Camera Reviews / Fujifilm Cameras i Preview

6.30 Megapixels	3.00x zoom	1/2.5 inch size sensor

Aimed at the more budget-conscious customer, the Fujifilm FinePix A610 is largely similar to its big brother, the Fuji A800, but is based around a smaller, lower-resolution six megapixel SuperCCD HR imager, with a maximum resolution of 2,848 x 2,136 pixels. Coupled to a slightly more telephoto Fujinon 3x optical zoom lens with a 35mm equivalent focal length range of 39 - 117mm, the A610 image sensor offers ISO sensitivity from 100 to 400 equivalent. One other notable difference on the Fuji A610 is that its AVI movie mode does not include audio, since the camera lacks a microphone.

As with other recent A-series models, the Fujifilm A610 eschews an optical viewfinder in favor of a larger 2.5", 115K pixel LCD display. Like the A800, the FinePix A610 includes not just 10MB of built-in storage and an xD-Picture Card slot, but is also compatible with Secure Digital cards - a move we're sure will make the model far more attractive to users considering an upgrade from an existing SD-based camera.

Other Fuji A610 features include 256 zone metering, 14 scene modes (Baby, Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Night, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, Sunset, Underwater, Flower, Party, Museum, Text), a two or ten second self timer and a product bundle including Fuji's FinePix Viewer-S software. Power for the Fuji A610 comes from two AA batteries (with alkaline disposables in the product bundle).

The Fuji FinePix A610 is priced at US$129 and ships from March 2007.