Fujifilm Finepix 30i

Opinion: It is somehow a great multi media device for young non-professional users. The multi-function aspect makes it quite "useful" in taking pictures, recording short video and audio clips, playing MP3s, and acting as a webcam as a toy...
But The best words i would say about this camera is that " It is like A Jack Of All Trades, Master Of None".
I've bought it 2 weaks ago and I'm really satisfy with some of it's features like:its very nice and easy to use design,its nice remote which works in camera, recorder, and MP3 mode,its high quality close-up pictures or that of which have taken in enough light,its feature of playing back MP3s also voice and movie capturing with low battry consumption and the last important trait which is the afordable price .
IN CONTRAST,some of its features is pretty disappointing.
This camera BLOWS in low light conditions(seems worse than others) no thanks to the not-so-great shutter speed,Again,you can not count on the flash for distances more than 3 meters,So if you don't have a VERY steady hand when there isn't sun out after say 7 pm in the summer or on a cloudy day during the afternoon and you're not forcing manual, expect big smudges for pictures (it won't look like it on the LCD, nice nasty surprise when you get home).
Another problem is that there is no optical zoom, though that was expected for a camera this compact. I didn't think this would be an issue, but you'll REALLY want optical zoom after this.
And the last problem is that All the controls for brightness, contrast, hue, color and so forth are greyed out when it works as a web cam in the low light conditions thus The image is extremely dark and i have not found any way to correct this till now.
"BUT GENERALLY IT REALLY COST FOR THE MONEY"

Opinion: Great Value and lostsa fun! Sure beats the Kodak MC3. Prices for 30i have recently dropped a lot on eBay ...must be on the verge of being discontinued. This is a point and shoot, carry anywhere camera. And for your trouble of lugging it around in case a photo opp comes up, you get to listen to MP3's (ballpark 3-4 hours on a pair of 1700 maH batteries). Only whish Smartmedia came in bigger sizes than 128m! This is a fun device!

I also have a Olympus, but it was too big to carry around casually and no matter how good a camera, if you don't have it with you, you don't get very good shots. This small, sleek 30i fits the bill as a carry all that also let's me have fun.

It's a decent, no frills, Fixed focus/focal length 2 MP camera that's very portable. It's a rather bulky but good sounding MP3 player. It's a also a basic WebCam that I probably won't use very much.

The camera operation is fairly quick with fast start up times and pretty low shutter lag. Perfect for the opportunistic photographer who never knows when his kid is going to do something goofy. Pretty decent shot to shot speed as well for those moment of continuing goofiness. You can even delete all MP3 or song by song in case your goofiness needs more room.

As far as I am concerned Fuji got the combination right and have produced the right level of Camera with the right level of MP3 player. Improvements can be made on the ergonomics (using that remote for anything except the big button is a two handed operation to identify which switch is which).
Original price was too rich for my purposes but at the current price levels, this fits right in with the carry it everywhere, multifunction device that I was looking for. At least until someone gets ther right combination of Cell Phone/PDA/DigiCam/MP3/Radio at the right price some years down the road....

Opinion: I have had my 30i now for 2 months and i really like it. I got i rather cheap with 64mb card since I bought it in Singapore for $230. It does everything I expected and I use it alot.
It´s easy to carry and use..and gives a amature photographer enough quality photos
I recomend 64mb card or grater
I highly recommend this camera for all puplic users who are looking for a overall good, neat but full with options that are esy to use.

Opinion: I purchased my 30i for Sin$599 or US$300, what a great investment. Go anywhere little camera with MP3 to boot for when the sun is not out. Good rechargable batteries and if you run out just slip in 2 AA batteries from any corner store to get you out of trouble. View some of my photos at www.pbase.com/eaj. Obviously this camera has its limitations but its a great all rounder.

Opinion: This camera is good and horrible both at the same time.

GENERAL
+ It's incredibly compact, meaning I can take this practically everywhere (the size is fantastic). I can take pictures of many things (note MANY, not almost anything, read on).
+ The multi-function aspect makes it quite "useful" in taking pictures, recording short video and audio clips, playing MP3s, and acting as a webcam as a toy...
+ Remote is really nice, works in camera, recorder, and MP3 mode.
+ Very attractive design, nifty looking gadget. You might not have even thought it was a camera at first glance if it didn't have a flash.
+ Windows XP support.
+ I suppose they saw the shortcomings of this and changed the 16 MB SmartCard with a 32 MB one now (bought May 27-02).
- If you're an image quality freak, stop, this camera BLOWS, look for another one (preferably > 4Mpixel :).
- The multi-function component makes it appealing to gadget freaks, however, it really FAILS as a multi-function unit, largely because it's like a jack of all trades, master of none, really expensive on the wallet. AND, the batteries don't last long enough when you put it through all the modes. Do one, or the other, but don't expect to have any batteries for "other" if you do more than one thing.

MP3 player:
+ it's an integrated MP3 player :)
- two words: IT SUCKS. Why?
- You need to recompress whatever MP3 file you have using RealJukebox into an encrypted SQV file using the ID on your SmartCard as an encryption key. If your SmartCard doesn't support ID, then you can't use it to play MP3s (though the card supplied does have ID, fortunately). This is the most WORTHLESS type of "copyright" protection I've ever seen. NOBODY is going to copy the music from your card, more likely download MP3s from the 'net or some other source. Anyway, this means the player has to DECRYPT it to play it, WASTING battery power. Only specific bitrates and frequencies are allowed, though this problem is eliminated in the inherent need for conversion regardless of the MP3.
- If you need space on the card in a hurry, you CANNOT delete songs through the camera . You need to mount the card and delete the file from the card, via the OS or RealJukebox, so if you're in the field without a computer and your wire or a card reader, you're somewhat stuck. (UPDATE: scratch that, it's in the picture viewer, but it's in the last place you'd expect it...)
- Sometimes skips and clicks, though this might be the MP3 conversion process itself being messed.
- This mode burns batteries like they're nothing.

Photo camera:
+ under sunny, bright conditions or when indoors where it's well-lit or you're within 2 meters of your target, it takes very nice to mediocre pictures (depends on the conditions).
- it takes mediocre pictures on average.
- automatic is only optimized for optimal conditions, after that, manual or crap.
-- This camera REALLY BLOWS in low light conditions (seems worse than others) no thanks to the not-so-great shutter speed. If you don't have a VERY steady hand when there isn't sun out after say 6 pm in the summer or on a cloudy day during the afternoon and you're not forcing manual, expect big smudges for pictures (it won't look like it on the LCD, nice nasty surprise when you get home).
- No optical zoom, though that was expected for a camera this compact. I didn't think this would be an issue, but you'll REALLY want optical zoom after this.
- The digital zoom is mostly worthless on the best mode, simply takes a piece of the picture and crops the rest, and hence, only works under lower than 2Mpixel mode.
- Fiddling through the menus is somewhat irritating due to the large number of button pushes to get to some settings (no PAGEUP, PAGEDOWN, or anything like that). All the junk is menu-driven, meaning if you want to take a quick snap of something and don't have time to set it up, then you're screwed (they went cheap, more switches -> more pins on the chips required -> more cost, but are better than having to go through semi-frustrating menus, fine, so sue me, maybe an SLR camera might've been better).
- Isn't the point of this camera for catching "those moments"? Not too nice when it's just a big smudge, since the camera is only ISO 100 (probably less due to the shutter speed) and a nice picture has to be under very stringent "ideal" conditions.
- On best mode (ie: 2Mpixel, Fine), the camera spits out files of about 500-900k. Not too bad if you have a 128 MB card or even a 32 MB card, horrible if you have only a 16 MB card (which is probably why they now give a 32 MB card).

Movie clip camera:
+ it does short video clips
- I don't know WHY they cut down the time to 20 seconds and 320x240x10 fps, but compared to the 40i, I don't see why they cut it down from 60. The output is MJPEG, for those wondering. The average output file is about a little less than 3 MB.

Audio clip recorder:
+ it does audio recording
- it does CRAPPY audio recording. I was told this camera does MP3. Sure, it PLAYS BACK MP3, but it DOES NOT NOT NOT RECORD MP3. It only records 8000Hz mono 8 BIT audio PCM UNCOMPRESSED. Pretty "modern" if you're using an antique Sun workstation with the .au audio format. Not that we need overkill 44100Hz stereo 16 bit audio that most people are used to, but 11025Hz 16-bit mono would've been FAR more audible. Though the integrated microphone is on the front and picks up a lot of ambient noise, voice is still somewhat intelligible.
- No mic input jack.
- 128 MB card can hold about 4.5 hours of this sort of data. Not much for how much power you'd expect from a 128 MB card.

Web cam:
Haven't used it yet.

Verdict:
Like they say, jack of all trades, master of none. I'm somewhat pleased and somewhat annoyed with the camera. I'm happy that it does all the things it does and that it goes everywhere I go and is quite stylish. :) BUT, pictures at night almost never come out without a steady hand and a solid light source (don't count on the flash, it's pretty weak), no optical zoom (the new F401Z looks kinda nice in terms of features, but kinda ugly in terms of design) and lack of battery efficiency. But, for the nice 599$ CDN I paid for this, as a camera, it barely meets expectations.

Opinion: great size to carry around, the design is very stylish and pleasing, small compared to other digital cameras, there are many options (mp3, mpeg video, voice option, webcam). If you are not an expert photographer (who doesn't really care about specifics of taking photographs, it's a GREAT camera to own

Opinion: I have had this camera since December 2001.
To use sound activated picture, you must press the shooting button.
The camera is ok. It works also as an mp3 player and web cam.

Opinion: Just bought for $300 (with a 128mb card) in Mongkok, Hong Kong.
Pictures are good but only when taken in close range or in bright environment.
Video recording useless - too dark.
Nice mp3 player, you can even adjust bass.
Allan, you can use the bundled software Real Jukebox to transfer mp3 files.

Opinion: It is really great value for a electronic device to have two function, Mp3 player and digitial camera