Fujifilm FinePix S5100 / S5500 Review
Simon Joinson, January 2005

Review based on a production Fujifilm FinePix S5500

Announced in July 2004, the Fujifilm FinePix S5500 (sold as the S5100 in some territories) is an update to the S5000 offering the same 10x (37-370mm equiv.) optical zoom, SLR-like styling, comprehensive feature set and aggressive price point. The most significant change is the replacement of the rather controversial 'Super CCD' sensor used in the S5000 with a conventional 4 megapixel CCD offering an extra million effective pixels (the S5000's SCCD sensor used 3.1 million effective pixels to produce 6MP output images). Other welcome improvements include a better movie mode, manual (custom) white balance control and improved viewfinder/LCD screen coverage.

• Fujinon 10x optical zoom (37-370mm equiv.)
• 4.0 million effective pixel CCD
• Aperture priority, shutter priority and manual, plus program modes
• RAW format option
• High quality movie capture (640 x 480) at 30 fps with sound
• Electronic Viewfinder and 115,000 pixel LCD screen
• Powered by 4 x AA batteries
• PictBridge™ compatible for direct printing without a PC

*Note: The FinePix S5500 used in this review is the same camera as the S5100 sold in the US. Throughout this review any reference to the S5500 applies equally to the S5100.

Fujifilm FinePix S5500/5100 vs S5000 (differences)

	Fujifilm FinePix S5500/S5100	Fujifilm FinePix S5000
Sensor	1/2.7 inch square pixel CCD	1/2.7" SuperCCD HR
Effective Pixels	4.0 million	3.1 million
Maximum file size	2272 x 1704	2816 x 2120 (interpolated)
Viewfinder	0.33 inches, 115,000 pixels	0.33 inches, 110,000 pixel LCD
Viewfinder/screen frame coverage	approx 100%	approx 90%
ISO settings	Auto, 64,100,200,400	Auto, 100,200,400,800 (1MP only)
Manual White balance	Yes	No
Playback histogram	Yes	No
Continuous shooting	Max 3.3 fps (3 frames)	Max 4.2 fps (5 frames)
Max Shutter speed	1/2000th	1/1000th
Movie Mode (Max)	640 x 480, 30 fps, with audio Only limited by storage card	320 x 240, 30 fps, with audio Only limited by storage card

Key specifications

* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area

If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C.

This article is Copyright 2004 and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author.