Fujifilm Introduces F200EXR Digicam

Devoted digicam watchers will know that Fujifilm is known for its unorthodox and often successful take on digital sensors. Fuji's latest announcement extends that legacy. According to a press release, Fujifilm is introducing its latest F-series camera and the first to feature the company's Super CCD EXR sensor, which gives the option of using the sensor in three different modes to optimize low-light performance, resolution, or dynamic range. It also features a 5x optical zoom, a 3" LCD screen, and a plethora of other features. Price is not yet available. Check out the full release below.

The latest F-Series compact with revolutionary Super CCD EXR switchable sensor technology; the FinePix F200EXR

February 4, 2009: First announced at Photokina 2008, Fujifilm’s new EXR technology makes its first appearance in a new camera announced today, the FinePix F200EXR.

Following a long line of famous Super CCD sensors in cameras like the FinePix F10 and FinePix F31fd, the FinePix F200EXR is designed by Fujifilm to be the perfect camera for the photographic enthusiast. Primed to be the class-leading compact of 2009, the FinePix F200EXR utilises brand new, ground-breaking technology to create an unprecedented level of image quality from a consumer level compact.

Using the human eye as the basis for the perfect camera sensor, Fujifilm has yet again extended technological boundaries, creating a Super CCD capable of registering excellent levels of detail when switched to its high resolution mode, but at the same time, capable of offering excellent quality in low light and superb highlight detail in contrasty light when switched to its high sensitivity and wide dynamic range modes respectively.

In addition to the 12 Megapixel 1/1.6”Super CCD EXR and completely redesigned EXR Processor, the FinePix F200EXR inherits its rich feature set from the FinePix F100fd, which includes a powerful Fujinon 5x wide angle optical zoom lens, and the most powerful face detection technology on the market, Face Detection 3.0, with auto red eye removal.  On top of this, the F200EXR offers 5 Film Simulation Modes, a 3.0” high-resolution 230,000 dots wide view LCD, HD Photo Output, Dual Image Stabilisation and sensitivity up to ISO 12800 (3 million pixel only).

This combination of cutting-edge technology encased within a pocketable digital compact body means that advanced amateur photographers through to professionals will be able to take breathtaking pictures in the most challenging of conditions.

The world’s most versatile photographic sensor
Faced with a market driven by the demand for higher pixel counts, yet conscious that high concentrations of pixels on small sensors can produce diminishing quality returns, Fujifilm engineers had a radical rethink about sensor technology.  Why not make a sensor that can flex its behaviour according to the scene to be photographed?  Why not give full resolution when bright light allows, but use the pixels in a different way when the light is not ideal?  The FinePix F200EXR offers 3 switchable modes in one sensor: 

• High Resolution mode, which deploys all twelve million pixels, and is designed to offer the finest detail of intricate subjects when light is full and even
• High Sensitivity and Low Noise mode, which caps two adjacent pixels together to produce 6 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
• Wide Dynamic Range mode, which captures different exposures with two sets of six million pixels, which, when combined, gives an excellent level of detail in highlights that would otherwise be lost. 

In EXR Mode, the photographer can choose which sensor setting is preferable for the subject to be photographed by choosing High Resolution Priority (HR) to maximise resolution, High ISO and Low Noise Priority (SN) for high quality low-light work or D-Range Priority (DR) for the best detail with contrasty subjects.

Perfect Pictures - Automatically
The FinePix F60fd was the first digital camera to introduce SR AUTO (Scene Recognition AUTO), allowing photographers to let the camera determine the settings to ensure correct exposure, colour reproduction and lighting.

The FinePix F200 EXR takes the next technological step by combining Scene recognition technology with EXR technology by automatically and intelligently choosing the correct Super CCD EXR Priority in conjunction with a range of other controls (image quality, exposure, focus, white balance etc).  Now, the photographer can let the camera choose the best sensor mode by using the revolutionary EXR AUTO mode, which is the most efficient mechanism yet invented to quickly optimise the camera’s settings to allow the photographer to concentrate on capturing the perfect shot.