"Picky Details" for the Fujifilm FinePix S5100 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

Timing

When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Fujifilm FinePix S5100:

Power

The Fujifilm FinePix S5100 uses four AA batteries for power.

Really excellent battery life! With a worst-case run time of just under four hours with a "standard" set of 1600 mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries (and proportionately longer with modern, high-capacity cells), the Fuji S5100 has some of the best battery-life numbers of any camera currently on the market. (Run time in playback mode is an astonishing 7.45 hours.) You'll still want a couple of sets of good-quality NiMH batteries and a good battery charger, but the S5100 will run a long time on a single charge.

Storage Capacity

The Fujifilm FinePix stores its photos on xD memory cards, and a 16 MB card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 64 MB card, preferably a 128 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored on the included 16 MB card at each size/quality setting.