Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP

Opinion: I've been looking for a small, waterproof camera to slip into the pocket of my cycling jersey, not to swim with, so I was excited to pick up the new Fuji X33 last weekend for $199 at Best Buy.

In a nutshell: love the size and design, but not the images. However, under the right circumstances, it performs well enough and is worth keeping.

I don't think I'm judging this camera unfairly against, say, my Panasonic LX3, which produces gorgeous images in a variety of conditions. I've had small point and shoot cameras since 1999, and at this point I would expect Fuji capable of a waterproof camera that could take better pictures.

I have posted nine sample images here at http://gallery.me.com/rgordon6#100119/

The first one which shows that this little guy is about the length of a Honda key - that's really small. I don't show the back, but Fuji went with these little raised rubber buttons - a nice touch.

But, my goodness, low light pictures are noisy (see the picture of the flowers in the mirror and the one with my little dog Wally - these were the better ones.)

And I have to object to Fuji's misleading marketing trick - this camera does not have Image Stabilization, it has "Picture Stabilisation," which simply means in low light the ISO is pushed up, with unacceptable noise levels. What's insidious is that IS should allow you to AVOID higher ISO settings, the opposite of what happens in the Z33.

A solution is to select 100 or 200 ISO and leave it there, but it would help if the camera had an ISO setting that would allow you to select "Auto" with a limit of 200. If you try using Fuji's Auto setting, you're going to get a lot of unusable pictures at 800 ISO, trust me, unless the sun is shining bright. And, of course, at ISO 100, you're going to have trouble holding this tiny camera steady at slow shutter speeds.

But, if you intend to use this camera almost exclusively out of doors and you like the spiffy, compact design and you calibrate your expectations, perhaps you should get yourself one.

Opinion: A really good waterproof camera, considering the 180$ price tag. The menus are easy
to use and it has all the basic functions including a pretty good manual program. The
night mode is not the best, but if you can hold it still and do not use high ISO (400 is
still okay, 800 is acceptable but not good) you can get decent shots, but it is what
you would expect for a camera in that price group. The video function is good except
that you can not zoom when recording. So all in all, a great FUN point and shoot
camera for the price, a great backup if you have a DSLR.

Opinion: well love the fujis..have many S3 and f10 also 480 and J10
The one thing i wanted was waterproof..like my ole nikonos or konica big mini mermaid..and then came the Fujifilm Z33WP..perfect for xc skiing/fishing swimming snorkle..dont worry about getting it wet or sand on it just dunk it and wash it away..love the movie feature one button activation...one thing I didnt like was it was a bit hard to hold on to...Untill I bought the slilicon jacket made for the camera..now its easy to hold on to and it protects the screen and lens by a little ridge to keep it off the table..now it perfect..the image qaulity is fine I made a 20x30 of my friends son.. very crisp and made the mom cry..its the image not always the camera that makes a good photo.buy the Z33WP for your summer fun you wont be disappointed..promise

Opinion: Disappointed in quality of pictures - for example - a bright sunny day shots look like overcast shots using the Z33. We were initially exited to purchase this extremely cute camera that is waterproof, sand proof, mudproof. We took many pictures with this 10MP Z33 and also with our old 7.2MP Sony W120 and our much older Sony W1 - compared them all side to side. About 50 pictures using various conditions - low light, with action, macro, outdoors etc. The Z33 made a bright and sunny outdoor seem like undercast weather, it added noise to indoor shots, it added more green / yellow to the pictures - rose carpets and walls were now greenish in colour, healthy faces looked ill. In addition, the Z33 didn't capture extreme contrasts nor details. The Fuji just made everything more subdued - some pictures looked like it came from a webcam. We used different settings and still, picture quality in every setting was a huge disappointment. So sad, since it was such a cute camera with underwater features.