Overview
As far as digital cameras go the Fuji Finepix A330 is about as easy to use as you are likely to find. It has all the features you would expect from a camera in this price range such as scene modes, the ability to shoot movies and connections to a computer and a television set.
The Finepix A330 is aimed fairly and squarely at social photographers looking for a no fuss camera that can handle all the usual holiday snaps, social gatherings and shots for the family album. It does lack a few bells and whistles that you might find on other models, but it performs the task of taking pictures very well.
This is a 3 megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens (35mm equivalent focal length 38 - 114mm).
Image Quality
The Finepix A330 performed well in outdoor situations. Plenty of colour is packed into each shot. I had no problems focusing the camera and it was ready to move on to the next shot quickly each time. The images were all sharp and the colours are a true reflection of each scene at the point when the photograph was taken.
Indoors, although not perfect the camera produces acceptable images within the range of the flash unit. When the light dims there is a noticeable increase in the time it takes before the camera is ready to take the next picture. For a camera in this price range the quality of indoor shots often suffers and out of the cameras that I have tested the Finepix A330 sits somewhere in the middle.
One area of the camera that suffered in both poor and bright outdoor light is the LCD monitor. In poor light it was more or less impossible to see the subject through the LCD screen, making it harder to compose each shot.
Macro or close up shots were of acceptable quality. For example you could quite happily take pictures of jewelry and similar items to post on the Internet. For serious macro photography a more advanced camera is required.
Features
To help you get the best picture in different shooting situations they are four pre programmed scene modes available to you. These are for portraits, landscape (scenes) night shots and sports.
The built in flash unit has a range of 3.5m when the zoom lens is not in use. This falls to 3m when the zoom is being used. The flash modes available are: automatic where the camera decides whether or not the flash is required, always on, always off, red eye reduction and slow synchro. Slow synchro can be used at night when you want to illuminate the background as well as the subject itself.
For close up work the macro facility lets you get in as close as 10cm.
Backing up the optical zoom is a digital zoom that lets you zoom in a maximum of 1.6x in addition to the optical zoom.
The LCD screen is 1.5". That is the smallest size you can find on a standard digital camera. There is a brightness control, but the lack of a reflective coating is a minus point.
You can shoot movies of up to four minutes. There are two resolutions you can select from 320x240 and 160x120. The maximum movie time falls to 60 seconds when you are using the higher resolution. All movies are captured at a rate of 10 frames per second.
A 10 second self timer is available for when you would like to appear in the picture yourself.
There are a couple of more advanced features. These let you use pre programmed settings for white balance and exposure compensation.
The Finepix A330 is PictBridge compatible. This means that you can attach the camera to a PictBridge compatible printer and produce prints without the need to upload images to a computer first.
Fuji supply all the cables and software you need to connect the Finepix A330 to a computer, television set or PictBridge compatible printer.
Ease of Use
They don't make digital cameras that are any easier to use than this one. I guess it helps that compared to some other cameras the Finepix A330 has a rather stripped down feature set. That though can be an advantage as there is little scope for confusion with this camera. On receiving it all you need to do is load the batteries and memory card, slide back the lens cover and you can start taking pictures.
The menu system is as easy to get to grips with as any I have seen. I also like the fact that Fuji colour codes their menus and you soon get to know how to find the movie mode and delete unwanted photos.
Cost
You can pick up a Finepix A330 for around £115 including postage.
Style
The Finepix A330 is a pretty standard digital camera in many ways. It has a silver finish and has the rectangular shape that is the norm for compact digitals. It weighs in at 145g and has dimensions of 104.1 (W) x 61.5 (H) x 31.3 (D) mm. This makes it a little too large to squeeze into the pocket of a pair of jeans, but it isn't exactly a burden to carry it around with you either.
Batteries and Memory Cards
Power is supplied to the camera by 2 AA batteries. As ever it pays to consider buying a set of rechargeable batteries and a charger to keep the running costs down to a minimum. The plus point about standard AA batteries is that you can always carry a set of spare ones with you and there is no excuse for running out of power at the vital moment.
xD Picture Cards are used to store images on. Fuji supply a 16mb card with the Finepix A330. The only problem with this is that even when shooting 3 megapixel images this size of card will soon fill up and you are advised to pick up a card with a much higher capacity when buying the camera. An absolute minimum is likely to be a 64mb card, but I would suggest either a 128mb or 256mb card.
Points I like:
Very easy to use.
Good quality photos.
Offers value for money.
Where it is not so hot:
LCD screen more or less impossible to use in the dark.
Scene modes only available through a menu.
Summary
For just over £100 the Fuji Finepix A330 offers good value for money. It has less buttons and dials than the vast majority of similar cameras and if all you want is a camera you can turn on and take pictures with then this is as straightforward as you are likely to find.
Other similar cameras such as the Canon Powershot A75 do give you more features, but it is also around £20 more expensive and unless you are planning to use all the features then take a good look at the Finepix A330.
Fuji Finepix A330 Front View
Fuji Finepix A330 Top View
Fuji Finepix A330 Back View
Fuji Finepix A330 Side View
Sample Menus
Top Rated Cameras in this Category
Panasonic DMC FS18 Rating 84/100
The Panasonic Lumix DMC FS18 is a great little camera. If you are looking for a reasonably priced, pocket sized camera that can take a good quality snapshot then this is one of the best cameras around. In terms of value for money this camera is hard to beat. Recommended.
Read Review: Panasonic DMC FS18 Review
Canon Powershot A1200 Rating 84/100
The Canon Powershot A1200 is a straightforward, inexpensive digital camera. It takes a very good snapshot and offers fantastic value for money. It is one of the few digital cameras to offer a viewfinder. It has 12 megapixels and a 4x optical zoom lens.
Read Review: Canon Powershot A1200 Review
Panasonic DMC S3 Rating 84/100
The Panasonic Lumix DMC S3 is an excellent value for money pocket camera. It is very hard to beat when compared alongside its direct rivals. Picture quality and features have an edge over many of its competitors while the rapid response times are also a big plus point. If you are looking for a cheaper compact digital camera then you can’t go far wrong with the Lumix DMC S3.
Read Review: Panasonic DMC S3 Review
Related Pages
Fuji Finepix A330 Review Fuji Finepix A330 Specification Fuji Finepix A330 Sample Images
