When electronic manufacturers in general, and camera manufacturers in particular, launch new models in any colour other than black, beige or silver, you know that somewhere along the line from drawing board to store shelf someone whose job title includes the word “marketing” has decided that they need to appeal to a particular type of consumer who they believe isn’t buying enough of their product.
Therefore I have to wonder exactly which section of the community this new Fujifilm FinePix Z5fd is targeted at, because although it may be described as “Raspberry Red” in the brochure, they’re not fooling anyone with that. This camera is pink. Not just pink, in fact, but bright metallic semi-gloss fuchsia pink. After just using it for the past few days I’ve found myself considering a new career in hairdressing. I’ve even thought about buying a New Beetle.
In design as well as décor the Z5fd is born for the clubbing lifestyle. Measuring a trim 92.8 X 55 X 19.4mm and weighing only 148g it’s small and light enough to qualify as ultra-compact, and will slip unobtrusively into a handbag or shirt pocket. When not in use the lens is protected by a sliding cover that doubles as the on/off switch, so it’s not going to be easily damaged if it has a close encounter with your pink Motorola RAZR or the lighter for your menthol cigarettes.
Despite the number in its name, the Z5fd is a 6.3-megapixel model featuring Fuji’s SuperCCD HR sensor, with an internal 3x zoom lens and a high-resolution 230k pixel 2.5-in LCD monitor. It is available in a slightly more butch silver or a positively macho “mocha brown” as well as the eye-catching colour of my test sample.
The sliding cover design isn’t as popular as it used to be, but there are a few similar models around, such as the Samsung Digimax i70 (£179), the new Casio Exilim EX-V7 (£249) and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T50 (£269), although all of these are 7MP models. Other 6MP ultra-compact cameras with internal corner-mounted zooms include the Samsung DigiMax i6 (£144), HP Photosmart R727 (£139) and Photosmart R827 (£199), and the Nikon Coolpix S6 (£179). With a price tag of £189 the Fuji Z5fd finds itself towards the high end of the price range for this type of camera.
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