Index




Click to enlarge.


In this roundup, we have examined three popular 3 megapixel cameras: Fuji FinePix A330, Kodak EasyShare CX7330, and Olympus D-540. All three are entry-level cameras at the $150 price point with similar features. In our review of these cameras, we discovered that they are all capable of producing some good-looking pictures. However, there are some small differences that make the Fuji A330 stand out. For example, both the Kodak and Olympus cameras over-sharpen their images, causing jaggies to appear along fine lines. In the case of the Kodak CX7330, we also detected JPEG artifacts through its images. In terms of speed, the Fuji outperforms the Kodak and Olympus cameras from startup and shutter lag to shot-to-shot time. Read on for an in-depth look at these cameras and their performance abilities.

Kodak CX7330 provided by Newegg.com

Specifications
Comments Locked

16 Comments

View All Comments

  • Jeff7181 - Friday, December 31, 2004 - link

    Nice article... would have been nice to see it BEFORE the holidays though ;)
  • stephencaston - Friday, December 31, 2004 - link

    #4,

    Unfortunately, when it comes to digital cameras, it is impossible to cover every camera at a specific price point. We had to make choices when picking which cameras to use and ended up choosing three cameras at $150 with very similar features to make the comparisons more relevant.

    I did not mean to imply that this article will determine the best camera at $150. The article was meant to compare these three cameras to each other. I have amended the title accordingly to reflect this.

    We always encourage people to do as much research as possible before buying a camera. There are so many different things to consider when reviewing digital cameras and each review site focuses on different areas.
  • PrinceGaz - Friday, December 31, 2004 - link

    I'd take the Minolta DiMAGE X31 over any of the cameras reviewed any day; it's a lot more compact than them which is what many people desire when out and about, is reported to give a good picture for it's price and size, has lots of features, and at $150 is just as cheap as them. My DiMAGE X20 is a lovely little camera that does everything you could ask of it, and from what I've read the X31 makes a good thing better.

    I will reiterate a point I made when digicam reviews first appeared on AT, which is that unless you can review *every* model in depth to find which is the best in that category, then you are doing a dis-service to your readers by potentially not even looking at what might be the best camera in that range.

    Specialist digicam websites review all cameras so that they can give an informed opinion on any new models, even if that means buying one themselves like AT might do for a computer product that free review samples weren't available for. What AT is doing with digicam reviews is just picking two or three models out of the many available and saying one of them is the best, when better ones you didn't even look at are available. AT does excellent reviews of computer components, but I'm afraid you'd have to be a fool to only use your recommendations when buying a digicam.
  • orenb - Friday, December 31, 2004 - link

    The best digital camera at this price point is the Ricoh Caplio RX. 28-100mm zoom. Metal body. Almost no shutter lag. These three don't even come close.

    Prog.
  • Joony - Friday, December 31, 2004 - link

    The Canon A400 should be in this review...
  • cosmotic - Thursday, December 30, 2004 - link

    Again, Kodak EasyShare is turned into an ad link and blends into the background of the table cell.

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now