Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

Jun 10, 2005 - By David Vine
The Fujifilm FinePix A350 jumps into a saturated market as a camera aimed at the automatically oriented crowd. The camera takes a minimalist approach with few buttons and few options, creating a primarily automatic interface for the beginner or strictly point-and-shoot users. However, it is still a step up from last year's model, the Fujifilm FinePix A340. Fujifilm pumped a lot of money into their marketing research and found that consumers shunned the moving parts on some of the Fujifilm models for their fragility. In response, the company took out the sliding lens cover of the A340 and replaced it with a built-in snapping lens cover on the A350. Fujifilm also threw in a larger 1.7-inch LCD screen and slightly improved video capabilities - and while these aren't enormous milestones, they are certainly improvements from the earlier A340. The Fujifilm FinePix A350 also boasts 5.2 effective megapixels on its 1/2.5-inch CCD; this is a nice upgrade from the A340's 4 megapixels and 1/2.7-inch CCD. The A350's features are rounded out with a 3x optical zoom lens and affordable $299 retail price tag.
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Picture Quality / Size Options (6.5)
Image sizes can be chosen in every mode of the camera with the Quality option of the menu. The following sizes are available:

- 2592 x 1944 (5M)
- 2592 x 1728 (3:2)
- 2048 x 1536 (3M)
- 1600 x 1200 (2M)
- 640 x 480 (0.03M)

Within the menu, the image size is expressed in the pixel size; the smaller "5M" and other representations are only for reference when recording. The Fujifilm FinePix A350 includes a 16MB xD-Picture Card; at the highest resolution setting, this will be enough for 6 pictures. In the movie mode, there are two image sizes: 320 x 240 and 160 x 120. Both of these shoot at 15 frames per second.

Picture Effects Mode (0.0)
Point-and-shooters who appreciate in-camera editing effects may be saddened by the exclusion of picture effects in the A350. These options aren't included in any A-series camera. Unfortunately, the camera's target audience would most likely appreciate the black and white and sepia effects that other compact models offer. 

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