Fujifilm FinePix A350 Review

The Auto record mode is a simple "Point-n-Shoot" mode. The line of info across the top starts on the left with a red box containing a camera icon and "A" which is the symbol for Auto Record mode. The "5M" represents image resolution of 4 megapixels (2592 x 1944), the "F" indicates Fine compression, and "102" represents the number of frames that can be recorded at the current image size. The yellow and gray brackets in the center show the autofocus target area.

Half-pressing the shutter releases locks the autofocus, white balance and exposure.

Pressing the DISPlay button next to the LCD toggles from the above screen to the live image without any data display.

AUTO record MENU options:

QUALITY - Choose image size/quality; 5M Fine, 5M Normal, 3:2 (5M mode for 4x6" prints), 3M, 0.3M

SELF-TIMER - ON / OFF, 10 second delay

SHOOTING MODE - Choose Manual, Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Night

CONT. - Continuous exposure mode; on or off

SET - Adjust LCD brightness, enter the SETUP menu

This is the Manual record screen. The only real difference between Auto an Manual mode, is you have access to White Balance and Exposure Compensation options. When these options are used, the Icons next to the "M" will be displayed.

QUALITY - Choose image size/quality; 5M Fine, 5M Normal, 3:2 (5M mode for 4x6" prints), 3M, 0.3M

SELF-TIMER - ON / OFF, 10 second delay

SHOOTING MODE - Choose Manual, Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Night

CONT. - Continuous exposure mode; on or off

SET - Adjust LCD brightness, enter the SETUP menu

EXPOSURE VALUE ±2.0 EV in 1/3 EV steps

WHITE BALANCE - Auto, Daylight, Shade, "Daylight" Fluorescent, "Warm White" Fluorescent, "cool white" Fluorescent, Incandescent

The Macro focus mode can be enabled in Auto or Manual shooting mode and allows you to focus from 2.4 inches to 2.6 feet. When using the Macro focus mode, the lens is locked at wide angle, you cannot change the focal length.

Set-Up menu in Auto, Manual and Play modes:

IMAGE DISP. - Off/On, Allows review of capture for 2 seconds
POWER SAVE - 2min/5 min/off
FORMAT - Formats the xD-Picture Card
DIGITAL ZOOM - Digital zoom on or off
BEEP - Volume of camera sounds, Low/High/Off
SHUTTER - Shutter sound-fx volume
LCD - ON/OFF by default when in record
DATE/TIME - setting of date and time
TIME DIFFERENCE - World time offset
FRAME NO. - Continuous or reset (file numbering)
USB MODE - DSC(download to a PC)/PC Cam (webcam mode)
LANGUAGE - English/French/German
VIDEO SYSTEM - NTSC or PAL video signal timing
DISCHARGE - Discharge the NiMH rechargeable batteries
RESET - resets all camera settings to default.

The Movie record mode display. The top info line indicates the movie recording size is 320x240 followed by the remaining recording time at this quality setting. The A350 records motion video with audio at resolutions of 320x240 or 160x120, with the length of a clip limited by the amount of available space on the memory card. The optical zoom is locked to wide angle but the digital zoom can be used.