FujiFilm FinePix 3800, steep discounts, $60 rebate coupon, Office Depot Match?
Written: Mar 02 '03 (Updated Dec 10 '03)
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Pros: 6x Optical zoom, intuitive menus, viewfinder (day/dusk). Great prices.
Cons: Viewfinder (night/low-light), Poor battery status indicators, Lens cap design
The Bottom Line: High-quality camera suitable for beginners, but with features appreciated by higher-level users. Only major "con" is the viewfinder in low-light.
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| pilotpat's Full Review: FUJIFILM FinePix 3800 Digital Camera |
UPDATE Buy.com is now offering this camera at $299 minus a $60 rebate, which brings your cost to a full $160 less than what I paid last year. See http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=90127218 for details. Plus, you can get another $5 off by using a coupon code found at http://www.dealsontheweb.com/deal/12317 . Note - these were good links when I updated this review, my apologies if they have expired since. Remember that sites like Office Depot offer matching deals as well (and their coupons can be applied AFTER the discount!).
Now back to your regularly scheduled review...
INTRO
This was my first digital camera, although I had borrowed several before buying the FujiFilm 3800.
OUT OF THE BOX
The box contained the camera itself, a screw-on shade/zoom protector, 4 AA batteries, a 16MB XD memory card, the FinePix software CD, and a carrying strap. Setup took about 5 minutes, with another 20 reading the manual. For the $399 purchase price, Best Buy threw in another 32MB XD card and a carrying case.
OPERATION and FEATURES
The camera is easy to use, and quite intuitive. I probably could have skipped reading the user's manual and been able to figure out most of the modes just by reading the menus and looking at the icons. A few of the more complex modes require some research, such as the eV settings for the flash.
The camera gives you the choice of .3, 1, 2, or 3.2 MegaPixels - with a "3.2 fine" setting for very high-quality photos. So far, I have printed the 3.2MP shots up to 5x7 size on my HP 5500 with incredible results (I haven't had use for larger formats yet, but will update the review if I do).
When using a mode less than 3.2MegaPixels, you get the ability to use the "extra" pixels to work a digital zoom feature. Combined with the excellent 6x optical zoom lens, this gives you superb zoom capability for just about any amateur photo situation.
A small, yet easy to operate, button on the back of the camera allows you to switch between using the color lcd viewfinder and lcd screen on the back. I prefer the viewfinder except when I am making .mpg movie clips.
PERFORMANCE
In moderate to very bright light, the viewfinder is awesome. It gives you a true source to frame your pictures with, and doesn't wash out in bright light. At night or low light, it is nearly useless, and switching to the LCD panel does not help. It would help quite a bit if Fuji would incorporate a function that would increase the gain of the display during low-light situations. Pictures with the flash in low-light/night situations are high-quality (except for the lack of composition because of the poor viewfinder display).
It's larger than other 3.2 MegaPixel cameras, but not when compared to those with similar optical zoom and higher-level features.
The camera has the option of recording audio notes with your still photos, and the microphone does a pretty good job when taking .mpg movies - not like a quality camcorder, but good enough for what you use the feature for.
USB connections between my desktop PC, laptop PC, and iMac G4 are hassle-free (although I prefer working with the iMac because of its more user-friendly mannerisms and the superb iPhoto interface with Mail and printer functions vs. the somewhat clumsier FinePix software I use on the PC).
It doesn't seem especially thirsty for batteries, but twice my first indication that they were running low is when the camera turns off when you hit the shutter release - very frustrating. Once was while doing some photo-tourism in Eastern Europe far away from a store that sold batteries. My fault for being unprepared, but if the camera had a battery-status indicator, I probably would have bought extra batteries that morning while in town. It does have a low-battery warning, but no progressive battery status indicator.
Since then, I've bought two sets of NiMH batteries and a travel charger, so I always have a spare set ready to go.
The Auto-focus (like most autofocus systems) does a good job except on low-reflective targets. Human faces in moderately-lit indoor settings sometimes give it difficulty. A user-friendly manual focus mode would be nice for these settings.
Shutter Lag is noticeable, but less so than most cameras in this price/quality range. Nearly instantaneous if you've already focused, up to about .25 sec if you haven't.
Durability seems to be high, but I haven't tried dropping it!
The only other minor issue is the lens cover, which works fine without the sunshade, but doesn't fasten very securely with the sunshade affixed. This is minor, though, since it usually doesn't fall off until I'm taking the camera out of the bag.
Shameless Review Section
Looking for places to try out your new camera? Or maybe you're just tired of shopping for a new one and would like to take a brose through a good cross section of the types of reviews I've done:
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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Member: Pat
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