FujiFilm FinePix S5000 3.1MP Digital Camera w/10x Optical Zoom

Rating:
Summary: One single e fatal flaw
Review: I bought the CoolPix based on reviews from here. It is a fine designed camera, takes perfect pictures and have very flexible lenses. The gadgetry is superb. But:
The time delay between the press of your finger and the catch of the scene is so long that is impossible to take snap shots, instant shots. Cartier Bresson will trow away this handsome camera. This time delay is much less in other cameras, like the Olympus D460, which I always have. If you dont need to take that kind of shot, it is a perfect camera for you.

Rating:
Summary: Great Camera
Review: I love this camera. I bought it on my honeymoon, becasue my APS camera died and I had to have pictures of that. Well I was a bit nervous becasue I didn't have much information about it, but the wife liked it so we got it. As it turns out, this is the perfect digital camera for me. It takes beautiful pictures even though it is only 3.1 MP. We have had some develouped at the Kodak digital camera stations and they look just like film. Some of the features that you will love about this digital camera are:

1. 10x OPTICAL zoom. Most digital camera advertise how much digital zoon they have. This is a totally useless feature for me. I mean think about it. If you have a digital camera, yours pictures are going on your computer where you have digital phote software to edit or zoom your photos.

2. Complete SLR like controls. On most of the digital cameras that don't cost $800 you are stuck with basic controls and options for fine tuning your pictures. Not so on this camera. You can choose a variety of picture modes as well as film speeds, aperature, shuttere speeds and so on.

3 The ability to attack filters and adapters lenses. While this feature may not apply to al users, it does increase the overall flexibility of the camera. For example you can buy a 1.5X telephoto adapter and increase your zoom to 15x instead of 10x or you can add a polorize filter for outdoor picturtes.

One caution that I have noticed however. If you are using lens adapters or filters (I have both) you need to zoom in a few steps, otherwise the corners of your pictures will be rounded off. I think this may be a design flaw in the off brand wide angle LENS ADAPTER I bought, NOT the camera.

All in all its a great camera and great for those who want to move beyond a simple point and shoot and take the step up and have control over their pictures. I love this camera and it has stood up to abuse of the road and everyday use. I would recommend it to anyone as a great buy.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome camera for amateur photography buff!!
Review: If you are looking for a digital camera that is a few steps above basic but aren't quite ready to pony up $800 or $900 for an SLR, look at the Fuji S5000. It has great features and produces quality prints without costing a fortune. My husband and I got our S5000 in May and we LOVE it! We had been working with a Sony Mavica, which we enjoyed, but we had decided to get something a bit more advanced. In the S5000 we found exactly what we were looking for.

The S5000 has 6x optical zoom plus 4x digital zoom which impressed us. We had to adjust a bit to using this camera since it does have quite a few more features than we were used to but it has been enjoyable playing and learning. One thing that has taken a bit getting used to is the delay on the shutter. When you press the button to take a picture, there is a 2-3 second delay which means you may not get the exact picture you intended. At first this was a bit annoying; however, with some practice we have learned to adjust to this. This camera has the ability to take MPEG video so it gives us the versatility to make a short "movie" and since we have small children this feature has really been fantastic for catching some funny moments that couldn't have been captured with just a single shot alone.

One thing I initially was worried about was the quality of the pictures since this camera was "only" 3.1MP. So far, this has not been a problem. The pictures that we have had printed thus far have been of very good quality. While the color is not quite as rich and the pictures are not quite as crisp as what we get from our 35mm, they are much better than what I had expected.

A couple of things to think about when budgeting for this camera. First of all it only comes with a 16MB card which doesn't hold a whole lot of pictures and even less if you do ANY kind of video. You should definately plan on getting a larger card (we bought a 128MB one). Also, this camera can use regular alkline batteries but do yourself a favor and buy some rechargable ones. This camera sucks regular batteries down VERY quickly. We got rechargable batteries but also keep a small pack of alklines just in case. Finally, I would recommend getting one of the optional kits that are offered. Our kit came with a carrying case and battery charger both of which are must haves.