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[To D200 users] Switching to Nikon...

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Anthony32599 said:
The S2pro and S3pro are definitely slower than the D200. However,
a glance at David's type of photography doesn't show subjects that
require a fast camera like the D200. His shots show a thoughtful,
deliberate process. The S3pro definitely would not cramp his style.
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It is definetly true for my personal works, but, as mentioned earlier, I am shooting also concerts/theatre in low light, and I have an attitude towards PJ-style in whatever I do (except studio sessions of course).
Anthony32599 said:
Built-in mirror lockup,
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Never used (before I had had film camers with MLU)
Anthony32599 said:
Stronger body.
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This is very nice for me. I tend to abuse gear...
Anthony32599 said:
Built-in intervalometer.
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Never used (before I had had film camers with it)
Anthony32599 said:
There's the improved flash system (i-TTL), but given
the beauty of his work already, I don't know that i-TTL would be
much of an improvement for him.
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Thanks for your kind words. I shot my first wedding as main photographer at the age of 18. I hated direct flash, so I used 3 thyristor units. At that time TTL-flash was only for flaship F3 camera and I just could not affort it. That is why I was forced to learn how to master multi-flash manually...

...I still have those abused Metz 45, and, after a little bit of adjustment compared to how I used them on film, I can still make them light my sets with the S2.
Anthony32599 said:
The viewfinder and AF systems are IMHO the best ways he'll benefit,
particularly in low light with the D200.
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yep

--
davide gazzotti
projects: http://www.davidegazzotti.com
works: http://www.davidephoto.com
 
Walter S Matthews said:
First, are the S2's somehow breaking down and not working now?
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[...]
Walter S Matthews said:
if your S2's are still working I don't think there is another
camera on the market that matches it for available light shooting
when there is enough light for it to focus.
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Yes they are working, but they are just full of "creeps", I find them noiser than 3 years ago and they got a dozen of hot pixels starting from IS0400. Last but not least my eyes are fed up with the tiny dark viewfinder...

...and, while I know them so well that I can often guess exposure without a light meter, I was never able to focus manually during PJ-style assignments with that viewfinder.
Walter S Matthews said:
The AWB on the S2 is
second to no other camera-I'll state that another way, the AWB on
the S2 is as good as the D2X or the D200, a lot better than the 5D
etc.....
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Gosh. It is good, but it is not perfect and 4 years have passed... I've limited experience. Just tested D1, D1x, D100 and D70s in the past, and was personally really disappointed by those cameras pictures.
Walter S Matthews said:
It does not deliver the most accurate rendering of color,
the Fuji color gammet is terribly biased and it tends to make the
color "nicer" but if strict color rendering is your ticket, then
stay with the Nikon series of cameras. The Nikons deliver almost
exact and usually flat and dull color. As Anthony says, you have to
look at the print and compare the print to what you were
photographing to be sure but the S2 does not deliver faithful and
accurate color. I happen to like the color the S2 gives me and I
find it to be as good as or better than any other camera I have
worked with.
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No. I never need accurate colours actually...
Walter S Matthews said:
So if your S2's ain't broke, you just might not go about fixing
them because [...]
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I can belive this.
Walter S Matthews said:
If you are shooting Flash with the S2's and have been successful I
salute you. I was never able to get mine to behave properly. I did
struggle through with flash and the S2-probably more than 50
weddings with it-and it can be done, but you fight over exposure
and blown highlights all the time.
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It was hard, but I had to do that. My first wedding with S2s was totally blown out. Fortunately I still had NPS loaded on a film camera as main device... I was successful after I adopted Micro Apollo softboxes...
Walter S Matthews said:
FOCUS AND EXPOSURE WITH THE D200 ARE BOTH VERY ACCURATE AND VERY
CONSISTENT AND THAT IS WHAT IS NEEDED WHEN SHOOTING EVENT
PHOTOGRAPHY. IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER WHERE THE CAMERA PUTS THE
COLOR BALANCE AS LONG AS ALL THE IMAGES IT MAKES ARE THE SAME, YOU
CAN MAKE THE CORRECTIONS IN A BATCH FILE THAT TREATS EACH IMAGE THE
SAME AND WILL DELIVER YOU USEFUL JPG IMAGES.
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It is correct. I don't like the S2 AWB inconsistency in low light, but when I tried a D70s I was really disappointed: the inconsistency was with any shooting condition.

Thanks a lot for your precise explaination.

--
davide gazzotti
projects: http://www.davidegazzotti.com
works: http://www.davidephoto.com
 
john651 said:
I looked at your site - very nice images, you have truly mastered
the Fuji S2.
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Thanks John.
john651 said:
I own the D200 and feel that it is everything I wanted my Fuji
to be. The IQ is better on the D200 and you can get great skin
tones from it. I persoanlly shoot both RAW + Jpeg now and love the
flexibility of a system like that.

I recommend playing with one if you get the chance. Also, I could
send you some NEF's to play with if you wish. I could send them
via yousendit.com
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Actually I don't have Nikon Capture or updated ACR, so... anyway, thanks for your kindness.

regards,
davide
--
davide gazzotti
projects: http://www.davidegazzotti.com
works: http://www.davidephoto.com
 
Markus Richter said:
The "great Fuji skin tones" are a myth!
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you know, myths are for easing life paths ;-)
Markus Richter said:
It's individual.
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Sure.
Markus Richter said:
Some like it more reddish, some other like it more
golden brown.
But thats what you can choose when you shoot RAW.
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What I know is I don't like D70/D100/D1X skin tones. I've tested them personally on JPGs. I often shoot JPGs during live events at the moment.

