Fujifilm Unveils Z900 EXR Digicam

By Greg Tarr On May 2 2011 - 4:01am

VALHALLA, N.Y. – Fujifilm North America introduced this month its FinePix Z900 EXR digital camera, which is billed as “the latest addition to the fashion-forward line of Z-series compact cameras.”

The Z900 EXR (shipping in May at a $280 suggested retail price), features a new 16-megapixel EXR CMOS sensor, a Fujinon 5x wide angle refractive optical zoom lens (28-140mm equivalent) and a 3.5-inch 16:9 high resolution touch screen LCD with an simplified multi-touch user interface.

Key features in the camera include EXR Auto, which is a new mode that recognizes 27 scenes, also included is one-touch access to full 1080p HD movie capture, an intuitive Dual Direction graphical user interface for smooth feature navigation, an improved Flash animation user interface with “tap and shoot” capabilities and fast image tagging with automatic upload functions to YouTube and Facebook.

“The new FinePix Z900 EXR blends our most fashion-forward design with a powerful 16-megapixel EXR CMOS sensor to give users a technology- packed camera for a night out on the town with friends when they want to capture the fun at every stop,” said David Troy, Fujifilm North America electronics imaging division digital cameras marketing director. “When design and function matter the most, the Z900 EXR is the hands-down choice for people who want fast multi touch operation, quick access to full HD video and speedy shooting modes that never miss a shot.”

The new EXR Sensor with CMOS Technology is said to produce advanced image quality, improved low light sensitivity and faster performance, in addition to 12fps high-speed continuous shooting and high-speed movies at 320fps at full resolution.

It also allows multi-frame technology that synthesizes consecutive burst shots into a single composite image, blending the sensitivities to “smooth” the noise signature.

The sensor is positioned upside down to let light directly hit the silcon for higher sensitivity and lower noise performance.

Fujifilm’s EXR technology enables switching sensor modes. The EXR Auto Mode will let the camera do all the work, or the photographer can manually select one of three EXR Priority modes: High Resolution (HR); Dynamic Range (DR), which takes two pictures and combines them to provide a range of up to 1,600 percent; or High ISO Low Noise, which produces strong low-light images.

The camera design uses a slim (18.2mm) metal chassis and a horizontal sliding lens barrier, and is available in a choice of: matte black, red or blue.

The camera will capture Full HD 1080p video, and a one-touch movie button simplifies video shooting. The sequential capture capability enables starting and stopping in a single movie clip.

Fujifilm includes Pixel Fusion Movie Technology to make pixels more sensitive to dim light situations.

Movie files (.MOV) are captured in full 1080p HD in stereo at 30fps with H.264 high profile compression for smaller file sizes without sacrificing quality. A mini- HDMI connector is included for easy connection to an HDTV (HDMI cable not included).

An Automatic Upload feature makes it quicker and easier to post images and videos to the Facebook and YouTube social networking sites. The feature allows users to identify and tag a photo for Facebook or You- Tube upload.

Once the camera is connected to a PC and My- FinePix Studio software is launched, all marked photos or movies will upload directly to Facebook or You- Tube at the press of a button.

Other features include: tap and shoot one touch focusing and shooting.

A new mechanically stabilized sensor reduces handshake and can compensate for both sharp and wide hand movements.

The camera also includes i-Flash Intelligent Flash, Motion Panorama 360 degree mode, Dual Image Display on the wide LCD screen to split the screen in various ways to view multiple images, and a Photo Book Assist function that lets users select and organize images in your camera to create a digital photo book.