The Fuji Finepix S5000 digital camera was the 2003 incarnation of Fuji's line of single-lens cameras. The camera has a powerful built-in lens for massive zoom capabilities and 3.1 million pixel CCD (charge-couple device) sensor.
About the CCD Sensor
Unlike a digital SLR camera with changeable lenses, the Finepix S5000 has a fixed lens that works in direct conjunction with the camera's sensor, or CCD. This poses a major difficulty if, for some reason, dust or debris gets into the camera and attaches to the sensor. With interchangeable-lens cameras, you can remove the lens and clean the mirror and glass cover of the sensor --- this is impossible with the S5000. But since the lens is fixed, it's extremely unlikely that dust can enter the camera. This is usually the result of changing lenses in windy or dirty surroundings.
White Specks
Some photographic issues may seem to be connected to the sensor, such as white specs of or grainy photos. White specks (or whitish octagons) on the photos does not indicated a CCD problem. Often these specks are the result of tiny dust particles in the air being illuminated by the flash. The censor pixels on the S5000 are octagonal, so the refracted light appears in this shape.
Grainy Images
Grainy images aren't a failure of the sensor but a result of light compensation. When operating at high ISO speeds such as 1600 or 3200, the camera digitally compensates for missing light by allowing light noise to diffuse across the photo. Lower the ISO speed and shoot with a tripod to remove graininess.
Tags: digital camera, Finepix S5000