Reading mode: Light Dark

Fuji S2 Suppressed by Nikon

Go to last post
Mark127996 said:
Mark Abraham wrote:
I would like to see an F5 Fuji S3 16MP camera from Fuji next!

One can dream!
Click to expand...
While we are dreaming, I would be delighted with a Fuji 10mp super CCD, The F5 body is very sweet, but I would also settle for another N80 based unit. (I'm assuming that an F5 unit might cost several thousand dollars more)

Of course, if they can find a way to squeeze 16mp into the full frame size without reducing the size of each photo site on the sensor, I would go for that! I don't want to lose the image quality to get more pixels. This would require a radical re-design of the chip I think. Perhaps some kind of new generation of chip structure that runs signal lines and power lines under the sensors, to free up realestate on the surface. Essentially a chip on top of a chip. I know that IBM and others are experimenting with this, but I don't know if it is ready for prime time.

Another possibility might be going to much smaller line widths, allowing a greater percentage of space for the sensors.

I know this is all off topic, but it is fun to dream.

Best regards,
Jonathan
--
It's all good, but some stuff is better.
 
David,

Yes, that is the 24-85 AF-S G lens. Good to know it has potential.

Does anyone know if you can use the Quantum T flash with this camera using the QF-12 TTL adaptor that works with the Fuji S1?

Thanka,
Charles
DF said:
Is that the 24-85 AF-S G? If so, it's not at all a bad lens in
itself. It would definitely be more than adequate for most
weddings and portraiture, so long as you can control the lighting
to be able to shoot at f/5.6 or smaller.

For weddings, if you don't already have an excellent speedlight,
that should be your next purchase. The Nikon SB-80DX is a top
choice, and works wonderfully with the S2 and that lens.

For portraits, if you don't already own studio strobes, check out
Alien Bees. You'll be well advised to have a lighting set-up that
allows you to shoot at f/8.

As Teski said, it's all a matter of budget, and certainly there are
better lenses (especially primes) available. But if $$$s are an
issue, I would strongly advise you to invest in lighting first,
because that 24-85 will do a really good job. I've been surprised
at what a good lens it is.

Best wishes,

David
Charles Campbell said:
All of what you have said is insightful.

Can anyone recommend a lens for wedding and Portrait work? I have
a 24-85 Nikon ED lens that I bought with the camera.

Thanks Again
Charles
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Well, if we're going to make wishes, what I'd like is a camera with 2 built-in flashes or hotshoes--one on top of the pentaprism as currently exists, and a second flash or hotshoe on the side for vertical shots. This would eliminate that annoying side shadow and eliminate my need to carry a flash bracket.

Anthony
Jonathan Kardell said:
Jonathan Kardell said:
Mark Abraham wrote:
I would like to see an F5 Fuji S3 16MP camera from Fuji next!

One can dream!
Click to expand...
While we are dreaming, I would be delighted with a Fuji 10mp super
CCD, The F5 body is very sweet, but I would also settle for another
N80 based unit. (I'm assuming that an F5 unit might cost several
thousand dollars more)

Of course, if they can find a way to squeeze 16mp into the full
frame size without reducing the size of each photo site on the
sensor, I would go for that! I don't want to lose the image
quality to get more pixels. This would require a radical re-design
of the chip I think. Perhaps some kind of new generation of chip
structure that runs signal lines and power lines under the sensors,
to free up realestate on the surface. Essentially a chip on top of
a chip. I know that IBM and others are experimenting with this,
but I don't know if it is ready for prime time.

Another possibility might be going to much smaller line widths,
allowing a greater percentage of space for the sensors.

I know this is all off topic, but it is fun to dream.

Best regards,
Jonathan
--
It's all good, but some stuff is better.
Click to expand...
 
I think Fuji is tightening up on QC as a few cameras were shipped in a flawed fashion

Fuji is a pretty responsive outfit & they view their DSLR as flagships for them ...they are doubtless exercising increased scrutiny prior to shipping as this is 1) good for their reputation 2) cheaper than having bodies returned for repairs that could have been caught at the factory 3) short supply feeds demand & keeps the price up

quality control for something as complicated as the S2 can be very time consuming & I think this is the reason for the delay rather than any Nikon conspiracy
--
pbase & dpreview supporter
Fuji forum member since 5/2001
http://www.pbase.com/artichoke
 
In Singapore, we are also having a supply problem with the S2Pro.

According to my dealer, they said Fuji is having problems with the LCD and hence shipments are being held up.
 
Just checked, and the stock status says "overdue from vendor". Maybe some of the stores have them.

Teski
Thomas Karlmann said:
Everyone:

Supply problems with Fuji S2? Not for me. Try Calumet Photo.
Mine just came Dec 31st from thier LA store. According to tyhe
salesman, they had "more than a couple" in stock.

http://www.calumetphoto.com/

These are professional people.

If this helps anyone, please let my know!

Thom
Click to expand...
 
