Fuji Finepix S5800

Well, I’ve had my ‘new’ Fuji Finepix S5800 camera for a little while now and played with it a bit. I’ve come to the conclusion that it serves a completely different purpose to my trusty little Finepix F700. I’m also very glad that I didn’t put the F700 on Ebay and sell it because I’m still carrying it in my handbag … something that I definitely can’t do with the S5800!

On the other hand, the S5800 has the 10x optical zoom and the macro/super macro features that I particularly wanted. I take quite a lot of close-up photos of my plants and this is where the bigger camera really comes into its own. The wider range of pre-sets for things like landscape, fireworks, snow etc are pretty useful too but I really need to explore the manual settings on the camera. For some reason, it seems to struggle with high contrast – a bright background and a darker subject. Things end up looking washed out or poorly contrasted. This is something I need to work on.

I’m also having real difficulty adjusting to the size and bulk of the S5800 over the slim oblong shape of the F700. While it does feel solid and comfortable in my small hands (I was very wary of large cameras for that reason), I’m always having to be extra careful in case I drop it. It’s not as easy to grab in a hurry if there’s a good shot. It’s much better when there’s time to compose and set up the shot properly.

I got a proper bag for it but the camera, spare batteries, battery charger, cables and manual makes it rather a bulky and heavy addition to carry around if you’ve already got a handbag in tow.

I need to spend more time with this camera and learn how to use it properly.