Latest - Review and Sample Test Photos at Steve’s Digicams (added 30 September ‘07)
Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro features:
- 12.34 megapixels
- 2.5 inch LCD
- 11 point AF system
- shutter speeds between 30 seconds and 1/8000 second
- Super CCD SR double pixel technology
- ISO of up to 3200
- Face detection technology
- Nikon F-mount
- CompactFlash/Microdrive compatibility
Check Current Price
Reviews - (updated 30 September ‘07)
| Steve’s Digicams |  |
| ByTom | |
| Photography Blog |  |
| DP Review |  |
| Professional Photographer |  |
| Lets Go Digital | |
| Digital Outback Photo | |
| CNET | |
| Pop Photo | |
| DigitalCameraInfo | |
| TrustedReviews | |
| PCW | |
| ePhotozine | |
| ThinkCamera | |
| Ken Rockwell | |
| Ryanbrenizer | |
| Ryanbrenizer | |
| PopPhoto | |
| PhotoReview | |
| CNET Australia | |
| LetsGoDigital | |
| DigitalCameraInfo | |
| ThinkCamera | |
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Steve’s Digicams - 30 September’07 - reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes;
“The bottom line - If you’re a portrait photographer I bet you’ll love the increased dynamic range and film simulation of the S5 Pro provided by the fourth generation Super CCD. Likewise Fuji’s Face Detection Technology is a real time saver in the studio. The S5’s body is lightweight, the controls are well-placed, and the grip is very comfortable to hold. The ability to record JPEG and RAW files simultaneously allows you to review smaller-sized images, yet retain the ability to work with the RAW files later. The RP Processor Pro reduces dark noise to deliver a cleaner image, and permit light sensitivity up to ISO 3200.”
ByTom reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and feels this camera will not appeal to everyone. The reviewer notes that if you think th S5 Pro is a Nikon D200 with a Fujifilm sensor are in for a real surprise and will surly be disappointed. Wedding and portrait shooters will appreciate the spot on color and dynamic range of the camera.
So what’s not to like?
Lack of speed and some operational issues make the camera a specialist, not an all around digital camera.
Bottom line: Specialized camera that will appeal to users who demand precise color and dynamic range.
Photography Blog - 7/19/2007 - reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes, “The Fujifilm S5 Pro is a bit of an odd fish, and stands out from Fujifilm’s range as such, primarily because it’s the only one of its cameras that isn’t really aimed at the consumer market. Though a pro photographer can’t very well grumble about the price – its UK RRP of £1500 being what the average wedding photographer could earn in one Saturday afternoon - street prices are such though that it’s within reach of the photo enthusiast too. And, since the Fujifilm S5 Pro is well suited to both portraiture and landscapes – with good dynamic range and exposure latitude – and those two subjects are the most common reasons for anyone picking up a camera, never mind a DSLR, it’s got to be worthy of consideration by the serious amateur. Those switching over from a Nikon film SLR would be the most obvious candidates. Something stopped me from giving the Fujifilm S5 Pro the full five stars – always leave ‘em wanting more I say - but it comes as close as any DSLR I’ve tested.”
DP Review - 7/5/2007 - reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes, “Ultimately it’s hard to wholeheartedly recommend a 6MP camera that costs $1900 when you can get exactly the same model with 10 megapixels (and better continuous shooting) for quite a lot less. Of course no one is going to buy the S5 Pro for its resolution, nor are they likely to be swayed by a few hundred dollars. And you need to be producing serious enlargements to see the D200’s sharpness advantage, whereas you can see the S5 Pro’s DR advantage and great color even in a postcard print. It’s not for everyone, but for studio work, portraits and demanding dynamic range work (such as weddings) it fits a sizeable niche perfectly.”
Professional Photographer - 6/4/2007 - examines the extended dynamic range of the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes, “The Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro is packed with features to improve image quality as well as make life easier for professional photographers, two of which are Extended Dynamic Range and Tethered Capture.”
