New additions to Sandisk Extreme III range

Sandisk is expanding its range of Extreme III media with new 4GB SDHC™ and Memory Stick PRO Duo™cards. The SDHC is rated as 'Class 6' which guarantees a minimum sustained write speed of 6MB/s, although Sandisk say it is capable of 20MB/s. It will also be bundled with a MicroMate™ USB 2.0 reader, ensuring compatibility with the new standard. The Memory Stick PRO Duo™ card is said to have a sequential read/write rating of 18MB/s.

Press Release:

SanDisk Introduces 4-Gigabyte SanDisk Extreme III Cards For Next Generation Of High-Performance Digital Cameras

New Pro-Level Memory Cards In SDHC and Memory Stick PRO Duo FormatsHave Fast Read/Write Speeds, Store Thousands of Photos And Hours Of Video

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, Mar. 8, 2007 – Ready for the newest digital still cameras and camcorders, SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today expanded its award-winning SanDisk Extreme® III pro line with a 4-Gigabyte (GB)1 SDHC™ (SD High Capacity) Class 6 memory card and a 4-Gigabyte Memory Stick PRO Duo™ card. As an added bonus, the SDHC card will be packaged with a SanDisk MicroMate™ USB 2.0 Reader – a $20 value – so that users have a one-stop solution for capturing, storing and transferring their images.
The announcement was made at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, where SanDisk is displaying its photographic products in Booth G191 on Level 1 of the South Hall. A 4GB SanDisk Extreme III card can store more than 2,000 high-resolution pictures or up to 8 hours of MPEG 4 video2. “The SanDisk Extreme III line has become a best-of-class standard for professional photographers who demand speed, durability and reliability,” said Tanya Chuang, SanDisk’s director of retail product marketing, global imaging market. “Now we’re raising the bar again with these new cards. And by including an SDHC-compatible reader with each SDHC card, we’re enabling users to easily transfer images from their cameras to their computers.”
Major camera manufacturers, including Canon, Nikon, Panasonic and Leica, have already shipped or announced a variety of pro-level digital still cameras that use the SDHC format, which is designed to allow for capacities greater than 2GB. Consumer-oriented digital still and video cameras that use standard SDHC cards have been available at retailers since last year. Devices must be SDHC compatible in order to work with SDHC memory cards.
SanDisk Extreme III cards have won accolades and awards worldwide since their introduction in 2004, and have been used by professional digital photographers from the Winter Olympics to the Sahara Desert. The SanDisk Extreme III 4GB SDHC card has a sequential read/write speed of 20 megabytes (MB) per second3, while the SanDisk Extreme III 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo card has a sequential read/write speed of 18 MB per second. Both cards are designed for shooting in extreme temperatures (-13 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit or -25 to 85 degrees Celsius), high altitudes and other demanding situations. SanDisk Extreme III SDHC cards have a speed rating of Class 6, the highest available, meaning that they have a minimum continuous data transfer rate of 6MB/second4. The speed rating system, adopted by the SD Association, is intended to help consumers select the right card for the desired application. It does not denote the fastest memory card. Sony and SanDisk co-developed the Memory Stick PRO format, and SanDisk manufactures its own Memory Stick PRO Duo cards. All SanDisk Extreme III cards offer ESP Technology to streamline data transfer, RescuePRO® software to recover accidentally deleted files and images, a dedicated technical support telephone hotline and a limited lifetime warranty. SanDisk’s ultra-portable, high-performance MicroMate SDHC Reader, which normally retails for $19.99, meets the new SDA 2.0 specifications and can quickly move images from an SDHC card to a personal computer. It also reads standard SD as well as SDHC flash memory cards. The reader is being bundled with the 4GB SanDisk Extreme III SDHC card at no extra cost.

Suggested Pricing and Availability

SanDisk Extreme III SDHC Bundle

4GB + MicroMate USB 2.0 Reader

$139.99April 2007SanDisk Extreme III MSPD4 GB$179.99

April 2007

For additional information on SDHC, please visit SanDisk’s website:
What is SDHC: http://www.sandisk.com/sdhc/SDHC.pdf

SDHC product information: http://www.sandisk.com/sdhc/

1 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes.

2 Approximations based on compressed JPEG images on a 5MP camera (pictures) and hours of Super Fine MPEG 4 video (320 x 240, 384 kbps video). Actual numbers may vary depending on camera model, resolution and compression.

3 Based on SanDisk internal testing. 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes.

4 The SDA speed class rating was developed to identify minimum data transfer and latency requirements for a host application, and is generally related to the emerging application of uninterrupted real-time video capture (from camcorders and camera phones, for example) with an appropriately rated SD card. By contrast, SanDisk's own minimum performance specifications apply to sequential write and read operations in non-real-time applications such as file transfers between a card and a computer or in digital cameras between the camera’s buffer and the card. Performance varies depending on host device.

Fujifilm Finepix S6000fd / S6500fd Review

Review based on a production Fujifilm Finepix S6500fd

Originally announced in July, but only just making its way onto the shelves in time for Christmas, the S6000fd is the latest in a long line of keenly-priced big zoom 'bridge cameras' from Fujifilm that can trace its roots back to 2001's FinePix 4900 Zoom. The new model has several key features of interest; top of the list being the 6.3MP, 1/1.7" Super CCD sensor used to wide acclaim in the F30 and F31fd and offering 'full resolution' shooting at up to ISO 3200. The S6000fd (known as the S6500fd in Europe) also has a different lens to its recent predecessors, sporting what appears to be the same 28-300mm equivalent 10.7x zoom as the S9100/9600. It's also the first camera to feature Fuji's hardware face detection - a feature so important that Fuji decided to append 'fd' to the camera's name. Elsewhere there's a comprehensive suite of photographic tools, raw mode, electronic viewfinder, 2.5" screen and VGA movie mode - all in a package that costs less than half what you'd pay for a budget SLR with a similar lens - and weighs less too. But is it any good? Let's find out!

