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September 20, 2005 – The digital single lens reflex camera that made dynamic range affordable is getting an upgrade, the Japanese subsidiary of Fujifilm announced today. The Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro will get an increased memory buffer of 256MB, up from its previous 128MB. While the burst speed will not increase, the S3 Pro will be able to shoot for longer. Currently, this upgrade is only available in Japan. Consumers there will be able to upgrade their S3 Pro or place an order to purchase an updated model beginning tomorrow.
With the increased buffer memory, the FinePix S3 Pro will be able to shoot 8 RAW photographs in burst instead of 3 in the wide dynamic range mode. In the same mode, 16 consecutive JPEGs will be able to be taken – compared with the paltry 6 before. In the standard dynamic range mode, the increased buffer memory will increase shots from 7 to 17 in RAW format and 12 to 33 in JPEG format.
The Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro hit the market in November 2004, offering consumers 6.17 megapixels with unprecedented dynamic range for a retail price of $2,499. The digital SLR has a 2-inch LCD screen with 235,000 pixels on its 5.8 x 5.3 x 3.2-inch camera body. A major concern of many photographers was the inadequate burst mode, which takes about a frame and a half every second. This is terribly slow compared to other DSLRs that can shoot 5-8 frames per second. While the S3 Pro won’t get any faster on this upgrade, at least photographers will be able to capture more images at that rate.