Model Design / Appearance (5.75)
The GE A830 isn’t the sexiest camera this manufacturer makes; that designation is reserved for the skinny G1. The A830 is thicker and has an external lens. The design emulates compact digital cameras that are priced for a budget and therefore lack in the area of design. There are a few chrome highlights, but the camera is otherwise plain. We reviewed the white version, but the camera comes in several colors: red, white, blue, silver, and black. The color options help make the A830 look a little trendier.
The A830 is constructed of a thick plastic that feels as smooth as the candy shell on an M&M and as glossy as the surface of most microwaves. The smooth surface looks good, but makes handling difficult – especially after slathering on sunscreen at the beach.
Taking this camera to the beach is a gamble. It has two open ports that can be filled with sand if the wind blows. There is a plastic door over the battery and memory card compartment, but it’s very flimsy and doesn’t lock well.
Overall, the GE A830’s design is quite plain and its construction isn’t sturdy.
Size / Portability (6.75)
The A830 isn’t going to squeeze into most pants pockets very easily, but is still considered compact with measurements of 3.68 x 2.4 x 1.12 inches. It can fit into purses and bags, but its open ports and flimsy construction necessitate a case of some sort to protect it from sand and dust. Consumers looking for something a little more portable will likely pick up the skinnier 0.8-inch GE G1. The GE A830 weighs 4.21 ounces, not including the batteries and memory card, so it is fairly light. When the batteries are added, the right side of the camera is heavier than the left side, which throws the camera off-balance. This shouldn’t be a huge deal to most users, but could be troublesome on flimsy tripods.
Handling Ability (5.0)
The camera’s surface is glossy and slippery so it would be best handled with rubber gloves. Since that is unlikely, users should at least attach the included wrist strap to the right side and tether the camera to their wrists to keep it from slipping and landing on the ground.
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The GE A830 has a rounded right side that supposedly makes handling more comfortable, but this only compounds the problem, as there is still nothing to hang onto. Users can shoot one-handed with this camera, although it has to be cradled by the palm because of its battery-laden right side. It is more stable and comfortable if held with both hands, with the left thumb supporting the bottom of the camera.
Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (6.5)
 The control buttons are generally quite small. While this is a common problem on compact digital cameras, there is actually unused real estate on the A830 for bigger buttons whereas most other cameras simply don’t have room for larger buttons. The zoom control on the back is a perfect example; it is about a half-inch wide and has a groove in the middle to distinguish the two sides. This rocker-type control is so small that it’s hard to distinguish much at all, even with the little groove. There are three other buttons on the back of the camera that are all properly labeled and spaced decently, but are still on the small side. The multi-selector is adequately sized but is constructed with an outer ring meant to navigate in all directions. Unfortunately, there are no arrows or grooves to distinguish the directions. There are icons in the place of arrows, but the absence of grooves makes it hard to navigate without having to look at the multi-selector every once in awhile to reposition the right thumb.
The controls on top of the camera are functionally sized. The shutter release button is large, domed, and framed by an outer mode dial ring. The edge of the dial has grooves that make it very easy to turn. From the top, the different positions on the large mode dial can be seen: Manual, Auto, Playback, Movie, Image Stabilization, Scene, Portrait, and Panorama. There is a tiny LED on the left side that indicates where the selected mode is.
For the most part, the GEA830’s controls are undersized. The controls’ design makes navigating menus and zooming tougher than they should be, but finding a mode and taking a picture are simple because of the adequately sized mode dial and shutter release controls.
Menu (6.25)
The GE A830’s menus appear on the 2.5-inch LCD screen with a slightly undersized font. There are a lot of options squeezed onto one screen. This problem is slightly remedied in the Function menu, which houses the more frequently used settings. The Function menu is accessed using the Func/OK button in the middle of the multi-selector, In the Function menu, the options appear horizontally across the bottom with their respective options along the left side of the screen with a live preview.
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Function Menu
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White Balance
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Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Fluorescent CWF, Incandescent, Manual
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ISO
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Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
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Quality
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Normal, Fine, Best
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Size
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8M, 7M (3:2), 6M (16:9), 5M, 3M, 2M, 1M, 0.3M
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Color
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Off, Black & White, Sepia, Vivid
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The standard menus are accessed through the menu button. After pressing the menu button, two tabs appear on the top of the screen: Photo and Setup. The following is the Photo menu.
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Photo Menu
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AF Mode
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Single AF, Multi AF
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AF Assist Beam
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Off, On
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Continuous AF
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Off, On
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Expo Metering
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AiAE, Center-Weight, Spot
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Continuous Shot
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Off, 5 Shots, 5 Shots (last), Time Lapse (30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minute, 10 minutes)
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Grid
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Off, On
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Quick Review
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1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds
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Digital Zoom
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Off, On
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Histogram
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Off, On
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Slow Shutter
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Off, Manual (2-30 seconds)
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The Setup menu is below.
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Setup Menu
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Format Memory
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Yes, No
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Beep
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Volume (Off, Level 1-3), Shutter Tone (1-3), Key Tone (1-3), Self-timer Tone (1-3), Power Tone (1-3)
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LCD Brightness
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10 levels
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Power Saver
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LCD Off (On, 30 seconds, 1, 2 minutes), Camera Off (On, 3, 5, 10 minutes)
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Date/Time
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Set date and time
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World Time
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Scroll through world map and select two time zones
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Reset File Numbering
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No, Yes
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Language
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Traditional Chinese, Simple Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian
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Video System
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NTSC, PAL
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Copy to Card
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Yes, No
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Reset Settings
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Yes, No
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FW Version
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Ver 1.04 B6
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USB Mode
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PC, PC (PTP), Printer
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Though navigating the menu system isn’t as convenient as it could have been, the menu layout is intuitive. The GE A830 has a slick multi-selector that doesn’t have any grooves in it, so fingers feel only a smooth surface and can’t accurately distinguish direction by touch. Users will have to peek and make sure their fingers are where they want them before scrolling through the menus and their options.
Ease of Use (6.0)
For the most part, the GE A830 has the same layout and setup as other digital cameras, and is fairly intuitive. The large mode dial makes it easy to find exposure modes and the shutter release button in the middle of the mode dial is properly placed. The camera does have a few quirks that hinder ease of use: no Burst mode icon on the bottom of the multi-selector where it should be, the slippery and boxy camera body, and the half-finished owner’s manual that doesn’t explain much of anything. Besides these issues, the A830 is easy to navigate and shoot.
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