Thread: Fujifilm FinePix A800

Fujifilm FinePix A800



Specifications:-
Dimensions (WxHxD): 97.5 x 61.9 x 31.0 mm; Weight: 199 g; CCD: 1/16 inch; Resolution: 8.3 MP; Optical zoom: 3x; Shooting modes: 8; LCD: 2.5 inch; Focal Length: 36 mm-108 mm IEquivalent to a 35 mm cameral; Shutter speed: 4 sec to 1/1600 sec; Internal Memory: 10 MB; Expansion slot: SD, xD.

The A800 is the most high-end budget camera from Fuji's stable. This is one shiny camera that looks quite good. However, we feel the performance is questionable. So, let's jump straight in the details. CONSTRUCTION: The shiny exterior of
the camera makes it look as if its is constructed of steel and seems sturdy. The 8 mm - 24 mm Fujinon lens allows an optical zoom of 3x. The 'amorphous silicon' coating on the 2.5-inch LCD screen actually works and does improve visibility when you are shooting outdoors. Additionally, there is an option to temporarily increase LCD brightness to improve the LCD's visibility even further.
DC power, USB, and AV connectors are placed on the left panel. The USB connector on the camera is a standard mini-USB socket. This camera has a 1/1.6¬inch CCD, which is quite standard for this price level.

The sensor can manage sensitivity levels up to ISO 800, which in numerical terms is half of what other brands offer. The 10MB of internal memory can store
a maximum of four shots at 8 MP. For removable storage, Fuji now offers support for SO cards, while retaining support for its legacy xD cards.

The rear panel has a mode dial to choose between shooting modes and a display/back button to enable/disable OSD options and go back a level in the menu structure. Next to this button is a Preview button that can be held down to turn on the camera directly in preview mode. Under these buttons is a cluster of five buttons for navigation that also double up as direct access buttons for deleting pictures, enabling macro mode, opening menus, and for choosing the flash and timer modes.

The power button is on the top panel and is recessed into the body to prevent accidental triggering. The top panel also has the shutter button with a zoom ring around it. With the mode dial, you can choose between Auto, Video, Baby, Digital zoom, Red eye, Image Stabilization, and Portrait modes. Another option called SP mode has various Scene modes under it. You can choose between the usual selection of modes including Sport, Landscape, Night, Natural Light, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, Sunset, Underwater, Flower, Party, Museum, and Text. Additionally, there is a manual mode. This is the only mode that allows users to specify the ISO setting.

All these modes are properly explained on screen when the mode dial is turned and a mode is selected. We thought this is a really nice and lucid feature for novice photographers to understand what each of these modes offer, besides being just esoteric symbols.

PERFORMANCE: The camera took around 2.5 seconds to come on, and around
1.5 seconds to take the first shot in a well-lit environment. Because there is
no continuous or burst mode we could not take quick repeated shots, but taking multiple shots by pressing the shutter button again and again gave us pictures at 3-second intervals.

The quality of the pictures is good in terms of color levels and saturations, with little to no fringing. We were really disappointed with the sharpness of pictures, especially in interior conditions. In one instance, a subject's hair looked like a solid black blob even in a well-lit room. When shooting at 8 MP, we expect to see some amount of detail, but this camera failed to deliver in all lighting situations. Macro mode was bearable in daylight, but even that gave us fuzzy edges as soon as we moved indoors.