Digital Camera News

Fuji Launches F40fd with Higher Res, Lower Price

January 4, 2007 – Just a few short months after announcing the F31fd at Photokina, Fujifilm today added the FinePix F40fd, an advanced point-and-shoot with face detection. The F40fd will eventually replace the F20 in the FinePix line, improving upon its predecessor with a higher 8.3 megapixel count, a new Wide View Filter LCD screen, and an xD/SD Compatible Slot, all for a lower price of $299.95 when it debuts in March.

Geared towards the more advanced point-and-shooter, the Fuji FinePix F40fd carries over many features from the F31fd at nearly $100 less. The F40fd comes with Fuji ’s 6th generation Super CCD-HR sensor, RealPhoto Technology, IR-Simple technology, and hardware-based face detection system.  While the face detection system provides auto focus and exposure on up to ten faces, the F40fd also provides facial recognition in playback mode for easy review of portraits.

With the F40fd , Fuji improved its face detection system, adding a DPOF (Digital Print Order format) feature that automatically matches the number of prints to the number of faces in a group photo, allowing each person to take home a print. The new face detection DPOF option "is a cool feature that Fujifilm has to offer in their face detection that no one else is really thinking of yet," said Fuji Senior Product Training Manager Jim Calverley in an interview with DigitalCameraInfo.com.

To further enhance the face detection system, the F40fd includes slideshow options with auto rotate and auto crop of portraits that may be useful for individual portrait printing. 

Along with the increased megapixel count and improved face detection options, the F40fd adds an enhanced 2.5-inch, 230,000 pixel LCD with the new Wide View Filter.  The new Wide View screen is designed for off-axis monitor viewing by multiple users. The FinePix F40fd also comes with the new xD/SD Compatible Slot; it is one slot that accepts both types of memory cards.

While the camera surpasses preceding FinePix models with the added fd-geared options, the F40fd will sit below the recently launched F31fd in Fuji's F-series, carrying a lower maximum sensitivity of ISO 2000, compared to the F31fd's top ISO 3200 setting. 

The Fuji FinePix F40fd, with 3x optical zoom, comes equipped with the standard Fuji feature set such as their picture stabilization mode, i-Flash technology, dual shot mode, and noise reduction. The FinePix camera also has 14 scene modes and is compatible with Li-ion batteries at 300 shots per charge. 

As many consumers might suspect, "the face detection system will play a big role in Fuji ’s 2007 products," according to Jim Calverley.  Fuji, in an attempt to compete with other face detection systems such as the Pentax S7’s Face Tracker or Canon’s face detection on its SD900, 800 IS, and G7 PowerShot models, will be rolling out more products marked "fd" this year.