Top of camera controls

The top of the S5000 is fairly straightforward, a lockable focus mode button is the only control on the left. On the right side we have the shutter release surrounded by the power / camera mode dial (off / play / record), below this are drive and exposure compensation buttons. At the right rear is the shooting mode dial (which is far too loose and easy to turn).

Controls

S·M·C Focus mode

The lever below the focus mode button has to be turned away from 'LOCK' to be able to change this setting.
 • Single AF
 • Continuous AF
 • Manual Focus
Drive mode

To change this setting hold the button and press the left or right arrows. While held an option 'pop-up menu' appears on the screen.
 • Off
 • Top-5 (5 fps, up to 5 frames)
 • Exposure Bracketing
 • Final-5 (5 fps, up to 5 frames)
 • Long-period (1.8 fps, up to 40 frames, 1280 x 960 only)
Exposure compensation

As with Drive mode you must hold this button and press the left or right arrows to change.
 • +/- 2.0 EV
 • 0.3 EV steps

Shooting Mode Dial

AUTO Auto Exposure

In this mode the camera automatically selects aperture and shutter speed based on the current metered exposure value and selected ISO sensitivity. You can change Image size / quality, ISO sensitivity (Auto, 400 or 800), Color, Drive mode and Self-Timer settings.
P Program Auto Exposure

In this mode the camera automatically selects aperture and shutter speed based on the current metered exposure value, exposure compensation and selected ISO sensitivity. Note that the S5000 supports program shift which allows you to choose from a range of equivalent exposures by pressing the up or down arrows. When shifted the exposure readout on the LCD Monitor changes from cyan to yellow. For example:
 • 1/250 sec F5.6 (up arrow)
 • 1/320 sec F5.0 (up arrow)
 • 1/400 sec F4.5 (metered)
 • 1/500 sec F4.0 (down arrow)
 • 1/640 sec F3.6 (down arrow)
S Shutter Priority Exposure

In this mode you select the shutter speed and the camera will calculate the correct aperture depending on metered exposure, exposure compensation and ISO sensitivity. Press the up or down arrow to change shutter speed. The camera immediately displays the aperture, if outside of the cameras exposure range the aperture will show in red. Available shutter speeds:

1/1000, 1/800, 1/640, 1/500, 1/400, 1/320, 1/250, 1/200, 1/160, 1/125, 1/100, 1/80, 1/60, 1/50, 1/40, 1/30, 1/25, 1/20, 1/15, 1/13, 1/10, 1/8, 1/6, 1/5, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2.5, 1/2, 1/1.6, 1/1.3, 1, 1.3, 1.6, 2 sec
A Aperture Priority Exposure

In this mode you select the aperture and the camera will calculate the correct shutter speed depending on metered exposure, exposure compensation and ISO sensitivity. Press the up or down arrow to change aperture. The camera immediately displays the shutter speed, if outside of the cameras exposure range the shutter speed will show in red. Available apertures:

 • Wide angle: F2.8, F3.2, F3.5, F4.0, F4.5, F5.0, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8.0
 • Telephoto: F3.2, F3.5, F4.0, F4.5, F5.0, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8.0, F9.0
M

Manual Exposure

In this mode you select the aperture and the shutter speed from any combination of the above. Press the up and down arrows to change shutter speed, hold the exposure compensation button to change aperture. Beside the shutter speed and aperture is a 'live' exposure meter which indicates if the selected exposure will be under or over exposed.
Movie Clip

The S5000 shoots movies at 320 x 240 resolution, 30 fps with audio. While not as big as the S602 Zoom it's still a very respectable frame rate (twice what most other digital cameras manage) and the camera can shoot continuously until the xD card is full. On a 128 MB xD this equates to approximately 3 minutes and 39 seconds.
SP Scene Program

The S5000 has four scene program modes:
 • Portrait
 • Landscape
 • Sports
 • Night exposure

Rear of camera controls

The rear of the camera is also clean and straightforward, a 'light version' of the S602 Zoom. At the top of the camera you can see the zoom controller which is virtually identical to that of the S602 Zoom. Above the LCD monitor are the 'Photo mode' and EVF/LCD buttons, to the right of the monitor is the four way controller, back and display buttons.

Controls

W / T Zoom / Magnify

In record (shooting mode) these buttons zoom the camera's lens between wide angle (37 mm equiv.) and telephoto (370 mm equiv.). In play mode they control image magnification.
  f   Photo mode

Pressing the Photo mode button displays a menu with three options: Quality / Size, ISO sensitivity and 'FinePix Color'. These options are detailed later in this review.
EVF/
LCD		 EVF / LCD Toggle

Press this button to switch between display on the LCD monitor or Electronic Viewfinder.
BACK Back

The Back button is used to step out of menus or settings changes.
MENU/
OK 		Menu / OK

Enters the current mode menu or confirms menu or option selection.
Macro Mode

 • On
 • Off
Flash Mode

With the flash popped up:
 • Flash (forced on)
 • Slow Sync Flash
 • Slow Sync Flash with Redeye Reduction
 • Flash with Redeye Reduction
DISP Display

In record mode this button toggles between a plain live view with no overlay, a basic overlay and a 'thirds' grid overlay. In play mode it toggles between a single image with no overlay, a single image with basic overlay and a 3x3 thumbnail index.