4-megapixel effective recording * 1-1/2" color LCD viewscreen * LCD viewfinder * 10X optical zoom * JPEG options: resolution up to 2272 x 1704; 1600 x 1200; 1280 x 960; 640 x 480 *
1 excellent step up in digital cameras
I replaced my ancient Olympus, 26 years old, that I had fully outfitted with lenses, etc. with a Fuji Finepix 3800. I was very pleased with this, with one exception. I missed the ability to change films speeds from the SLR film world. I moved up to the 5100 and have not stopped being amazed with the results. I bought a wide angle lens to increase the options with this.
Today I bought a 3100 model for my daughter.
I have complete admiration for all the Fuji products.
2 The best I ever have
We used to own a Olympus D550 and Fuji A303. Both are good cameras juat not good enough. With the newborn baby growing everyday. We feel like we need a better camera to capture all the precious moments. It took us weeks to do research, Finally we decide to get this Fuji Finepix S5100 as it is a SLR camera at a very affordable price. Since it arrival (less than a week), we took more than 500 pictures without reading the menu. They all turned out to be awesome. It is very easy to operate. The movie mode is very clear, we prefer this over the Camcorder. My Husband and I love this very much that use it pretty much every day....The next camera will sure be a Fuji Finepix but at a much higer Megapixel like the S7000...Enjoy
3 Excellent camera.
If you have any question about the function or the features of this camera, I recommended this group. I found a lot of answers for my question.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fujigroup/
4 Replaced a Canon A95
This camera is everything it's cracked up to be. I bought a Powershot A95 because of the features and the price. It is a good camera, but it just didn't feel very good in my hands and it certainly would not be taken seriously from a visual standpoint when I tell people I'm an amateur photographer. So I sold it and bought the fuji finepix s5100. WOW what a difference. You can feel it as soon as you pick it up. It truly feels and operates like a mini SLR. I used to own a Minolta 35mm SLR film camera and this is the digital answer to that camera. I am blown away by it's performance. Is it perfect? No. But unless you spend $600 or more, you're not going to find a better value. This camera flat out rocks! I feel like a photographer again.
5 Great camera for a great price!
Hi everyone! First, the story: This is my first professional diginal camera. I had two others wich were very simple and I just decided to go for a much better one and, after some research, I picked up this one... and I'm glad I did.
Now the facts: The camera has en excelent response in several conditions. I mostly take my pictures using the automatic mode and I've got some wonderful ones. Also, the response for taking pictures of moving objects or while photografer is in movement, is excelent. However, the other modes are also great, so I can always get great pictures, even when I still cannot use it perfectly.
I have taken pictures facing the sun at sunrise or sunset and I also got some astonishing pictures.
A feature that really got my attention is the movie mode. The output is excellent and the sound is magnificent. The microphone can get sounds of up to 7 m (8 yards, aprox.) crystal clear.
This is also a very comfortable camera to carry and to grab and the different functions it offers cover most of my needs when it's about taking goos pictures. The zoom is great and the flash it's great too.
The software is very useful and the looks of the camera are terrific. My friends think I paid a fortune for it.
The only thing I don't like at all is the fact that the flash has to be manually activated. Still, I love this camera.
Another thing: the camera sucks disposable batteries very fast, but it can last days using rechargable ones.
I hope this is helpful for you. Greetings from Mexico!
6 Best Camera EVER!!!
I bought this camera on a trip to NYC. I didn't do much research on it before i bought this camera like i normally do on big purchases. Well after i bought it fell in love with it. It's the best camera i have ever owned!!! I recommend this camera for everyone!!!
7 New owner of s5100
Thanks MetroPlex for your review - the ISO setting at 64 makes for much better pictures, why don't they tell you that in the manual???
I have had my camera for less than 1 week. I am taking such awesome pictures, I can hardly believe they are mine. After playing with the settings, I'm now getting much better photos.
