Although i like my current shoot very much, i believe its time for me to move onto something more advanced.

There is nothing wrong with my Olympus SP-500 UZ. Its my first camera that allows me to have some manual control over how i want my photos to be, while at the same time allow me to switch to “Auto" mode and just snap away. I feel that i can use this camera for a long long time.

Yet there are times when i feel that i am handicapped by the shortcomings of this camera. I do not have (much) control over the focusing and this resulted in many blurred shots which i thought are simple enough. This is especially frustrating in still life photography when the camera just won’t focus.

Another shortcoming of this camera is the lack of anti-shake or image stabilizer or whatever you call it. My girlfriend who just cannot hold still can only produce pictures of distorted and blurred lights. I am not that bothered since its basically the same as shooting during range. Learn to hold your breath and you won’t move that much.

Enough of the shortcomings because i still like this camera very much. But what got me excited was the announcement of the new S100fs from Fujifilm Finepix during the latest PMA (Photo Marketing Annual) show.

The S100fs is basically an alternative to people who want to upgrade their current shoot to something more advanced and with more control yet reluctant to move to the DSLR side.

It looks like a DSLR, weighs like one and feels like one too. Which mean this is going to be a big and heavy camera that might probably outweighs a DSLR literally. There is also the manual rings around the lens for one to adjust the focus and zoom if one wish to do so.

But how different is this camera from a DSLR?

Firstly, one would notice that the LCD is tiltable. As far as i know, no DSLR has this yet. This camera also has a single fix lens, and this is a double edged sword. Being able to change lens means one has more flexibility with the range and speed of the lens fixed while a fixed lens eliminates the “dirty sensor" problem that plagues many DSLR.

Scheduled to be released in March this year, i am expecting to see this in the coming IT show (6th till 9th March) at Suntec. Should be retailing for S$1099 but i am sure it will come with a lot of goodies during the show so i may get very tempted indeed despite the price.

Been missing the previous IT / PC shows due to the maddening crowd but i am going for this one for sure.