Everyone who has a dog and a camera has probably experienced the problems that come when you put the two of them together. You may have the cutest dog ever, but no matter what you do, he inevitably ends up with glowing red or green eyes, or blurry, or looking like he got into the liquor cabinet. Or all three.
Enter Fujifilm. The company is rolling out the FinePix Z700EXR, which Fuji says has the world’s first dog and cat face recognition and automatic shooting system. There’s acutally an Auto Dog/Auto Cat Detection function, which recognizes it’s being point at a pet and instantly customizes settings. You can even program it to store info on up to 10 dog face settings. (Cats too, but this is Dogster.)
I was about to mention the camera to my friend who has a Dalmatian and two dogs who are blacker than night. She never gets a good photo because of the darkness and contrasts. Plus they’re very active. It’s hard to get two of them to sit still for photos. What could be better for this situation than a camera designed for dogs?
I’m glad I looked further into the camera’s limitations before emailing her. Here’s a handy graphic of the color schemes of the dogs who are perfect for the camera.
Hmm, no black dogs. Or black and white dogs. What’s the deal?
Uh-oh, looks like there are limitations. In fact, my friend would have thrown away the $270 the camera retails for if she’d gone with my suggestion. In a box entitled “Characteristics of Dogs & Cats with Detection Difficulties” (this almost sounds like an embarrasingly common pharmaceutical ad), Fujifilm explains that, “Detection of blackish dark colored dogs/cats can be difficult,” and that “Detection of dogs/cats that have large patches around the eyes or nose (especially black patches) can be difficult,” and for the third strike for my friend’s situation, “Detection of dogs/cats that are constantly in motion cannot be recognized.”
So the camera is clearly not or everyone. But if you have a dog that fits the breeds and parameters delineated here, it might be worth sniffing out.