As far as I'm concerned, my camera just paid for itself yesterday when I saw a Great Horned Owl sitting about 30 feet up in a pine tree and I took a bunch of pictures of him. I couldn't see it with my own eyes, but when I downloaded the pictures, you can even see his yellow eyes! AWESOME! The macro setting is as amazing, taking a photo of a partridge pea plant, you can see the fine hairs on the pea pod.
2 questions:
1. When the lens is extended, does it wiggle a little? I'm wondering if this is normal, if not, then I want to take it back.
I'm still playing with the camera and appreciate all of your comments. Thanks!
8 Outstanding Digital Camera
I've read many reviews of the S5100 and have found that many of the pros have addressed the pros/cons of this camera ad nauseam. So I will simply add info that you won't find in most websites:
* Use a low ISO setting for reduced noise in the picture. I found the lowest setting, 64 ISO, gives me the least noise in my photos (indoors and outdoors).
* You don't need a 256MB or 512MB xD card unless you're going to be outside away from a PC for extended durations. I bought a 128MB card becauase it was inexpensive and holds 66 high quality pics (4MP in FINE mode, 6:1 compression) which is about 3 rolls of film. If I was going to take lots of photos for a week out in some excursion, I'd probably buy a few of the 512MB cards. If you want to just mess around and take snaps for your blog, website, or a school newspaper or project, the 128MB comes at a great price and offers decent storage size.
* Definitely get NiMH rechargeable batteries with the highest capacity. For a recharger, I recommend the Maha Powerex. I'm using Energizer AA 2.5 AH NiMH batteries and they've lasted at least a week.
* Remember to use the MACRO (Flower) feature for taking very close pics. If I can get the detail off of the center electrode from a Motorcraft spark plug, so can you.
* Definitely get a filter!!
The lens adapter that comes with the S5100 takes a standard 55mm filter. I recommend Hoya Multi-Coated filters as they appear almost invisible to the naked eye. I thought the store sold me a metal ring until I saw a reflection of the glass. Remember those Lenscrafters Invisibles commercials? The coatings on each side of the glass allows for 97%-99% light transmission with minimal reflectivity. That is why they appear almost invisible!
The Fuji lens cap will NOT work with a 55mm filter, so you will need a 55mm snap-in lens cap along with a Sima Cap Keeper II.
The filter protects your camera lens from damage. If you crack the filter it is only a few bux to replace compared to a new camera lens.
* Get a camera bag. The Fuji holster is a piece of garbage worth only about 1/4 the asking price. Get a decent mini zoom SLR camera bag.
Overall, the S5100 is NOT a Canon Rebel Digital SLR, but it worked just like my Minolta 35mm film SLR.
You get 10x optical zoom, and up to 36x digital+optical zoom in the 0.03MP mode. At 36x you can actually pick out the details from your subject.
The 640x480 VGA video looks spectacular. VGA mode is about 80MB/min while the 320x240 mode is 40MB/min.
What remains to be the seen is the durability of the S5100 in a mid to long term fielding.
9 Paydirt.Fuji hit paydirt with this one!
This camera is nothing short of a mini marvel.Evidentually Fuji did some homework as the 3100 and 5100 take excellent pictures.The difference between the two lies in (you guessed it!) the features.The S3100 is a auto focus (point and shoot camera) while the S5100 is a auto focus (point and shoot)/manual camera.The s7000 has even MORE features than the S5100.The reason I spent the extra dollars and got the 5100 instead of the 3100 is simple.I like having the choice of switching auto everything off at times.Yeah I know there are Olympus digital cameras,Pentaxes,Kodaks,Sonys,Canons,JVCs and a bunch more but this camera has been good to me.
P.S. Although they give you a complimentary 16MB XD card,I'd invest in at least a 256MB XD card and some rechargable batteries...but you knew that didn't you?
10 Bad indoors and action
First, I am an amateur photographer. I just wanted something to take pictures at my son's basketball game. Pretty simple task.
