If you've shunned Fujifilm cameras previously due to their proprietary xD-Picture Card format, the new FinePixes are set to change all that with dual card slots that embrace Secure Digital cards as well. Good news there, really, since SD cards are more widely available, cheaper, and consumers won't have to purchase new media if they switch to Fujifilm. This leaves Olympus as the only camera manufacturer to use solely xD cards on its compacts.
To us, the FinePix F40fd looks more like a souped-up F30 than the successor to the F31fd. Yes, the resolution has increased to 8.3 megapixels, but it comes at the expense of a lower maximum sensitivity of ISO 1,600 (ISO 2,000 in Picture Stabilization or Natural Light mode). No shutter- or aperture-priority options available to the user, either.
What the F40fd does come with is the same face-detection technology we saw on the Z5fd, F31fd and the S6500fd. How this works is it triangulates the subject's eyes and mouth and uses an algorithm to ensure the faces in the frame are focused and properly exposed.
There's no SDHC support yet. While this FinePix is compatible with SD cards up to 2GB and xD-Picture Cards of similar capacity, we're just wondering if we could use the two different formats concurrently and select which flash media to record to. If that is possible, then it'll be a god-send.
The F40fd will be manufacturered in three colours: silver, blue and gunmetal, though only the silver will be available in Australia. Other features on this FinePix include a 36mm-to-108mm focal length, 2.5-inch 235K-pixel LCD and intelligent flash that automatically controls flash output and sensitivity.
Unfortunately, there's still no sight of an optical image stabilisation system and, if we had our way, we'd want a 28mm wide-angle lens on the shooter as well. When all's said and done, Fujifilm's move to adopt SD cards is definitely a strategic one. As to how well the camera performs in low-light environments, that'll have to wait till we get our mits on a review unit.
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