For comparison purposes I own an Olympus E-520 D-SLR and my previous point-and-shoot camera was a Casio EX-S500 from around three years ago. I was very happy with the Casio, but someone accidentally dropped it hard and it broke, so I intend to replace it with this camera.

The tiny size and lightweightness of the Fuji Z33 WP are perfect for pocket portability. Its shape also has a much higher coolness factor than many of the standard boxy designs. It definitely feels smaller than I imagined it would. The interface is simple and easy to use. The buttons remind me of car stereo head units I had in the mid-90s. They are kind of rubbery and very pleasant to use, but they feel as if after a few years you might wear them out and accidentally poke a hole in the rubbery surface that covers the underlying button mechanisms. I imagine that this would leave the camera with an area vulnerable to water. The battery/memory card door seems well-constructed and you must open a latch, slide the door, and then swing it open to access the innards. The waterproof gasket appears secure and I feel that the door design is well-engineered. Under the door is a port which appears to be proprietary and uses a supplied cable to connect to a USB port on your computer. This port is used to transfer pictures and videos to a different location immediately without installing any software.

Also under the door is the battery which must be removed for charging. I must say that I really like the battery charger. It is a platform about 2×3.5×0.5″ and it does not require a cord. Prongs swing out from the back and you plug the charging platform directly into the wall. It might not be convenient on a power strip because it would take up extra room, but I really like that there is not another extra cord for the charger. It is very sleek and easy to pack.

The majority of the camera is plastic which makes it so lightweight, but it seems relatively sturdy short of drop-testing it. I would say that I have medium-sized male hands and this camera is pretty small to hold. I personally prefer this characteristic because I’m looking for a camera that I can take everywhere with me. I have my D-SLR for camera-specific outings, but I want something small and light to take with me everywhere from bars and parties to outdoor activities like snowboarding and mountain biking. The size of the camera definitly meets my requirements, but I can see that it might be hard to hold for someone with larger hands. Also, until you get used to it, you must be careful not to cover the lens with a finger, but I understand that this is normal for this camera category. The On/Off button is recessed so that it isn’t pressed accidentally and the shutter feels natural and requires a standard amount of pressure to activate.

The menu system gives the basic options and doesn’t waste space with convoluted choices. It also gives clear explanations of the scene modes to help you decide which one to use. The auto-scene-recognition can be engaged if you don’t want to keep the picture-taking process as simple as possible. Overall, the menu was very easy to navigate and nothing seemed confusing.

I have not evaluated the underwater capabilities of this camera. I was only interested in getting a waterproof camera so that I could go out in the rain or take it snowboarding and not worry about moisture. I do not plan to use it underwater on purpose.

So far, I have only taken indoor shots in medium light. It appears that many cameras can take decent outdoor shots due to the better lighting, so my personal test is indoor shots. Also, I intend to use the camera frequently in party and bar settings, so this becomes even more important. The Z33 WP claims to have scene-recognition and should be a very automatic camera for beginner users. With and without a flash, my pictures show excessive image noise. I thought it might be the typical ISO-boost, so I manually forced the ISO lower. There is still so much noise when I display the pictures full-size on a computer screen that I am very disappointed. The videos are smooth and have very impressive sound, but they also appear to be filled with the same image noise. I will try to post pictures on an update, but I feel bad that I can’t produce anything decent to look at. I’m hoping that it is simply my fault and I will keep trying for now, but a fully automatic point-and-shoot should make the process of taking a clear picture simple, right? I know that better lighting will help, but this is too poor for my needs. I am considering exchanging the camera for a different one. I am considering the Olympus 550WP or one of the Olympus Tough series. I know that Oly waterproof cameras aren’t known for great image quality, but I’m hoping they have to be better than this Fuji.

In conclusion, my 5MP Casio P&S took much, much clearer pictures than this camera and I would be embarrassed to show these indoor pictures I have taken to anyone. I will be looking for a different camera.