I love the look and feel of this camera. It looks great, fits well in you hand, controls are easy to figure out, and I really like the protective hood. It starts up fast and is very quick from picture to picture.
I really wanted to love this camera but I could not take a decent picture. If your subject is within flash range, you're fine. If you are in a well lit area (like a basketball gym or at the camera store)and you don't use the flash, the shutter speed is set extremely slow and you cannot have any movement whatsoever. This is of course on the full auto mode and I'm sure if you know what you are doing you can take fine pictures in manual but for the point and shoot set, this doesn't work well. I am comparing this to my Minolta S414 that takes the same paicture just fine in auto with no flash. I had the clerk in the store try to take a picture with the same results.
Maybe I am askign too much but my other camera does just fine in the same situation. Of the 200 or so pictures I took, I got about 5 that are keepers and none with any movement.
11 Great Value
I bought this camera to replace a Fuji that I received with my Dell laptop about a year ago. I had abused it horribly taking it all sorts of places and it was starting to die.
I received this camera the day before we went on vacation in Florida. I took a whole bunch of pictures of birds (my passion) and my family and was VERY impressed by the picture quality.
Battery life seems quite good, I would say based on my impression, the best of the 3 digital cameras I've owned. (Note that I don't use flash a whole lot.)
It is easy to pull out of the box and start shooting and get good results, but there is enough "under the hood" to make me look forward to really getting to know this camera.
The 10x optical zoom is great for nature photography. I just had some prints made of some of my photos--the first digital photos I've liked enough to do so with.
From the cameras I looked at, this one is in a class by itself for it's price range. I was looking at $100 more in any other brand to get comprable features.
12 Great Value!! Awesome camera
I read the reviews and couldnt agree more. This is a great little unit. It does everything the high end cameras do without the price tag. The only thing I would change is an optical view finder.
You'll want to invest in bigger memory cards and some recharchable batteries.
This unit is very easy to use and takes very high quality shots.
Lastly, I dont usually go in for the extended service plans but for a purchase like this I thought it was a god idea. You make the call.
13 An Excellent Beginner To Advanced Camera
I just got the S5100 for christmas. I work as a sports reporter and had been using an olympus stylus 3.2 megapixel camera to take photos to accompany my articles. The stylus, while an excellent point and shoot camera for vacations and snapshots, just wasnt cutting it for professional looking pics. The S5100 on the other hand, has been everything I was looking for in a surprisingly affordable price.
The controls are fairly intuitive, I'm the kind of person who jumps right in with a gadget instead of pouring over the instruction manual first, and there were very few things that I couldn't figure out how to do just by working with the camera itself.
The video and sound quality is absolutely amazing. If you get a 512mb xd card, you can record movies with sound well over seven minutes long at a 640x480 display, and much longer if you cut the display size.
What I really love about this product is the ability to continuously shoot. Basically, you set the camera to continuous shoot and press the button, the camera will keep taking shots (just under 2 per second) for up to 40 exposures, perfect for my line of work.
Also, it's extremely lightweight. At just under 12 oz, the batteries are the heaviest part of the camera (4 AA).
The flash works perfectly, providing ample illumination even at full 10x zoom.
You can take video while zoomed in, something else my stylus cant do. I love being able to zoom in on something far away (again, sporting events) and capture the movement. My old camera would only record videos with the zoom pulled all the way back.
Now for the Cons:
-It's a hog for memory on your computer. A full length video of over 7 minutes comes near half a gig of memory on my laptop (i know, obvious, a 512 mb card = half a gig no matter what media you put on it, so this is something every camera will do). Just making sure that people are aware that if they're planning on making a series of longer movies or taking a giant amount of pictures, as with any camera, it would be a good idea to invest in a burner.
-You're going to need add ons. The price of this camera alone is amazingly fair for what it can do. I would highly recommend buying a larger xd memory card to accompany it though. Depending on your needs, anywhere between 128 and 512 megs should be fine. You just cant utilize everything this camera is capable of doing with only 16 megs of space. Also, I'd consider picking up the case and possibly a battery recharger so you don't end up spending a chunk of money every so often on one time use batteries, but that's up to you.
