I've gotten a few email questions about the S3. I thought I'd post a little update here even though I don't really have any new actual test data. I've now used the camera on a couple of real jobs.
"Is it worth upgrading from the S2?" For me it was worth it... I felt like my S2 was on its last legs. The body was physically worn out. It wasn't a very professional quality body to begin with and I've given it quite the workout these past 2 years. A few little niggling problems had started showing up. The S3 is a much more professional looking and feeling body. Is it worth $2499 dollars compared to other cameras on the market? I don't know. I started with Fuji and I didn't feel like switching horses. If you are used to working with an S2, this camera will feel very similar. "Is it really a 12Megapixel camera?" The sharpness is EXACTLY the same as with the S2. If you want something with more detail than the S2, the S3 is NOT IT. I've made some pretty stunning 20x30 prints from the S2, so I'm not really worried about that, but I guess like everybody else, I had my fingers crossed that we'd see a jump in sharpness. Most of my stuff isn't printed bigger than magazine format, and the S2 and S3 are more than equal to that job. The hinting and winking you heard a few months ago that this was really a 12MP camera appear to be just hype. I think you can still make a case that Fuji's hexagonal "SuperCCD" format puts out more detail than a regular 6MP camera, but the S3 is no more sharp than the S2, period. "Is the dynamic-range really that much better?" It's not a dramatic difference. If you do shoot the S2 and the S3 side-by-side, what you see is that the shadows and midtones are almost identical, but when you get waaay up into the highlights... there it is... there really is a lot more tone up there. Is that worth upgrading? <shrug> Its not dramatic, but it's something. In certain circumstances it could be a lifesaver I guess. Take this photo (http://www.rickleephoto.com/hi-s2-s3.jpg) into Photoshop and run your "Info" tool over it to see how much more info is in the S3 shot. "How does the extended dynamic range work? Do you have to shoot raw to get it?" No... there are several ways to use the highlight pixels (BTW, if you haven't read the reports on this... here's how it works... it's really a simple, almost obvious, concept... the S3 has a set of normal pixel sensors but next to each one is a smaller sensor with a neutral density filter over it, allowing it to see much more highlight detail... that detail is merged into the shot".) You can shoot raw with the extra highlight pixel turned on or off. With it on, the file size is doubled... for obvious reasons. You can shoot non-raw (most people would shoot in JPEG rather than TIFF) with the extra dynamic range turned off... you can shoot with it on full... or you can shoot with it on a medium setting. You can also shoot with it set to change the dynamic range "on the fly" automatically as needed. Shooting non-raw, the file sizes of course aren't changed in any noticable way. You can read about this in the manual here: http://www.fujifilm.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/bin/S3_ProOperation_Manual.pdf The part about the dynamic range settings starts on page 78. "The manual says to use only NiMH batteries... can you use regular AA batteries in a pinch?" I tried it and nothing bad happened. Don't sue me if you try it and something bad happens. My theory... and it's just a theory... is that, since NiMH batteries last a lot longer than AA alkalines, Fuji is telling you to use those to avoid complaints about battery life. I've also tried AA lithium batteries (which last a loooong time) with no ill effects. Your mileage may vary. Like I said... don't sue me if you try it and your camera explodes. "Is the software any better than the shameful crap that Fuji shipped with the S2?" Better... but still not what you might like. The tethered shooting software is much, much better (once you figure out how to actually get it working... it's not difficult, but FAR from intuitive to actually connect the camera and start shooting). It used to be that switching from vertical to horizontal shots was a pain. Now, there is a window that shows both... and the CAMERA KNOWS! It does have a mercury switch in there so if you turn the camera vertical... it just shows up vertical on the screen. What a relief. The raw conversion software is just ok. It's a far cry from the PhotoshopCS raw converter but it works ok. Rick Lee ---------------------------------------------- http://www.rickleephoto.com ---------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Prodig subscriber options - articles - links - calendar - items for sale http://www.prodig.org
