Fuji rolls out five new shooters

By John Mello on February 22, 2009 10:12 AM

Following on the heels of its introduction of two new point-and-shoot cameras earlier this month, Fujifilm raised the curtain last week on five more models. The company debuted a new waterproof bytecam, the FinePix Z33WP, which can be used at a depth of up to 10 feet. The 10-megapixel DSC has a 2.7-inch 230,000-dot display, a 3x optical zoom and will be offered in three colors—green, pink and black. When in Auto Scene Recogniton (ASR) mode, the DSC will analyze a scene and automatically optimize the unit's exposure, focus, white balance and light sensitivity settings for the shot. As is common in many cameras in this category, the Z33WP has a face detection feature. What's not so common is that its face detection can be tied to the unit's self-timer so it won't fire until the DSC detects a selectable number of faces in the picture. That's valuable insurance against a photographer being out of position when the timer fires the shutter. Other features include in-camera special effects, post shot red-eye reduction, VGA video at 30 frames per second and a lithium ion rechargeable battery. The Z33WP is scheduled to reach retailers in March at $199.95.
	Another new addition to this model line is the FinePix Z30. The 10MP digital camera has a 2.7-inch LCD and 3x optical zoom. It, too, has ASR, face detection and red-eye removal. In an interesting video twist, it will automtically incorporate a series of video clips into a single 60 second movie thereby skirting the task of editing the clips with video editing software. It also has dual shutter buttons--one for stills and one for video--and Fuji's Natural/Flash mode , which will capture two versions of a scene sequentially—one with the unit's flash, one without. The Z30 runs on Lithium Ion power and is expected to be available to consumers next month at $179.95.
Fuji has also added to its monster zoom lineup with the FinePix S1500. The 10MP snapper has a 12x zoom (33-396mm equivalent) and 2.7-inch 230,000-dot display. It has dual image stabilization—sensor shifting and ISO shutter speed adjustment—as well as ASR, face detection and post-shot red-eye removal. A full manual mode allows a shutterbug to totally customize the key settings for a shot. Sequential shooting modes include 15 2MP frames at 7.5fps and six 5MP frames at 3.3fps.VGA video at 30fps is also supported. The unit runs on four AA batteries. Scheduled availability for the S1500 is next month at $249.95.
	Two new J models were also introduced by Fuji. The FinePix J20fd is a 10MP pocketcam with 3x optical zoom (35.5-106.5mm equivalent) and 2.7-inch LCD. The slimster, which is offered in black and silver, is a little over 2/3 of an inch thick, or 17.4.mm. Features include ASR, face detection, digital IS and 640 x 420 video capture. Power is supplied by a lithium ion battery. The J20fd is scheduled to reach retail shelves this month at $129.95.
The other J model unwrapped by Fuji is the 10MP FinePix J250, which has a bigger optical zoom—5x (28-140mm equivalent)—and LCD display—three inches—than the J20fd. Offered only in black, the snapper supports ASR, face detection and image stabilization through ISO manipulation of shutter speeds. It, too, operates on a lithium ion battery, but is scheduled for March release at $199.95.