Lets Go Digital - 5/25/2007 - has reviewed the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes, “It is a fine digital SLR camera to work with, with especially excellent image quality. Finally, the unique Fujifilm technology is combined with the appropriate body. It’s a DSLR camera which can accommodate, and won’t disappoint, most photographers. Moreover, a great advantage is the price, which is less than the D200’s price, which is what makes it very interesting. The Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro is not a product for the masses, but will undoubtedly be loved by photographers that want to get the most out of their daily digital workplace. Image quality is still Fujifilm’s featured attraction, in one of the most popular bodies found in a DSLR, Nikon’s D200. It’s a first rate DSLR camera!”
Digital Outback Photo - 5/24/2007 - has an experience report diary of the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes, “Fuji had in the past always excellent sensors in their digital SLRs but the Nikon bodies they used were alsways derived from lower end Nikon bodies. This hardly ever excited us about the Fuji SLRs. We are really not that demanding about the camera functionality but a body has to feel right. Now with the new Finepix S5 Pro finally Fuji uses a very good body: the body is essentially a Nikon D200 body. This way we don’t need to review the body itself because the in our Nikon D200 review we were full of praise about the D200 body. This is one of the finest digital SLR bodies we ever used. Not as heavy as the Nikon D2x or Canon 1Ds Mk. II but still with a solid feel.”
CNET - 5/19/2007 - reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes, “Ultimately, the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro feels more like a studio camera than anything else. Its unique sensor gives the camera an edge with its extended dynamic range but also translates into bloated, pseudo-12-megapixel files that can fill up your memory card quicker than 8- or 10-megapixel files would. This becomes especially noticeable when shooting in raw, or even worse, raw-plus-JPEG mode. Also, if you’re not shooting in a studio, the Nikon’s blazingly fast AF system will most likely be more useful to you than this camera’s dynamic range or fancy features. While this Fuji definitely is a nice camera, I’d have to opt for the D200 or Canon’s EOS 5D, considering their higher effective resolutions and that my personal shooting habits tend as much toward the outdoors as to the studio. Of course, the D200’s lower price also helps.”
Pop Photo - 5/17/2007 - reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes, “The S5 will no doubt please its intended audience — wedding and portrait shooters. The bigger question is whether it will appeal to the broader market of serious amateur photographers. Actually, we think it will. A lot.”
DigitalCameraInfo - 5/1/2007 - reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes, “The Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro’s image quality makes it a viable choice for pros and other quality-conscious photographers. Dynamic range, noise and color are all excellent. The S5’s mechanicals – a Nikon D200 body, with Nikon autofocus, metering and flash – are also big assets. The drawbacks of the S2 and S3 bodies are gone.
The remaining drawback is speed. The shooting rate is glacial, and the camera churns away recording data for minutes at a time when it’s shooting RAW files.
How important is that drawback? It’s big. For wedding photographers, it probably means shooting with two bodies – the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro for image quality, and maybe a Nikon D200 or a Canon 30D for the shots that won’t wait for a 30 MB file to write.”
TrustedReviews - 4/30/2007 - reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes, “The Fujifilm S5 Pro continues in its predecessors’ tradition of providing superior dynamic range and tonal quality for specialist portrait and wedding photographers, who will be delighted with its outstanding capabilities in these areas, as well as its superb handling, build quality and performance. It’s not really an ideal camera for the general consumer though, so if you’re looking for a similarly-priced general-purpose DSLR you’d be better off buying the Nikon D200 instead.”
