Camera Pros, I need your help

[firecrested]

I just ordered a Fuji FinePIx S5100 for Christmas and was wondering how good it is.  The pictures and reviews sounded really good, that's why i bought it.

Here's all the details about it but it makes no sense to me

Key Features:

4.0-megapixel Fourth Generation Super CCD HR sensor with 4.0 million effective pixels, delivering 6 million recorded pixels

Fujinon 10x optical zoom lens equivalent to 37-370mm on a 35mm camera

Compact, SLR-style body shape to give you features and performance without the bulk

10x optical plus 3.6x digital zoom (36x total)

1.5-inch LCD, electronic viewfinder, 5-frame burst mode, video at 320 x 240 and 30 fps

Includes 16 MB XD Picture Card

QVGA movie capture at 30 frames per second (fps) with sound

30 seconds of Voice memo per photo

High sensitivity settings (up to ISO 400) to allow photography in a wide range of situations, including low light without flash

Improved autofocus for faster shooting response including 7 focus modes

Automatic, Manual (Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light)

Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro, Red-eye Reduction + Slow Synchro

xD-Picture Card? providing large storage capacity, low power consumption and fast write speed (512MB card now available)

Powered by 4 AA batteries (Rechargeables recommended); connects to PCs and Macs via USB 1.1

The included CD-ROM features FinePix View 4 imaging software, Image Mixer VCD for FinePix, QuickTime 5, and USB drivers for Windows and Mac.

NTSC and PAL switchable

Fuji 90 days Warranty


 

　

Specifications:

Number of Effective Pixels 4.0 million pixels
CCD Sensor 1/2.7" Conventional CCD System (Number of Total Pixels: 4.23 million pixels) RGB Filters
Number of Recorded Pixels 2,272 x 1,704 pixels (3.87 Million)
1,600 x 1,200
1,280 x 960
640 x 480 pixels
File formats Still image: CCD-RAW, JPEG (Exif Ver 2.2), Movie: AVI (Motion JPEG)
*Design rule for Camera File system compliant / DPOF-compatible 
Storage media xD-Picture Card (16MB to 512MB)
Recording capacity with one 16MB xD-Picture Card (included) Still images Movie
4MP(F)  4MP(N) 
2MP  1MP  0.3MP 640x480 320x240
8        16   
25    33    122 Approx. 13 Sec.
Approx. 26 Sec.
Lens focal Length Equivalent to 37-370mm on a 35mm camera
Optical zoom 10x
Digital zoom 3.6x (at 640 x 480 pixel mode), 1.8x (at 1280x960 pixels), 1.4x (at 1600x1200 pixels)
Focus Auto focus /AF area focus/AF center focus/ Manual focus
Focus Range Normal: 3.0ft to infinity (W), 6.6ft to infinity (T), Macro: 0.3-6.6ft (W), 3.0-6.6ft (T)
Aperture F 2.8-F8 (W), F3.1-F9 (T) (10 steps in 1/3 EV increments)
Viewfinder 0.33-inch 115,000 pixels electronic viewfinder (approx. 100% coverage)
Exposure control Programmed AE, aperture priority AE, shutter priority AE, manual
Exposure compensation -2 EV to +2 EV (13 Steps in 1/3 EV increments at P/S/AM)
Color modes Standard, Chrome, Black & White
Sensitivity Auto (equivalent to 64-320 depending on conditions)/64/100/200/400
P/S/A/M (equivalent to ISO 64/100/200/400) 
Shutter speed Auto/SP: ? sec. to 1/2000 sec.
SP (night scene mode only): 3 sec. ? 1/1000 sec.
Manual: 15 sec. ? 1/2000 sec. 
White balance Automatic, Manual (Custom, Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light, custom)
Flash Auto flash
Effective range: 1.0ft ? 14.8ft (W)/2.0ft. ? 13.1ft (T)
Flash mode: Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro, Red-eye Reduction + Slow Synchro 
LCD monitor 1.5-inch 115,000 pixels low-temperature polysilicon TFT (Approx. 100% coverage)
Digital Interface USB interface, power-input socket 
Dimensions 4.4(W) x 3.2(H) x 3.1(D) inch
Weight 11.9 oz. (excluding batteries and media)
Shooting modes Normal: auto, scene position (portrait, landscape, sports, night scene), P/S/A/M
Continuous: top 3 (3 frames/sec., up to 3 frames), final 3 (3 frames/sec., up to 3 frames), long-period (max. 1.6 frames/sec., up to 40 frames) 
Movie recording 640 x 480 pixels/320 x 240 pixels(Up to media capacity, direct recording to the media).
30 fps, AVI (Motion JPEG) with sound 
Video out NTSC and PAL switchable
Playback Single frame (with 14x playback zoom), 9 multi-frame, exposure information with histogram, navigation screen on playback zoom
Others Low-light viewfinder function, scene modes, continuous auto-focusing, auto bracketing, photo mode control ? ISO/resolution/color, continuous top 3 and final 3 frame 4MP shooting (3 frames/second), 40 frame continuous shooting (1.6 frames/second), self-timer: approximately 2/10 sec., world time, 7 language menu interface, tripod socket, lens cap, adapter ring(not included), PictBridge compatible 
Optional accessories
(not included in this package)
 xD-Picture card (16MB-512MB)
PCMCIA PC Card Adapter DPC-AD
Compact Flash? Card Adapter DPC-CF
Image memory card reader DPC-R1
AC power adapter AC-5VH/AC-5VHS
Battery charger with battery BK-NH/BK-NH2
Wide-angle conversion lens WL-FX9/F9B
Telephoto conversion lens TL-FX9/FX9B
Soft case SC-FX S5
Travel kit (A3): large case, AA NiMH travel charger with auto adapter 

