FUJI FILM Announces Four New FINEPIX Digital Cameras on the eve of the 2006 International CES

CES 2006, Las Vegas, January 4, 2006 - An ultra-compact digital camera with Real Photo Technology as well as two entry-level models with Fujifilm's famed Super CCD sensor highlight the digital camera announcements made today by Fuji Photo Film U.S.A, Inc. Fujifilm is showcasing the cameras - the FinePix V10 and FinePix A400 and A500 - along with a fourth camera, the slim and trim FinePix F470, in meeting rooms N101 and N102 in the Center Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center throughout the show.

Big Results from a Small Camera
Real Photo Technology first appeared in Fujifilm digital cameras in 2005 and the FinePix V10, with a five MegaPixel Super CCD HR sensor, is the first camera in Fujifilm's 2006 line-up to include Real Photo Technology. Known for its ability to remove noise from digital pictures and thus allowing digital cameras to take pictures at higher light sensitivities, Real Photo Technology was met with much acclaim by camera reviewers and consumers when it was introduced last year.

The FinePix V10 can take pictures at light sensitivities as high as 1600 ISO at full resolution and these higher sensitivities open the door to additional user benefits when combined with quicker shutter speeds. Those benefits include less shake and blur due to hand and subject movement as well as more detailed and natural-looking pictures taken in low light environments.

The features and benefits of the FinePix V10 don't end with Real Photo Technology. The biggest and most noticeable physical feature of the FinePix V10 is the camera's enormous LCD. At three inches, the FinePix V10's LCD is one of largest in the ultra-compact camera category. It gives the user an ideal platform for framing subjects or for sharing just-taken photos. And with new Fujifilm technology that automatically brightens the LCD in well-lit environments, glare is less of a problem. This is a tremendous benefit when taking and viewing pictures in direct sunlight or in a brightly lit room. Plus, the LCD has a number of features that ensure peak viewing performance regardless of scene lighting.

Glare is often a problem when LCDs are used in direct sunlight or a brightly lit room. To combat glare, the LCD of the FinePix V10 employs a special amplification layer that boosts the strength of the LCD and making it easier to see. The FinePix V10's LCD is also very "smart", as it automatically "gains up" or brightens in dimly lit environments. And with a stout 230,000 pixels, this re-enforced LCD is not short on resolution.

An exciting secondary feature on a camera so focused on taking great pictures, is a series of video games accessible through the FinePix V10's menu system. These games - Number Puzzle, Block Buster, Shooting Game and Maze - are ideal diversions for a traveler during a long layover, a passenger on an interstate road trip or a weary driver stuck in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Other spotlight features of the FinePix V10 include a 3.4x optical zoom lens, a 30-frame playback mode for viewing groups of photos on the LCD and a helpful shooting mode called "Natural Light & With Flash" that shoots successive pictures with and without flash so the user can make an on-the-spot decision as to which picture looks best.

The FinePix V10 will carry a price of $349 when it hits store shelves this March.

Super CCD Graduates to Entry-Level Digital Photography
It is only a matter of time before great technologies, once used solely for professional or more advanced consumer applications, trickle their way down to mass-market products and that is certainly the case with Fujifilm's Super CCD image sensor. When it was announced in 1999 the award-winning* Super CCD was hailed as a new direction in digital imaging sensor design that could yield greater resolutions, better signal-to-noise ratios, higher light sensitivities and wider dynamic ranges - all attributes of better digital pictures.

All of those benefits and more are realized in today's Super CCD-powered digital cameras. The Fujifilm A-Series cameras announced today -- the four MegaPixel FinePix A400 and five MegaPixel FinePix A500 -- are ideal cameras for the first-time digital camera buyer or the photographer that craves operational simplicity. In addition to the Super CCD sensor, Fujifilm's latest A-Series digital cameras offer a new image processor for cleaner, crisper pictures, a 3x optical zoom lens from world-renowned lens manufacturer, Fujinon, internal memory, and helpful scene modes for the most ideal camera settings given a particular shooting environment.

Consumers can purchase the FinePix A400 and FinePix A500 beginning February 2006 at $149 and $179, respectively.

Slim is In
Slimming down was a resolution for many this past New Year's Day, but not for Fujifilm's new FinePix F470. The FinePix F470 is already slim -- less than 20 millimeters in fact. That makes the camera no thicker than a deck of playing cards, an ideal size for stowing away in a shirt pocket or clutch purse. Despite its slim size, the FinePix F470 packs a powerful imaging punch with a six MegaPixel CCD sensor and a finely tuned processor for super-sharp pictures.

Another helpful feature of the FinePix F470 is its 16MB's worth of internal memory. Just about every digital photographer has come to the "miss it or delete it" crossroad. This is the moment when a photographer must choose between missing a photo opportunity because the media card is full and forever deleting a picture to make room for a new one. Not an easy decision for sure, and one the photographer often has to make in a split seconds' time. The FinePix F470 eliminates this decision altogether by having available storage space on board for extra security.

The FinePix F470's 2.5-inch LCD won't leave users in the dark, either. It has a gain-up control that senses a low-light setting and brightens itself to compensate. This feature, which the user controls manually, is a boon to the photographer when shooting in restaurants and other dimly lit environments.

Slim is also an apt description of the FinePix F470's price. It comes in at a rather attractive $279. The camera is available in March 2006.

[material source: FujiFilm press release]

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