Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro

Opinion: OK so the S2 is a bit long in the tooth these days, is 6Mp really enough for your needs? Yes, I have owned one of these for a couple of years now and I can NOT fault the old beast. Image quality is still fantastic. The Fuji sensor is still the preferred weapon for many wedding and portrait photographers. Even though mine has been used hard by myself and it is now of considerable age it is still working very very well. There are comments on here about shortcomings, and yes there are some, it takes 2 different types of battery AA's and CR123a's, the viewfinder is quite dark and makes manual focus difficult in all but the best lit environments, it feels a bit plasticky and it is Slooooow. Taking this into account, the batteries aren't a problem and it will run without the CR123a's (the flash won't work!) but a couple of spares in your bag isn't a huge problem. The build quality and strength are great, although it feels a bit plasticky the grips are good, the controls easy to master and it is a lot more rugged than it feels, even dropping mine onto a hard floor did no damage. Th edark viewfinder isn't a huge proble as most people shoot with AF anyway and the fact that it is a bit slow is down to age. Otherwise the 'Pro' style controls are easy to use and easy to master, everything has been designed well and fits into place. The photos that the S2 produces are still comparable to many of the top end cameras on the market today. If needed you can shoot in RAW (RAF) and use the full depth of the Fuji Super CCD sensor or the usual jpeg, tiff modes. It is slow though, shot to shot times and the time to clear its buffer are painfully slow, which makes it much better at landscape and portrait photography than 'action' but you can manage this with a bit of patience and planning ( inkow I mainly shoot gigs and festivals with mine). I have taken well over 12,000 pics over the time this has been my prime DSLR and it is still going strong and for under £100 for the body for this quality it is one of the most sensible purchases I ever made. In response to a couple of other statements on here, I ran with a 4Gb CF card for a year, I had to format it under Windows 7 as a FAT drive but it worked a treat. The comment below about slow changing ISO is rubbish, you rotate the mode dial to the stop, then rotate the command dial till you achieve the ISO you desire then spin the mode dial back to where you want it, you can do it in under a second and without taking your eye from the viewfinder. In my years of using it the menu and control systems have made perfect sense, there aren't a lot of menu options on the S2 but it has all the settings you need.

Opinion: I owned one of these for a few months in 2009. I was originally going to write a blog post about the camera - it's a relic nowadays - but it simply isn't interesting enough. That's not to say that it's bad, it's just that it doesn't have a "hook". It's a generally quirk-free six megapixel SLR with a slightly old-fashioned air.

As with the old Kodak DCS models it is essentially a Nikon film body with a digital module strapped to the back, although it is much more compact and lighter than the Kodak DCS units. It has an extended handgrip although there is no vertical portrait grip and one was not available as an option. It takes sub-2gb Compact Flash cards (with a second slot for the long-dead Smart Media format) and it also uses standard AA batteries, which makes it a practical alternative on the used market, because there's no proprietary charger to lose. The battery life was fine.

The body feels a bit flimsy. When it was new it was a premium product, more expensive than the Nikon D100, and I would have been a bit disappointed if I had bought it new. Nowadays it appears to be the cheapest used Nikon-mount digital SLR, even cheaper than the D40. It will autofocus older screw-drive lenses although sadly it won't meter with old manual focus lenses.

Long exposures were fine and noise-free; ISO 800 was decent although I wouldn't make a habit of using it. The colours seemed to be redder and a bit more vivid than usual, although the oft-repeated praise for the camera's "skin tones" sounds to me like a mixture of self-delusion and received wisdom. The colour balance is slightly redder and greener at the expense of the blues, that's all.

It seemed to work fine with my old Nikon SB-24 flash. Along with the S1 Pro it's the only Nikon-bodied digital SLR that supports Nikon's older flash units.

There was a lot of guff at the time about the resolution. It was interesting to open the files with DCRaw - they are six megapixel images rotated counter-clockwise by 45 degrees - but in practice I could see no advantage over my Kodak DCS 560, a sharp six megapixel SLR, and it's irrelevant nowadays anyway.

Fuji's multi-function soft button rear panel interface was very clever and extremely usable.

