Fuji S5100 Opinion and repair experience

[joe_zammarelli]

I like almost everything about this camera. I use it as my take

anywhere p&s. A morning hike starts most days and the 370mm reach is

terrific. I was carrying a small Nikon MF with a 35-200mm lens on

the camera and a 500mm mirror lens in my fanny pack. Not any more.

 

This camera is small and light, yet VERY rugged. It has a macro mode

that, while not really macro, gives good closeups. And it has a

continuous burst mode that captures either the first three or last

three shots when you press/release the shutter. Terrific for

shooting skittish critters. Some of the controls are kind of odd,

but after only one outing I was able to make all adjustments by

feel. All in all it's a terrific camera and cheeeeep! I got mine for

$275US.

 

My only complaint is that the lens rattles...a lot. I sent it to

Fuji for an evaluation.

 

Based on USPS delivery confirmation, it took a week from the day it

arrived to make its way into Fuji's computer system. Then it took

another week to get it evaluated. And that wouldn't have happened if

I hadn't called. The guy I spoke with went "in back" and personally

delivered the camera to the right person. The camera showed up a

week later (I was told 2-3 weeks) with a note saying the lens play

was normal. If a repair had been required it would have been 4-5

weeks total time, not counting shipping. This seems excessive to me.

 

Anywho, since the rattle bothered me, I lined the lens adapter with

a strip of soft foam. There is just enough grab to keep the lens

from flopping around without hindering focusing movement. Problem

solved.

 

Just my dos centavos.

[Brian]

Thanks for the story Joe. It doesn't inspire much confidence in Fuji digicams or Fuji after sales service.

[joe_zammarelli]

Let me elaborate just a bit lest I leave a completely wrong impression.

 

Regarding camera quality, as I said, it is a rugged beast, yet very light weight. Except for the pop-up flash, I could probably beat it with a hammer with little effect. It has lots of features for us button pushers. Having 37-370mm is more lens than most of us need. I do because my hobby is nature photography. It is still a very compact package, smaller than my Nikon EM with a 100mm on it, but only just.

 

The lens movement bothers me. Other zoom cameras have some movement, but in most cases it appears to be damped in some way. I measure 1mm movement. That's not much, really, but enough to visibly alter the shot especially at the long end. And the lens rattles when I move the camera. I can't help but feel all that clapping about will cause excessive wear. Or maybe not. I dunno.

 

As for service, well, 4-5 weeks from receipt to ship seems a bit much. It took a full two weeks to go from receipt to being queued up for evaluation. Then it would be 2-3 weeks IF they had the required part on hand. On the plus side, I was never on hold for more than a couple of minutes and the staff was very courteous.

 

Bottom line: camera A, service C-.

[mitchell_kirschner]

Sorry to hear about your mediocre service experience.

 

I was quite fond of my S5100, and for what it's worth I don't recall any lens rattling. I always kept the screw-on hood installed - perhaps that masked the sound, assuming it was there at all. The zoom was loud, though.

 

Anyway, the only reason I sold the camera is I decided I wanted an infrared remote shutter control feature for family self-portraits (a maddeningly scarce feature in consumer digicams).

 

Mitch

[andrew robertson]

I don't think you can expect any soap bar digicam to be serviceable more than a year or so

after you bought it. They're all disposable.

[joe_zammarelli]

I agree about the soap-bar digicams. I have an old (2 years) Olympus D-560 that works great, but will be trash when it dies. The S5100, though, was new, so, being under warranty, it got a trip to New Jersey.

 

As for the rattle, it's loud enough to hear as I walk, a constant knock, knock, knock with every step. Maybe I need to be more lightfooted. Anyway, the foam did the trick.

 

Behind the curve in Rock Hill,

 

Joe

[rustys pics]

Hi,

I have read that the lens rattle on this camera is common. Lenses, even pro ones, have some

rattle. As for the repair time, that is about average for a non-pro camera. Look at it this way;

last year I dropped $1200 for a new Nikon D70. It had to go back for back-focus in

December, which Nikon repaired in 10 days, and now 6 weeks out of warranty the thing just

died. It got the "BGLOD" syndrome. We'll see if Nikon repairs it free, but you can imagine that

I expected quite a bit more reliability from a pro-level camera. So guess what I'll be buying

this weekend to use while my $1200 DSLR is in the shop? Yup. A Fuji S5100.

[george_swerdlin]

Re Fuji repair experience: I've got my E550 in for warranty major repair or exchange more than 4 weeks now. Tried to call their repair tel today; waited 20+ minutes, then they hung up on me. My first Fuji purchase and decidedly my last one. Does anyone have an idea how to light a fire under Fuji?