Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Review: Digital Photography Review

Compared to...

Studio scene comparison (JPEG)

This is our standard studio scene comparison shot taken from exactly the same tripod position. Lighting: daylight simulation, >98% CRI. Crops are 100%. Ambient temperature was approximately 22°C (~72°F).

On this page we'll see how the S5 Pro compares to two very different cameras at its two different output sizes; the Canon EOS 5D (at 12MP) and the Nikon D40 (at 6MP).

Fujifilm S5 Pro (12MP) vs. Canon EOS 5D

Camera settings:

Fujifilm S5 Pro: Nikkor 50 mm F1.4 lens, Aperture Priority, ISO 100
JPEG Large/Fine, Manual WB, Default Parameters (Normal), Self-Timer
Canon EOS 5D: Canon EF 85 mm F1.8 lens, Aperture Priority,
ISO 100, JPEG Large/Fine, Manual WB, Default Parameters (Standard PS), Self-Timer

Fujifilm S5 Pro (12MP)	Canon EOS 5D

5,819 KB JPEG (4256 x 2848)	4,969 KB JPEG (4992 x 3328)

It comes as no surprise that the 5D - with a full frame 12.7 megapixel sensor - captures more detail than the S5 Pro, which (clever Super CCD processing or not) is producing its 12MP output from 6 million input pixels. Canon's clearly superior 'per pixel' sharpness and higher in-camera sharpening produces a result that looks - on screen - sharper and crisper. As before, whether you'll ever see this in printed photographs depends on how big you want to go.

Fujifilm S5 Pro (6MP) vs. Nikon D40

Camera settings:

Fujifilm S5 Pro: Nikkor 50 mm F1.4 lens, Aperture Priority, ISO 100
JPEG Medium/Fine, Manual WB, Default Parameters (Normal), Self-Timer
Nikon D40: Nikkor 50 mm F1.8 lens, Aperture Priority, ISO 200
JPEG Large/Fine, Manual WB, Default Parameters, Self-Timer

Fujifilm S5 Pro (6MP)	Nikon D40

3,727 KB JPEG (3024 x 2016)	2,506 KB JPEG (3008 x 2000)

Ignoring for a moment the inherent softness of the S5 Pro's output (which we suspect is partly a processing decision, partly an aggressive anti-alias filter on the sensor itself), as these crops show it really is a very good 6MP camera indeed. Resolution is higher than the D40, and detail better without anywhere near as much sharpening. If you increase the sharpening on the S5 Pro shots the advantage becomes a lot clearer.