Fujifilm has made the first of its CES 2014 announcements, revealing the FinePix S1 - the world's first weather resistant bridge camera. With a 50x image stabilised optical zoom, integrated Wi-Fi and dust and water-resistant body, you won't have to go running for shelter if you get stuck in the rain.
Like most bridge cameras, the FinePix S1 has a large, DSLR-shaped body with an angled grip for comfortable shooting and dedicated zoom and mode dials for convenient access. It will happily shoot in RAW mode, as well as JPEG.
The 50x zoom lens has a 24-1200mm equivalent with an aperture range of F2.8-F5.6. The lens-shift image stabilisation is good for 3 light stops, and is paired with a 1/2.3-inch, 16.4 megapixel backlit CMOS sensor. An ISO range up to 12,800 and integrated flash, along with hotshoe mount for a more beefy external flash should be well suited to night time shooting, and the camera is also capable of 10fps continuous shooting.
It includes the usual range of P, A, S and Manual modes, along with 10 artistic effect filters including Pop Color, Toy Camera, Miniature, Partial Color, High Key, Soft Focus, Cross Screen, Dynamic Tone, Fish Eye and Low-Key.
The 920K dot electronic viewfinder or 3in vari-angle LCD screen can be used to line up shots, or you can use the Fujifilm Camera remote app to use your tablet or smartphone as a remote viewfinder and shutter release thanks to built-in Wi-Fi.
The removable battery should be good for 350 shots, but can be charged from a USB port if you want to keep shooting rather than remove it and use the bundled AC charging cradle.
The FinePix S1 will be going on sale in the UK from February onwards, with an RRP of £399.99.
Leave a Reply