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I've got a friend who swears by the S2, claiming its SUPER CCD is better handling. i don't like the idea of buying 2 sets of batteries.

your thoughts?

The S2 isn't a bad box, in fact the sensor in it has some interesting capabilities especially how it works.

You see, it pulls information in at 12 megapixel and downsamples it to 6 megapixel thus producing what you could claim is a better and sharper image.

However, you're also looking at cameras from a different market.

The S2 Pro was originally designed to compete against the D100, not the D70.

The downsides of the Fuji S2 Pro fall down usually around the physical side of things and some of its recording capabilities.

For instance, it's lack of any real battery system like most other cameras have is a concern, and while the batteries do tend to last a while, you're still left with having to load several batteries into a box as opposed to just the one battery pack, as far as I recall.

Also, if you're used to the way a Nikon feels... this camera feels different... and in my opinion, not a good different. The grip on the right side feels like it's got an awkward width on it and as a result doesn't feel good in my hands. But that's a personal thing.

I haven't seen a comparison between it and the D70, but the D100 and the D70 are fairly similar, so you might want to start here.

I know at least one of our members, I think it might be Spada, has a S2 Pro.

I have the D70 and S2. Both are great. I capture both in jpegs. Last week was the first time I captured a wedding using the D70 all day. My partner used the S2.

S2
AW is the best.
BEST jpeg files straight from camera.
High Iso images are great
I like the size of camera
Battery is a issue, but I usually start with a new set when I start and change it when I get to the reception.

D70.
Great flash Sync
Battery life is tops, one battery lasts the whole wedding.
Faster AF then S2 (it feels faster)
Abit too small for hand.
AW is a problem sometimes

Vince

what aw? auto white balance?
thinking of a second body, saw one for under 1000$ might take a look

Yep Auto White Balance, just leave it there and forget about it. Make sure you ask what serial number the body has. I think the 3...serials has black death sensor problems.

S2 Pro's vs a D70

- Fantastic colours & saturation out of camera
- Incredible skintones out of camera
- Fantastic ISO range - 100-800 are incredibly smooth and 1600 is excellent
- Jpeg "engine" is one of the best available full stop
- real life resolution about 8-9mp.

S2 Cons vs a D70

- Stupid, stupid battery setup
- Half stop metering (vs 1/3rd on d70)
- From memory the flash sync is only 1/125
- Big files, relatively slow to write & small buffer
- Controls not as smooth

Thats about it I think. Basically if you are concerned with ultimate picture quality and don't mind some annoying body features, the S2 has it comfortably over the d70.

I used to use a few S2's in my wedding stuff, and batteries aside they were tops. If there was a d2x with a fuji sensor inside it, that would be the camera to rule them all.

This guy use's an S2 with fantastic results.
http://www.photo.net/photodb/member-pho ... _id=381184

Nnnnsic wrote:The S2 isn't a bad box, in fact the sensor in it has some interesting capabilities especially how it works.

You see, it pulls information in at 12 megapixel and downsamples it to 6 megapixel thus producing what you could claim is a better and sharper image.

Actually no.
In most cameras (including the D70) the array of pixels is laid out in horizontal/vertical rows and columns. In the SuperCCD of the S2 the array is laid out with the rows and columns tilted by 45-degrees. There are still 6 million pixels, but they're not in the same places as those in a 6Mp image file.

This means that moire and "jaggies" in areas of fine detail do not appear in the same way as with rectangular layouts. The RAW->image conversion algorithms can choose whether to convert those 6 million "honeycomb" pixels into 6 million or 12 million "square" pixels, but there are NOT 12 million pixels in the camera.

The general concensus seems to be that (depending on the details in the target scene) the resolution is usually equivalent to a "normal" sensor of 6-8-ish Mp. But that's just an estimate as there are no hard numbers: it's just a different way of sampling the image data and has different results.

Is there not an element of the S3 creeping into this discussion?

I have heard many horror stories of focus issues with the Fujis.


Cheers,

I've never had an AF issue with the 4 S2's I had.

Hi
I also never had any problems with the AF, as newbie I mostly use it in P mode, and most of the time I had good result.

Regards
Spada

As sejanus mentioned, I wish the Fuji's CCD on the Nikon body!