Fujifilm F31fd and S5 Pro

With the Photokina tradeshow set to officially begin tomorrow, camera manufacturers are quickly stepping up the frequency of announcements that began earlier in the month. Monday marks the introduction of two new models from Fujifilm that serve casual photographers as well as professionals. First is the FinePix F31fd, an update to the 6.3-megapixel F30 that adds an advanced face recognition system: Fujifilm says its technology can find as many as ten faces in a scene and optimize exposure, flash, and focus to improve the accuracy of portrait shots. Also new is an IR-based wireless transfer system that can share photos between cameras and other similarly-equipped hardware. The F31fd should ship in November for an as yet undetermined price. Click through for details and photos of this new model as well as the 12.34-megapixel S5 Pro.

S5 Pro

Fujifilm's introduction of the FinePix S5 Pro (PDF) is a significant improvement on the company's earlier S3 DSLR model. The new camera relies on the earlier model's technique of relying on two distinct sensor sets - a 6.17-megapixel normal sensor and an equal-size sensor for highlights - to create an effective image resolution of 12.34 megapixels that also improves color accuracy and image detail. Fujifilm has added intelligent flash as well as ISO 3200 light sensitivity and has improved the auto-focus and metering abilities. The company considers the Photokina demonstration of the camera an early preview; the S5 Pro will not ship until early 2007.

By Electronista Staff