Folks:

I was having a chat with a salesman at a photo shop, and mentioned that I did not understand why Nikon would license the N80 to Fuji for the S2 when it competes directly with the D100. His explanation (don't know if it is true) was that Nikon makes their money by selling lenses, not bodies. Thus the more F mount bodies that are in use, the happier they are.

This does make a kind of sense, since I own one S2 body, and lots of lenses.

Hawk
 
Nikon, and the other camera companies, make their money on the lenses and accessories. That's why Nikon is smart and chooses to license with Fuji and Kodak. It's great for us F mount owners since we have a choice of bodies.

Teski
Hawk Hardcase said:
Folks:

I was having a chat with a salesman at a photo shop, and mentioned
that I did not understand why Nikon would license the N80 to Fuji
for the S2 when it competes directly with the D100. His
explanation (don't know if it is true) was that Nikon makes their
money by selling lenses, not bodies. Thus the more F mount bodies
that are in use, the happier they are.

This does make a kind of sense, since I own one S2 body, and lots
of lenses.

Hawk
Click to expand...
 
Teski:

I saw that on thier site too, but the story was different when I spoke with the Calumet sales person on the phone.

Thom
teski said:
Teski
Thomas Karlmann said:
Everyone:

Supply problems with Fuji S2? Not for me. Try Calumet Photo.
Mine just came Dec 31st from thier LA store. According to tyhe
salesman, they had "more than a couple" in stock.

http://www.calumetphoto.com/

These are professional people.

If this helps anyone, please let my know!

Thom
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I hope so...People have been wanting this camera for a while. Luckily I got mine last August, and I just want others to be as happy as I am. :-)

Teski
Thomas Karlmann said:
I saw that on thier site too, but the story was different when I
spoke with the Calumet sales person on the phone.

Thom
teski said:
Teski
Thomas Karlmann said:
Everyone:

Supply problems with Fuji S2? Not for me. Try Calumet Photo.
Mine just came Dec 31st from thier LA store. According to tyhe
salesman, they had "more than a couple" in stock.

http://www.calumetphoto.com/

These are professional people.

If this helps anyone, please let my know!

Thom
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Not to mention it is good for Nikon to get people ingrained into their lenses. Who wants to switch to Canon mount if you have thousands invested in Nikon glass? I think it is very smart of Nikon to license. Everyone wins, consumers get a choice, and Nikon becomes more and more the standard.

Regards,
Sean
teski said:
Teski
Hawk Hardcase said:
Folks:

I was having a chat with a salesman at a photo shop, and mentioned
that I did not understand why Nikon would license the N80 to Fuji
for the S2 when it competes directly with the D100. His
explanation (don't know if it is true) was that Nikon makes their
money by selling lenses, not bodies. Thus the more F mount bodies
that are in use, the happier they are.

This does make a kind of sense, since I own one S2 body, and lots
of lenses.

Hawk
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Mark Abraham said:
Welcome Charles!

I hope you have as much fun with your S2 as I am having. It's a
wonderful camera.

I don't know about the Nikon situation but hope they maintain a
relationship so we can continue to get these great cameras.

I would like to see an F5 Fuji S3 16MP camera from Fuji next!

One can dream!

Have Fun!
Mark
you won't have to dream to much longer - and your dream is not too far out
Click to expand...
thats as much as I can say
Mark127996 said:
Charles Campbell said:
Thanks to all for your valuable insight at this forum. It greatly
helped with the decision. I am very glad I bought the S2. Been
giving it a workout since I received it yesterday. I was unable to
handle the S2 at a dealer before buying and I had to mail order
mine. I was told directly by the owner of one Fuji / Nikon dealer
that Nikon was trying to suppress the Fuji S2. The reason he gave
is that when a customer handles both and then sees a few test
images, they walk out with Fuji 3 out of 4 times. He told me Nikon
was really putting the screws to him.

I went to another Fuji / Nikon dealer and they stock a wide variety
of Fuji cameras but not the S2. You can tell in their general
reaction to my request to see the S2, that you are treading on
tender toes. All they said was that they can order the S2 but they
have the D100 in stock. Surprising since they used to stock the S1
for years.

I originally bought a D100 Nikon back in October but took it back
for a refund. Images were terrible, under exposed with a magenta
colorcast. I tried another one in the store but the dealer finally
conceded there was something wrong, when an Olympus E-20 creamed
the D100 for color and exposure accuracy. I have heard that Nikon
has fixed this with a firmware update. IMHO, the D100 Nikon is
history. I can see it shaping up that Nikon will either buy the
Fuji Super CCD for use in their cameras or refuse to let Fuji use
their camera bodies as a platform.

I still prefer my old Olympus E-10s to the Fuji in handling and
intuitive controls. The Olympus has a more expensive feel to it and
a much larger image in the viewfinder. However, the speed and
surety of focusing, image playback speed and image quality, leave
the E-10 far behind. I will always have appreciation for the
Olympus E-XX series but it's time for Olympus to make some real
performance upgrades. They have it won hands down in ergonomics. I
just hope the Fuji is as reliable as my E-10s were.

