Today Fujifilm yanked away the veil of mystery shrouding the company's "latest and greatest" F-series model to date. We're talking, of course, about the Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR, which delivers Super CCD EXR technology to the digital camera world. Announced in September, Fujifilm's Super CCD EXR technology and Real Photo processing promise an increase in dynamic range. We'll be the judges of that when we get a hold of the Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR, but it truly seems like Fujifilm is going for broke with this camera.
Take the 28mm wide, 5x optical Fujinon lens for example. And how about the boosted 3-inch wide high resolution LCD? We're also enticed by the Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR's unconventional architecture, which features a minute hourglass chassis and a sleek sparkle coat paint job. It appears that the new FinePix F200 EXR's interface design has not strayed from previous F-series models, despite the fact that its interface is in dire need of an overhaul. Let's at least see a circular Control dial in back, like the one on the Canon PowerShot SD990 IS.
Internally, the Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR rocks a 12-megapixel 1/1.6-inch Super CCD EXR sensor, which equals Fujifilm's F100fd and F60fd cameras. We're eager to see what's in store for image quality, and dynamic range is at the top of our testing list. Fujifilm claims the FinePix F200 EXR will offer a broadened tonal capacity within highlights and shadows, which is a tall order for many compacts in this class. One enhancement we like is the FinePix F200 EXR's SD and SDHC compatibility, in addition to less popular xD cards.
Fujifilm hypes the FinePix F200 EXR's three modes of image capture, which consist of Fine Capture mode, Pixel Fusion mode and Dual Capture mode. Fine Capture mode captures an image at the highest 12-megapixel resolution. Pixel Fusion mode fuses two adjacent pixels together, essentially supersizing each pixel to twice its size in order to soak up more light in dark shooting environments. Dual Capture mode captures different exposures with two sets of pixels, then combines them to provide an image with improved dynamic range. All three modes will be rigorously put to the test, have no fear. But that's not all. The FinePix F200 EXR offers Dynamic Range Bracketing, Dual Image Stabilization, Face Detection 3.0 and an ISO cap of 12800, which is beyond absurd. We're also not crazy about the Dual Image Stabilization, which combines sensor shift and high ISO technologies, rather than the more effective Optical Image Stabilization lens shift.
The Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR also boasts a new Super Intelligent Flash, rather than just a plain old "Pretty Smart Flash". The Super Intelligent Flash is geared to allow shooters to capture Macro shots without blown-out highlights. The FinePix F200 EXR also has 17 different Scene modes, Continuous Shooting at 1.4 fps and high-speed playback, at up to 10 images per second. There's no word on additional color choice, and all we can gather from the press image is a Dark Chocolate Brown. The Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR is set to ship this February for $400.
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