Besides the
S6000fd that we just brought you, Fujifilm has another six megapixel shooter slated to hit stores in September, though this model is more at home in a pocket than a camera bag. Being touted as the little brother to the company's already-compact
F30, the new F20 sports many of the same features as its big bro -- besides the 6.3 megapixel CCD, they both share a 3x optical zoom and 2.5-inch LCD -- with the major differences being size, display resolution, and battery capacity. Also like the F30, this model is designed to perform in low-light conditions that would prove difficult for other compact cameras which don't share its relatively high maximum sensitivity of ISO 2000. The other nice touches here center around the flash: it automatically adjusts its intensity based on ambient lighting, and is part of the innovative "Natural Light & Flash" feature that snaps two consecutive shots -- one with flash and one without -- to provide users with a so-called "photographic safety net." No word yet on pricing, but since you can pick up the F30 for under $400, we imagine that this model will be available for around the same cost.
posted Jul 13th 2006 1:06PM
With a sensor that small in a little point and shoot ISO 2000 is useless for anything but wallet size prints!
Any point and shoot camera that boasts ISO 2000 and has a pathetic f/5 at the telephoto end will never "thrive at night."
BTW Fujifilm Unveils New Corporate Brand Logo:
http://www.fujifilm.com/news/n060712.html
Quote: With a sensor that small in a little point and shoot ISO 2000 is useless for anything but wallet size prints!
1/1.7" is obviously larger than the 1/2.5" sensor. For a 6MP shooter, that's large.
Tim and Jeff are totally right... even a dslr like the Nikon D70 starts having digital noise after ISO 640.
If you compare the F20 to other cameras in its class (hint: not a Nikon d70), you will realize that, relatively speaking, it does "thrive at night." And judging from the F30, acceptable prints beyond wallet-size can be acheived with a 1/1.7" sensor.
Come on people, you seem to think that the big DSLRs are always cutting edge tech. The Nikon d70 is out for at least a year now. Its development started at least two years ago. This Fujifilm thing is *new*. Surely you don't think there's been no advancement in digital imaging in the meantime.
BTW, the F30 won the TIPA award. (http://www.tipa.com/awa_detail_2006.lasso?-Search=Action&-Table=web&-Database=awards_2006&-KeyValue=80)
The F20 uses the same technology. Nuff said.
There were some Fujis which had impressive, and I mean REALLY impressive low light capabilities. One was on par with DSLRs, at times maybe even better, and it was a compact camera. I don't know what magic Fuji does, but I expect the camera to have very little noise.
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/fuji/finepix_f30-review/ There you can find pics of the F30 at high ISO levels. Not perfect, of course, but much better than its competition.