Fujifilm Goes Retro With XF1 Point-And-Shoot Camera

For whatever reason, the camera market has truly been embracing high fashion. While many of our gadgets seem to be assembled with no real eye on beauty, Fujifilm's camera department has been going the opposite way. The company has just released the XF1 point-and-shoot camera, with a bit of retro flair and an f/1.8 lens that should make nighttime shooting a bit more enjoyable. The camera touts a 4x manual zoom, a 2/3" 12 megapixel EXR CMOS sensor, and it's available in three motifs: a dimpled synthetic black leather, a smooth synthetic tan leather and a synthetic red leather. Other specs include a 25mm wide-angle lens, optical image stabilization, macro mode shooting, an all-new on-screen graphical user interface and a 3" LCD monitor on the rear. It'll ship in October for $499.95, and the full list of specs can be found below.

The FUJIFILM XF1's new hardware design introduces a fresh way to carry, turn on and use the travel-ready digital camera. There are three modes for users to choose from when using the XF1:

-- "Travel Mode" for a compact fit with the lens retracted and camera fully powered down

-- "Standby Mode" with lens extended but in power saving mode for quick startups

-- "Shooting Mode" for when you are actively photographing

Getting started is as easy as 1 - 2 - 3. From "Travel Mode," turn the zoom ring to either move into "Standby Mode," or bypass and move directly into "Shooting mode." And beyond just powering the camera, the manual zoom lens provides a very fast and precise 4x optical zoom range plus 2x intelligent digital zoom for a total of 8x zoom.

Fujifilm XF1 key features list:

-- Pocketable, premium, camera available in 3 stunning colors (Black, Tan, Red)

-- 12 MP 2/3" EXR-CMOS sensor with EXR-Auto

-- Fast processing and response times

-- Manual 4x FUJINON optical zoom (25-100mm equivalent to 35mm on a 35mm camera) and up to a total 8x zoom using the Intelligent Digital Zoom

-- F1.8 (wide) - F4.9 (telephoto)

-- Optical Image Stabilization

-- Full manual controls

-- A bright, sharp, 3.0-inch/460K dot premium clear LCD monitor

-- ISO 100 - 12,800 (ISO 4000, 5000, 6400 M Mode or Smaller, ISO 12,800 S Mode)

-- Macro shooting to 3cm

-- Motion Panorama 360 for seamless panoramic shots in a snap

-- Artistic effects including 6 "Advanced filters" with 11 patterns and 5 "Film simulation modes" for additional creative expression, plus an individual shutter 3D shooting option to create a 3D effect from 2 x 2D shots

-- In-camera RAW converter

-- Full HD movie recording with the ability to zoom and to take photographs during movie recording. Now also with Automatic Scene Recognition for even better results when videoing

-- A range of retro style coordinating cases will be available to complement the XF1

-- Approximately 300 shots per battery charge

Pricing and Availability

The FUJIFILM XF1 will be available in October 2012 for $499.95 in black, tan and red.