Are there any posts on the Fuji S5?

joedmiles · #22 04-04-2007, 07:46 AM

No problem. I don't shoot film at all now.

I think the best way of describing the way I'm going to go from here on is to use my Nikon D2X for my main flash shooting body and keep the Fugi S5 Pro for available light shooting e.g. wedding ceremonies etc.

My D2X is my main 'work horse' and is ultra fast for capturing every moment but it's really good to have the Fugi on my shoulder also for getting that 'special' shot. I'll see how it goes as it's really early days but I might even end up using the Fugi for my main work.

I've got 3 shoots on tomorrow so will let you know how it goes. (Been a bit slow this week for jobs!)

Out of interest what body do you use for your main work?

Joe

joedmiles · #23 04-04-2007, 04:22 PM

Here are some sample shots taken at 1600 ASA

edwind · #24 05-17-2007, 06:12 AM

Joed, do you shoot raw or jpg? I have had a great deal of trouble with my S3 in jpg mode. Not all the time but quite often especially with shots of groups of people at about 20ft away. The sharpness is not there and the rseults are muddy. The camera is now with Fuji for ckecking over. The same camera shooting raw is infinitely more sharp in the same conditions.

DougAxford · #25 05-18-2007, 12:59 PM

If you are having battery problems when using the grip, try it without the grip. The 'grip' issue is fairly well known and seems to be the connections between the grip & body. This is a Nikon issue and seems to be worse, but not exclusive to 3rd party grips.

Doug

Noel_Carboni · #26 05-18-2007, 10:16 PM

Joed, just a reminder: You've posted JPEGs with the Adobe RGB profile, so the colors don't look right in browsers. They're undersaturated and a little cool.

-Noel

Pavel_Derka · #27 05-20-2007, 11:28 AM

I looked at a Fuji S5 last week and though I wanted to like it I found it more frustrating than the old 10D I used to have years ago - for the same reasons.

THe S5 is, unfortunately, designed under years old design paradigms where somehow they don't mind having the photographer wait for the camera.
How, in this day and age, they have such a slow writing camera made so that you can't snap another shot until the file is written out? That made it a deal-breaker for me right there Upon examining the files I determined that if I wanted better image quality in the sense of what the S5 seems to provide over the D200 then I would go and get a canon 5D and really have good high iso qualities. The files were impressive but not any better than the 5D (which blew me away)

I shoot only raw and have had no problems with my D2h's skin tones (which are supposed to be the worst) The benefits are there I'm sure but I wonder if the customer can tell the difference (or are we all selling to photographers?) enough to live with the slower responsiveness of the Fuji?
The menu system also seems limited compared to a D200.

THe menu system display is very good however and so is the screen - the best I've ever used. Too bad that Fuji did not manage to design a body that can keep up with this generation of gear in responsiveness - it seems to be the best Fuji yet and it is great to have other choices. Perhaps in three years? Don't get me wrong ... this is likely a great body for someone with different priorities than mine - but I was dissapointed that it did not suit my style ... well, because I really wanted to like it.

DougAxford · #28 05-20-2007, 12:10 PM

I shot my first full wedding yesterday on the S5 and did not experience anything like you describe with delays. I took almost a dozen shots of the B&G coming up a very short aisle in less than 10 seconds on jpg fine. I just tested with raw+jpg fine and I get 5 quick shots, then it slows down for the buffer. That was using an ancient IBM microdrive, can't imagine anything slower than that. If you need faster than that, I don't think you should be happy to pay twice the price for the 5D. Let's keep reality in check here - this is a prosumer camera - if you want that kind of speed, pay the money!

I'm not a Fuji convert yet. I still am having trouble understanding the strange menu system. I shot the entire wedding on auto WB, something that up to a month ago I would have sworn would be impossible and totally amateur. The huge number of posts from very experienced wedding pros on other pro forums plus my testing showed that it should be possible.

I had a quick look when I got back last night and the church available light interiors were perfect. That's something that echos other posts and I consider utterly impossible on any other camera I have tested. A few outdoor close-ups with too much flash are cool. That's my error from using a Nikon flash on manual that I haven't used on a wedding for 5 years, so I'm a little rusty on settings. I also shot on an old Tamron 28-105 2.8 which is a real dog compared to the Canon glass I have been using. I wasn't about to go out & buy new glass & flash until I give the camera more use. I'll try to post something later today.

Sorry your store experience was so bad. I went to one store and did a trial and the camera settings were screwed-up completely. I left without even taking a sample shot. Perhaps that was your problem, or your expectations are too high for the selling price.

Doug