Fujifilm FinePix A303 Review

The Fujifilm FinePix A303 is equipped with a 5.7-17.1mm f/2.8-4.8 (38-114mm in 35mm format) 3x zoom lens with a 3.2x digital zoom. The all-glass Fujinon lens includes one aspherical element and when powered down, it retracts and is protected by a built-in lens cap.

The auto focus system works from 2.0 ft. to infinity in normal mode and from 3.9 in. to 2.6 ft. in macro mode.

The eye level optical real-image zoom viewfinder has a field of view of approx. 80% of the captured image. The "Slow No Wake" photo on the Sample Photos page is shot using the optical viewfinder and framing the sign in the upper left corner of the viewfinder. It shows the additional image the lens actually captures that was never seen through the viewfinder. There is no diopter adjustment on the eyepiece. The LED is used to indicate focus and flash status, it also indicates Movie recording is active or the camera is writing to the memory card.

The built in flash has settings for Auto, Red-eye reduction, Forced on, forced off and slow-synchro. The effective range in wide angle is 1.0 to 11.5 ft., in telephoto it covers 2.0 to 9.8 ft.

The controls on the back: The DISP button turns the color LCD on/off and also controls the amount of data overlaid on the screen. The BACK button lets you cancel or back out of menu screens. The MENU/OK button calls up the onscreen menu in record or playback and is also used to accept selections. You navigate menus with the LEFT and RIGHT buttons on either side of the Zoom lens control which serves as the Up and Down buttons.

The Mode Dial lets you select Movie, Play, Auto Record, Manual Record, or Macro Mode. Below the Mode Dial is the Flash mode button to cycle through its options.

The A303 is one of Fuji's first cameras to use the new xD-Picture Card, included is a 16MB card. xD-Picture Cards are designed with fast read/write capabilities for smooth digital camera operations. A 16 or 32MB card can record data at 1.3MB/second. A 64MB card or higher can record data at 3MB/second and both offer a read speed of 5MB/second. The cards are designed to minimize power consumption to lengthen battery life.

Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. and Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. (Fujifilm) of Japan announced they have jointly developed the xD-Picture Card, a new type of memory media with an ultra-compact design about the size of a postage stamp, image storage capacity of up to 8 gigabytes, compatibility with different digital camera brands, and prices that are comparable to current SmartMedia cards.

The xD-Picture Card is in response to the needs of consumers using today's high resolution digital still cameras that require greater memory capacity. With initial sizes from 16 to 128 megabytes at introduction, and followed by 256 megabytes by the end of 2002 and larger sizes up to 8 gigabytes in the future.

The USB 1.1 port is for connection to the host computer for data download or if you wish to use the camera as a PC web cam. An optional AC adapter can be connected to the DC IN port. There is no provision for Video Out.

The A303 is powered by just two AA type batteries. A set of alkaline batteries are supplied and Fuji claims they're good for about 200 shots (50% flash, LCD off.) I still recommend the use of NiMh batteries type which are more environmentally friendly because they can be re-used many times.