Note: the S6000fd and S6500fd are the same camera; Fujifilm uses different names in different areas of the world. In this review we will refer to the camera as the S6000fd.

Design

Where previous mid-range FinePix bridge cameras gave a nod or two to SLR styling, the S6000fd goes the whole hog, right down to the prominent 'prism' bump that houses the electronic viewfinder and pop-up flash. And in fact from a handling point of view the S6000fd could teach certain SLR designers a trick or two; the molded grip is excellent and the proportions, balance and overall handling surprisingly good. Size-wise the S6000fd is also very 'SLR-like', though of course to get an SLR with a zoom range covering 28-300mm would mean a much bigger lens.

In your hand

The S6000fd looks like a compact digital SLR, and it feels like one too; if a little more lightweight. The build quality and finish of the all-plastic body is surprisingly good, and the camera feels well balanced and stable - and it's just light enough to use with one hand, if you really want.
Body elements

The S6000fd runs on four AA's, and we found battery life to be surprisingly good - Fuji quotes up to 400 shots per charge on a set of NiMH rechargeables, which seems about right. The batteries sit underneath a rather flimsy hinged door that has a rather annoying habit of pinging open at the slightest knock (there is no lock). More than once I found myself scrambling on the floor attempting to retrieve the batteries after the door had 'popped'. Stupid, stupid design.

Like all Fuji's compact cameras the S6000fd uses xD-Picture Cards. There is also a derisory 10MB of internal memory (enough for a paltry 3 or 4 'Fine' quality shots) - no card is supplied.

Like all Fuji's compact cameras the S6000fd uses xD-Picture Cards. There is also a derisory 10MB of internal memory (enough for a paltry 3 or 4 'Fine' quality shots) - no card is supplied.

Like all Fuji's bridge cameras the S6000fd has a small color electronic viewfinder. It appears to be the same unit used on the S5000/5100 - 0.3", 115,000 pixels. This means its a lot lower resolution (and is less bright) than more expensive 'super zoom' competitors - and is near useless for critical focus checking - but it is usable. A dioptre adjustment is included for spectacle wearers.

Hidden under a rubberized flap are the S6000fd's mini USB port, video out socket and a DC port for the (optional) mains adaptor.

The pop-up flash has an effective range of around 8.3m (27ft) at wideangle, dropping to 4.6 m (15 ft) at the tele end of the zoom (using auto ISO), fairly impressive (and due in no small part to the fact that the auto ISO goes higher than most cameras). The flash is fairly far from the lens, meaning red-eye is less of a problem than it is with smaller cameras. There's no hot-shoe or external flash option (which is a pity given the S6000fd's excellent overall specification).

The pop-up flash has an effective range of around 8.3m (27ft) at wideangle, dropping to 4.6 m (15 ft) at the tele end of the zoom (using auto ISO), fairly impressive (and due in no small part to the fact that the auto ISO goes higher than most cameras). The flash is fairly far from the lens, meaning red-eye is less of a problem than it is with smaller cameras. There's no hot-shoe or external flash option (which is a pity given the S6000fd's excellent overall specification).

Unusually for what is essentially a 'budget' camera, the S6000fd's lens has a mechanical, fluid-damped zoom control (and a manual focus ring - though this controls focus electronically). It's hard to describe how much better a manually operated mechanical zoom is than one powered by little buttons - the level of control over framing is in another league altogether.

The main mode dial includes the usual auto and manual modes, plus two that rely on the higher sensitivity (ISO) settings; Picture Stabilization and Natural Light.

The shutter release sits at the top of the grip, in the middle of the main power/mode switch. The rather aggressive power saving system means that after two minutes of inactivity the camera doesn't merely go to sleep; it powers down entirely, meaning you have to turn it off and then on again to take another picture. Fortunately this 'helpful' feature can be turned off, or the time before activation extended to 5 minutes. Behind are the continuous shooting and AE-compensation buttons.

The rear of the camera is home to several more buttons and switches, including a prominent 'Face Detection' button, the ubiquitous four-way controller and the 'F' (Photo Mode) button, which offers a quick menu for changing image size, ISO and color mode.

Headline features

* Hardware based Face Detection technology

* Sensitivity range of ISO 100-3200 for low-noise photography in all light situations

* Super CCD HR VI sensor delivering six million effective pixels

* Real Photo Processor II reduces noise and delivers enhanced color reproduction

* Fixed 10.7x (28-300mm equivalent) optical zoom lens with twist barrel control

* Intelligent Flash achieves the optimum combination of high sensitivity and natural skin tones

* Manual, shutter- and aperture-priority and program exposure modes

* Single, continuous and manual focus modes

* Jpeg and RAW file formats

* High Speed Shooting Mode with a shutter lag of just 0.035 seconds

* High resolution 2.5 inch LCD screen with reinforced, scratch-resistant glass

* TV-quality VGA movie recording of 30 frames per second with sound

* PictBridge™ compatible for direct printing without a PC