Sharing almost the same body as the S7000 which was announced last July, with a Super EBC Fujinon 6x optical zoom lens equivalent to 35 - 210mm on a 35mm camera and a choice of both xD-Picture Card and Microdrive storage, the S20 Pro has a number of noteable differences from that camera. First, where the S7000 featured a SuperCCD HR sensor with an effective resolution of 6.3 megapixels, the S20 Pro has the same SuperCCD SR sensor used in the FinePix F700, which should offer increased dynamic range and an effective resolution of 3.1 megapixels (although Fujifilm is describing the camera as 6.2 megapixels - see our Editor's Note below the spec table for more on this). Also, the connectivity has been upgraded from USB 1.1 to a choice of both USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 "FireWire", including the ability to remotely control camera functions and settings including lens zoom using FinePix Viewer over the FireWire connection. Also newly added is a PC Flash Sync terminal, making the camera better suited for use in a studio environment.

The Fujifilm FinePix S20 Pro will be available for purchase in March 2004 at a suggested list price of $999. Given the significant resolution difference between the S7000 and S20 Pro and the different target markets for the two models, we believe the former camera will continue to be sold alongside the new S20 Pro.

Fujifilm FinePix S20 Pro
Number of Effective Pixels	6.2 million (S-pixel: 3.1 million, R-pixel: 3.1 million) pixels * see Editor's note below
CCD Sensor	1/1.7-inch Super CCD SR Number of Total Pixels: 6.7 million (S-pixel: 3.35 million, R-pixel 3.35 million) pixels * see Editor's note below
Number of Recorded Pixels	2,832 x 2,128 (6.03 million)
File Formats	Still image: CCD RAW / JPEG (Exif Ver 2.2) Movie: AVI (Motion JPEG) (Design rule for Camera File system compliant / DPOF-compatible)
Storage Media	Slot No. 1: xD-Picture Card TM (16MB to 512MB) Slot No. 2: Microdrive (340MB to 2GB)
Lens	Super EBC Fujinon 6x zoom lens, F 2.8 - 3.1
Lens Focal Length	Equivalent to 35-210mm on a 35mm camera
Focus	Auto Focus: Area / Center / Multi, Manual Focus
Focus Range	Normal: 50cm / 1.6 ft. to infinity Macro: Approx. 10cm - 80cm / 3.9 in. - 2.6 ft. Super Macro: 1cm - 20cm / 0.4 in. - 7.9 in.
Shutter Speed	AUTO / SP: 1/4 sec. to 1/1000 sec. SP (Night scene mode only): 3 sec. to 1/250 sec. P/S/A: 3 sec. to 1/1000 sec. M: 30 sec. to 1/10000, Bulb (up to 30 sec.)
Aperture	F2.8 - F11 (13 levels in 1/3 EV step)
Sensitivity	Auto: Equivalent to ISO 160 - 800 Manual: Equivalent to ISO 200/400/800/1600 (resolution is set at 1M for shots taken at ISO 1600)
Exposure Control	64-zone TTL metering-multi, spot, average
Exposure Modes	Programmed AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority, AE, Manual
White Balance	Automatic, Manual (Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light, Custom1, Custom2
Viewfinder	0.44-inch Approx. 235,000 pixels electronic viewfinder, built-in diopter adjust
LCD monitor	1.8-inch low temperature poly-silicon TFT (approx. 118,000 pixels)
Flash	Auto flash using flash control sensor Effective range: Wide angle / 0.3m - 8.5m / 1.0ft - 27.9ft, Telephoto / 0.9m - 7.9m / 3.0ft - 25.9ft Flash mode: Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro, Red-eye Reduction + Slow Synchro
Self Timer	Approx. 2/10 sec. Delay
Video Output	NTSC / PAL selectable
Digital Interface	USB 2.0, IEEE1394
Sync. Contact	X-contact flash synchronization
Power Source	4 AA alkaline batteries (included), 4 AA type Ni-MH batteries, or AC power adapter AC-5VH / AC-5VHS (optional)
Dimensions	121.0 (W) X 81.5 (H) X 97.0 (D) mm / 4.8(W) X 3.2(H) X 3.8(D) in
Weight	Approx. 500g / 17.6 oz. (excluding battery)
Digital Zoom	2.2X (1,280 x 960 pixels), 1.8X (1600 x 1200 pixels), 1.4X (2,048 x 1,536 pixels)
Shooting Modes	Normal: Auto, Scene Position (Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Scene), Programmed AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual Continuous: Top-10 (Max. 4.5 frames / sec., up to 10 frames) Final-10 (Max. 4.5 frames / sec., up to 10 frames) Long-period (Max. 1 frame / sec., up to 40 frames. Only at 1M mode.)
Color Modes	B&W / Chrome / Standard
Movie Recording	640 x 480 pixels, 30 frames/sec.; 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames / sec. With sound, AVI format (Motion JPEG)
Voice Memo	Up to 30 sec. WAVE format
Playback	Single frame (with max. 18X Playback zoom), 9 Multi-frame
Accessories Included	16MB xD-Picture Card TM 4 AA type alkaline batteries Shoulder strap Lens cap Lens cap holder USB Cable (with Filter), IEEE 1394 Cable A/V Cable CD-ROM USB driver FinePixViewer ImageMixer VCD2 for FinePix RAW File Converter LE
Optional Accessories	xD-Picture Card TM: DPC-16, DPC-32, DPC-64, DPC-128, DPC-256, DPC-512 PC Card Adapter DPC-AD CompactFlash Card Adapter DPC-CF Image Memory Card Reader DPC-R1 xD-Picture Card USB Drive DPC-UD1 AC Power Adapter AC-5VH / 5VHS Battery Charger with Battery BK-NH / BK-NH2 Rechargeable Battery 2HR-3UF (2 AA Type Ni-MH) Tele Conversion Lens TL-FX9*/FX9B* Wide Conversion Lens WL-FX9*/FX9B* *: Built-in Flash cannot be used with this unit. Hyper-Utility Software HS-V2 Ver 2.0 Soft case SC-FX 602
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Editor's note
Fujifilm is describing the S20 Pro digital camera as having a resolution of 6.2 megapixels. Technically, this adheres to the JCIA definition of "effective pixels" (described in an earlier news item covering Foveon's announcement of the X3 Pro 10M sensor), but we strongly feel that this is a misleading usage.While it is true that the proprietary SuperCCD SR image sensor does have 6.2 million photodiodes on its surface, this does not tell the whole story. The dual-element structure of the photodiodes in the SuperCCD SR are not aimed at increasing resolution, but rather at extending dynamic range (as described in our coverage of the development of the SuperCCD SR sensor a year ago). Each couplet of 'S' and 'R' photodiodes share a single microlens, and hence are unable to separately contribute to resolution in an image. That being the case, we feel that consumers are very likely to be misled by Fujifilm's description of the S20 Pro's sensor as having 6.2 megapixels - its true resolution will be essentially the same as a 3.1 megapixel standard (or 'HR') SuperCCD sensor.

