Ultramobile Photography

By David Em

January 23, 2006

(Ultramobile Photography :  Page 1 of 1 )

Photographic film is officially in its death throes. A couple weeks ago Nikon announced it is discontinuing all its film cameras except the top-of-the-line F6 and a low-end consumer model, the FM10. At the same time, it is plowing full steam ahead on developing digital cameras, such as its impressive new $1600 DSLR, the D200.

There are several reasons photographers have moved in droves from film to digital over the last couple years. Perhaps the biggest is the experience of shooting digital on the road. This week I'll take a look at how a new generation of products has revolutionized mobile photography, including Fuji Z1 pocket camera, Seagate's 8GB CF-format drive, and Kingston's 15-in-1 flash card reader.

On the Road Again

For every great photograph shot on film, there are probably a million corresponding missed ones. There's nothing more aggravating than not having your camera with you when an unexpected photo op presents itself.

There are several ultrathin digital slimcams on the market you can literally always have with you. I've reviewed some over the last couple years from companies such as Casio, Nikon, and Sony. Over the last couple weeks I've been testing Fuji's $300 FinePix Z1 that employs Fuji's 5.1 Megapixel SuperCCD sensor. The Z1 has greater light sensitivity than competing models.

The Z1's a sleek little unit that measures 3.5x2.2x0.7 inches. Its metal body comes in black or silver, and it has a bright 115,000-pixel 2.5-inch LCD. There are higher pixel-count LCDs out there, but I had no trouble seeing the image clearly in most lighting situations, including out of doors. The camera uses the now-familiar internal lens scheme that doesn't protrude from the camera's body while providing a 3X (36-108 mm equivalent) optical zoom.

The Z1 turns on via a sliding lens cover, an arrangement I'm not thrilled with.

 Page 1 of 1