PCW - 4/26/2007 - reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes, “For those seeking a pro-level digital SLR that is both fully featured and easy to use, the Fujifilm Finepix S5 Pro is a good-value buy. Some may baulk at the sensor technology, which does not offer true 12-megapixel performance but a result interpolated from each photosite’s dual sensors. However, for portraiture and high-contrast compositions, the camera performs very well.”
ePhotozine - 4/24/2007 - reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes, “Using the same body as the Nikon D200, the Fuji S5 obviously has to differentiate itself in other ways, and the fact that the CCD and processing engine are completely different means that the cameras do head down very different paths. The headline resolution of the S5 may seem to outstrip the D200, at 12Mp to 10Mp, but this is generated from the SuperCCD SR chip, with its fancy honeycomb design and twin-photo receptors at each photo-site of which there are only 6M. The result is that landscape photos are not as impressive with detail tending to disappear in the distance because it wasn’t there in the original image. Also, artifacts from the SuperCCD process are evident right from the start at ISO100, though noise is then well controlled.”
ThinkCamera - 4/19/2007 - reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and writes, “There are things about this camera that drive me mad. OK, it’s the menus and especially the zoom on review system. However, I absolutely love the results I get with it and the learning curve isn’t too steep.”
Ken Rockwell - 4/15/2007 - has a hands on review of the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and he writes, “If speed is important, get the 5FPS D200 for sports. Even the Nikon D40 runs almost twice as fast as the Fuji S5’s 1.5 FPS, and the D40 is much, much faster in practice because the D40 has a bottomless shooting buffer and doesn’t hang up as images are being recorded.
If you want to shoot resolution targets, get the D200 or the Canon 5D.
If you already own a D200, get another, since the S5 works quite differently and I would go crazy with both around my neck at the same time. The colors will not match between them - pick one and stick with it.”
Ryanbrenizer - 4/9/2007 - has reviewed the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and in part 2 he writes, “Overall, the S5 is kind of a weird camera. It’s extraordinary in some important ways, and frustrating in others. I’m keeping mine; I always like the oddballs.”
Ryanbrenizer - 4/9/2007 - has reviewed the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and in part 1 he writes, “The Fuji S5, like the Fuji S3 before it, has a magic trick. It has two different sets of sensors capturing the same image. Big ones that capture the basic scene, and little, point-and-shoot-sized ones that capture the highlight detail. This gives it much better dynamic range than any other camera line on the market, which is particularly valuable for people who have to get a wide range of tones in one shot — like, say, an industry that specializes in shooting a woman in a white dress standing next to a man in a black tuxedo. Dynamic range can be valuable for landscapes as well, but landscape shooters tend to have the luxury of taking their time, and using filters or multiple exposures to capture a full dynamic range. That doesn’t work so well with weddings.”
PopPhoto - 3/26/2007 - has a hands on preview of the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and they write, “A camera like this one, made up of hardware and software from different manufacturers, runs the risk of turning out a Frankenstein monster, but the FinePix S5 Pro is no such freak. On the contrary, we found its operation smooth and seamless, with easy-to-grasp controls and menus, and help screens aplenty if and when you need them. This is the camera the old S3 Pro should have been — squared. We’ll get you full Certified Test Results and performance data from the Pop Photo Lab as soon as we land a production model.”
PhotoReview - 3/21/2007 - reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and they write, “With its sturdier body, better digital integration and improved imaging technology, the FinePix S5 Pro is a much more promising upgrade than its predecessor. It represents a particularly good choice for wedding and portrait photographers (including school photographers), who can take advantage of the dynamic range extensions, film simulation modes and face recognition inclusions. Other photographers may also find some of these features advantageous.
However, if you’re buying this camera as an adjunct to a stable of Nikon equipment, make sure you check that key items such as lenses, flash units, grips and other accessories are compatible with the S5 Pro. According to the user manual, you can use non-CPU lenses as long as you can specify lens data (focal length and maximum aperture) in the Setup menu to access CPU lens functions. Most focal lengths and maximum apertures are covered by the in-camera lists.
The supplied software bundle is adequate but not of a standard that you would expect for a camera of the calibre of the S5 Pro. (Aside from FinePix Studio, the other applications are more suited to point-and-shoot cameras.) When we went to press, few of the popular third-party raw file processors offered S5 Pro compatibility. However, that should change with the next iteration of most products.”
