The new Fuji F60fd is official, is Fuji afraid of success?

This was the least detailed of the Fuji leaks of last week, but it looks like the online retailer was right on the money with the specs they posted.

There are two F60fd cameras on paper. The camera that could have been, which replaces the could-have-been-F100fd and the could-have-been-F50fd. Those are wonderfully exciting cameras, unfortunately they don't exist in our reality.

The other one, is the one that Fuji announced today, the real F60fd. Not that it or its predecessors are bad cameras, it's just that it could have been a lot more. Press release at the Imaging Insider.


Meet the Fuji F60fd


Let's look at the key features of the F60fd:

1. 12mp 1/1.6" SuperCCD sensor
   
2. CCD-shift image stabilization
   
3. 3x optical zoom lens with 35-105mm equivalent
   
4. No RAW
   
5. Shutter and aperture priority
   
6. The dpreview summary states that it also has full manual control
   
7. ISO 1600 at full resolution
   
8. ISO 6400 at 3mp (at least Fuji has the "noise-cred" for such a spec)
   
9. Sluggish continuous burst mode at 0.5 fps
   
10. Fast burst mode at 3mp, going 5fps with a buffer of 12 (top-12 or final-12)
    
11. Face detection 3.0 (10 faces, t-recognize is 0.036 seconds)
    
12. intelligent dumb mode (aka Auto Scene Recognition)
    
13. 3" LCD
    
14. xD and SD/SDHC memory card support
    

The F60fd is available for pre-order at Amazon for $300, with a September 20 estimated shipment date, just like the other two new US-market Fujis.


F60fd coverage on the net

• DC Resource points out that the NP-50 LiIon battery provides 230 shots per charge
  
• dpreview has detailed specs in the expect dpreview-style
  

Reactions to the F60fd
Serious Compacts summarizes and opines on the F60fd specs. They also draw parallels to the Sony W300, which got a spike in interested after Luminous Landscapes posted a W300 review.

The loyal Fuji users in the dpreview Fuji forum are not as "kind" to Fuji. Boo! Hiss! exclaims one user. "Completely disgusted" exclaims another. And there's a lot more of that!

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New Fuji S2000hd takes on superzooms and camcorders

It's nice when you design a superzoom and don't have to worry about your camcorder line. If you give your superzoom too many "video features" you risk cannibalizing your camcorder sales. If you don't give your superzoom many "video features", you risk getting accused of "dumbing down" and "crippling" the superzoom.

Fuji does not have to worry about that, which is why they have gone all out and gave their new S2000hd the "hd" - high definition - name.


Meet the Fuji S2000hd superzoom



Just like the other new Fujis of today, the S2000hd was leaked last week. The official Fuji USA press release can be found at the Imaging Insider and other photography sites.

Some of the key features include:

1. 15X lens, ranging from 28-414mm in equivalent terms
   
2. sensor-shift image stabilization. which Fuji calls "mechanically stabilized CCD"
   
3. does it have a zoom ring? The specs say nothing, but there are no zoom buttons
   
4. No RAW, but has shutter priority and manual exposure
   
5. manual focus, no details given, presumably using the EVF-LCD approach???
   
6. 10mp 1/2.33" sensor
   
7. new signal processor, 16:9 format, 1280x720 movies, hdtv output
   
8. Zoom Bracketing (three shots at current zoom, 1.4x and 2x)
   
9. Fast burst mode at lower resolutions: 6.8fps at 5mp and 13.5fps at 3mp
   
10. Miserable burst mode at full size: 1.1fps (3) in Top 3 mode, and 0.5fps in long-period turtle-burst mode. Enjoy your 10-megapixels :)
    
11. can zoom in movie mode
    
12. extra-large 2.7" LCD (not to be confused with a small 2.7" LCD) :)
    
13. No converter lenses
    
14. No xD memory card support, only SD/SDHC (Wake up Olympus and smell the xD-roses!)
    

The S2000hd is listed at Amazon for pre-orders with a starting price of $300, and an estimated shipping date of September 20. It is also eligible for the pre-order price guarantee, and a "Bill Me Later" promotion.


S2000fd Coverage on the Net

• DC Resource points out that you can get 400 shots with four AA NiMH batteries. Hooray!
  
• Dpreview has lots of details, including their gearhead-friendly detailed spec-sheet
  

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New Fuji J150w, J120, J110w and J100 announced officially somewhere in the world

Depending on where you live, you may get anywhere from one to four of these new cameras. It's Fuji's plan of different cameras in different markets at different times. One thing to note is that these new J-series models are only using SD/SDHC memory cards, the xD support is gone!

