Today Fujifilm announced the Finepix F60fd, a follow up to the F50fd in the tradition of the F10/11/30/31.



Key specifications:

• 12MP 1/1.6" Super CCD
• 3x 8-24mm (35-105mm equivalent) f/2.8-5.1 zoom lens
• Image stabilization (CCD-shift)
• Aperture and shutter speed priority modes
• No RAW support
• 3" LCD
• Weight 163g without battery
• New Scene Recognition mode

Unfortunately, the F60fd is not a very exciting new product. Apart from a slightly larger LCD, improved scene recognition and face recognition, it is unclear how the F60fd is changed from the F50fd. Many are disappointed that it doesn't include the highly regarded 5x wide angle zoom of the F100fd.

However, it should be noted that the F60fd (like the F50fd) is thinner and lighter than the latest advanced compacts announced by Nikon and Panasonic. It competes in the shirt pocket realm with the likes of the Sony W300. The F60fd manages to be 4mm thinner than the W300 despite packing in a slightly larger (and lower megapixel) sensor and slightly faster lens than the Sony. The W300 trades a bit of LCD size for an optical viewfinder.

The W300 and F60fd represent an interesting category of compact. Each offers some manual controls but no RAW capability. Each also offers sophisticated in-camera JPEG processing. These are truly go-anywhere cameras which offer serious image quality (presumably so in the case of the F60fd) for the photographer who wants to determine the image composition and perhaps shutter speed, while letting the camera take care of the rest.

Press release at Imaging Insider
More information and coverage at 1001 Noisy Compacts

[Thanks Mark H.]