Fujifilm announces successor to S3 Pro, the S5

Company also announces the F31fd compact camera with Face Detection technology

25 September 2006 11:02 GMT / By Amber Maitland

Fujifilm has announced two new cameras during the first day of Photokina in Cologne, one a compact with Face Detection technology, and one a professional DSLR.

It’s taken two and a half years for Fujifilm to developer a successor to the S3 Pro, which was first announced in February 2004. The S5 seems to have the same sensor, which is Fujifilm’s own Super CCD SR sensor. Rather than pixel cramming, Fujifilm says that it is concentrating in improving the overall performance of the sensor for better image quality.

Thus the sensor uses a unique combination of twelve million paired photodiodes, half of which capture the main image information, and half of which captures highlight information. A new and improved low-pass filter minimises noise and moiré after the images are captured, while the processor reduces noise even further in a two-stage process. Effective resolution is 12.34Mp.

Other improvements include the ability to record JPEG and RAW files on to the CF or Micro Drive card, and new weatherproof and dustproof seals.

The S5 also offers six stepped dynamic range settings between 100% and 400%, which increases the dynamic range by two stops. In addition, Fujifilm has added three more presets to the two already present to create the look of certain film on the digital image.

As with the S3 Pro, the S5 features a Nikon F-mount, and supports shooting tethered to both Mac and PC. The new model also features i-TTL flash control, and an 11-point AF sensor with faster autofocussing than the S3 Pro.

The S5 is due for release in February 2007, with pricing to be announced at that time.

Fujifilm has also announced the release of the FinePix F31fd, with the “fd” standing for “Face Detection” technology.

This means that the camera can lock on up to ten faces at a time so that the correct focus is achieved. Like its older sibling the F30, it featuers a 3x optical zoom lens, 6MP sensor, maximum ISO of 3200, Intelligent Flash to keep low-light photos looking natural, and 2.5-inch LCD screen. It will be available in November.