Thanks Markus for your opinion.

regards,

--
davide gazzotti
projects: http://www.davidegazzotti.com
works: http://www.davidephoto.com
 
Here's my opinion, go with the D200.

Here's why:

The focus and low light ability of the D200 is more important then the skin tones. I would rather have to work in photoshop a little to get the skin tones just right(they do come out just right if you take a little time), then to be annoyed, because I missed the magical moment waiting for the camera to write to the card. I would also rather have a sharp image from a low light situation that has blown highlights, then to have an out of focus image with every detail in a white wedding dress. A client won't really notice that her dress got a little blown out, but everyone can tell(well almost everyone) when a picture isn't sharp.

I shot with the S2 for two years, and have now been shooting with the D200 for a month. The d200 has produced skin tones that are as good as the S2 in 9 out of 10 shots. I find that it doesn't do as well with really fair skinned people (not too common in Southern Arizona). If a person has any tone in their skin it works great. I also find that skin tones tend to look muddy when the light is warm (such as sunset), but both of these problems can be solved in photoshop.

You won't be dissapointed with the D200. Also it looks like you convert a high percentage of your images to black and white, in which case color doesn't matter.
 
davidphoto said:
davidphoto said:
The "great Fuji skin tones" are a myth!
Click to expand...
you know, myths are for easing life paths ;-)
davidphoto said:
It's individual.
Click to expand...
Sure.
davidphoto said:
Some like it more reddish, some other like it more
golden brown.
But thats what you can choose when you shoot RAW.
Click to expand...
What I know is I don't like D70/D100/D1X skin tones. I've tested
them personally on JPGs. I often shoot JPGs during live events at
the moment.

Thanks Markus for your opinion.

regards,

--
davide gazzotti
projects: http://www.davidegazzotti.com
works: http://www.davidephoto.com
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--

Maybe when you shoot jpegs only, the S3 is the way to go. I can't say anything against that, because I never made just one jpeg with the Canon. I worked with RAW from the very beginning. I can't compare.

Jpegs are wasted images for me. RAW is like making your film in your own darkroom like the years before. I work like you in very low light, very often black and white images. I like the ergonomics from Nikon. But the terrible noise the Sony sensor produced was unusable for me. The Canon is a pleasure to work in low light (very good AF) and the quality at ISO 1600 and higher is very good. The DR isn't as good but similar to the S3.

If you liked the image quality from the S3 and work in difficult light at high ISO the 5D is for you. The only thing is when you work with both, you have to carry a lot of different lenses with you. ;-)

Markus
 
jacfra said:
I would rather have to work in photoshop a little
to get the skin tones just right(they do come out just right if you
take a little time), then to be annoyed, because I missed the
magical moment waiting for the camera to write to the card.
Click to expand...
I agree with you! that's why we've got RAW
jacfra said:
I would also rather have a sharp image from a low light situation
that has blown highlights, then to have an out of focus image with
every detail in a white wedding dress. A client won't really
notice that her dress got a little blown out
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Oh they notice! Believe me they notice :)
jacfra said:
I find that it doesn't do as well with really fair skinned people (not too > common in Southern Arizona). If a person has any tone in their skin it > works great.
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Okay this won't work for Britains, Germans and the rest of middle Europeans. I guess Italians and people from Spain are happier with the Nikon :)
jacfra said:
I also find that skin tones tend to look muddy when the light is
warm (such as sunset), but both of these problems can be solved in
photoshop.
Click to expand...
Exactly!
jacfra said:
You won't be dissapointed with the D200. Also it looks like you
convert a high percentage of your images to black and white, in
which case color doesn't matter.
Click to expand...
Yeah but you even see much more noise in black and white, which the Nikons produce very well :))

--
Markus
 
Okay this won't work for Britains, Germans and the rest of middle Europeans. I guess Italians and people from Spain are happier with the Nikon :)

I always forget how international this site is. Where I live if people's skin tones look a little red in a photo it's because they are sunburned in real life :). We are hoping to end our 133 days without a measurable amount of rain tonight.
 
I have to say that I agree completely with Walter re: D200 vs S2.
(I can't speak with authority on the S3)

As an S2 user, I can say that I can get very pleasing skin tones out of the D200 and the handling & metering & focus etc. blow the S2 away. (Don't put any stock in the LCD colours by the way, they look relatively flat & unispiring compared to the actual files.)

The camera is not perfect but it is VERY VERY good. The chief barrier to getting good images now is me.

Perhaps the greatest aspect of using the D200 is that it there is a tremendous liberty in being able to concentrate on the photography again instead of the tool. It's quite liberating. Capturing these images is pure magic...I'm thrilled.

-evan

--evan

D200, Fuji S2 etc.

http://www.pbase.com/eheffa
 
jacfra said:
Okay this won't work for Britains, Germans and the rest of middle
Europeans. I guess Italians and people from Spain are happier with
the Nikon :)

I always forget how international this site is. Where I live if
people's skin tones look a little red in a photo it's because they
are sunburned in real life :). We are hoping to end our 133 days
without a measurable amount of rain tonight.
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When I was in the Military I was a lot in Texas and New Mexico.
I know how hot it is down there and the girls too ;-)
As a middle European I was a perfect example for reddish skintones :D

133 days without rain. Thats hard. But I also wish my gloves and coat and the minus degrees away. We had snow again today...

--
Markus

http://www.markus-richter-fotografie.de
 
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