When you take Fujifilm's new FinePix F200EXR digital camera out of the box you could be justifiably mistaken for thinking you'd been sold the wrong model, as the body is virtually identical to the popular F100fd. Styled in gun-metal grey it measures the same (98 x 59 x 23mm) and has the same delicate curved shape at top and bottom.

Again like its predecessor, the F200EXR has 12 million effective pixels, a 5x optical zoom and a F3.3 - 5.1, 28-140mm equivalent 35mm lens. It also makes use of the same Dual-IS (i.e. High ISO + CCD Shift) image stabilisation system and the identical Version 3.0 face detection technology which will recognize up to ten faces in a frame.

Where the differences start to appear are with the size of the LCD display, which has grown from 2.7-inch to 3.0 (while retaining the rather modest 230,000 pixels) and the completely new design for the controls beside it. There's now a more conventional Mode dial at the top which enables easier access to a range of camera settings, plus dedicated buttons for Playback, F-mode, Display and Face Detection on either side of the main Menu navigation pad.

Get the latest Dell Coupons and other computer coupons at CheapStingyBargains.com.

It's when you examine the Mode dial carefully that you realise what the main selling point is here. The EXR setting refers to the complete replacement of the 1/1.6 Super CCD VIII HR sensor in the F100fd with the new 1/1.6 Super CCD EXR, designed specifically to improve image quality especially in difficult low-light conditions.

What is particularly exciting about the new sensor is that it offers three separate means of shooting. The Resolution Priority mode uses the full 12-megapixel setting for the highest resolution shots in relatively normal conditions, while the High ISO & Low Noise function uses a system called ‘pixel binning' to combine adjacent photodiodes to produce smaller 6-megapixel images with much cleaner low-light shots, though arguably you could always do something similar yourself by shrinking low-light images by 50 percent in image editing software.

Finally, the Dynamic Range Priority setting takes two simultaneous images at different exposures and then fuses these 6-megapixel shots into one 12-megapixel finished product. If you're not entirely sure which might be the best option for you, then there's a fourth setting, Auto, that makes all the decisions for you, but its constant whirring noise can be quite irritating.

The overall result is a much greater range of shooting possibilities and a high percentage of high quality stills with a plethora of shades and tones to suit the occasion. In addition, you have various film simulation modes which will make your images look more vivid, softer, monochrome or sepia. The only omission that might be missed by the increasingly demanding target audience is the absence of HD recording. Something to look forward to in the sequel, maybe?

Fujifilm should be congratulated for the powerful new EXR sensor which has opened up a new range of ways of pursuing image excellence, contained within a familiar compact digital body.