In Conclusion:
I would highly recommend one of the finepix cameras, and though I didn't pick it out as it was a gift, and I had no previous loyalty to fuji, I'm a believer now. The s5100 appears to be middle of the road for their non pro series of finepix, you can go higher or lower based on your needs, but this camera really can do it all.
It's excellent for a wide field of consumers. Those who are brand new to digital photography will find it easy to learn, the centering and automatic tools will make taking snapshots a breeze. The more experienced users will enjoy the bevy of advanced features it offers. The video makers will enjoy the quality of the images they record.
Great camera, moreso when compared with others in its price range. A wonderful gift.
14 great to hold but has major faults
This is my 3rd digital camera, previous 2 were Canon's.
After 2 days of ownership here is my observations of the Fuji S5100;
Plus's; great finish and shape, easy to hold, feels great in your hands, secure and solid, 10x zoom is great, aux. filter holder is a nice touch and should be kept on with a skylight filter to keep out dust (except when using flash in macro mode, it causes shadows.) Layout is ok, but could have been even better, I think zoom control would have better placed around shutter as a rocker switch, and the on/off switch placed on back. its a bit more difficult to fumble for W & T switch on back of camera, during use.
Minus's; (and they are very disappointing;) In dim light view finder and LCD panel are incredibly dim almost useless (even with the light switch and finder brightness adjustment set at max in the settings menu), unless you shoot in daylight only you will not enjoy this camera. AA alkaline battery life is extremely short, in 2 days 3 sets. Software included is minimal at best, almost useless, I still haven't found and easy way to download pic's from card in camera to PC, I finally gave up and bought a xD card to USB adapter (about $24), which I recommend getting (it is easy this way). Instruction book is poorly written, jumping all over the place, it reminds me of the National Electrical Code, it will take a bit of time to get familar with the functions and you'll probably need to keep the book handy for reference.
And one more disappointment when trying to register this product online the Fuji web sight kept telling me my phone number was invalid, after trying it ten times or more in several formats I gave up. I think I know my own phone number Fuji.
(does anyone actually try this stuff before they turn it loose on customers?)
15 Great camera for the price!
After doing a bit of research, looking for a sub-$500 camera that would perform most of what I could do with my extensive 35mm SLR outfit, I decided on the S5100 & I'm happy with my purchase. It's much easier to take along than a larger camera, so you're more liable to have it when you come across those unexpected shots.
Battery life is fine, and the fact that it takes standard AA size batteries vs a specialized lithium or rechargable battery pack was another factor in my choice of this camera. Although the standard alkalines included w/ the camera were sucked dry the first day I had it, I picked up 2 sets of 2500mAh NiMH rechargables & they perform great.
I printed my first 8x10 the other day & it turned out great - ended up framing it & hanging it in our guest room. At 4mp Normal Mode, the detail is incredible. I highly recommend getting a large capacity xD card, though (at least 128mb.) The 16mb card included with the camera is a joke, holding only 8 pictures at maximum resolution (4mp Fine Mode.)
I know there's better cameras out there (I still drool over the $1000 & up digital SLRs), but for the price, this camera will keep you busy & happy for quite a while.
16 Very nice camera.
I bought this camera a few weeks ago and am very pleased with it. When I was looking at digital cameras I wanted a nice optical zoom and wanted something a little bigger than all the tiny ones that are out. It is shaped nicely and fits well in my hand.
I haven't got a chance to play with all the different settings but the basics work very well. The battery life seems decent to me, but I would reccomend recharables to save money in the long run.
I have two 128 MB memory cards which hold about 130 pictures each at its highest resolution, which is enough for me. It comes with a 16 MB one, but I haven't touched it.
I do wish it had an optical view finder instead of a digital one.. it can be hard to see in a bright area, but it isn't impossible to use. Also, some kind of image stabilizer would have been a nice add on but it isn't too hard to get a clear shot while zoomed in all the way.
