Fujifilm FinePix S5000 Zoom Review
September 2003, Phil Askey

Review based on a production FinePix S5000 Zoom

Fujifilm announced the FinePix S5000 Zoom on 29th July 2003. It represents an affordable, compact, lightweight three megapixel (SuperCCD pixels) digital camera with a ten times optical zoom lens and an SLR-like appearance. To my eye it's one of the best looking 'SLR-like' digital cameras of recent times. Including four AA batteries the S5000 weighs just 430 g (15 oz, just under 1 lb) and thanks to its grip design feels very comfortable to use. Although the camera has a certain amount of manual control it doesn't seem to be aimed directly at the serious prosumer, it's lacking some features (such as manual white balance) which those users will only get from a camera like the S602 Zoom. That said this is a camera which could be taken on holiday as a 'full range' camera, used for casual sports events and more.

Fujifilm FinePix S5000 Zoom vs. FinePix S7000 Zoom (differences)

	FinePix S5000 Zoom	FinePix S7000 Zoom
Sensor	1/2.7" SuperCCD IV HR	1/1.7" SuperCCD IV HR
Effective pixels	3.1 million	6.3 million
Image sizes	2816 x 2120 2048 x 1536 1600 x 1200 1280 x 960	4048 x 3040 2848 x 2136 2016 x 1512 1600 x 1200 1280 x 960
Lens	10x Zoom 37 - 370 mm equiv. F2.8 - F3.2	6x Zoom 35 - 210 mm equiv. F2.8 - F3.1
Lens glass	Fujinon	Fujinon Super-EBC
Lens thread	55 mm (with supplied adapter)	55 mm (with optional adapter)
Lens hood	Included	Optional
Auto focus	TTL	TTL External AF sensor
AF assist lamp	Yes	No
Manual focus	Yes, buttons	Yes, lens ring
Focus range	Normal: 90 cm - Infinity Macro: 10 cm - 200 cm	Normal: 50 cm - Infinity Macro: 10 cm - 80 cm Super-Macro: 1 cm - 20 cm
ISO Sensitivity	200, 400, 800 * * Only at 1 MP (1280 x 960)	200, 400, 800 * * Only at 3 MP, 2 MP or 1 MP
Metering	64-zone Multi Center-weighted Average Spot	64-zone Multi Center-weighted Average Spot
Shutter speed	2 - 1/1000 sec	15- 1000 sec + up to 1/10000 sec elec. shutter
Aperture	Wide: F2.8 - F8.0 Tele: F3.2 - F9.0	Wide: F2.8 - F8.0 Tele: F3.1 - F8.0
White balance	Auto, six presets	Auto, six presets, two manual
Continuous	5 fps up to 5 images First 5 or Last 5 1.8 fps up to 40 images * * Only at 1280 x 960	3.3 fps up to 5 images First 5 or Last 5 2.0 fps up to 40 images * * Only at 1280 x 960
Movie clips	320 x 240, 30 fps, with audio Only limited by storage card	640 x 480, 30 fps, with audio 320 x 240, 30 fps, with audio Only limited by storage card
Flash	Pop-up	Pop-up
Flash hot-shoe	No	Yes
Flash range	Wide: 0.3 - 6.0 m Tele: 0.8 - 5.5 m (ISO 200 - 400)	Wide: 0.3 - 8.5 m Tele: 0.9 - 7.9 m (ISO 200 - 400)
Storage	xD-Picture Card	xD-Picture Card Compact Flash Type I/II & Microdrive
Viewfinder	0.33" 110,000 pixel LCD	0.44" 180,000 pixel LCD
LCD monitor	1.5" 114,000 pixel	1.8" 110,000 pixel
Connectivity	USB 1.1 Video Out DC-IN	USB 2.0 Video Out DC-IN
Power	4 x AA batteries (NiMH recommended)	4 x AA batteries (NiMH recommended)
Weight (inc. batt)	430 g (0.9 lb)	597 g (1.3 lb)
Dimensions	113 x 81 x 79 mm (4.4 x 3.2 x 3.1 in)	121 x 82 x 97 mm (4.8 x 3.2 x 3.8 in)

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 2003 Phil Askey and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact: Phil Askey