Little digital snapper sign of things to come

By PETER GRIFFIN

One day we will all be equipped with devices such as the FujiFilm FinePix 6800Zoom - and the world will be a better place for it.

This 3X zoom camera, capable of producing six million-pixel high-resolution photos, will not only give you top-quality shots for your online family album, but is user-friendly and features nifty features such as web conferencing and full video recording.

A 5cm LCD (liquid crystal display) screen removes the hassle of squinting into a pokey viewfinder and means you can instantly view the shot you just took and decide whether to erase or save. No more anxious hoping that no one in the latest series of wedding snaps has been beheaded.

By changing the resolution of the images you can vary how many shots will fit on the 16Mb SmartMedia card included. At high resolution, 13 images can be taken.

Users of Windows and Mac operating systems enjoy the luxury of the camera being identified by the computer as soon as the cradle is connected via a USB (universal serial bus) port. Running the software, the images are then ready for immediate downloading and touch-ups.

And what's nice about this little snapper is the option of taking short segments of video - up to 160 seconds with sound. Perfect for adding small video clips to a website without investing in expensive camera gear.

It records at 10 frames a second, so it is not as smooth as a reasonable video recorder, and the small microphone struggles to collect high-quality sound. But it's not bad for a device that slips into your pocket.

Retailing at $2699 including GST, the FinePix 6800Zoom represents the elite in consumer digital photography but at that price, it remains beyond most of its target market.

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