CNET Australia - 3/13/2007 - has a preview of the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and they write, “With an undeniably sturdy body and imaging technology from Fujifilm, the FinePix S5 Pro looks every bit a promising upgrade for advanced amateurs and professionals who want rich tonal graduations and skin tones. Even though the camera is modeled after the Nikon D200, users should be aware of any compatibility issues, especially if they already have a stable of accessories, before shelling out the cash.”
LetsGoDigital - 1/29/2007 - has a very extensive and thorough preview of the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and they write, “It’s true that Fujifilm is dependent on third parties like the Nikon D200 case, but the technology and everything else about this camera gives you that Fujifilm feeling. The Fujifilm feeling can best be described as the way in which Fujifilm approaches imaging. On one hand, there’s the technology of the hardware, and the way in which the image is formed internally within the camera, on the other hand there’s the feeling that they have looked at the picture in more depth. You can notice that technology and innovation from various divisions have come together to be included in the Fujifilm S5 Pro DSLR. Take the face detection or the way in which the character of the picture has been handled. Techniques and methods from the film, industry translated into a digital version. Techniques from a Fujifilm Frontier digital minilab integrated in a digital camera, etc. The small details reveal the conceptual depth that the FinePix S5 Pro stands for.”
DigitalCameraInfo - 1/21/2007 - has released its first impressions of the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and they write, “The Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro depends on its image quality – if it’s not great, the camera doesn’t compete. That makes it difficult to reach a solid conclusion in a first impression because we can only guess about image quality. Our educated guess is that the quality will be strong enough to make the camera competitive, but that’s based on Fujifilm’s history, not on anything we experienced while handling the camera.
That said, it is great that the S5 is based on Nikon’s D200. The S2 and S3 were based on a much less capable, much more consumer-level Nikon film camera. They sorely needed better autofocus and such amenities as 1/3-EV steps on their ISO scale. The S2 had a terrible battery configuration – requiring both AA’s and CR-123’s — and when the S3 replaced that, it felt as though Fujifilm had at least stopped being self-destructive – like the friend who stopped bringing his pet ferret on blind dates. Using the D200 platform, and keeping it so much intact, Fujifilm’s newest S Pro camera has become much more compelling. They’ve done so much so well, that we have to figure that the speed problem just can’t be fixed cheaply enough yet. If it could, Fujifilm would have done it.”
ThinkCamera - 1/19/2007 - has run an initial test on a pre-production Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro and is very impressed with the high ISO performance. They write, “For anyone thinking of buying a D200 – don’t. Several hours with a pre production S5 made me think that extra money is will cost is worth it – you get D200 build quality, Fuji colours and an extra stop of usable images in low light.”
Sample Test Photos - (updated 30 September ‘07)
[Sample Test Photos at Steve's Digicams]
[Sample Photos at Photography Blog]
[Sample Photos at DP Review]
[Sample Photos at Digital Outback Photo]
[Sample Photos at Lets go Digital]
[Sample Photos at DigitalCameraInfo]
[Sample Photos at TrustedReviews]
[Sample Photos at Ken Rockwell]
[Sample Photo Gallery #2 at Digital Outback Photo]
[Sample Photos at PBase Galleries]
Videos
[Video Tour at Trusted Reviews]
Firmware Updates
[Details of Firmware v1.0.8 here]
[Download Firmware Version 1.0.8 here]
Specifications
[Official Fujifilm Specifications]
Owners Manual
Press Release
Fujifilm today announces the development of the FinePix S5 Pro, the keenly-awaited successor to the acclaimed FinePix S3 Pro. In a DSLR market that is much more competitive and dynamic than the one its predecessor was launched into, the FinePix S5 Pro will stand apart from the crowd by combining the much sought-after picture quality of Fujifilm’s Super CCD SR sensor with a fully digital and durable professional metal alloy body. With this superior combination of truly professional handling and image quality, Fujifilm expects the FinePix S5 Pro to appeal to an even broader range of professional photographers.
