Crash and burn
Written: Oct 06 '04 (Updated Mar 18 '06)
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Pros: Easy to use, movie feature, AA batteries, light, 6x optical zoom, 3MP
Cons: Slow to turn on, batteries not rechargeable in camera, Dx memory cards, poor workmanship
The Bottom Line: An excellent initial experience turned very sour. Don't buy a Fuji. Good features and price are worthless in the face of poor workmanship.
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| ermava's Full Review: FUJIFILM FinePix 3800 Digital Camera |
This was my first digital camera. I switched from a Yashica SLR 35mm which is 35 years old. the electronics portion of the camera have been dead for decades, but I have a set of lenses for it and it still takes good pictures. I'm using it again now that my Fuji FinePix 3800 is dead.
I paid under $400 for at Best Buy in early 2003. They threw in a 64 MB Dx Card and batteries. I want to focus mainly on things the other reviews haven't said many times and am doing so at this late date because I have 18 months of experience with it and it is still being sold.
It is easy to use. My 12 year old was able to learn how to use it, move the files to the laptop (on the road) and email fresh vacation pictures (and movies)to her buds. This includes one minute MPG movies which the camera takes. The quality is good and you would be surprised how many sub-one minutes featurettes we have taken. Street snippets, beach snippets, etc., all caught as action mpg's on a still camera. It will be a must have features on future cameras.
Our house lives on NiMH 2100mAh batteries. We take bags of spares with us for our "electronic stuff". We need them for this camera, and all cameras if my friends' experience is true. They use up batteries fast. But the good quality rechargeables bring battery costs way down. I do wish someone would do what Sonic Blue (iRiver) did with 200 series MP3 player: put removeable/rechargeable AA batteries in the device. Plug in the car or house DC adapter, set it to charge, and it's ready to go next time you need it without shuffling batteries around. If money is no object, keep buying lithium battery products.
The camera is light enough my kid didn't mind carrying it, the 6x optical comes in handy and is good enough for the general use and vacation pictures we used it for.
The Dx memory cards were new and still expensive when we bought the camera. Costs have come down and size increased to 256MB.
One annoying issue was camera turn on. The power saver shuts the camera down pretty quickly. Turning it back on means switching it through several positions, having to stop momentarily at each switch position. If you switch too fast, you have to start over. I've missed some good shots turning on the camera.
One day the lens ring fell off the camera. There are three small screws holding it on, and they worked themselves out. I found no evidence of lock tight other material to keep this from happening. The camera was out of warranty and the repair estimate was $200+. I took it apart to find the screws - one was jammed in the ON switch, one was loose in the camera, the other lost. I permabonded the ring back on.
the camera worked fine for another 5 months. My wife took a flash picture, waited, then heard a pop in the camera. The camera was dead. I took it apart. The connector from the high voltage flash circuit had arced to the circuit board, fried a couple of micro devices and, I'm sure, lots of other stuff.
Evidently the screw problem is common (and a real bush league mistake by Fuji). Perhaps I'm just a cheap guy, but an unabused $400 camera falling apart and blowing up within 18 months makes me feel cheated. Worse, if anyone has gotten through to Fuji and gotten satisfaction for being sold an obviously defective product, I have not been able to find them on the web. Before these problems I was a fan and had recommended this camera. It occurs to me that retail warranty purchase has become a fairly mandatory (and not insubstantial extra expense) now that manufacturers do all they can divorce themselves from their own products. My welcome to globalism.
I like digital, but I'm back to film while I figure out what's next.
July 2005 Addendum: I bought a less expensive Canon A75 replacement on sale. After 6 months this camera also failed. I had lost some record boxes which included the receipt packages for both the Fuji and Canon cameras. I went to Best Buy to see if they had a record of the warranty. It seems that with the purchasing credit card they can find the original transaction and any applicable warranties. They found and reprinted the paperwork for not only the Canon, but the Fuji as well. It seems I had a three year mail-in warranty on the Fuji I didn't know I got when I bought it. I sent both cameras in through the "Best Buy Geeks Desk" (their tag, not mine) and got both camera's back in about 7 working days. My daughter uses the Canon. I still like the Fuji.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 390
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Epinions.com ID:
ermava
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Reviews written: 1
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