Rear of camera controls

The rear of the C-5050 Zoom is relatively straightforward with a large sculpted area on the right side designed for the pad of your hand and your thumb. To the left of this is the AE-Lock button, to the right the Jog Dial (which is positioned perfectly for a quick flick of your thumb). Other controls on the rear of the camera are associated with LCD monitor and menu control.

On thing I didn't like too much was the power switch, it was simply too easy to knock this switch and switch the camera on either in your pocket, in a bag or on a shoulder strap. The power switch would have gained a lot from a simple push lock such as found on the Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi or Canon PowerShot G3.

Controls (Record mode)

	AE Lock The C-5050 Zoom's Automatic Exposure Lock is available in two modes. Firstly tapping the AEL button takes a meter reading and locks the exposure for the next shot. Secondly pressing the AEL button and holding it for more than one second displays the 'MEMO' icon indicating that the exposure will be locked for multiple shots until the AEL button is pressed again. The AEL-MEMO feature is very useful for multiple shots of the same subject or 3D / panorama shooting.
	Quick View Single click the Quick View button to switch between either monitor off / live view or dual control panel / live view depending on the selected 'dual control panel' option. Double click (press twice in quick succession) to enter a 'shooting priority' play mode which is identical to the normal play mode except that you can jump back to shooting mode by a simple half-press of the shutter release.
	OK / Menu This button is used to enter / leave menus and confirm menu options. In record mode pressing it enters the record menu.
	4-way controller (Arrow pad) Used to navigate menus or change settings.
	Media select Press this button to switch between the SmartMedia/xD-Picture Card slot or the Compact Flash slot. This will only work if you have media inserted into both slots.

Controls (Play mode)

	Erase Deletes the currently selected image, requires a Yes / No confirmation.
	OK / Menu This button is used to enter / leave menus and confirm menu options. In play mode pressing it enters the play menu.
	4-way controller (Arrow pad) Used to browse through images, navigate menus or change settings. Note that you can also use the Jog Dial to browse images in play mode.
	Media select Press this button to switch between the SmartMedia/xD-Picture Card slot or the Compact Flash slot. This will only work if you have media inserted into both slots.

Left side controls

On the left top edge of the camera you will find two control buttons, exposure compensation and flash mode. Hold the two buttons together to set flash power compensation. These buttons have no function in play mode.

Controls (Record mode)

	Exposure compensation Hold this button and roll the Jog Dial to change exposure compensation in the range of +/- 2.0 EV in 0.3 EV steps.
	Flash mode  • Auto  • Auto with red-eye reduction  • Flash on  • Flash on with Slow Sync  • Flash off
	Flash power compensation Hold this button and roll the Jog Dial to change flash power compensation in the range of +/- 2.0 EV in 0.3 EV steps.