This Just In: Fujifilm FinePix IS-1

When you open as many boxes as we do, it sometimes becomes routine. So routine that you just open the box without looking to see whom it came from. It's sort of like a game, can we figure out what type of camera it is by just looking at the accessories? This camera came in with the usual accessories (batteries, lenshood, strap, cables, CD software and cap), plus something else. That something else is a Peca 900 filter and a Peca 916 cut filter. We knew then that this was no ordinary point and shoot camera—this camera was different.

It’s the FinePix IS-1, specifically designed to take photos in normal light and the infrared range. That's what the Peca filters are for: the 900 blocks normal light, helping with the infrared effect, and the 916 does the opposite.

So since this camera is so specialized and infrared is such a hot topic, it was decided that our resident infrared expert Jack Howard should have the honor of testing it and shooting with it. Jack has recently earned the nickname Camera Hack when he removed the IR cutoff filter from the Sigma SD-14, and then took some great IR images with it (see the Sigma SD14 IR Hack Gallery). Before that he did a field test on the Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro UVIR camera and also produced some great IR images (see gallery). We know he's ready to take on the IS-1, stay tuned.
—Julia Silber