Fuji cuts FinePix A400, A500 pricing By
Michael R. Tomkins, The Imaging Resource (Monday, June 19, 2006 - 15:53 EDT)Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc. today lowered pricing on two of its FinePix A-series digital cameras.
Announced at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Fujifilm FinePix A400 and A500 are both based around SuperCCD HR imagers, which use an octagonal array of photodiodes that increases image resolution in the horizontal and vertical planes - where the maximum detail in pictures should be found. The A400 features a four megapixel sensor, and the A500 bumps this to five megapixels. Both cameras also include a Fujinon 3x optical zoom lens, as well as both a 1.8" LCD display with 77,000 pixels, and a real-image optical viewfinder - an increasingly rare feature that allows photographers to save battery life by switching off the power-hungry LCD display when precise framing isn't necessary.
Other features of note on the Fuji A400 and A500 include xD-Picture Card and 12MB of built-in storage, power from two AA batteries, an AVI movie mode (without audio), and a product bundle including Fuji's FinePixViewer software.
When they first hit the market, the FinePix A400 was priced at $149, while the A500 was $179. After today's price adjustment, the cameras can be had for $129 or $149 respectively - about a 13% drop for the A400, and a cut of 17% for the A500. Aggressive pricing indeed!
Fuji cuts FinePix A400, A500 pricing