MY STORY
Well, the usual I guess? Basically it’s the same for all tech devices – I want a new tech device, I get a new tech device, I review the tech device. Except one time ONE THING IS DIFFERENT and in this case, it’s the product.
Feeling that my old 1.3MP HP Photo Smart 215 just was not going to cut it in this world of 3- and 4- and 5-megapixel resolutions, I set out in search of a nice digital camera. What did I get? I got a PERFECT digital camera. What’s 1280 x 960 [1.3MP] compared to something like 2054 x 1156 [3.3MP]? Not much, I am afraid. What I had in mind was this:
-*Item (how badly needed/5)*-
• At least 3MP Resolution (4/5)
• A good zoom, preferably 5X optical or higher (5/5)
• Good brand, and good quality pictures (resolution doesn’t always matter) (5/5)
• And oh yes, the price to be…ah, say, under $600 maximum (3/5)

SEARCHING, SEARCHING….
Well, I searched quite a bit. After a few days the looks of things were close. The choice was between an:
Olympus C-720UZ – 8X Optical – 3MP - $500
Or a:
Fuji FinePix 3800 – 6X Optical – 3.3MP - $400
Immediately, I decided on the Fuji. More resolution, less money, only thing worse was the zoom (I don’t know if the word ‘worse’ is really appropriate – how about ‘lower’) and, as it turns out, it made up for it by a very overwhelming amount of extra features. Be prepared for a long, long review my folks. This will be, DEFINITELY, my longest yet. Hope you like it! Also, I’ll go in order (opening the box, what’s included, putting it together, taking pictures, uploading etc.)


THE BOX
The box was designed well. On the front, there is a picture of the camera with it’s flash popped up, and it is taking a picture (you can tell because the flash is in mid-flash). However, they poorly made this picture because when the camera is turned on, before you can take a picture, the lens has to extend. The lens is in on this picture, so this picture’s obviously a fraud. There is a yellow strip about an inch wide running down almost to the bottom (it stops about 1.5” above the bottom). Inside are little purple boxes listing the ‘features’, I guess you’d call them. Look at my FEATURES section later on. Also on the box:
-Package Contents in 8 different languages
-System Configurations
-Optional Accessories
-Specifications

OPENING THE BOX
Once you get over checking out the box, you’ll want to open it. Unlike any electronic product I’ve ever bought, this package was too easy to open. There’s no other way to say it. Simply flip the little tab, and the top will spring open, allowing access to the goodies that you simply can not WAIT to get your hands on. Hmmm, I like it! Upon opening the box, you’ll pull out a little flimsy plastic tray with a lot of things sitting on it, including:
•The camera itself
? AA Panasonic batteries
•Lens Cap
•Adapter Ring
•Neck/Shoulder Strap
You will also find a memory card (16MB), a manual, and some software. Oh yes, and a USB cable.

PUT IT TOGETHER
To put the camera together, you must do the following. First of all, you must screw on the lens adapter ring. This will protect the lens, keeping it from touching anything and also will help to block sunlight. You add on conversion lenses with this mounted on the camera. Next of all, open the door on the side and insert the crummy, the tiny, the lowly little xD picture card that’s included (16MB) or treat the camera to larger and better 32, 64 or 128MB one (29.99. 49.99 and 79.99 respectively). Don’t forget to close the tiny little door; the camera will not operate with it opened. Next, put on the neck strap. This is a fairly hard operation, getting it just right. Just make sure you stay sane, unlike me. I was yelling and shouting all sorts of vulgar at the camera, for having been shipped with such a crappy neck strap. When you get it on, though, it feels quite nice. It has some nice felt-type fabric that sits against your neck that feels really nice. Alright, you’re almost there. Put on the Lens Cap. Finally, open the door on the bottom and insert the 4 AA batteries which are included. Shut the door and you’re on your way to PICTURE TAKING NIRVANA™.

BUTTONS, KNOBS, SWITCHES…
Before we go into the good stuff, I’ll tell you about all the options and knobs and buttons. If you don’t care for the buttons and knobs, I would STRONGLY suggest you skip to the next divider, labeled ‘’.
First, you have to select a mode. The so-called ‘Mode Ring’ is a little switch around the shutter button. You can easily turn it by your pointer finger. Your options are either OFF, REVIEW, or CAMERA. Review mode lets you look over the pictures you’ve taken, and delete them, and Camera mode lets you take pictures. Need I say what OFF mode is?
Camera Mode
In Camera mode, as I just stated, you can take pictures. You turn the Mode Ring to the picture of the camera, and then you select the Capture Mode via the knob on the top, behind the shutter button, more towards the back of the camera. You can choose Auto Mode, Manual Mode, Scene Mode or Movie Mode. They will be explained later. To take a picture, first set the settings if in Scene or Manual mode, position the AF Frame over the subject, and then press the shutter button down half way. If the camera makes a ‘bebeep’ sound, you can then depress the shutter button fully to take the picture. Unless a red “!AF” pops up on the screen. In this case, simply re-focus the picture (Simply or not? Read on).

Playback Mode
In Playback Mode you can view pictures you took, zoom in on them, delete them, etc. You have to turn the Mode Ring to the PLAY selection and that’s it. Use the Left and Right buttons to look through the images, and the Up and Down buttons to zoom in and out. That’s (basically) all there is to it.

