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Fuji FinePix S5000 Fuji's latest electronic SLR offers a full 10x optical zoom lens. Select a topic Reference: Datasheet S5000 Photo Gallery! S5000 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on S5000 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Camera Modes & Menus :(Previous) | (Next): Video, Power, Software>> Page 10:Image Storage & Interface Review First Posted: 10/01/2003

Image Storage and Interface

The FinePix S5000 stores images on xD-Picture cards, and comes with a 16MB card. Since this won't hold very many high resolution images, I highly recommend buying a larger capacity card right away, given the camera's high maximum resolution setting and optional RAW recording mode. (A 64 MB card should probably be considered a minimum for this camera.)

The LCD display reports the number of available images at the current resolution setting, so you always have an idea of the remaining image capacity. The table below shows the number of images of each size that can be stored on an average 64 MB memory card, and the approximate level of JPEG compression used for each. (Note that this is NOT the size card shipped with the unit, but rather a typical and fairly useful size many owners may end up using. Divide the image capacities shown by four, and you'll see why I say you really have to plan on buying an extra card or cards with the camera: The included 16MB card really isn't very useful with files this large.)

Image Capacity vs Resolution/Quality 64MB Memory Card		RAW	Fine
Full Resolution 2,816 x 2,120	Images (Avg size)	-	43 1.5 MB
	Approx. Compression	-	12:1
High Resolution 2,048 x 1,536	Images (Avg size)	9 6.5 MB	81 790 KB
	Approx. Compression	1.5:1	12:1
Standard Resolution 1,600 x 1,200	Images (Avg size)	-	101 634 KB
	Approx. Compression	-	9:1
Low Resolution 1,280 x 960	Images (Avg size)	-	137 467 KB
	Approx. Compression	-	8:1

As you would expect, the memory card should never be removed while the camera is in operation to avoid damaging the media. A flashing orange and green LED lamp above the LCD monitor lights when the camera is accessing the card. Through the Playback menu, you can write-protect individual frames or all frames on the memory card. Write-protection prevents accidental erasure, except through card formatting.

A USB cable and software CD accompany the camera, for connection to a computer. Like many USB-equipped cameras these days, the S5000 is a "storage class" USB device, meaning that it will show up on the desktop of Mac OS 8.6 and higher machines, as well as those of Windows Me, XP, and 2000 computers, without having to load driver software. This is a handy and increasingly common feature on digicams, since it makes it a lot easier to connect the camera to computers other than your own, without having to worry about special driver software, etc.

The S5000 is pretty speedy when downloading images to a host computer, as I clocked it at 673 KB/second on my Windows XP machine. (Sony VAIO desktop, 2.4 GHz PIV, 512 MB RAM) This is faster than most cameras with a USB v1.1 interface, but slower than some that have USB v2.0 connections.)

Thanks to its SuperCCD technology, the S5000 can also function as a "webcam," streaming video imagery over the USB connection to a host running the appropriate software. Fuji includes the Windows-only package PictureHello in the box with the S5000.