Interesting concept - Face Detection Technology

If you can wait another month or two before you purchase your next (or first digital camera), Fuji Photo is promoting their FinePix F31fd. The big deal is its Face Detection Technology (also seen on their SLR styled FinePix S6000fd) which produces an automatic focus and exposure on faces.

When selected (for there are times when you will be photographing El Capitan at Yosemite and don’t care two f stops if it can detect faces or not) FD technology can identify up to ten faces in one frame, and claims to produce crispy clear faces in that group photo at work or on your baby’s shadowed face as she sleeps. All that is necessary is built into the processor so it takes nano seconds (well, .05 seconds which is close enough for me) to get the best focus and exposure.

Other goodies packaged in the F31fd are Picture Stabilization, the iFlash system, a whopping 580 shot battery life and a 6 megapixel sensor.  If you are thinking of upgrading for the holidays, you may want to save a few extra pennies and go for the FinePix, scheduled MSRP is $399.