Overall, it is a very nice camera and I would recommend it.
17 Great features and price
This is my 2nd digital camera, and it replaced my Olympus 4000, which was excellent, but I wanted more zoom, an electronic viewfinder, and longer shutter times. The 5100 has certainly delivered, with a couply of relatively small compromises. The Olympus 4000 menus and controls are a tough act to follow. However, it seems that Olympus and Fuji share some technology, icons, and ideas.
The physical handling of the 5100 is excellent, with a very secure-feeling, molded grip for your right hand. I found all the control buttons well-placed and easy to manipulate.
When you sort through all the cameras out there, looking for 10x optical zoom, extended grip, and the ability to use AA batteries, the list quickly narrows! I use sets of 2500 mAh nickel-metal AA batteries, and an inexpensive charger.
Another great feature is the included lens tube adapter, lens cap, and cap-keeper. Just screw on a 55mm UV or skylight filter, and you can completely enclose and protect the lens assembly. At the fully wide position, you will see a small amount of vignetting (shadowing) at the corners if you have more than one filter screwed on.
I found the electronic viewfinder to be more helpful than an optical viewfinder, and still visible outdoors in sunlight. You can also read and manipulate the settings without taking your eye from the viewfinder.
I purchased a couple of 512 MB XD cards with the camera. You will really need the extra memory when you take movies. Movie mode, at a full 30 frames/sec, was surprisingly good, even if you can't change the zoom or focus once you start a movie. Startup, and writing pics and movies to the XD card is nice and fast.
The self-timer includes an extra 2-second setting, which is useful for activating the shutter without shaking the camera, such as for long exposures or telephoto shots on a tripod.
The adjustable white balance works quite well. The slickest way to make the most of this feature and to set exposures in manual, is to use a photographic gray card. The one I bought was 8x10 inches. I cut out a smaller rectangle, about 4x6 inches, that fits in my photo bag. One side is pure white, and the other is a special shade of gray. To set the white balance, place the card with the white side toward you, in the same light as the subject, zoom in on it, and activate the manual white balance function in the menu. This assures you of near perfect color no matter what the lighting is.
The manual exposure mode of the camera allows you to set the shutter and aperture quickly, and there is an exposure meter in the display that shows you how your settings compare with the automatic metering. The slick way to set exposure is to use the gray side of the gray card, place it in the same light as the subject, zoom in on it, and set your shutter and aperture until the exposure meter is centered. Once, done, you can just concentrate on zooming and framing to compose your shots, as long as the lighting is the same.
I tested the S5100 with a remote flash unit and a slave trigger adapter, which allow you to create professional, portrait-type lighting quite easily. Unlike my previous digital, the S5100's flash synch and metering seems to be compatible with this technique. You set your external flash to automatic, which is calibrated for a specific ISO film speed and aperture. It's easy to use the aperture priority mode in the S5100 to match these settings. Then using an inexpensive slave trigger device that clips onto the hot shoe of the external flash unit, you can place the external flash/trigger assembly on a mini tripod off to the side and up high, perhaps on a bookshelf, aimed at your subject. The S5100's pop-up flash illuminates the subject from the front, and the slave trigger fires the external flash at the same time, providing the main light from above and to the side.
The power saving function of the S5100 worked just fine as set from the factory. It blanks the LCD/viewfinder after 2 minutes, to save power, and will shut the camera off if you don't press any buttons after that.
A neat feature that is not apparent in the specifications is the ability to record a 30 second (or less) voice memo with each picture. You can record these any time after the pic is taken and stored on the card. When you play back a pic, you can hit a button to play back the corresponding voice memo, which is stored as a separate audio file. You can also hit another button to display all the technical exposure information for each pic, which is automatically stored in each pic file.
