This super zoom camera offers an equivalent focal range of 27 to 486mm with dual image stabilization (mechanical and ISO/shutter speed controlled stabilization).

The Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd featues face detection technology (hence the 'fd' tag) and Fujifilm's intelligent 'iFlash'.

Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd Gets Close Up With Industry Leading 18x Optical Zoom With Face Detection

Features Advanced SLR Functionality at a Consumer Price-tag

Fujifilm is bringing the wide-angle, long zoom technology to the consumer market with today’s introduction of the FinePix S8000fd. The 8-MegaPixel, SLR-styled camera features one of the largest optical zooms on a fixed-lens camera in the industry, and introduces Fujifilm’s latest ‘Dual Image Stabilization,’ plus ISO settings of up to ISO6400 (at 50% resolution) – all features you would expect in a high-end digital camera, but at a price point consumers can afford.

Flexibility & Control
The S8000fd comes equipped with Fujinon’s 18x Wide Angle Optical Zoom lens, offering unprecedented flexibility in a compact SLR body style camera. With a 27mm-486mm equivalent, it’s all the lens you need in one device. The fixed lens eliminates the need for additional zoom or wide angle lenses, and it’s a sealed system, which prevents dust contamination – the #1 D-SLR repair complaint.

The S8000fd also features a full-resolution ISO equivalency of ISO 1600, a rarity in consumer-level digicams. The S8000fd can achieve ISO 3200 and ISO 6400 at 50% resolution, settings that are rare at the consumer level. Such high light sensitivities allow for faster shutter speeds, which reduce blurring caused by both camera shake and subject movement.

Dual Image Stabilization
To offer the best of both worlds where image stabilization is concerned, the S8000fd uses ‘Dual Image Stabilization’; a brand new combination of mechanical sensor shift stabilization with Fujifilm’s Picture Stabilization Technology which utilizes a combination of higher ISO levels and faster shutter speeds. This ‘Dual Image Stabilization’ steadies the photographer’s hand, and protects against camera shake and subject movement for total anti-blur protection. As a result, an increase in clarity and sharpness is achieved, even in low light conditions or when shooting moving subjects.

Face Detection Technology
The S8000fd features Fujifilm’s Face Detection technology, identifying up to 10 faces in a framed scene. Once faces are identified and prioritized, the S8000fd adjusts its focus and exposure accordingly to ensure the sharpness and clarity of human subjects in the picture, regardless of background. Face Detection technology on the S8000fd also includes a new Automatic Red Eye Removal feature. Red eye is a common complaint given by 60% of digital camera users. In this mode, the camera instantly checks each detected fact for red eye, and if it’s found, corrects it automatically, saving the time consuming process of fixing it in your PC after the image is downloaded.

Other helpful features found on the FinePix S8000fd for top-quality picture-taking include:

* i-Flash Intelligent Flash: i-Flash (Intelligent Flash) detects subtle lighting differences within a scene and then varies the flash intensity accordingly. It also leverages the high sensitivity of the FinePix S8000fd to enable the camera to use less flash, resulting in an image that displays pleasing, natural tones without a “washed-out” effect. And with an automatic pop-up flash, it’s always ready when you need it.
* Full Manual Photographic Control: Gives the user total control with manual adjustment options for settings on the camera (resolution, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, etc), and is desirable by the photo enthusiasts/advanced photographers.
* Movie Mode: Capture VGA quality action clips in 640x480 resolution at 30 fps with sound. Great for when you’re out and you don’t have your video camera on-hand.
* Scene modes: A wide range of more than a dozen pre-programmed scene modes provides top-quality photos in a range of shooting conditions.
* High-Speed Continuous Shooting Modes: Action comes at you fast. With four speed options, the S8000fd has the ability to capture up to 15 frames per second (at 2 MP resolution) and never misses the shot.
* High Resolution LCD: The 2.5” LCD display offers 230k pixels of resolution with an astonishing 60 fps refresh rate for smooth viewing.
* Electronic Viewfinder (EVF): Rather than framing your shots with the 2.5” high resolution LCD, the S8000fd offers an electronic viewfinder to eye up the best shot with an astonishing 60 fps refresh rate for smooth viewing.
* xD / SD / SD-HC Compatible slot: A new single media slot accepts not only Fujifilm’s traditional xD-Picture Cards but also Secure Digital (SD) and SD-High Capacity (SD-HC) cards too.
* Operates on 4xAA Batteries: The ultimate in convenience and accessibility, using AA batteries means in a pinch, more batteries are just moments away.

