Review: Fujifilm Big Job HD-3W digital camera

Digital cameras may have taken over from their old film counterparts as far as most amateur snappers are concerned, but they can still be fragile in hard-wearing environments.

Fujifilm's strangely named Big Job HD-3W is designed to take rough treatment, both in terms of water and shocks.

The HD-3W is larger than usual for a compact camera, being closer to the size of a digital SLR, but this does give room for the large 8cm screen on the back. There’s no viewfinder, and the LCD isn’t too bright in full sunlight, though it's fine indoors and on overcast days.

The zoom lens offers 3x magnification and although no memory card is supplied, the HD-3W has 27MB of internal memory, providing room for 19 shots at the camera’s maximum 6-megapixel resolution. It also includes a mode in which it takes 1-megapixel pictures, which Fujifilm says is ideal for pictures attached to email messages.

There’s a built-in flash and, unusually, a hot-shoe adapter so it's possible to fit an external flash unit for more sophisticated lighting. The back-panel controls are simple and functional, and most of the buttons are rubber coated, though having the power button and a shutter release so close to each other on the door for the camera can be frustrating until you get used to it.

Picture quality is good, but not outstanding. The autofocus works well, but the camera's exposure wasn't trouble-free - we ended up with some over-exposed subjects, where the surrounding detail was correctly lit but the foreground wasn't.

One problem we have with the Big Job is that despite its claim to ruggedness, it’s not really that tough a cookie. It's only shock-resistant for drops up to 70cm, which is lower than a typical desk or a jacket pocket.

The water-resistance covers up to 30 minutes at a depth of 1m, so while it'll be fine for splashing around, this is not a camera to go diving with. Compared with something like the Olympus µ790 SW, which is shockproof to 1.5m and waterproof to 3m, while costing around £200 less, the Big Job suddenly doesn’t look very competitive.

Vista compatible: Yes

See also:

Review: Olympus Mju 720 SW digital camera

This shockproof and waterproof digital camera comes from the school of hard knocks  24 Apr 2006

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