FUJIFILM FinePix 1500

A stylish old compact digital camera in mint blue.

A review and photo examples of Fujifilm’s digital camera, Finepix 1500.

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Review

Usage
Camera overview
About SmartMedia

1．Usage

The Finepix 1500 is a compact digital camera made by Fujifilm that was released on June 22, 1999.

It’s a 25-year-old camera, so it’s probably one of the oldest among old compact digital cameras. I put two AA batteries in it and started it up for the first time in over 20 years, and it started up and I was able to take pictures without any problems.

The startup time is quite slow, as you slide the power switch to the right to turn it on, but it starts up after a few seconds. If you slide the power switch while it’s starting up, thinking that it might not be turned on, the power will go off, so be careful.

The lens is 38mm in 35mm equivalent, so the wide-angle side is a little lacking, but distortion is well corrected, and I feel that it is a prime lens of the FUJINON brand as expected. The recording pixel count is 1280×1024 pixels, a size called SXGA (Super eXtended Graphics Array), and although the camera claims to have 1.5 million pixels, it actually only has 1.3 million pixels.

The mode select dial on the back rotates easily and has no proper position, so it may change position in your bag. Therefore, it is necessary to check the position of the dial on the back before taking a picture, which is a drawback.

The previous FinePix 700 is a legendary compact digital camera with a vertical design that became a big hit, and the Finepix 1500 has succeeded in reducing the volume of the camera while brushing up the functions of the FinePix 700.

The previous FinePix 700 uses a dedicated rechargeable battery NP-100, and it is already difficult to obtain compatible batteries, so there is a risk that the camera will stop working if the battery deteriorates. When purchasing an old compact digital camera, it is necessary to check what kind of battery it uses and whether there are any problems with obtaining it.

The typical specifications are listed in the table below along with the FinePix 700.

2．Camera overview

The Finepix 1500 has a standard horizontal camera shape, a 1.5 megapixel image sensor that has been downsized to 1/2.2, and is powered by two AA batteries.

As mentioned earlier, it is powered by two AA batteries, so it is still easy to get batteries for the camera. Nickel-metal hydride batteries, lithium AA batteries, and alkaline batteries can be used as long as they are the right size.

The recording media is 3.3V SmartMedia, and is compatible with media up to 128MB in capacity. When this camera was released, the maximum capacity was 32MB, so I was surprised to see how highly compatible SmartMedia is.

3．About Smart Media

SmartMedia cards come in two operating voltages: the 5V version released early on and the low-voltage 3.3V version. The 3.3V version is the most commonly used SmartMedia card, so you won’t see the 5V version very often, but you should be careful when purchasing one.

And I had a hard time getting my PC in 2024 to read the data on my SmartMedia card.

The first card reader I bought second-hand, Melco’s MCR-SM (USB 1.0 compatible, SmartMedia card reader), seemed to recognize the hardware on my Windows 10 PC, but it couldn’t recognize the memory card. Looking at the Windows Device Manager, I saw a yellow triangle mark, and looking at the details, I saw that the device driver had failed to install. I couldn’t update the driver, so I couldn’t use the card reader.

I found some information on the web about memory card readers not being recognized after upgrading the PC’s OS to Windows 10, but Microsoft doesn’t seem to be interested in doing anything about it, and I couldn’t find any information that would lead to a solution.

When I connected it to a Mac running macOS 14.5 Sonoma, the light indicating that the device was being powered lit up, but the OS was unable to recognize the media.

Next, I purchased a second-hand card reader, also from Melco, the MCR-6U/U2 (USB 2.0 compatible, multi-card reader compatible with SmartMedia, CompactFlash, SD cards, and Memory Sticks), which was recognized without any problems by a PC running Windows 10 and a Mac running macOS 14.5 Sonoma, and I was able to read the SmartMedia.

Based on this, I surmise that support for devices that only have USB 1.0 controllers with the standard drivers has ended for both Mac and Windows.

Specification and Competitor

Name	FinePix 700	FinePix 1500
Number of pixels	150	←
Sensor Type	CCD	CCD
Sensor Size	1/2	1/2.2
Lens	7.6mm (35mm equivalent)	6.6mm (35mm equivalent: 38mm)
Aperture	F3.2 / 8	F2.6 / 7.2
OVF	Real image optics	←
Rear LCD	2 inch	1.8 inch
Rear LCD resolution	110,000 pixels	←
Battery	NP-100	2 x AA batteries
Recorded media	SmartMedia (128MB)	←
Size(mm) W x H x D	80 × 101 x 33	104 × 69 × 31
Weight(g) (only body)	245	195
Release date	1998.3.4	1999.6
Body color	Silver	Silver,Mint blue,Orange