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The Fujifilm Finepixe F50fd is a camera that I'm sure will be very popular. Building on the successful F30 and F40 this 12 megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoom adds face detection, image stabilizationi and continues to offer features for those wanting to use it in low light situations.
The Fujifilm Finepixe F50fd has a 2.7 inch LCD and 25 megabytes of internal memory and features aperture priority mode (missing on the previous models) which will be music to many F series users.
The F50fd also has improved face detection technology (fd 2.0) which can detect up to 10 faces in a single scene from different angles. It is helpful for both focussing and exposing an image correctly.
The Fujifilm Finepixe F50fd has ISO range of up to 6400 and a shutter speed range of between 8 seconds and 1/2000 second.
The F50fd will have a retail price of $299.95 when it hits stores in September.
Get a Price on the Fujifilm Finepix F50fd at Amazon
FinePix F50fd Ups Ante With Dual Image Stabilization, Face Detection 2.0 Technology and ISO Levels Of Up To 6400
Digital photographers looking for a top-of-the line compact digital camera can now take advantage of the latest in Fujifilm’s F-Series digital cameras with the 12-Megapixel FinePix F50fd. Following a long line of award winning F-Series models, the FinePix F50fd, like the FinePix F31fd and F40fd before it, offers consumers a super-compact digital camera that takes beautiful shots with the most advanced features and technology available, so that missing great shots is not an option.
Combining a 12-MegaPixel, 7th Generation Super CCD with a 3.0x optical zoom and a 2.7” high-resolution 230,000 pixel wide angle view LCD, the FinePix F50fd is a compact powerhouse that incorporates all the features users have come to expect from Fujifilm’s more advanced digital cameras. With the addition of Dual Image Stabilization, Face Detection 2.0 Technology with Automatic Red Eye Removal function, and ISO settings of up to ISO 6400, the F50fd takes compact digital cameras to the next level, arming users with a host of new features and enabling them to take pictures never before possible.
Face Detection 2.0 – The Next Generation
Fujifilm’s proprietary Face Detection Technology also gets an upgrade in the F50fd with the arrival of Face Detection 2.0, featuring Automatic Red Eye Removal. As with the original version of Face Detection, it can detect up to 10 human faces in a scene in as little as 5/100’s of a second, correcting focus, exposure, and white balance automatically, regardless of where subjects are located within the frame. Face Detection 2.0 adds to this technology by being able to identify faces at much more extreme camera angles than before. No longer does the camera need a head-on shot to identify a face, because now even a profile will do – with up to 90° movement in either direction for profiles, and up to 135° for leaning or lying down in either direction, for a total range of 270°.
Additional improvements to Face Detection 2.0 include a new Automatic Red-Eye Removal feature that automatically corrects red-eye directly after the shot is taken and then saves both the original and the corrected image file.
Dual Image Stabilization
To ensure that users achieve even greater blur-free pictures, the FinePix F50fd adds to Fujifilm’s Picture Stabilization mode to create the improved Dual Image Stabilization mode. This combines a mechanically stabilized CCD sensor with high ISO sensitivities for Total Anti-Blur protection. The combination of these two different approaches reduces the “blur” effect from the photographer’s hand-shake and subject movement even further to provide the highest quality digital pictures yet, with sharp, clean and clear results.
Not much light? Not a Problem!
All too often, digital photographers run into problems when taking pictures in low-light or dimly-lit situations and have to rely on the flash which can lead to over-exposed and washed-out shots. The FinePix F50fd builds on the great strides previous Fujifilm digicams have made with low light photography and allows users to effortlessly capture the moment as their eye sees it, with tremendous clarity and low noise, using Fujifilm’s Real Photo technology. Thanks to the 7th generation FinePix Super CCD-HR chip and the RP Processor II, the Finepix F50fd can utilize ISO settings of up to ISO1600 at full resolution and an amazing ISO 6400 at reduced resolution1, capturing stunning images even in low light while preserving the natural color and clarity of the shot.
In addition to these advancements, the FinePix F50fd possesses a number of other impressive features:
* Portrait Enhancer Mode: Mimicking a professional photo studio setting, by using Face Detection and preset camera settings, Portrait Enhancer minimizes fine lines and small skin blemishes for smooth, natural looking portraits.
* Dual Shot Mode: In this selectable mode, the FinePix F50fd quickly shoots two images in rapid succession -- one with the flash and one without – and saves both. This convenient function lets the user perform a comparison at their convenience and select the most pleasing image.
* i-Flash Intelligent Flash: i-Flash (Intelligent Flash) detects subtle lighting differences within a scene and then varies the flash intensity accordingly. It also leverages the high sensitivity of the FinePix F50fd to enable the camera to use less flash, resulting in an image that displays pleasing, natural tones without a “washed-out” effect. And with an automatic pop-up flash, it’s always ready when you need it.
* Full Manual Photographic Control: Gives the user total control with manual adjustment options for settings on the camera (resolution, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, etc), and is desirable by the photo enthusiasts/advanced photographers.
