Fuji F70EXR - a SuperCCD-powered compact-superzoom

It is a leak no more! The Fuji F70EXR has been officially announced by Fuji around the world!

The F70-EXR is Fuji's first attempt at a "fun-zoom", using a brand new 1/2" 10-megapixel SuperCCD EXR sensor and a 10X lens that goes from 27-270mm with sensor-shift image stabilization.

Meet the Fuji F70-EXR

This is the second SuperCCD-EXR digital camera, and as such, it includes the different EXR modes (low-noise, high dynamic range, high resolution). It remains to be seen how the benefits of SuperCCD-EXR will scale down to the 1/2" (not 1/1.2" that was a typo) sensor-size. As you may recall, in the past, the 1/2.5" SuperCCD sensors did not offer the same level of benefits as the 1/1.6" SuperCCD sensors.

Despite the 10X lens, the metal camera-body is quite thin, just under one-inch (22.7mm). This measurement is obviously with the lens retracted into the camera body.

This camera also launched two new features that sound promising on paper, despite their slightly inaccurate names, but judgment on their effectiveness and practically should be reserved until the camera is released and reviewed. One of them is called "Pro Low-Light mode" which combines four successive high-sensitivity images and combine them together using "multi-frame technology". The other is "Pro Focus mode" which combines 2-3 burst mode shots and tries to create "pleasing" portraits by defocusing the background.

The camera also carries along the "film modes", which piggy-back on the recognizable names of famous Fuji films.

Other F70-EXR features
+ 5fps burst mode (12 images, 3mp each)
+ 2.7-inch LCD (230k)
+ aperture priority, manual exposure
+ JPEG only, no RAW
+ 30fps VGA movie mode (no HD option!)
+ so-so battery life of CIPA 230 with the existing Fuji NP-50
+ SD/SDHC
+ ships in August for $280 (pre-order)

Further Reading
+ Fuji UK
+ dpreview
+ Imaging Insider