Viewfinder (2.5)
It is clear when using the viewfinder on the FinePix A330 that its ridiculous size and location makes it more of a novelty and less of a functional addition. As is the case with most digital point-and-shoots, the LCD screen is presumed to be the primary method of viewing and composing shots, so it is no great surprise that the viewfinder has gotten so little respect. Nevertheless, if it’s going to be included at all – and shouldn’t it?-- it ought to be functional.
LCD Screen (5.0)
The LCD screen on the FinePix A330 contains 60,000 pixels, which is inadequate even for a lower-end camera. Although the screen does span 1.5 inches, which is sufficient for composing an image (given appropriate lighting) and navigating through thumbnails and menus, the resolution may prohibit good visibility and cause some difficulty in viewing.
Flash (7.5)
There are six different flash modes available on the FinePix A330, although which ones are available depends on the chosen shooting mode. The manual mode gives the most options, obviously, allowing for Auto, Red eye reduction, Forced flash, Suppressed flash, Slow sync, and the Red eye + slow sync combination. Forced flash can be thought of as a “fill light,” and suppressed flash is good for situations like shooting through windows where there might be a reflection. Night shooting mode allows for only slow sync, suppressed flash and slow sync + red eye modes, illuminating the subject while using a slower shutter speed (up to two seconds) to let ambient light in. All flash modes are possible in the portrait mode, whereas none are possible in the landscape mode, and the sport mode allows only auto flash, forced flash, and suppressed flash modes. I can understand that each preset shooting mode was designed to simplify certain shooting situations, but wouldn’t it be less confusing just to offer all flash modes for each shooting option? At least the modes are easy to toggle through by pressing one of the top three navigating buttons.
Zoom Lens (7.0)
The Fuji FinePix A330 comes with a non-interchangeable lens that has a 3x optical zoom and a 1.7x digital zoom. This is equivalent to a traditional 35mm lens of 38mm-114mm, which is more than enough to satisfy the average user.