“With the FinePix S8000fd, Fujifilm is bringing its heritage in photography and industry leading technology to its customers by offering them incredible optical zoom and ISO levels in a camera priced at a level they can afford,” said David Troy, Senior Product Manager, Consumer Digital Cameras, Electronic Imaging Division, FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. “By styling advanced DSLR features in a compact, easy to use digicam, we’re offering users the tools to capture photos you would swear were captured by a pro.”

The FinePix S8000fd will debut in September 2007 at a retail price of $399.95.

PhotographyBLOG reviews the Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd where they write - 'You would have to purchase and carry at least a couple of lenses to cover the same distance with a DSLR camera. Thankfully Fujifilm have at last seen sense and included an image stabilization system, an essential feature given the massive zoom range on offer, and one that works very well in practice. This also means that Fujifilm can finally compete on a level playing field with their main super-zoom competitors, most notably the 18x models from Panasonic and Olympus. We haven't reviewed the Panasonic FZ18 yet, but we much preferred the S8000fd to the Olympus SP-550 UZ, which offers a less usable interface and much poorer image quality. The Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd is therefore both our current ultra-zoom camera of choice, and a viable alternative to a DSLR camera.'

CNET reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd and writes, "Image quality could also have been better and ends up about on par with the Olympus. While colors look accurate and the camera's automatic white balance does a fine job of serving up neutral colors in all sorts of lighting conditions, images are not as sharp as we would have liked. We saw very little colored fringing and even then only under the most extreme circumstances. In some cases, the camera tended to underexpose a little when using the Average metering mode, which uses the entire scene to determine exposure."

DP Review has posted their review of the Fuji FinePix S8000fd where they write - 'If you understand your specific photographic needs, there are cameras out there that shoot faster, others that have better and more easily accessed manual controls, others that are smaller and more convenient, and those that have shorter but higher quality lenses. But if you want to just take pictures and don't spend too much time pixel-peering it's a lot of camera for the money, and offers very user friendly snap-shooting operation and bright and punchy output. As such it earns a cautious recommendation.'

Imaging Resource reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd and writes - "The Fujifilm S8000fd was a pleasure to shoot with. And that's not easy for an ultra long zoom to do. Unfortunately, the printed results from the Fujifilm S8000fd were disappointing above ISO 400, and really not that great at 400, so we can't give this digital camera the ringing endorsement we'd hoped. If you can remain content not shooting above ISO 800, and ignore the camera's ISO 1,600, 3,200, and 6,400 the Fujifilm S8000fd is a pretty good long zoom digital camera. But if high ISO is important to you, look at the cameras we've tested below that deliver better low light performance. So while we think the Fujifilm S8000fd is a pretty good camera for daylight shooting, with a great zoom and cool features, it just misses a Dave's Pick due to its high ISO performance."

Steves Digicams reviews the FujiFilm FinePix S8000fd and writes - 'FujiFilm's Finepix S8000fd is an appealing "Ultra-Zoom" digicam. This is a very capable consumer model, with some very nice features (8M, 18x Wide Zoom, Face Detection, etc.), good overall performance, and plenty of shooting modes for every member of your household. Image quality is up to par with it competitors (Canon S5 IS, Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Olympus SP-560 UZ) and with a street price of US $350 or less (US$399 MSRP), it offers a terrific value for a camera in this class. The only other issue I had with the camera that's not mentioned above, was the fact that the camera will allow you to snap a photo while you are waiting for the flash to recharge. In most cases, this just produces a blurry photo that is unusable. That said, I still feel the Finepix S8000fd will make a great choice for any consumer in the market for a camera with these specs, and it's sure to be a popular model this holiday season.'