After a hiatus of more than a year without a new Z-series digital camera, Fujifilm announced the FinePix Z5fd that carries on the trendy compact legacy but begins a new tradition by including face detection. The new digital camera has a 6-megapixel Super CCD and a 3x optical zoom lens that doesn’t extend from the trim body. Coming in lustrous brushed silver, red wine, and chocolate brown colors, the Fujifilm FinePix Z5fd sweetens the deal with IrSimple wireless communication technology and a Blog mode that shrinks a copy of the picture before sending it wirelessly. The Z5fd will sell for $229 in March.
Connectivity Software
This digital camera will come packaged with a CD-ROM with FinePix Viewer and Image Mixer VCD2 LE for FinePix programs.
Jacks, ports, plugs
The Fujifilm Z5fd has a port on its bottom that connects to a cable with many connections on it. Through the cable, users can access AV, USB, and power functions. The video out can be set to work with NTSC and PAL format. The lack of jacks on the body is fairly common with ultra-slim digital cameras. While there isn’t a port for this, the IrSimple technology is of note in this connectivity section. It can wirelessly transfer and receive photos from other enabled devices, although they have to be within about 3 ft.
Direct Print Options
With PictBridge compatibility, the Fujifilm FinePix Z5fd can create DPOF print orders from the “F” menu. Users must first choose whether their order should be printed with or without the date printed on them, and then they can scroll through the individual images and tag them for printing. Up to 99 copies of each picture can be printed through the DPOF ordering system. There is no one-touch print button, and there is no way to wirelessly send an entire print order at once to the printer – only individual pictures.
Battery The Z5fd has a lithium-ion NP-40 rechargeable battery that is very slim. It gets about 225 shots per charge, which is nothing incredible but still on par with other ultra-slim cameras. According to the Fujifilm booth reps, the battery takes less than an hour and a half to charge.
Memory
The Z5fd has 26 MB of internal memory, which is about the average offering of a compact digital camera. This FinePix can accept xD-Picture cards in the same compartment that houses the battery. The new F40fd can accept SD cards in addition to the xD, but the Z5fd doesn’t have that capability. The Fujifilm FinePix Z5fd can take xD cards up to 2 GB.