People are always right when they say that current technology will
soon be eclipsed. The day may come that we get a disposable twenty
mega-pixel camera in a blister package at the checkout counter of
Wal-Mart. However, this is the case with everything in digital
technology. You can wait it out while the vendors leapfrog to
Valhalla but eventually you’ll have to decide to jump in somewhere.
For me the Fuji easily wins out against everything except the Canon
EOS 1Ds for image quality and the Fuji even gives the Big Canon a
run for the money. I doubt we will be seeing these two systems
outclassed anytime soon. When a $2500 digicam gives the top tomato
$8000 digicam a challenge, it’s time to sit up and take notice boys.

A Proud Fuji Convert
Charles
Click to expand...
--
Thanks!
Mark
Click to expand...
--
PRICKLESDAD
 
Another good point...Haven't seen you too much lately. Hope things are going well.

Teski
Sean Keegan said:
Regards,
Sean
teski said:
Teski
Hawk Hardcase said:
Folks:

I was having a chat with a salesman at a photo shop, and mentioned
that I did not understand why Nikon would license the N80 to Fuji
for the S2 when it competes directly with the D100. His
explanation (don't know if it is true) was that Nikon makes their
money by selling lenses, not bodies. Thus the more F mount bodies
that are in use, the happier they are.

This does make a kind of sense, since I own one S2 body, and lots
of lenses.

Hawk
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Hi,

There is logic for Nikon to get third parties onto the F-mount. Nikon is small compared to Canon and I guess they need the biggest user base possible.

Lens is their core business just look at there website and you see most of it's about optic's

D100 just came up short so there luck that the S2 didn't as well Canon would be streets a head.

To me Nikon is behind Canon in the Digital race. D100 vs D60 and No reply to the 1Ds, best hope Kodak. Not looking good, they need to sort it else they will loose there customer base in the F-mount and then they are stuff'ed.

Alex
teski said:
Teski
Thomas Karlmann said:
I saw that on thier site too, but the story was different when I
spoke with the Calumet sales person on the phone.

Thom
teski said:
Teski
Thomas Karlmann said:
Everyone:

Supply problems with Fuji S2? Not for me. Try Calumet Photo.
Mine just came Dec 31st from thier LA store. According to tyhe
salesman, they had "more than a couple" in stock.

http://www.calumetphoto.com/

These are professional people.

If this helps anyone, please let my know!

Thom
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
Alex
LWS photographic (UK)
 
Another vote for going down to your local Calumet. I think I had to wait three days for my S2. Very good service.

They had "store samples" (not for sale) of both the S2 and the D100. I have no way of knowing if Nikon is playing unfair games with its distributers. But, if they are afraid of folks simply touching the S2, they are "nuts". The S2 wins in image quality. The D100 is (seems) both lighter and smaller. The D100 viewfinder is brighter and seems larger. If playing in the store was my only "info", I would have bought the D100!

--
Tom Ferguson
http://www.ferguson-photo-design.com
 
Hi there Alex,

I'm sorry but can't agree with you. Nikon isnt small compared to canon. Maybe its smaller but isnt small. Smal is pentax, olympus and such.

Franchising bodies is a good way to go ? Imho yes it is. I know have some good Nikon optics and a S2 body. I want to shoot serious spots ? Ok, I get a new body lets say a Kodak 760 or a Nikon D1x. Want bigger resolution ? New body again, the Kodan 14n.

what does canon offer ? 3 bodies : canon d60 ( s2 contestant ), canon 1D ( 760 & D1x competitor ) and 1Ds ( 14n ) .

Is it leading? No. D60 isnt a better camera than S2. At least I think so. S2 is a wonderfull camera that produces wonderfull out-of-the-box images. D60 does well too, but post-procesing is a must. D60 is a great too, dont get me wrong. But isnt leading.

Sports. Is the 1D leading ? No way jose. What does a sports photographer want ? or a photojournalist ? fps + framebuffer + resolution. Canon 1d : 8fps , max 21 shots. Nikon 1Dx : 5 fps, max 40shots. While a Canon fills the buffer for 3 secs of continous shooting, Nikon still shoots 5 seconds more :-).

Max resolution. Is the 1Ds leading ? Well,in theory yes. It's the biggest mp camera in market now. But when kodak comes out 14 is better than 11.

About the lens : Canon have good lens. Nikon too. I like Nikon lens more but other prefer Canon's. It's true they have more USM and IS lens ( AF-S and VR alike ) but Nikon is catching up. Remember that we can still use fantastic superb lens with 20 or more years old. Why make a new model with hi tech fancie things if they have a current great model ?

And dont forget one thing : Canon flash sucks. They stink. Nikon are problably the best flashes for the consumer and even some pro's.

So they are real balanced ihmo. Well, imho Nikon is better thank Canon. To other Canon is better. But no company is the leader, its all up to the user preferences and if he likes to be seen on the street with a white lens ( blargh :-) )

Regards

--
Goncalo Proenca - Portugal, Europe
======================
Fuji S2 Pro / Nikkor 28-80 3,5/5,6 ~ Nikkor 70-300 ED 4-5,6
======================
My gallery : http://www1.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=73890
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top