A truly pocket-sized digital camera with a sleek silver case, the Fuji FinePix 30i snaps 2-megapixel images and plays MP3 music as well. This isn't the first two-in-one digital camera and MP3 player, but it's one of the first to combine good-quality images with a very reasonable price tag. From the stylish sliding lens cover to the plug-in remote control, the FinePix 30i is full of nice touches. If you don't like the in-ear headphones, you can plug your own into the remote control, which can be used for taking photos as well as fast-forwarding to the next track.
The 2-megapixel CCD gives you images at 1,600 x 1,200, 1,280 x 960, or 640 x480 resolution settings, and you can fit 20, 39, or 75 images (respectively) onto the 16 MB SmartMedia card that comes with it. Even at the highest resolution that's a reasonable number of images to start with, but unless your MP3s are recorded at a very low bit-rate, it's woefully small for music (decent-quality tracks take a megabyte a minute).
Especially at the higher resolution, the FinePix 30i takes nice photographs with plenty of detail, crisp lines, and good color balance, particularly for outdoor shots. You can just point and shoot, but for indoor pictures it's certainly worth tweaking the flash settings and the white balance. The macro mode gives you clear images and legible text. You can review your photos on the LCD screen on the back of the camera. You'll get better composition control when using the LCD to line up your shots, but you'll get better life out of the two rechargeable batteries if you turn it off and use the viewfinder. An additional set of rechargeable batteries is highly recommended.
To keep the price and the weight down, the FinePix 30i doesn't have an optical zoom, and you can only use the digital zoom at lower resolution. You do get extra features though: you can record short video clips, add voice notes to photos, and use it as a Webcam.
To make the most of the FinePix 30i you'll need to pick up a higher-capacity SmartMedia card, especially if you plan to listen to a lot of music. Even so, this is a stylish and remarkably compact camera with plenty of features and good image quality. --Mary Branscombe
Pros:
- Best quality combo digital camera/audio player we've tested
- 2-megapixel resolution good for prints up to 8 by 10 inches
- Bonus features: movie mode, voice note annotation to photos, Webcam functionality
Cons:
- Included 16 MB SmartMedia card not adequate for photo and music file storage--will need larger memory card
- Battery life is limited--extra rechargeables a must-have addition
Product Description:
Digital cameras are already expected to do much more than just take photographs. In addition to capturing excellent images, they now incorporate value-added multimedia functions. The FinePix "i" series always offers leading-edge multimedia functions to bring a new level of enjoyment to digital camera use. The FinePix 30i is a fun, easy-to-use and highly compact digital companion that you will always want to have with you. In addition to superb image quality, the FinePix 30i offers movie recording with sound, an MP3 music player and audio recording as well as voice captioning capability in a smart and sleek design.Simply sliding open the stylish lens cover readies the camera to take great-looking pictures. Just point the camera and press the shutter. The FinePix 30i automatically controls all parameters for shooting quality pictures; auto exposure automatically selects the optimum aperture and shutter speeds, while intelligent auto white balance adjusts for the type of lighting to give you perfect colors each time.
Fujifilm Finepix 30i 2MP Digital Camera w/ MP3 Player