July 22nd, 2009
Fujifilm announces two hot megazooms: 10x ultracompact and top-of-the-line shooter
Fujifilm announced six new cameras today, including two intriguing new megazoom models. The Fujifilm FinePix F70EXR is the company’s first compact megazoom and the FinePix S200EXR is the new flagship megazoom, a successor to the well-regarded FinePix S100FS.
Both cameras utilize Fujifilm’s Super CCD EXR technology. Designed to deliver fine detail in bright, even lighting as well as better-quality low-light images with less noise, the new sensor technology was first introduced earlier this year in the FinePix F200EXR high-end compact camera. For a more detailed description of the technology, check out DPReview’s explanation (and its review of the F200EXR) and Fujifilm’s Super CCD EXR site.
Fujifilm FinePix F70EXR
The F70EXR stands out among the growing ranks of compact megazooms in trimness: At just 3.9×2.3×0.9 inches, it’s even slimmer than the recently announced Casio Exilim Hi-Zoom EX-H10 (4.0×2.5×0.96 inches) though it weighs in at 6.3 ounces compared to the Casio’s 5.8-ounce weight. While the F70EXR’s 27-270mm equivalent, f/3.3-5.6 10x zoom lens is relatively wide for a megazoom, I prefer the even wider lenses of the Casio (24-240mm equivalent, f/3.2-5.7 10x zoom lens) and Panasonic DMC-ZS1 (25-300mm equivalent, f/3.3-4.9 12x zoom lens), both of which sell for about $300 (the F70EXR will sell for about $280 when it ships in August). Like the Panasonic, the Fujifilm sports a 2.7-inch LCD with 230,000 dots, whereas the Casio sports a 3-inch model with 230,400 dots. As with other high-end FinePix models, the F70EXR includes five preset “film simulation modes” that mimic various Fujifilm film emulsions, including Velvia/Vivid, PROVIA/Standard, ASTIA/Soft, Black & White, and Sepia. For full specs, see the press release here.
Fujifilm FinePix S200EXR
Like its predecessor, the FinePix S100FS, this top-of-the-line megazoom has a more-traditional SLR-esque body, and sports a 1/1.6-inch 12-megapixel Super CCD EXR sensor. It includes the same 14.3x Fujinon optical zoom lens (30.5mm-436mm equivalent, f/2.8-5.3) as the S100FS, and improves upon the 2.5-inch LCD with a 2.7-inch, 230,000-dot high-contrast version. Other enhancements include the addition of Black & White and Sepia film simulation modes (for a total of five like the F70EXR), improved battery life (Fujifilm claims a 50-percent increase over the S100FS) and combined CCD-RAW (EXR)/JPEG shooting. The S200EXR will ship in August for about $600. For full specs, see the press release here.
Fujifilm also announced the Finepix J38 and Z37, and the Fujifilm A170 and A220, two entry-level cameras that will sell for $90 and $100 respectively.
Janice Chen has been covering technology for almost two decades. She got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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