Look sharp: In digital photography, cameras that are small and easy to use tend not to take good pictures in low light and to have a crimped dynamic range. A camera's dynamic range defines how much detail it can capture in shadowy areas of the picture and brightly lit parts at the same time. The better its range, the more details it will capture. A camera's ability to do this is due in large part to its sensors, and compact cameras use smaller ones that really limit what the devices can do.

Fujifilm has gained a reputation for producing compact cameras that do exceptionally well in low light, because these models have unusually large sensors. Seeking to build on this reputation, the company has released the Super CCD EXR sensor, and the first camera to use it is the FinePix F200 EXR.

The innovation in this otherwise standard-looking compact is that the new sensor can use three different methods for taking a picture. In standard mode, which should be used in good lighting conditions, it employs all 12 of its megapixels. In dimmer light it takes 6-megapixel pictures that are optimized to reduce the image defect of "noise." This appears as little ugly spots and typically mars photos taken in low light. Few compacts can take pictures in low light that aren't spoiled by noise. The third mode allows it to capture 6-megapixel pictures that maximize the dynamic range. It does this by, in effect, taking two shots at once, one of which concentrates on capturing the details in brightly-lit parts of the photo while the other aims to get the best out of shadowy areas in the picture. These are then combined, with the camera picking the best of each.