CCD photo enthusiasts are having the time of day, with the range of CCD digitals, be it point-and-shoot, digital bridges, or the ubiquitous DSLR, that are easily available on the market with prices low enough for the asking. On the same token, vintage manual mechanical (except for a few beastly tanks) and electronic film cameras are almost at the end of their usability lifespan, tossed aside with no means of repair when they start to develop their ailments. The cost of film for film photography and their associated services are also on the rise and bite hard into the economics of enthusiasts. CCDs, the new film, is the answer to these woes.
A low-end choice for enthusiasts is the 10MP CCD Fujifilm FinePix S1000fd, the world's smallest 12x zoom digital bridge when it was launched in 2008, by Fujifilm. The fits-in-the-hand camera was an update of the FinePix S700, which was also popular then and came with a lens equivalent to a 33-396mm zoom on a 35mm camera. While the camera does not come with image stabilization, with sensitivity-boosting relying on shutter speed increases, the camera has a wide range of complementary image capture functions including Panorama, and Face Detection (that can find up to six faces at a time) with Automatic Red Eye Removal, and a macro mode capable of taking shots from as close as 20cm. Images are saved on either xD or SD/SDHC cards.
Camera controls are straightforward, on the camera back is a four-way joystick selector, a playback button, a toggle for the EVF and LCD view selection, and a button for exposure compensation. A function menu gives access to some shooting options, including Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Night, Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Museum, Party, Flower, and Text, with an additional F button accessing ISO, quality, and film effect selection. The S1000fd also has a 2.7-inch LCD and a 230,000-dot electronic viewfinder and operates on 4xAA batteries. The S1000fd's collar rocker switch, which is fast and springy, could be better suited to the camera's 12x zoom capability.
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