TAKING THE PICTURE
To make it simple, do the following steps and all will go well…
1. Turn camera mode ring to Camera mode.
2. OPTIONAL – Press EVF-LCD button to switch between the Electronic viewfinder and the LCD screen.
3. Position the AF brackets over the subject that will be in focus (preferably over the brightest spot; perhaps a reflection in the person’s glasses or a glint of sunlight deflecting off of a leaf).
4. Press shutter button down half way; you should hear a ‘bebeep’ sound, as Fuji calls it. If you don’t, a little “!AF” text pops up telling you that the Auto Focus is not working. In this case, re-focus until you hear it.
5. Once you get the bebeep sound, press the shutter down all the way and the picture will be taken. Repeat from step 3 again.

INSTALLING SOFTWARE
I am never one to usually complain about the software, and I’m not complaining this time; it’s just that it is completely unnecessary. The software isn’t even clear about how to upload them and you could just do it in Windows Explorer. The camera appears as drive E:\ on most computers, and you simply double click it and voila- there are your pictures. The software is basically a Fuji branded Windows Explorer, and to upload you press Ctrl A to Select All and then drag them to a folder, and it will copy them to there. It is fairly fast, probably even faster on USB2. There really isn’t anything else to say about uploading: It’s just that simple.

MENUS
Example: Menu Name (Menu Selections) Menu Description
Camera Mode:
--AUTO Mode:
Quality (0.3M, 1M, 2M, 3M-N, 3M-F) Picture Quality and Number of Mega Pixels recorded.
Self-Timer (On, Off) Sets the ten-second self-timer for taking a picture.
Set-Up (LCD Brightness, Set-Up) Lets you set LCD Brightness, date & time, post-view, beep sound, etc.
--SCENE MODE
Quality (0.3M, 1M, 2M, 3M-N, 3M-F) Picture Quality and Number of Mega Pixels recorded.
Self-Timer (On, Off) Sets the ten-second self-timer for taking a picture.
Scene (Sports, Night Scene, Scene, Portrait, Continuous) Lets you select best mode for what you are doing.
--MANUAL MODE
Aperture Priority
Exposure
Flash Brightness
Quality
Self-Timer
White balance
Set-Up

MOVIE MODE
This camera can record pretty good movies. The movies are up to 60 seconds in length, and audio is recorded as well. On the 64MB xD card, you can store approximately 5 minutes of 320x240 resolution video. What Fuji says is:
320 x 240 pixels up to 60 seconds / 160 x 120 pixels up to 200 seconds.
10 fps, AVI (Motion JPEG) with sound.
One 60 second movie is approximately 10 images worth on the 3M-F Picture Quality mode.

THE WHOLE KABOODLE WITH THE KIT
With this camera you get a huge 6X Optical zoom which is about a 230MM equivalent on a 35MM camera. It boasts 3.3 Mega pixels, which I definitely prefer to my old 1.3 Meager-Pixel camera. Wow, I like that – Meager Pixel. I just made that up! Anyways, you get movie recording, and a mediocre Manual Mode.
TWO DISGUSTS:
Lens Cap:
The Lens Cap doesn’t fit correctly onto the Adapter Ring around the Lens. FIX: E-Mail Fuji, saying your Lens Cap is faulty. They should ship out a working replacement cap.
Auto Focus:
This camera won’t focus in the dark or even sometimes in room light. FIX: Focus on a glint off someone’s glasses, or the brightest spot you can find. Outside this camera focuses well.

FEATURES… SLIGHTLY LESS KNOWN
In no particular order:
DPOF Settings (digital print order format)
Voice Memo up to 30 seconds attached to picture
Up to about 10X zoom in Playback mode (digital)
3X Digital Zoom in movie mode
xD Picture Card – Smaller, Faster, and Less Battery Hungry (all three facts are true)

CONCLUSION
This camera is a STEAL at $399.99. But let’s quickly add on some required ‘options’:
Camera: $399.99
128MB xD Card: $79.99
Soft Carry Case: $39.99-$49.99
TOTAL: $520-$530 plus tax. That’s not TOO bad considering what you get. The 64MB xD Card is available for $49.99 and the case may not be a NECESSITY, but it’ll come in handy. That’s 50 bucks to protect the camera? Count me in!

NextUp: See Profile Page Status [long bio]

WORD COUNT:
1,642 Words
9,133 Characters with spaces
Yeesh!

__________________________

UPDATE!!
As somebody commented, I should include a bit of photo taking experience, should I not?

Though it's often less-than-simple to focus, outdoors or in well-lit areas you'll be fine. That said, here we go:
Basically every shot you take as a close up or without zoom is perfect. I mean perfect. When you use macro with flash, however, you have to remove the adapter ring (why they include it in the first place.... ugh). And at the tele end of the zoom range (approx 228mm) there have been reports of minor amounts of noise, but I have not experienced any. Night mode has proven pretty useful over time (just be aware you need at least a LITTLE light to make use of the 3 second max shutter). Uploading them is very easy, and now I often use XP's "Scanner and Camera wizard" as it is very simple to use and gets it done quickly and simply. I do use Adobe Photoshop Album now, and that is highly recommended for the end user.

With these things in mind, and some others that could be harder to express, I would recommend this camera to any enthusiast who wants quality images and a nice zoom. However, if the zoom is absolutely not needed, for the same price there are cameras with more megapixels (4.0, maybe even some new 5.0 ones) and perhaps a better manual mode. But I will repeat,

If you'd like a nice zoom, good features, scene modes and great quality, look no further.

HAPPY PHOTOS! :-|)

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 399.99
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts