The Fujifilm FinePix S1 Pro was a somewhat strange, yet innovative camera. Released in January 2000, it sported a 1.1 inch Super CCD sensor (23.3×15.6mm) producing 3.4 physical MP, but after processing would produce an image with a resolution of 3040×2016 pixels (6MP). But it wasn’t exactly built from the ground up. It was a mash-up of a Nikon N60 film camera body, and Fujifilm electronics. At this stage it was considered a “digital SLR”, because true 35mm DSLR had yet to appear. It used Nikon lenses, sporting an Nikon-F mount. It’s actually a bit weird discussing a digital camera, but at 22 years old, these early digital cameras are likely in the realm of vintage.

The photosites on the sensor took the form of a honeycomb tessellation, oriented in a zig-zag pattern rather than the traditional row/column array. This resulted in the distance between cells being smaller allowing for more photosites than a regular Bayer sensor. The camera then processed the data to produce the equivalent of a 6.2 MP Bayer sensor. A conventional CCD has rectangular photosites arranged in columns and rows. The SuperCCD has octagonal photosites in a honeycomb configuration. By rotating the photosites 45° to form this interwoven layout, the CCD’s photosite pitch in the horizontal and vertical directions is narrower than in the diagonal direction. This provides a larger relative area of the photosites per total size of the CCD than possible with the conventional CCD structure. In high resolution mode, virtual pixels are created within the spatially interleaved real pixels.

In comparison to other cameras of 2000, the Canon EOS D30, Canon’s first “home grown” digital SLR produced 3.1 MP, and Nikon’s D1 (1999) produced 2.7MP. The Super CCD sensor evolved through a succession of designs and cameras until the final 12MP SuperCCD EXR sensor in 2010. The FinePix Pro series continued until the S5 finished production in 2009, still using the Nikon-F mount.

Further reading:

• Shooting with a 21-Year-Old Camera: The Fujifilm S1 Pro – PetaPixel, Matt Williams (2021)
• Fujifilm FinePix S1 Pro (2000) – Mike Eckman (2017)
• FinePix S1 Pro – Photography in Malaysia
• 20 Years using Fujifilm (Part One): The FinePix S1 Pro – John Magnoski (2020)
• Fujifilm FinePix S1 Pro Review – Radojuva (2015)