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NZ Macguide Issue 11  | Fill-in flash adds punch to images shot in daylight | Late last year I became the operator of a Fuji S304 3.2 megapixel camera, which Parkside Media (publishers of this here magazine and three others) supplied for me to use in his capacity as editor. Coming so shortly after my rather big product guide on digital cameras, I noticed first its lack of features compared to some of the others I had tested in the same class, but if you've ever heard the advice on buying stereo gear and apply it to a digital camera, I can assure you it holds true. The advice goes: figure out your price range and power wanted, then buy the name-brand model with the least gewgaws on it. Then you're buying quality. The logic of the above advice is that it's easy to put cheap compensatory features on a stereo amp or other component - like a camera - to make up for the lack of quality parts that fulfil the basic functions of the device. If your device is composed of quality parts, you shouldn't need those compensatory gewgaws (of course, companies know that less-informed people might well prefer lots of flashing lights and whizz bang gimmicks, and they're often cheap to produce). In the case of a camera, quality means a lens with first class, glass optics and a very good CCD for recording the images. That logic definitely holds true for this camera. I have had many opportunities over the last few months to directly compare the images snapped on this Fuji with others taken on other cameras, often of the same subjects in the same lighting. The images from the S304 are simply excellent. In fact, 75% of all the images in Macguide since September last year have been snapped with this easy-to-use camera. On highest quality, you end up with a 17x13cm image at 300dpi, which is perfect for a little magazine like Macguide (larger format magazines would require more megapixels to produce physically bigger images).  | Optional extra: wide conversion lens WL FX9 | Also in the camera's favour: six-times optical zoom, long battery life (up to 250 shots from four AAs), 26 top-quality images to a 16Mb card (53 to a 32Mb), small form factor, ease of use and movies with sound. There is a built-in pop-up flash with the usual limited range, but it works well as a fill-in flash and has several modes. Manual mode is limited, allowing White Balance control and exposure override, but not much else. The S304 can take a wide-angle or telephoto convertor. These also fit the FinePix 4900, 6900 and S602 models. I tested the wide-angle convertor (WL-FX9) and it's a fine piece of glass producing excellent image quality, although to be fair it doesn't add much to the frame. The convertor comes with lens caps, a soft case and an adapter to fit the convertor to the 4900, 6900 and 602 Fujis.
To summarise, if you want real quality digital photos from a no-fuss camera with long battery life, this is ideal. Pros Large LCD
Quick to master
Very good images
Excellent zoom lens Cons Plastic body
I'd like a few more pixels
Lens adapter is plastic: easy to cross-thread | 
Inset, red bordered is the widest angle of the Fuji s304's lens without the wide angle convertor fitted | © Parkside Media 2004
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