S4000
Latest
Fujifilm brings 30x optical zoom to Finepix HS20EXR, 15x to F500EXR and F550EXR
Is 2011 the year of the superzoom? It's doubtful, but darn if Fujifilm isn't trying hard to make it so. Following up on the outfit's CES 2011 unveiling of the Finepix XP30, XP20 and a slew of low-to-mid-range point and shoots comes this stash: a pocketful 'tater sack full of nicely specced megazooms. Let's break 'em down, cool? The Finepix HS20EXR (which leaked just a few hours ago) is easily the crown jewel of this bunch, boasting a 16 megapixel EXR-CMOS sensor, a 30x Fujinon manual optical zoom lens (24mm to 720mm equivilent), a tilting 3.0-inch LCD, a 'heads-up' sensor that automatically changes from LCD to EVF, 8fps continuous shooting, 1080p movie recording, the ability to shoot in RAW (or RAW + JPEG), an optional remote release cable and support for two Fujifilm external flashes. This bad boy will ship in late March for $499.95. Looking for megazoom range in a compact's body? You've found it. The Finepix F500EXR and F550EXR both offer relatively sleek bodies, a new 16 megapixel EXR-CMOS sensor, a 15x Fujinon wide-angle zoom lens and a 3-inch LCD on the rear. You'll also get high-speed shooting capabilities as well as a 1080p movie mode, with the 550EXR stepping up and adding both GPS geotagging and the ability to capture files in RAW. Both cameras measure 22.9mm thick, offer image stabilization and have an ISO range of up to 1600. Both of these shooters will hit in mid-March, with the 500EXR going for $329.95 and the 550EXR seeming like a pure-tee bargain at just $20 more. Bringing up the rear, it's the new S series. The SLR-styled Finepix S2950, S3200 and S4000 superzooms boast a 14 megapixel sensor, with 18x, 24x and 30x Fujinon optical zoomers available in order of mention. You'll also get dual image stabilization, a 3-inch LCD around back, an electronic viewfinder, 720p movie mode and the ability to power these with a pair of AA batteries. The S2950 will go on sale this month for $229.95, while the S3200 hits next month for $249.95 and the S4000 lands in March for $279.95. %Gallery-112520%
Nikon CoolPix 'Style' and 'Life' series hands-on
What, it wouldn't be a camera convention without Nikon (and everyone else, for that matter) showing off a basket of new point-and-shoots. We knew what the company was bringing -- selections from its "Style" and "Life" series, as well as the P100 superzoom we covered earlier this week -- and now we've gotten our hands on the L22, S4000, L110, and S8000. There isn't much to say, frankly -- a collection of pocket shooters of various feature sets and various price ranges to cater to various demographics and psychographics. Still, we know you need to get that "fix" when it comes to pictures of gadgets, so let's get on with it, shall we? %Gallery-86322%
Nikon kicks out new Coolpix S- and L-series cams
Keeping with the pre-PMA announcements, Nikon also launched the S and L series of cams just now -- the S stands for "Style," and L stands for "Life." The Ls are the low-end of the bunch -- Life is apparently cheaper than Style -- and you've got two choices: the $280 L110 superzoom, which has a 15x optical zoom lens in front of a 12.3 megapixel sensor and a 3-inch 460,000-dot LCD, or the $130 L22 compact, which has a 3.6x zoom and a 12 megapixel sensor, and comes in many colors because low-end camera have to come in rainbow colors or the Best Buy people won't say they're any good. Nikon says the new $299 S8000 pictured above is the most notable of the Style line, mostly because of its 10x zoom, 720p video, 921,000-dot LCD for previewing. Yeah, not bad at all. After that it's just incrementally sadder steps down the features scale: the $249 S6000 has a 7x lens and a 230,000-dot LCD, the $200 S4000 adds touchscreen controls to its 3-inch 460,000-dot LCD but has a 12 megapixel sensor and a 4x zoom, and the $149 S3000 has a 2.7-inch LCD, a 4x zoom, and probably isn't interesting to you at all. Unless it is, in which case you can look at it in the gallery, read the PR after the break, and just generally party the night away. %Gallery-84534%
Sony unveils BRAVIA S4000 series LCD HDTVs
Another month, another BRAVIA. Not that we're kvetching or anything, though. On the docket today are four new ones from Sony which make up the all new S4000 family. Arriving in 26-, 32-, 37- and 40-inch sizes, the crew showcases Sony's fresh "draw the LINE" design concept and features a deep piano black finish, clean lines, gently-rounded curves and a swivel base to boot. The largest of the four boasts a 1080p Full HD panel, 24p True Cinema mode and the outfit's BRAVIA ENGINE 2 signal processing technology, while the other guys get stuck with the original BRAVIA ENGINE and "HD Ready" panels. The whole lot gets a trio of HDMI sockets,an integrated DVB-C / DVB-T TV tuner and a dynamic contrast ratio at or above 22,000:1. No word on a price / release date, but we're figuring that they land somewhere in Europe first.
