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Back in October I reviewed the Fujifilm S8000fd, which at the time was the flagship of Fuji's extensive range of super-zoom cameras. That model is still available for around £160, although it has been superseded by the S8100fd, which I'm hoping to review very soon, and it has also been joined in Fuji's range by several other new super-zoom models, including the excellent S5800 and this, the new 10-megapixel, 12x zoom S1000fd.

Fuji is touting the S1000fd as "the world's smallest 12x optical zoom", and they're not kidding. The product shots shown here don't really convey just how tiny this camera is. It measures just 102.5 × 73 × 67.8mm and weighs 325g minus batteries. Compare this with the S8000fd at 111.3 x 78.2 x 78.9mm and 410g, or even the far from bulky S5800 at 106.1 x 75.7 x 80.7 mm and 307g and you'll see it is very small indeed for a genuine super-zoom camera.

The odd thing is though, that despite it being quite small, there's no way this could be considered a pocket camera. It follows the same SLR-like shape that Fujifilm has used for all its super-zoom models going back to the 4900 Zoom launched in 2000. It has a large rubberised handgrip containing four AA batteries, a pop-up flash inside a large viewfinder turret, and a relatively large protruding lens barrel. Compared to a real pocket super-zoom such as the Panasonic TZ4 it still looks a little over-sized.

The S1000fd is currently on sale for around £164, although some retailers have it priced significantly higher. There aren't too many other cameras that can be easily stand in direct comparison with the S1000fd's unusual specification. One is the forthcoming General Imaging X3 which I'm hoping to review as soon as it's available, but the price for that model has yet to be announced. The Panasonic TZ4 is another compact long-zoom camera, but it is very different in both style and specification, and costs considerably more at around £250. Perhaps the fairest comparison is with a camera that most potential buyers will also be considering, the 8-megapixel, 10x zoom FinePix S5800, which is currently selling for as little as £116.

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