Regular readers may recognize these new model names from the Fuji Canada leak that took place last week. They have all been added to the Digital Camera List, which lists all current and recent digital cameras. And with the waves and waves of new cameras being announced left and right, it's becoming a very useful reference.

The J-series is Fuji's entry-level line, and it is replacing their AA-based A-series entry-level line-up, which has only the A9xx-series as a recent model.


Meet the Fuji Finepix J150w


This is not your 2002 entry-level camera. It looks sleeker on the outside and better spec-sheet-wise. It uses the omni-present 10mp 1/2.33" sensor (not SuperCCD), and has a 5x optical zoom lens that starts at 28mm, giving Fuji fans a wide-angle alternative.

But the frustration kicks in when one notices via DC Resource that the battery life estimate for this camera is 145. Yikes! A 2008 model, with a proprietary battery, and you only get 145 pictures? What the Fuji is going on here? :) But we are not just picking on Fuji, we were also "outraged" at Nikon for their sub-200 ratings for some of their new Coolpix models. And Nikon charges $350 for the Coolpix S60!

The camera has a 3" LCD, the obligatory face detection, the obligatory marketing-stabilization (not optical, not mechanical).

As we noted when we discussed the leak, Fuji is starting to shift away from the dual xD/SD drives in their entry-level models and going to SD/SDHC only.

Press release from Fuji USA at the Imaging Insider. The J-series cameras have not been announced in Japan yet.

Amazon lists this for pre-orders at $200 and it estimates a September 20 shipping date.


Meet the Fuji J120, J110w, and J100
These are very similar digital cameras, and their differences are simply marketing-related. They all use the 10mp 1/2.33" sensor, and has a slim 22.6" body, which means you pay a penalty in poor battery life (see above).

The Finepix J120 proudly dons a 3" LCD, but its 5x optical zoom lens starts at 35mm (35-175mm).

The Finepix J110w proudly dons the 5x wide-angle zoom lens (28-140mm) but has a 2.7" LCD.

And the entry-level of the group, the Finepix J100 has the 2.7" LCD, and the 5x 35-175mm zoom lens.

More details on these three at Fuji UK, dpreview and Photography Blog.


Proposed new term: Marketing Stabilization
An Image Stabilization feature that is not optical (eg lens) and not mechanical (eg sensor shift), but rather is created for marketing purposes, by simply adjusting shutter speed and ISO or other similar techniques.

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New Fuji F60fd, S2000hd and J150 (and J120, J110w, J100) are officially introduced (executive summary)

Fuji Canada had a leak a few days ago, revealing their new digital cameras for a few moments. Now the leak has become a lake (Thom Yorke fan club pandering?) and the new Fujis are officially announced!

The Fuji F60fd was not leaked by Fuji Canada, but was leaked by an online retailer, and it looks like the spartan specs leaked were right. Which makes you wander if synchronized leaking should become an Olympic sport :)

The official Fujfilm F60fd press release is at the Imaging Insider. No RAW, but at least there's shutter priority and (binary?) aperture priority. Also kudos to Fuji for not jumping to 15-megapixels (I guess). Fuji does not jump on the wide-angle bandwagon however, the F60fd is 3x (35-105mm) but with a 3" LCD. $300 price tag.

The new S2000hd jumps on the high-definition bandwagon, and with good reason, Fuji does not have to worry about affecting their camcorder sales, since they have none. Yes, hd, not to be confused with "fd" and "fs", which Fuji uses for the express purpose of confusing everyone :) The S2000fd S2000hd is as we thought it would be (channeling angry football coach?). Price is $300. More S2000hd details.

Meanwhile the new J150, goes wide, joining the parade of 30+ new digital cameras in 2008 that start at 28mm or wider. Price is $200. Press release at Imaging Insider.

Also announced in the UK, by Fuji UK itself, are the J120, J110w, and J100.

For more details, be sure to check the new Fuji J-series round-up.


Proposed new term
Binary Aperture Priority: On small sensor digital camera, there are often only two choices when using aperture priority :)

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What will Fuji do? (A Guru's Riddle)

As you may recall a few days ago, an internet entity posted a wild rumor (?) about a Fuji Digital Natural f1.9 digital camera. This happened right before Micro Four Thirds was announced. [permalink]

Even though it sounded like a wild possibility, it sparked a very lively discussion in the dpreview Fuji forums.

And in one of the sub-threads, Nikon super-guru Thom Hogan posted a little bit of a riddle on what Fuji might (not) do next. There is a finite number of possibilities, so put on your speculative and predictive hats on! [permalink]

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