Fujifilm is obviously in a difficult situation, in that the average digicam buyer tends to see resolution and megapixel ratings as one of the key differentiating factors between digital cameras, when in reality both resolution and dynamic range are just small pieces of the overall puzzle that is image quality. The current system of megapixel ratings became popular when most everybody was using similar sensor technologies, but is now utterly inadequate for describing and comparing current sensor technologies (Bayer-filtered sensors, SuperCCD SR, Foveon X3, etc.).

We've applauded Fujifilm for working to increase the dynamic range of their sensors, but we cannot say the same for their description of this sensor as having 6.2 megapixels. We're not alone in calling attention to this fact, and with many different sensor types that are difficult to directly compare we believe the community at large would like to see manufacturers find a way to better educate the public rather than continuing to cling to megapixels as some kind of "universal goodness quotient" (a phrase often used by our Publisher, Dave Etchells, to describe the rather unrealistic way in which the public tends to latch onto a single figure such as a megapixel rating for a digital camera, horsepower rating for a car, etc. as the way to decide which product is most "desirable", ignoring the many other complex attributes of the product in question).

In the meantime though, since Fujifilm's SR technology doesn't contribute to increased resolution, we believe Fujifilm should reconsider its decision and describe the S20 Pro as a 3.1 megapixel camera, so as not to mislead potential customers. Their current usage of the 6.2 megapixel figure is bound to result in ill feeling towards Fujifilm, and disappointment from customers who will find that images from their S20 don't show nearly the resolution as do those from competing cameras having a true 6.2 megapixels' worth of resolution.