cmm said:
Yekcim, what do you think are the shortcomings? I am by no means a great photographer, but my photos are not too bad either. I want something lightweight, with a short response time from the time I hit the shutter til it takes a photo, and something good in low light situations. Seems like the Fuji does not blur - i.e. pretty good stop action? I think I am going to the photo store near my home in a night or two to check them out, but will probably buy online - looks a whole lot cheaper that way.
Based on your needs, I think the S5200 might be a very good fit for you. The camera has very little shutter lag, which is a pretty good feature for what is basically a P&S "bridge" camera. The low light capabilities are good, again for a P&S. ISO goes up to 1600, although 1600 is pretty noisy. 800 is usable, IMO:
It is lightweight, uses AA batteries, and battery life is excellent...I shot all day on a fully charged set of batts, and never had a low batt warning. Macro capability is cumbersome, but gives good results:
The S5200 *will* shoot RAW, although I have not used that feature, and have no plans to. One feature I do like a lot is the "chrome" mode which gives more snappy, saturated colors than "standard". All of my WDW pix were shot in Chrome mode; in fact, I don't shoot "standard" anymore, at all.
Dislikes (not in any particular order): xD memory is a bit more expensive than SD; 38-380 equivalent zoom range does not afford a real wide angle option, although the 380mm equivalent tele is very useful; zoom is via W/T toggle switch on the back of the camera, which is (to me) a very inconvenient spot...I would much prefer a manual zoom ring on the lens; flash is not very powerful, and in my experience, is sometimes inconsistent; no hot shoe for accessory flash; images are not as sharp out-of-camera as I would like, and most require some sharpening in PP; learning curve seems a bit steep, to learn how best to use the features of the cam...however, this is my first digicam, so my experience may be typical for new digital cam users.
For a detailed review of the camera, see this:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/fuji_s5200.html
It was this review, more than anything else, that influenced my decision to buy the Fuji.
A couple final notes:
1. Halfway thru our week at WDW, the power switch, which is a rotating collar around the shutter button, became very balky and hard to turn. Did not affect camera operation, but it became so stiff that I was concerned that I would actually break it, trying to turn the cam on/off. On return, I sent it to the nearest Fuji service center (Atlanta) and just got it back this week, fully repaired, at no charge, under the warranty.
2. IMO, if you are going to go to a b&m store, using their dislplay model and salespeople's expertise to help you evaluate the camera, you should buy the camera from them, not online.
Hope this is helpful; let me know if any more questions.
~YEKCIM