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Bob Whorton 05.31.07 at 5:01 am
The Fujinator
Fuji’s new DSLR the S5 Pro promised a leap forwards in digital imaging, but would it live up to expectations as a top class underwater camera… Fuji sent one to photographer Bob Whorton to prove its worth underwater on a trip to Raja Ampat at the beginning of March.
This article is dedicated to the memory of Ike Brigham – A founding father, innovator and a great friend.
Words & Photography by Bob Whorton.
“My ideal digital camera would be one that I can make quality pictures without the need to spend time correcting its shortcomings with editing software…â€
I’d been using a Nikon D2x and a D200 for fourteen months prior to receiving the S5 in early February, so I was already used to the rugged construction and ergonomics of this particular body. It was great news (and an industry-first) that it was to be based around an already proven body with numerous underwater housings ready for it to slip straight into… Specifically my Ikelite D200 housing with iTTL.
Whilst I’ll leave the technical reviews to Dpreview, my review is based on user experience with the S5. The conclusions are my own, and the pictures - well, they speak for themselves…
INSIDE
What makes the Fuji system special is their now-famous ingenious Super CCD imaging chip and more specifically the latest SR Pro chip, and behind that the ‘Real Photo Technology’ – A phenomenal imaging processor. Each pixel site has two sensors; an S & an R, which interact to extend the dynamic range (recorded visible spectrum capability), closer and closer to Fuji’s goal of ‘Film-like quality,’ and more towards how the human brain actually perceives an image through our own eyes.
Adjustments allow 100-400% manual adjustment of the DR or a very accurate ‘Auto’ option too. All of which can be adjusted in the Fuji ACR afterwards if required.
The radical new two-stage noise filtration system onboard provides the lowest levels of noise I’ve yet seen in any digital imager, regardless of price. At the lower ISO’s virtually nothing and raising the stakes through 1250-1600, negligible and at 3200 apparent, but surprisingly low. The noise itself looks more like film grain than the messy luminosity generated by most digital machines.
I found the S5 a simple device to find my way around, due to the D200 experience. The only things that differed were the rear-left button array, which are assigned different tasks to those of the Nikon.
The menu structure is pretty simple and straight-forwards to navigate through, if you have used an S2/3 or even the Fuji compacts you’d find it quite straight forwards.
“Impressive†is the amount of fine-tuning that can be done to this camera to achieve just what you need or like from an image, but more later on…
The exposure systems on the S5 are very accurate and functional, requiring little or no EV adjustments compared to the experiences and issues I had with the D200. The focusing is amazingly precise and quick too, coupled with similar flexibility in ranges identical the 200.
Practical changes to the S5 over the S3 include the ability to shoot parallel JPEG & RAW images like with the D2x/200, which allows one to tune the camera to produce a JPEG similar to the RAW one might expect and check it out from the large rear screen for suitability, rather than having to wait for a PC analysis and then not having to open a slower RAW viewer.
Another great feature found on the S5 is the programmable ‘Auto ISO’. Here we can set the minimum/maximum ISO the camera can choose automatically which is a fantastic feature for increasing the range of A/S settings available without having to take the camera from your face.
I wasn’t prepared for the ‘straight from the box’ natural, colourful realism and great tonal transitions of each and every picture it produced. The files just did not look like the standard digital representations I’d allowed myself to become used to. “Looking good†I thought…
ITTL
Brett Foster from Ikelite was keen for me to check the workings of the iTTL, which I did as soon as the DS125 batteries were charged – Perfect from f2.8 through to f25 with only minimal adjustment of the EV to minus to compensate for being on land. Good news for the ingenuity of the Ikelite engineers. All that was needed then was a marketing badge change J
The intelligent TTL system on the D200 for example was lacking in my opinion, it rarely worked properly on the unit I had, and on moving subjects it was awful leaving an unsightly cast. Fuji promised that the system built into the S5 Pro was to be an improvement. A promise turned to fact in this instance; we are given a precise tool that works into the extremes, as you will see…
“That’s all pretty interesting, but how is it going to improve things underwater?â€
As contrast levels underwater vary in the extreme the extra dynamic range offered by the SR sensors promised to bring back the shadow & highlight detail missing from digital imaging. However, there were to be bigger surprises from this camera that I was missing from my film experience…
Into the blue…
Out in Raja Ampat onboard MV Odyssea 1 at the beginning of March the windy weather prevented us going south to Misool as planned. Restricting us instead to the sites north and east of Sorong.
