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FujiFilm has updated its most affordable line of compact point-and-shoot cameras with the $129 FinePix A610 and $179 FinePix A800. Designed with digital camera novices in mind, these A-series cameras employ a new graphical user interface that is accompanied by text explaining each function. They're also the first A-series cameras to take both xD-Picture Cards and the more common SD memory card format.
Fuji put its Super CCD HR in both cameras instead of a standard CCD, giving the A610 a 6.3-megapixel effective resolution and the A800 8.3 megapixels. Both models are also equipped with 3x optical zoom lenses, 2.5-inch LCDs -- but no optical viewfinders -- and a good basic set of automatic functions.
Spending the extra $50 on the A800 will bring you a physical dial to make switching modes faster, a few extra scene modes, and an audio track with your QVGA-resolution movies, as well as a slightly wider angle of view: The A800 has a 36mm-108mm (35mm equivalent) range instead of the A610's 39mm-117mm. But most importantly, opting for the pricier model will let you boost the ISO setting to 800 instead of just 400 -- and with no loss of resolution as in many previous Fuji models.
The company claims it's able to maintain lower noise levels at high sensitivities than the competition, and the A800 offers automatic settings that take advantage of this by combining high ISOs and fast shutter speeds to reduce image blurring. The new A-series cameras will be available in March 2007.
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