Fujifilm's FinePix S8000 fd Comes with 18x Optical Zoom and Image Stabilization

Not long after Panasonic announced its 18x optical zoom model, Fujifilm comes along with its very own solution that will satisfy telephoto hungry users.

"With the FinePix S8000 fd, Fujifilm is bringing its heritage in photography and industry leading technology to its customers by offering them incredible optical zoom and ISO levels in a camera priced at a level they can afford," said David Troy, Senior Product Manager, Consumer Digital Cameras, Electronic Imaging Division, FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. "By styling advanced DSLR features in a compact, easy to use digicam, we're offering users the tools to capture photos you would swear were captured by a pro," he added.

The camera in question is the FinePix S8000fd, which comes with 8 megapixels, unfortunately on a 1/2.35 inch CCD instead of larger 1/1.8 inch Super CCD solution. The 18x Fujinon lens has a picture angle equivalent to that of a 27mm-486mm mounted on a 35mm full-frame, but the good news is that Fuji has finally implemented a stabilization technology to cope with the long reach.

Fujifilm's solution is a classic sensor shifting mechanism that compensates for the involuntary camera shake when the lens is set to telephoto values or when using the camera without flash in dim-lit spaces. You also get a fake "ISO boost" stabilization mode, but you already know it's just a marketing trick.

The company is also touting the S8000fd for being able to go up to ISO 3200 and ISO 6400 at 50% resolution, but the truth of the matter is that these values will produce an insane amount of noise.

For reviewing and composing images, the S8000fd comes with a 2.5" LCD with 230k pixels of resolution and 60 fps refresh rate.

Fujifilm has also implemented its Face Detection technology, FD, which identifies faces in a picture and optimizes autofocus and exposure.

The new camera takes both xD-Picture Cards and Secure Digital/SD-High Capacity (SD-HC) cards and operates on 4xAA Batteries.

As the press release informs, the FinePix S8000fd will debut in September 2007 at a retail price of $399.95.

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