Having been twice before in the previous eight months I knew what to expect from this diverse area so any disappointment was minimised.
Taking any new camera underwater can be an anxious time to say the least, but having been used to the handling and reliability of the Ikelite D200 housing for over a year this was pretty straight forwards, and the usual pre-checks went without a murmur.
The first test shots on those first few dives were to establish the practical settings required for use underwater, and in the first instance for the extremes of contrast encountered with wide-angle photography. As expected, shooting through the denser medium of water required tonal and sharpness adjustments which were easily accessed from the main menu.
The S5 has a face detection system, useful as that may sound, it has a more practical use underwater - one touch of the bottom L/H button zips the display up to 75% to enable a clear analysis of the images sharpness, lighting and colour, and quick adjustments done if necessary.
One of the major hopes by many of this camera was that the new extended dynamic range would tame the infamous sun ball cyan explosions that have become associated with digital photography… A narrow-minded view in my opinion that totally misses the plot regarding this cameras truer potential
With that on my mind, the first wide angle shots that encompassed the sun, looked not much different to those of the D200 initially from the rear screen. However, I was soon to learn not to trust the screen too much in these circumstances.
[The rear monitor is not as good as the ones on the D2x or 200, however once I realised this (by not deleting and saving to display on the laptop) it was still workable even in the extremes of contrast… But could be much better.
“On a camera costing and capable of more than it’s rivals I expected better Mr Fuji!â€]
Analysing the images from first few dives on the PC brought home something wonderful – The previously unknown ‘realism’ digital had been missing, adding to that a greater control of the colour proximity around the highlights of the sun even in the brightness of mid morning.
The realism generated by the incredible tonal and focal transitions was amazing; this is on top of truer natural colours that vibrate ’freshness’ into what has become a ‘post production’ driven medium, removing the need for much if any tweaking, and obviously the time wasted doing so… Nearly there then eh!
The more I used it the more I liked it and by the time we had reached the tight channel between Gam & Weigo on day three; I was loving the new camera.
Light levels, current and visibility in this channel can be quite challenging to say the least but the camera coped very well with the varying conditions. The shallow through-the-surface shots highlighted the extra dynamic range capability, and as a result produced some interesting work, even in the reduced levels below the rocky outline of the channel walls.
I was keen to try more wide-angle shooting at ‘Airborei Jetty’ as I’d had some interesting dives there on previous trips with Odyssea 1 shooting the D200.
Though the numbers of fish were down, there was still plenty to see and the visibility was pretty good due to the high tides. This particular jetty is a fairly deep structure positioned off a steeply sloping sandy shore which provides a habitat for a whole range of marine life, making it a great test venue.
The wide shots taken with both the 10,5mm and 16mm Nikkor lenses were amazing viewed on the PC afterwards the images gave the impression of still being there. Beautiful clean smooth graduations through the water column and great detail in the corals coupled with lifelike colour. The high contrasts were taken in its stride and surprisingly even straight into the morning sun shots “Worked†to produce ‘Wows’. The total containment still needs a few more stops in some circumstances, but it is digital and not film (I had to keep reminding myself).
On to macro
Sceptics had mentioned that the detail out of this camera could never be as good as brand X, However, they couldn’t have been more wrong…The depth of detail and resolve of this camera produces stunningly detailed imagery, especially noticeable with macro. The tonal transitions again providing a refreshing change from the unnaturally abrupt CCD ‘crowbar approach’, putting back the missing realism, and with it a more natural presence rather the typical over-sharpness. I was amazed that the same old critters took on a new ‘life’ with the extended range and realistic colour renditions of this Fuji DSLR.
