Bottom Line: The 3.2 Megapixel Fuji Finepix A330 is a great camera if you are searching for a lightweight, compact camera that takes great amateur pictures. It is awesome on battery efficiency and is a
Consumer Reports Best Buy.
I’ve been preparing for an Appalachian Trail thru-hike in 2005 and one of the great things I get to do is make a list of everything I will take and then find the most quality for the lightest weight. A featherweight item is not always the best, so reading and testing has taken a year for a 16-17 pound pack (without water and food).
I finally decided on the camera for the trip over Thanksgiving this year. I had my eye on some 4-5 ounce camera, however, the Consumer Reports, November 2004, made me rethink what I was actually getting for my money. For example, the
Minolta Dimage XG and
Sony Cybershot DSC-U60 both come in at 5 and 6 ounces, but they do not take AA batteries. Imagine how many convenience stores I can walk into in Tennessee, West Virginia, or Vermont and ask for a photo battery. Or why get a lightweight camera whose charger weighs just as much as the camera?
Here was my criterion for the camera and how the Finepix A330 stood up.
1) Lightweight
2) Uses a common AA Battery
3) Battery Efficiency
4) Movie (optional)
5) Upload onto a computer (at a library or Internet Cafe) without major equipment (optional)
THE WEIGHT
The Fuji Finepix A330 weighs 5.1 ounces without batteries, 7 ounces with regular AA batteries, and 6.4 ounces with
Energizer Lithium AA batteries. This camera is extremely light in comparison to other cameras with as many perks. This camera can do just about anything except that it does lack manual controls (more on that to come).
BATTERIES – ENERGY
Consumer Reports testing has the camera taking 380 shots on 1 set of batteries. That’s an amazing number of pictures on a set of batteries. The Lithium batteries will even take that number higher as the battery is better quality (at a price). 1.3 ounces for over 400 pictures is worth the weight as I attempt to walk 2000 miles. I’ve had a set of Lithium batteries in my camera for over 100 shots and 10 minutes of video. The batteries are not even 1/2 used.
TYPE OF DATA STORAGE
The Fuji A330 uses a new xD (extreme Digital) card (new as a couple years new). This thumbnail-sized card comes standard at 16MB with the camera. The 16MB card stores 10 Mega Fine Pictures (3M Fine), 20 at 3M, 25 at 2M, and 33 at 1M. You can take about 1.5 minutes of movie at 1280x960 at 10 frames per second (fps) and about 10 minutes of movie at 320x240 at 10 fps. These movies do not have sound. That does not seem like a lot if you are going on a trip, but if you are taking pictures around the house or in the neighborhood this will work out well because uploading is easy. I moved up to a
Fuji 512MB xD card (~$80 on eBay). With this, I can store 339 fine pictures or 665 pictures at 3M. I can take up to an hour of quality movie on 512MB. The xD card is an extremely efficient data processor. The xD card is the reason this camera can fill an entire 512MB card on one set of batteries. I have an old Canon Powershot whose Compact Flash Card will eat up
FOUR batteries in under 100 shots. That is criminal to think about changing batteries that often if you do not have a battery charger.
EASE OF USE
This really wasn’t high on my list of musts because I pretty much figure things out after a couple of run throughs. The camera will be confusing at the beginning as the menu is just a series of different screens on the LCD. If you have ever programmed a fax machine or set the time on your VCR, you’ll figure this out. You have one main menu screen and then you scroll through the different sub-menus more and more using an “OK,” Back/Cancel, and Left/Right buttons.
Like I said, if you can program a VCR/DVD, set up cell phone options, etc., you will figure this out. This menu will become easy to use after some practice. Do this BEFORE you go out taking pictures.
GOOD FEATURES
- The A330 has a 3X Optical Zoom. This is better than a digital zoom because it actual zooms in on the object instead of just enhancing the center of an object like a digital zoom does.
- The different picture shoot modes are Auto, Manual, and Scene (portrait, sports, landscape, or night). You have to select these off of a menu on the LCD.
- Comes with USB cable and hand strap
- Movie capability (Motion JPEG in AVI)
- You can set the flash to None, Auto, and Reduced Red Eye
- Opening the camera’s front cover brings the camera right up to the last picture/movie-taking mode you were in last. You can be taking pictures within seconds
LACK OF FEATURES
- The camera does not have manual controls. You have no ability to change the speed of shot other than Sport or Normal.
- Many of the printers or Supermarket Kiosks these days that let you print straight from a card do not offer or cater to the xD card. You need to get a CF Card adapter or a USB Jump Drive adapter.
- The shot delay is 4 seconds. Some higher end cameras only take 2 seconds between shots.
- There is no charger or cradle that come with the camera. These are additional purchases.
HOW TO GET TO YOUR PC
The camera to computer is a quick upload if you get a $27
Olympus MAUSB-100 Jump Drive. This 0.5 Ounce adapter that comes in a hard case actually fits the xD card into the side of the Jump Drive. Any Microsoft 2000 or Mac after 2000 will recognize this USB Jump Drive simply as a Mass Storage Device. The MAUSB will transfer the picture quickly and will not run down your camera’s batteries. If you do not get that adapter or one of the many other sold on the Web, you will have to connect the camera to your computer via a USB cable and do it that way. I prefer to use a Jump Drive type device as it is more portable and I like the speed of the 2.0.
FINAL COMMENTS
I’ve been using this camera for a little over a month and I have yet to find something I do not like about it. I am not a photo professional, so I do not alter the photos at all other than using an “auto adjust” option found on many programs. The Fine 3M and 3M pictures all come out great and will produce a good-looking 8x10 photo. I really like the silent video option as well. Sometimes a still photo just doesn’t do it when you are trying to capture a pet’s silly antics or a great mountain view even a panoramic can’t show.
My camera: The A330, memory adapter, and 512MB xD Card all come in weighing under 7 ounces, fit in my front pocket, and cost under $220 total. I am more than pleased with the results and I assume that any everyday, average person that wants easy digital photos will like this as well.
Reviews to come:
Olympus MAUSB-100 Jump Drive COMPLETE
The
Fuji 512MB xD card