[NYCrestie]

good luck getting someone to tell you what everything means


i was tossed between the that fuji and the canon s3is but decided to go with the canon for a few reasons, the one main point being the image stabilization offered by the canon.
i dont think id be dissapointed no matter which way i went
and coming from the camera you have now, it will be a big improvement, lol

good luck with it
also if you go to some photo sights, they can explain alot of the specifics.  i know dpreview has a section that explains alot of terms and there will probably be some explanation in the review of the camera itself

[Liz]

i dont liek the digiatal zoom ob ny camera.. doesnt make the pictures come out good in my opioni. and the main reason we went with the camera we did is because of the 1 rechargable battery it came with. the camera i had before  this one took 2 AA battery's and it ate them up liek crazy even the rechargables.

[NYCrestie]

well that fuji has a 10x optical zoom, so there will be less times that he needs to use the digital zoom

[firecrested]

So with the 10x zoom, can it take the pics up close?  Like when people post close up shots of the geckos eyes?

My first choice was the canon s3 is but it cost a little more than this one and there was only one on ebay

[NYCrestie]

macro modes is what youll most likely be using to take those super close ups, like of the eyes and stuff

[firecrested]

I'll have a lot of reading to do when it gets here.  I dont have any idea what macros are or how to use it. 

[NYCrestie]

oh yeah, i know exactly what you mean. i know a little bit but its all stuff ive read. i cant wait to get my new camera and get some hands on experiencei got a 1gb memory card too because i plan n blowing through pix like mad

[firecrested]

All I know is to hit the button when you're ready to take a picture   I have a 35mm Canon Rebel G but it's much different than the digital cameras.  There was one on ebay that came with a free memory card, tripod and a few other free things with the camera. i went to buy it now this morning and it was already sold  so i had to get the one with just the camera and batteries.

[monster]

there should be a little booklet that comes along, explaining what all those little features mean. just take a saturday and play with your new camera. i defiantly recommend a gig memory card if you can afford it. i fill that sucker up so fast some days.

your camera will come with many settings (i.e normal, nighttime, macro, movie...etc etc)
macro just means it's able to focus in REALLY close.
optical zoom is good.

i just bought my latest camera in August and i was torn between a cannon, nikon or fuji. i went with the nikon because it had the best macro in my price range.

i think that looks like a fine camera, but i don't know exactly what you have/had in mind for it. if you want to learn more, i bet your community collage will offer a class about general photography pretty cheap.

[garweft]

Ok, so I know pretty much what all that means, but that would be a lot of typing and explaining. The good news is most of that you probably will not even notice or need to know what it means. But if you have any specific questions about any of that feel free to ask them. Maybe one or two at a time.

For starters though:

4 megapixels will be enough for anything you will probably want to do, unless you want some poster sized prints.

Stay away from the digital zoom, all it really does is crop your photo and make camera shake more visible. Stick with the optical zoom and crop with a program if needed.

Burst mode just takes multiple photos in sequence. It's nice for action shots if you have bad timing, or just want a sequence of photos of some sort of action too fast to capture in regular modes.

A 16 meg picture card is ok, but I would invest in a larger one. It sucks to run out of save room when your out and about, or just having a very nice photo session with a gecko that usually won't sit still.

You may want to play with the different modes ( ie. Auto, manual, fluorescent) different types of light show different hues when you take a photo. Regular lightbulbs show a yellow/orange, fluorescents show a green. You can use the modes to adjust for this and get pictures with a true color in artifical light.

I would change the sensitivity/film speed setting too high. It is better to add more light and stay away from the noise/poor photo quality that the higher sensitivity can cause.

The file format RAW is a non-compressed format. It produces better quality photos, but takes up more space. JPEG format is a common compressed format that is used to save space but still produce a quality image for online viewing or prints up to about 4x6. I like uncompressed images, but you might not like the amount of room they take up.

Ok, I'm tired of typing but if you have any specific questions please do ask. Maybe I'll type more another day.

[monster]

I would change the sensitivity/film speed setting too high. It is better to add more light and stay away from the noise/poor photo quality that the higher sensitivity can cause.

did you mean "I wouldn't.. ..."?