So far, I have just a couple of complaints. When playing back pics or movies to a TV using the included video cable, I have yet to find a way to rotate images taken in portrait orientation. Turning your head sideways to watch is not very comfortable! If you know a way to do this, please post it here! As mentioned in other reviews, the manual focus mode doesn't have a distance meter to help you: you have to carefully study the display while adjusting to judge the best focus. This is particularly hard to do in low light.
18 Great Camera, Great Price!
I have had this camera for a couple of months now and overall am very pleased with it. It is easy to use and a pleasure to use. It has excellent battery life when used with good NiCad's AA rechargeable batteries (no proprietary battery). It is not a full sized SLR though it looks like one and it is not a pocket sized digital camera but the size fits nicely in between the two. It has a good grip and feel to it.
Pluses include: Fairly compact. 10X Zoom is great and moves fast. Good range flash. Auto focus works well except when in macro mode. Outside images look very good most of the time. Low light shooting is excellent as is the red eye reduction. Movie mode is also excellent 30fps 640 X 480and works well in low light. --though you cannot move zoom. Microphone pics up audio well. Movie mode rivals that of standard DV movie camcorder though you need large memory card of at least 256mb. Menu system is also excellent and easy to navigate. Sharp but small 1.5 inch LCD screen.
Minuses include: Macro mode does not work well no matter what the setting, cannot use zoom during movie mode, comes with only 16mb XD memory card, software not great but if you have imaging software on your computer and Windows XP you do not need to install the Fuji software. There is no manual focus ring control you have to use buttons on back of camera. You can an only select between 1, 2 or 4 megapixels modes but can switch between them easily. Small but sharp and clear 1.5 inch LCD screen.
Overall I would recommend the Fuji s5100 for beginners to intermediate photographers. It has good auto (no need to touch) mode and good manual controls for intermediate and advanced users. It is not too big nor too small and fits in the hand nicely. The Fuji s5100 is easy to use, takes good pictures and movies and has a great and easy to use menu system. No proprietary battery system just plain old AA's. If you use rechargeables they last a long time.
19 Love this camera!
I'm an avid SLR fan and this is my first digital camera. I love it's SLR like shape without being all that big. I've been playing with the camera taking video, black and white pix and of course lots of color shots. My daughter plays soccer so I've been taking action shots and they come out great. The video is crisp and clear. I love that I can play the video and pics through my VCR to my TV and also play with them on my computer.
The only negative is that the flash doesn't automatically pop-up when it's needed, you get an icon displayed on the LCD or optical viewer telling you the light is too low. I love the optical viewer's adjustments so I can see without my glasses. The LCD is small but good enough to give you a rough idea of how the pictures turned out. Viewing them on a computer or TV is the best way to see the true picture quality. The software that comes with the camera is marginal, I have other photo software that works better in editing and viewing the pictures. Also, since this camera uses AA batteries you will never be stuck with a dead battery and no way to recharge it. I did purchace the 256mb XD card and rechargeable batteries for this camera, shop around, prices really vary!!
20 Great Mid-Sized Digital Camera
After suffering with a pocket-sized digital camera that took great pictures at the cost of very short battery life, I bit the bullet and started shopping for a new model. I had already decided it had to use rechargeable AA batteries and it had to have an optical zoom of 8x or better.
In looking at the various models that met the criteria, most were in the $600+ range and quite bulky. The Fuji S5100 looked to be a bit smaller, and the price looked almost too good to be true. When I finally got to see one in person, I was very impressed. So much so, I bought it on the spot.
I spent an entire Saturday playing with all the features and shooting pictures at the dog park. I never used up the first set of AA NiMH batteries, even after reviewing and later downloading over 100 photos. I'm still working on the same batteries days later.
I really have only two minor issues with this model. Unlike my old pocket camera, it lacks an optical viewfinder, which allows you to turn off the LCD for longer battery life, as well as track moving subjects accurately. More annoying is that some of the features require two fingers or two hands to activate.
Get at least a 256 Mb xD card, get a 4 AA charger that will work in the car or house, two sets of AA NiMH batteries and a LowePro small SLR case and you are good to go.
