Digital Camera Home > Digital Camera Reviews > FujiFilm Digital Cameras > Fujifilm FinePix A350

"Picky Details" for the Fujifilm FinePix A350 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

 

Timing

When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Fujifilm FinePix A350:

Fujifilm FinePix A350 Timings
Operation
Time
(secs)
Notes
Power On -> First shot
3.1
LCD turns on and lens extends forward.
Shutdown
2.1 - 11
First time is time to retract lens, second time is worst-case buffer-clearing time.
Play to Record, first shot
0.8 / 2.5
Time until first shot is captured. After 8 seconds in playback mode, lens retracts, and time to switch back to record mode increases to 2.5 seconds.
Record to play
4.6 / 1.3
First time is that required to display a large/fine file immediately after capture, second time is that needed to display a large/fine file that has already been processed and stored on the memory card.
Shutter lag, full autofocus
0.92 / 1.64
First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto.
Shutter lag, prefocus
0.300
Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button.
Cycle Time, max/min resolution

3.57 / 3.33

First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. Buffer clears after each shot.
Cycle Time, Flash exposures 7 Flash at maximum power output
Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution 0.88
(1.13 fps)

Times are averages. Shoots a burst of 5 frames this fast in large/fine mode, clears the buffer in about 9 seconds and shoots another burst. In TV mode, shoots at this pace seemingly indefinitely, clearing the buffer after each shot.

 

Power

The Fujifilm FinePix A350 uses a two AA batteries for power, and ordinary alkaline batteries are included with the camera. The table below shows the power drain I measured in various operating modes, and the corresponding run times to be expected from a standard set of 1600 mAh NiMH cells.

Operating Mode
Power
(@3.3 volts on the external power terminal)
Est. Minutes
(two 1600 mA cells)
Capture Mode, w/LCD
458 mA
125
Capture Mode, no LCD
417 mA
168
Half-pressed shutter w/LCD
510 mA
137
Half-pressed w/o LCD
417 mA
168
Memory Write (transient)
510 mA
n/a
Flash Recharge (transient)
1280 mA
n/a
Image Playback
188 mA
372

 

 

Storage Capacity

The Fujifilm FinePix A350 stores its photos on xD memory cards, and a 16 MB card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 64 MB card, preferably a 128 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored on the included 16 MB card at each size/quality setting.

Image Capacity vs
Resolution/Quality
16 MB Memory Card
Fine Normal
2592 x 1944
Images
(Avg size)
6
2.5 MB
12
1.3 MB
Approx.
Compression
6:1 12:1
2048 x 1536
Images
(Avg size)
- 20
788 KB
Approx.
Compression
- 12:1
1600 x 1200 Images
(Avg size)
- 25
626 KB
Approx.
Compression
- 9:1
640 x 480
Images
(Avg size)
- 124
128 KB
Approx.
Compression
- 7:1

 

Download Speed

The Fujifilm FinePix A350 connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to my Sony desktop running Windows XP (Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz), I clocked it at 828 KBytes/second. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)

A350 Review
A350 Test Images
A350 Specifications
A350 "Picky Details"
Up to Imaging Resource digital cameras area

Follow Imaging Resource: