Comments on: Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP 10 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

By: J. Lassen

J. Lassen — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:57:10 +0000

bought this product to go snorkling with my daughter and sharks at camden aquarium for her birthday gift.she took pictures,i took pictures,not one good shot out of 98.thank goodness the aquarium took pictures of us there,otherwise we would have nothing to show but ticket stubs. My daughter was so disapointed.Pictures were blury,out of focus,slow to take,Do not buy this product!!!!Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP 10 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Green)
Rating: 1 / 5

By: Cathleen Barnish

Cathleen Barnish — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:54:14 +0000

I really like this camera. So far, the pictures are turning out great. I haven’t had the chance to use it in the water yet, but I’m looking forward to that. The only down side is that I wish it had a little more zoom, I didn’t realize I’d miss it. I was confused by the battery a little at first… I thought it didn’t work. It looked like it was in right, but I had to flip it around to get it to work.
Rating: 4 / 5

By: abcde

abcde — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:20:50 +0000

The camera was defective from the outset: it emitted a clicking noise and the image pulsed. Be warned!
Rating: 1 / 5

By: Brett A. Smith

Brett A. Smith — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:18:01 +0000

This camera is not only adorable but easy to use, takes great photos. The best photos are actually taken in the ocean! A must for any vacation lover!
Rating: 5 / 5

By: Jeff H. Vance

Jeff H. Vance — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:23:00 +0000

(I gave it 2 stars to reflect the low price)
I bought this camera for my 14 year old daughter for her birthday. She liked the looks, small size, and it being waterproof. I liked the price and hoped it would be ok. I read reviews here and dpreview . com, and accepted the fact that image quality would not be great, especially indoor/low light. It seemed like a good compromise camera. I never read about the Z33 being fragile.

[updated 9-2-09: for some reason over half of my review was truncated]
The short story is the camera fell out of my daughter's pants pocket and broke. From this 2 1/2 foot drop the battery cover had a small crack and there was even a smaller crack in the bolt hole where the 2 halves of the case bolt together. Unfortunately, no one noticed these cracks until too late. She took the camera underwater and after a few minutes it stopped working.

I called Fujifilm US support and they said it was not warranted against dropping at all, and their site makes no such claim. They told me that for approx $80-$100 plus postage I could mail the one week old camera to them and they would try to repair it, but no guarantee it could be fixed. I declined this offer and now wish that I had purchased the more expensive Pentax W-60, which is on sale these days for a great price. My youngest daughter has that model and it has survived almost a year now!

Photo images: with strong contrast post adjustments you can get acceptable underwater photos.

[update: 17 Nov. 2009]
I am sure impressed with Amazon and will continue to buy from them! My daughter sent an email to Amazon telling them what happened, the camera broke, Fujifilm won't replace it, etc. Amazon replied in a few days telling us that we could return it for a full refund. Fortunately I saved the original shipping box, but we got really busy for a month+ and forgot about it. A few weeks ago we sent the camera back with a note apologizing for being so late in returning it, and in less than 1 week we received in the mail a full refund credit at Amazon. Thanks!

Now what do folks think of the new Pentax WS80? (I won't be buying the Fujifilm Z33 again.) Rating: 2 / 5