* GUI Micro Thumbnail: A new playback feature that allows for viewing an index print on the LCD. The F50fd will show up to 100 images in micro form, then the control buttons are used to move over specific images and select them. This makes it easy to quickly find a single image by being able to jump to particular segments of images in the time sequence. So rather than using the left/right arrows to move through one image at a time, you can move up/down/left/right and then select the image you want to view. The back button takes you back to the thumbnail view in one step. The micro view lets you get close to the image you want, and then scroll to find the specific picture. As memory cards become larger, and devices become as much about sharing images as capturing them, this is a handy feature to enable the user to find specific images quicker.
* IrSimpleTM: Infrared communication via IrSimpleTM technology for fast, easy wireless image transfer to a compatible device.
* Special Scene and Blog Modes: The FinePix F50fd has 16 pre-programmed scenes, including a special underwater scene mode for use with a special underwater casing. In the Blog mode, the FinePix F50fd copies and automatically reduces the size of copied images for easy posting to a blog, Web page or as an attachment to email for easy sharing with friends and family while maintaining the original file.
* xD / SD / SD-HC Compatible slot: The FinePix F50fd features a “xD/SD Compatible slot” which accepts not only Fujifilm’s traditional xD-Picture Cards but also Secure Digital (SD) and SD-High Capacity/SD-HC cards too.
* Battery Life: Long-life rechargeable Li-ion battery (up to 230 shots).
“Fujifilm continues to push the technology envelope with the latest in a long line of award winning F-Series digital cameras,” said David Troy, Senior Product Manager, Consumer Digital Cameras, Electronic Imaging Division, FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. “With the introduction of Dual Image Stabilization, Face Detection 2.0, Automatic Red-Eye Removal, and even higher ISO levels, the FinePix F50fd provides users with a powerful compact digital camera that makes it easier than ever for any level photographer to get professional looking photographs.”
The FinePix F50fd will debut in September 2007 at a retail price of $299.95.
1ISO levels of 6400 are available at 3MP, or lower, resolution; ISO levels of 3200 are attainable at 6MP, or lower; and ISO levels of 1600 are attainable at full resolution.
CNET reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and writes - 'As long as you don't mind the between-shot sluggishness or slight texture that the noise creates, even at lower ISOs when viewed on a monitor, then the Fujifilm F50fd would make a nice choice for advanced photographers looking for a pocket camera to supplement an SLR. I say this not only because of the merits mentioned above, but also because the camera's aperture- and shutter-priority modes give you up to 10 choices when choosing an aperture or shutter speed, while a lot of compact cameras with those shooting modes limit you to significantly fewer choices, sometimes as few as two. Of course, if those manual exposure controls don't matter to you, then you may also want to check out the Canon Powershot SD1000 or Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T20 mentioned earlier, since they'll provide cleaner images at lower ISOs and are faster between shots. Of course, the SD1000 doesn't include image stabilization and is 7.1MP, and though the T20 has optical image stabilization, it is an 8.1MP camera. Even if the megapixel count isn't important to you, and it shouldn't be, you should keep the Fujifilm F50fd on your short list.'
CameraLabs reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and writes - 'So if you were hoping the F50fd was the new high ISO performance leader, prepare for a disappointment. It may be no worse than rivals, but it’s certainly no better. Where the F50fd does score though is its no-nonsense approach to common activities like indoor flash photography. Like the F30 / F31fd before it, the new FinePix is a great indoor party camera, focusing and exposing faces perfectly and increasing the ISO (if you allow it) to record greater background detail. Outdoors it also performs well and offers manual control over the aperture and shutter for creative effects.'
PhotogrpahyBLOG reviews the Fujifilm Finepix F50fd and writes - 'The Fujifilm Finepix F50fd is a frustrating beast. On one hand it offers a number of significant improvements when compared with the older F31fd, but on the other it takes a serious backwards step in terms of image quality, which is ultimately what every camera should primarily be judged by. We whole-heartedly gave the F31fd a Highly Recommended award one year back at the start of 2007, commenting "this compact camera still has no rivals in terms of low-light performance". This time around, the F50fd is no longer the low-light leader that the F31fd was.'
DP Review has posted their review of the Fujifilm F50fd where they give it a rating of 'highly recommended' and write - 'And so to the rating. There was quite a lot of discussion here as to whether the F50fd should be marked down for being such a disappointing step backwards from the F31fd - no matter how unsurprising that was. The replacement of the F31fd means the end of the line for a sensor that over four generations of Fujifilm compact cameras has shown that there is an alternative to pointless megapixel increases and noisy results at anything over base ISO. Whilst the F50fd still has a lead over its conventional CCD competitors that advantage has been cut down to little more than a whisker, and this is a regrettable and slightly depressing indication of where the compact camera manufacturers' priorities lie.'
Get a Price on the Fujifilm Finepix F50fd at Amazon
Posted by Darren in our Fuji category on July 26, 2007