Opinion: When I decided to "go digital", I sold my various Nikon bodies (my beloved FE2, the F4 and my Nikkormat) and bought the S2Pro new which at that time was around $1000. I have been well pleased with the camera's performance. Although some people complain about noise above 400, I have shot (at times) at 1600 and the results are very, very good, better than I expected. I use Nikon and occasionally Tokina Professional lenses and find that the combinations produce excellent results. I shoot weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, portraits, nature scenics and occasionally (tame) wildlife---either in a park or at the zoo. The camera has always performed flawlessly. Some people are troubled by the double battery type issue. I suppose I simply don't shoot that much at one sitting. However, I always carry back up batteries (of both types) when I am shooting. (Which I did when shooting film.) So I don't really get what the issue is. But for what I do, it simply has not been a problem. I would recommend the camera to others, Based on the reviews, it seems that the F3 and the F4 were basically the same camera with a bell or whistle added. (Don't know about the F5.) The controls are well placed and intuitive. But also I am a straightfoward shooter, tending to shoot manual in the same fashion I used to shoot slide film. Since I am not much of one for changing lenses outside (or whilst on a shoot---preferring to carry two bodies with lenses mounted), I havent encountered sensor dust problems.

Opinion: This is an old camera now, with a feature set that harks back to the time it was
released (2002 I believe). It's really slow. It's "only" 6MP. It's all plastic; not so
much as a rubber pad anywhere near the grip area. And it uses a silly, outdated, 2-
battery system that can, at times, be awkward.

But ... oh my ... what pictures. Say what you will about the camera's body (which
isn't at all poor; in fact, I like it a lot!) .... but if you can't get simply wonderful,
film-like images out of this baby, it isn't the camera's fault, I assure you.

The Fuji S2 Pro is simply a wonderful tool, capable of some very fine imaging and,
without a doubt, the best imaging there is under difficult if not impossible high
contrast situations. It truly does have extremely wide dynamic range. Expose
correctly and its ability to capture whites to blacks in the same scene will amaze
you.

And the color! Spot on, with near-perfect skin tones, near perfect blue skies, near
perfect white and darks and everything in between.

I had long wanted to try one of these cameras and recently found one in mint
condition for less than $200. I didn't expect it to compare to my Canon 5D or 1Ds
II, but it does. In fact, it rivals my old D2x and old 1Ds Mark 1 for sheer image
quality. Oh sure, there are substantial and noticeable differences in clarity and
sharpness if you pixel-peep. But if you just print a D2x or 1Ds image to 13" X 19"
and compare them side-by-side with a 12MP interpolated Fuji S2 Pro image, you
just might favor the Fuji for its depth, richness and overall realism.

At today's prices, this camera is the bargain of bargains.

Opinion: Having used a Nikon D1 and a D70 as well I will be comparing this camera to them in regards to my experience.

I bought this camera used in November of 2007 as a backup.
At first I was excited about the "Super CCD" but leary of its dubious claims and questioned the quality of the camera body.
Being based on the Nikon N80/F80 The camera feels a bit plastically and hollow. BUT I find that it's still VERY comfortable to hold. More so than my D1. The camera is a little narrower than the D1 and a bit smaller in my hand. I like the little thumb spot.

The 2 Battery Issue that everyone complains about is really moot because this can be easily fixed.
I simply bought a battery grip for a Nikon N80/F80 and modified it to fix the S2, It was quite easy and there are a few write-ups online that describe it.

Now it runs completely on 8 NIMH AA's and goes forever.

Focus could be faster.\
Continuous shooting could be faster.
I mean it's just basically an old film camera converted to a digital so you can't really ask for to much.

NOISE can be bad at any ISO, shoot RAW only.
Long exposures get really noisy.

Overall, I really like it. It's got a connection for a traditional cable release how cool is that!!. But like anything, it's only good for so long.

It's not really a 12mp camera, it may "produce" a 12mp image but the resolution and sharpness do not dictate a 12mp image.

time to upgrade.

Opinion: Used this camera professionally for a year. Very troublesome in the colour and flash department.
Definately not a keeper, sold it.

