This year, when my folks asked what I wanted for my "big ticket item" I told them a new camera, the FujiFilm FinePix S5200. (Well, that and a 1 GB memory card to go with it).
There are several reasons that led me to choosing this camera over the dozens I looked at. Looked at doesn't really described what I did; it's more like the dozens of cameras I read every review and spec I could get my hands on over the course of a month. Before reading reviews however, I first decided what I needed out of a camera. I ended up with the following:
I need a fast camera - or more precisely I needed a camera that didn't have a long delay form the time I clicked the shutter button. Having experience with several low end digital cameras I noticed they all seem to take a moment to "think" after you click, causing you to miss a fast moving subject. Considering I have two daughters, ages 5 and 2, I am never without fast moving subjects. - I need a camera with full manual controls, but also able to act as a point and shoot when needed. The reason here is I want to learn more about photography and things like "manual aperture setting" mean something to real photographers. On the flip side, I'm not yet a real photographer, but I still want to take decent photos while I learn.
- I need a camera that can shoot in RAW mode. RAW mode is when a camera doesn't convert the photo to a JPEG and instead records a file of the exact data the CCD (the camera's "eye") captured. In the film world, this would be like a negative. This RAW file gives you a high quality, no loss (JPEG files loose some of the original data in order to compress) image to edit in your favorite image editor. My reason for this was I want to eventually get into Surreal Photography, and RAW will be very important then.
- It would be nice to have, but not needed, a 8X or better optical zoom (don't be fooled by digital zoom, it's crap zoom).
Now that I had my list, I narrowed down the field. Low end cameras, $200 or less, didn't have full manual controls and also many lacked a RAW mode. SLR level cameras, $800 or more, had everything I wanted, but some lacked point and shoot features and all contained features I had no need at all. SLR means "I'm a real photographer and know what the hell I'm doing," so that helped ruling them out. That left the mid-range "prosumer" level, $300-$700.
So why the S5200? Well, on the first need it is a fast camera. It has been tested to show 1/10 of a second delay from click to photo taken, and has a burst mode that will take 3 photos in one second. On the second need, it can be set to full manual control and yet has several point and shoot modes for the learning photographer: you can select one setting, say shutter speed, and set it manually while the camera controls the rest. On the last two points, it supports RAW (though not in burst mode) and has a 10X optical zoom.
There were some nice features this camera had that placed it above the others. First was price, about $400 with a 1GB memory card - even though I wasn't paying for it I didn't want Mom and Dad to take out a small loan for my new toy. The SLR-style body had two advantages, one: the camera doesn't need to extend the lens when turned on so there is almost no wait when turning on the camera until ready to take a photo, and two: it provides much better holding support to allow for a steady shot. Okay, there is a third reason for the body type: it makes me look like the real photographer. Keep that between me and you.
The S5200 has a history, it's the third in it's line and therefore the kinks of design are worked out. It has a continuous focus mode for times when you want auto focus on a fast moving subject (bring extra batteries when you do this). It has a natural light shooting mode, which is a point and shoot mode designed to not use the flash and adjust the white balance based on the room lighting. Last, it has a video mode, for short video shooting, and can play back videos and photos to a TV though a standard RCA connection.
So if you are looking for a camera that's a bit more than your standard digital camera, take a look at the S5200.
Posted By Mike On Sunday, January 01, 2006
Filed under review camera photos |
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