Fujifilm XP200 and S8400W Go Extreme in Ruggedness and Zoom
Fujifilm has announced two new consumer-level cameras that go extreme in different ways. The first is the new FinePix XP200, a new rugged cameras for outdoor environments. The second is the FinePix S8400W, a bridge camera that packs a massive zoom for photographers who are always shooting faraway subjects.
The XP200 is the latest camera in Fujifilm’s XP rugged compact camera line. It features a 16-megapixel 1/2.3″ CMOS sensor, a 5x 28-140mm lens, sensor shift image stabilization, Wi-Fi connectivity, 10fps continuous shooting (60fps when shooting at low res), full HD 1080i video recording at 60fps, high speed video recording at up to 240fps for slow motion playback, a 3-inch 920K-dot LCD screen, and art filters.
In terms of ruggedness and durability, the XP200 is waterproof down to 50ft/15m, shockproof up to 6.6ft/2m, dustproof, and freezeproof down to 14°F/-10ºC. It features a new battery door lock that has double seals, ensuring that you won’t accidentally bump the door open while you’re underwater or in an extreme environment.
There’s also a Motion Panorama 360 feature, which lets you shoot a 360º panoramic photo by pressing the shutter and then spinning around in the a circle (many smartphone apps let you do this). A second novelty feature is Individual Shutter 3D, which lets you snap 3D photos by combining two shots snapped at slightly different angles.
The XP200 will come in black, yellow, blue, and red, and will be available starting in May 2013 for $300.
Fujifilm’s second newly announced camera, the S8400W, is an all-in-one bridge camera for people who need long reach. It’s basically a compact camera with a DSLR shape and an extremely long lens.
The camera features a 16-megapixel backside-illuminated 1/2.3″ CMOS sensor that has an ISO max of 12800. It features Wi-Fi connectivity, a convenient mode dial (P/S/A/M), dual zoom controls, a bright 3-inch 460K-dot LCD screen, an 201K-dot electronic viewfinder, 10fps continuous shooting (up to 120fps when resolution is dropped to 640×480), full HD 1080i/60 video recording with stereo sound, 480fps slow motion video capture, and art filters.
The camera is powered by four AA alkaline batteries, which allows it to shoot roughly 300 photographs.
Two strengths of the camera are zoom and speed. The camera features a powerful 44x optical zoom lens with a variable aperture of f/2.9 to f/6.5. Even though you might not get good shots in dimly lit environments, soccer moms would likely be happy to trade low-light performance for increased zoom range. On the near end of things, the lens can go into Super Macro mode and focus on subjects from as lose as 0.39 inches.
In terms of speed, the S8400W has an autofocus speed of up to 0.3 seconds, a startup time of 1 second, and a shooting interval time of 0.5 seconds.
You’ll be able to pick up a S8400W starting in May 2013 for $350.