Opinion: An Excellent Camera. Fuji is an outstanding company. After two years and 40,000
+ images with my S2, I developed a horizontal line of what seemed dead pixels.
This happened while shooting fall foliage in November of 2005. I dropped the
camera off (as I'm only about an hour away from their Edison, NJ plant) on Friday,
November 11th, and on Monday, November 14th they called me at my office to tell
me the camera was "ready for pickup at NO CHARGE". Absolultely incredible-
especially as it was out of warranty, and the serial number of my camera was not
listed as a "problem" CCD. Not only that, but everyone I encountered in that
building was extremely courteous and pleasant. Unfortunately, I've been to both
Nikon and Canon and I can't say the same for them. As a matter of fact I had an
extremely bad experience at Canon that I won't go into here.
Image quality is AMAZING. I also own an S1 Pro and I thought that was an
incredible camera. The S2 blows it away. The S1 has more than 50,000 images,
and, my S2, since having picked up the camera with the new CCD on 11/14/05 has
over 10,000 images so far. Operation and controls are smooth and flawless. Images
shot in RAW (which I use 99% of the time) are amazing up to 30 x 20". I shoot
everything from Macro of flowers, to GT and Daytona Prototype auto racing, drag
racing, landscapes, and still lifes-- you name it. I have found the S2 to be quite
useful and a workhorse. I shoot for stock as a "semi-pro" as photography is not my
"day job" but I sell about 400 images per year. All generated from the S2 currently.
I've read so many folks complaining about the CR123 batteries; to me, it's a very,
very small price to pay for the incredible ease of use, and outstanding image quality
I get. I always carry two sets of CR123's with me. In mid-March, while shooting
for stock in Virginia, my cr123's died in the middle of a shot. No problem.
Reached into my battery holder in my bag and in less than a minute I had swapped
batteries and was up and running. "No Problem". I just don't understand what the
big deal is. The AA durability is excellent. I use 2100 Mhz batteries, and they last
forever; I'm not one to check the LCD each time I take a shot either. I've been
shooting long enought to "know" when I've got the shot or not. I would rather use
AA's than a proprietary battery any day. For image download and processing I use
either iPhoto (Mac) for jpegs, or I use Adobe CS2 Bridge for RAW's. I shoot RAW
with this camera 99% of the time. It's so easy to use. When I opened the new
camera box, first thing I did was "frisbee" the Fuji CD's into the trash; second thing
was to also dispose of the LCD cover. The camera is a tool to be used, not a work
of art so if I develop a few scratches on the LCD, so what. And I gotta say so far,
in all this time, it's been scratch free. Since having the new CCD installed by Fuji in
November of '05, I've yet to clean my CCD. However, I did notice a few "dust
spots" on it while shooting a blue sky this past weekend so I'll have to clean it very
soon. I change lenses often, alternating between my Nikon Glass 28-105 macro,
18-55mm and my 80-200 zoom. I try to make my lens changes as quickly as
possible to avoid exposing the ccd to dust but it's going to happen so get used to
it. If I only have to do this twice a year, it's Ok with me. All in all, I would say I
would buy another S2 body if need be. I have looked at the S3 and a Nikon D200,
but, I am EXTREMELY happy with the S2, and with Fuji so why rock the boat?

Opinion: I use this camera professionaly,image quality is amazing especially in
RAW mode,it has firewire to download images and although it needs
two types of batteries battery life is good.I have just aquired a D70 as
back up ,wish I got a secondhand S2 !! Next stop S3 PRO !!

Opinion: I've used an S2 Pro for the last two years, shooting more than 15'000
pictures. I found it very easy to use and powerfull. I'm mostly using this
camera for shooting fast pictures during the winter season (ski
competitions). While this camera would be perfect for any other use, I
discovered several limitations in such use.
My first complain is related to the two sets of batteries. This is rather
inadequate. While we can use rechargeable batteries for one set, the
other two small CR123A (or DL123A) are expensive and you alsways
need to have one spare with you. SInce they are a bit non-usual, don't
expect to be able to find it in every photo shops. Doing a lot of sport
pictures, these batteries are used a lot and I need to change them
every 2000-3000 shots. This may be worsen by the cold conditions in
which the camera is used. Anyway, a single set of standard batteries
would be more appropriate on a "Pro" camera !
The second complain is toward firmware. This camera can't support a
4 GB CF II. I was forced to initialize the CF II in a Canon camera
(PowerShot G1), formated as a 2 GB FAT in order to use it in the S2.
The S2 is not capable of initializing it in 2GB... it refuses to recognize it.
But, the real surprise is that you can't update the firmware to fix it. On
a camera of that price, I found it unacceptable. What makes me upset
is the answer I got from the sales rep : "You need to buy an S3"... very
funny !
The third complain is more complex and deals with the S2's ability to
take pictures in low luminosity (no sun) and some dominant colors. In
ski competitions, you have either white (snow), very dark green (trees)
backgrounds and some red + blue polls (+various competitor's
wears). Competition slopes are very often in shadow area. During a
sunny day, you get sky reflection on the snow which seems to shit the
histogram in the blue area. Also, I need to shot picture at least at
1/1000, using between 400-800 ISO sensibility. All my pictures are
under exposed by a minimum of 2 diaphragms (up to 4), with a
dominant blue color. Even if I compensate the exposition, I still get this
unexpected blue dominance. I've tried to change many settings :
White balance, luminosity measure, etc. but I only get nanoscopic
enhancements. This is very disapointing.
All these problems are forcing me to look at another camera. The S2
is a good camera but not for this kind of usage.