[What makes the D200 etc look sharper (arguably) – Nature isn’t like that ;)]
The 60mm macro work at the jetty produced nice results too, especially with the digitally challenging light-to-dark shading of the jaw fish, the beautiful textures of the Tamja nudibranchs, and the finite detail reproduced in the hairy stonefish and scorpionfish. As with the wider images the tonal and focal transitions were smooth and clean. Another interesting note was how the Bokeh, or blurred background seemed enhanced by this imaging system, again down to the smoother transitions and dynamic range. Which led me on to experiment more with much narrower depth of field compositions, combined with the very accurate iTTL of the Ikelite housing – Stunning!
Everyone on the boat with me was quite impressed, even the pro’s using digital and film… Which reminded me of a conversation I’d had with hard-core film aficionado Tony White a year ago…
“Tony, you’ll love this one mate!â€
Typical settings guide based on experience…
Ambient light photography
Shooting without strobes is a doddle with the S5: Dynamic Range set to 400%, colour boosted to ‘High’ and the auto white balance adjusted thus, [fine tune] Red +2-4 and yellow +2-4. This effectively removes any further filtration requirements normally achieved by adding internal or external filters. These values can be saved into numerous custom compartments for quick and easy retrieval anytime.
Tone, colour and sharpness can be boosted on-camera too. This gave me the optimum JPEG, which required little or no further adjustments when uploaded to the PC, and no hidden surprises.
Further adjustments to the ISO settings (good time to switch to Auto-ISO) will allow smaller apertures to be used enabling optimum lens settings in lower light quality.
With Strobes
The use of strobes requires a little less adjustment, which like the above can be stored for quick reference.
A reduction in the red channel on the AWB fine-tuning slider from standard settings removes an otherwise slight pink cast that may affect any ‘whiteness’ or lighter areas in the main subject. Dynamic range can be set to Auto, or manually adjusted based on contrast levels (or the subject reflectivity).
Tone and sharpness boosted as above, and colour saturation to your liking.
Pros –
Brilliant imager, colour and picture quality.
Easy to use and great menu system coupled with precise image tuning.
RAW/JPEG parallel recording.
Huge Buffer
Programmable settings.
Optimum iTTL with Ikelite housing and external modules.
Top Quality prints with film-like depth.
Outstanding JPEG quality, Phenomenal RAW files.
Very little or no time spent correcting shortcomings – Reduced workflow.
Housings readily available.
Cons –
Rear Screen could be better.
Slow writing speed (24.5 Mb HDR files) not really an issue underwater – Buffer is huge anyway.
A slight delay in displaying the last shot image (if shooting more than 5/6 RAW/JPEG in rapid succession).
I can’t seem to put it down without help from the wife LOL!
No good for spray and pray artists.
Menu system confuses the retarded.
Conclusion
Well, I can honestly say, I have never enjoyed shooting digital quite so much as I have with this particular camera.
For prints the S5 is way in front of all or most; even full page published prints from small JPEG’s are amazingly good (See the Fuji Challenge in May edition Digital SLR Pro), and those from the full-size RAW-TIFF at over 30†are almost as good as slides.
In most instances there is no need to use RAW.
There have been numerous attempts to belittle this camera especially around the crazy mega pixel argument. 6 0r 12 Mp. Well, I’ll be quite frank in saying that it really doesn’t matter either way for me, producing 4258 x 2842 resolution it sounds and looks like 12 mp +, but the important issue they all seem to glaze over is that it really works.
It produces bigger, more lifelike prints than any of the rival brands with much less noise, much less work flow, and at the end of the day this is what sold it to me, and what makes it worth spending the extra money on.
The cons listed above are not really an issue for me, but people have to whine about something…