Front (7.0)
The general design of the FinePix A350 is smooth and without much ornamentation. It has a satiny silver plastic front with a flush, slightly off-center silver ring for the zoom lens. To the left is a slight gripping protrusion, lacking a rubberized grip or cross-hatched texture for users to hold onto. The only tactile feedback on the grip is a series of raised plastic letters that vertically spell out FinePix, and there’s a bowed silver sliver. In fact, the lack of any gripping material makes the FinePix A350 tough to hold because of its slick front piece.

The slender flash is centered on the camera’s front and to its right, and the viewfinder window is nothing more than a small rectangular optic set inside a smooth, black oval. To its right, there are three very small vertical cuts - one taller slit bracketed by a pair of smaller ones - making up the camera’s microphone. Under the mic, in small red lettering, are the words “5.2 Mega Pixels.” The lens barrel telescopes out in two parts, while the lens is concealed behind a pair of guillotine shutters that part when the camera is turned on and the lens extends.

Arcing along the top and bottom of the face of the lens barrel, above the rectangular opening for the lens itself, are the words “Fujinon Zoom Lens” (top) and “3x, 5.8-17.4mm, 1:2.8-4.7” (bottom). Arranged along the bottom front edge of the camera is the Fujifilm logo, the phrase “Digital Camera”, and “A350” in gray lettering. Above the A350 lettering, set on the right front face of the camera, is a small recessed hole that serves as the FinePix’s self-timer lamp.

Back (7.0)
Layout on the rear of the FinePix A350 makes things easily accessible by all but the smallest-handed users. Like most compact digital cameras, the dominant feature is a raised 1.7-inch LCD monitor, set on the bottom left corner, which takes up more than half of the camera’s back side. To the upper left on the back is the viewfinder, another rectangular window in a raised black oval. Right next to it is a small lime green LED, the indicator lamp.

Next, along the top left of the FinePix’s back, is a three-position plastic mode switch. The first position (left) is for playback mode, the second (center) is the movie mode, and the final (right) position is the photography mode. The horizontal switch resembles two blades on an airplane propeller with a slight vertical tab in the center. The switch moves back and forth easily and clicks into each position. However, since it is a plastic switch mounted to a plastic body, one wonders how long it will take for the distinct movements of the switch to degrade and become less smooth or inoperative. The top, right, and left sides of the back of the FinePix A350 are beveled, allowing Fuji a slight platform on which to put small colored icons above the three-position switch. From left to right, there is a green playback arrow framed with a thin green line, a small red movie camera, and finally a red camera icon.

Along the top right are three separate buttons: two horizontal half ovals with recessed triangles pointing left and right, which are split by a raised, narrow, elongated pyramid-like button. The left button controls macro shooting and the center button is tele/wide zoom, which functions by toggling the switch/button slightly upwards. At first, you may want to press it like the buttons on either side, but this urge will soon be dispelled. It is a toggle and you have to push up slightly to get it to zoom in and pull back to zoom out again. And on the right is the final shooting button, which controls the flash. As with the three-position mode switch, along the beveled edge above the zoom, macro, and flash buttons are small icons: tulip (Macro), what appears to be a Christmas tree (Zoom) in a box and the ubiquitous lightning bolt (flash). However, unlike the icons above the three-position mode switch, these icons are raised and without color. This is possibly to avoid confusion with the other settings or add aesthetic interest to the design, but the embossed plastic icons simply don’t do much good and are harder to see in brighter light. Maybe Fuji was hoping simple repetition of use would fill in the mental blanks left by the substandard icons.

Beneath the zoom switch is a smaller embossed “three tree” icon for wide zoom function. It sits above a small dimple that serves as a thumb rest. In the bottom of the shallow depression are six raised plastic dots to facilitate grip. Beneath the dimple, to the left and next to the LCD screen, are two stacked oval buttons: Menu/OK (top) and Display/Back (bottom). Both buttons, like all other rear controls, are plastic and are smooth to the touch. The Menu/OK button has a slight bump in its center to delineate it from the lower Display/Back button. Lastly, the FinePix A350 has a long, raised vertical bump on the bottom right that also serves as a sort of thumb/palm swell.

Left Side (6.5)
The downfall to the A350’s design is the thickness of the body (when contrasted with the camera’s overall size). While this shape may be aesthetically preferred by some users, most would gravitate towards a camera of this size thinking that the small shape equals increased control. Unfortunately this control is offset by the lack of texture on the camera’s surface.

At the top center of the FinePix A350’s left side are three horizontal slits that serve as the camera’s speaker. Lower on the right, towards the back edge, is the camera’s mini USB port, accompanied by an adjacent, raised USB pitchfork icon. At the bottom of the left side is the yellow-rimmed A/V out jack (left) and DC in socket (right). Oddly, all of these ports are left open, with no cover to protect them.

Right Side (6.5)
There is not much to say about this FinePix’s right side. It is featureless, conserving space for the swiveling strap mount, which is a stylish silver bump with a hole through the middle. Its width is slightly larger than the side to allow for the slight grip swell.

Top (7.0)
The two most prominent features on the top of the FinePix A350 are the power and shutter buttons. Departing from the flat plastic style of buttons used on the rest of the camera, the shutter and power button are smooth, shiny, and metallic. The two buttons are in very close proximity and they are surrounded by a larger, smooth silver metal oval. There is very little room between the buttons and the only difference between the two that can be felt is the power button’s circular shape in a beveled recession. Next to it, to the right and separated by a tiny metal bump, is the more oval-shaped shutter button. The power button is clearly labeled with small gray all-capital lettering that says “POWER.” Placement of the buttons on top is visually pretty average. To the left and center is another reminder from Fuji to make sure you know what camera you are using; in small gray letters are the words “Digital Camera FinePix A350.”