves both. This convenient function lets users perform a comparison at their convenience and select the most pleasing image.
• Special Scene: The FinePix F200EXR has 17 pre-programmed scenes, including a special underwater scene mode for use with a special underwater casing.
• White Balance (Underwater): Adjusts color temperature for more beautiful blues; you are ready to dive into another world of photography.
• Micro Thumbnail: A playback feature that allows for viewing an index-style print on the LCD. The FinePix F200EXRwill show up to 100 images in micro form, and the control buttons are used to select specific images. An innovative wheel navigation dial makes it easy to quickly find a single image by being able to jump to particular segments of images in the time sequence.
• xD / SD / SD-HC Compatible slot: The FinePix F200 EXRfeatures a “xD/SD Compatible slot” which accepts not only Fujifilm’s traditional xD-Picture Cards but also Secure Digital (SD) and SD-High Capacity/SD-HC cards too.

The Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR will debut in February 2009 at a retail price of $399.95.

Tags: Fujifilm Cameras, New Cameras