Fuji S5 Vs D700 ( people have both cameras welcome to share comments)

Adoubeur wrote:

Hi,

I'm a professional photographer (wedding and portraits) and I've been working with a D700 and a S5 Pro for a while, before totally switching to the Fuji X system in 2014 (I'm currently working with 2 X-T2.

The D700 is a beast : very quick (AF, etc.), very good high ISO, etc. Great viewfinder too.

The S5 Pro has a similar body, but :

- the viewfinder is really smaller

- it's really slower (AF, viewing the pictures on the screen...)

- you can't fine tune the optics if you have front or back focus (you can with the D700)

- back screen is really bad and doesn't give you a good idea of the picture you've taken

Though, if I had to take one of these bodies today, I would take a Fuji S5 Pro.

Why ? Mainly for two reasons :

- The colours, especially the skin tones. There is something magical with the colours produced by the Fuji S5, and the D700 is not even close (in my opinion). This is also one of the reasons why I've switched to the Fuji X system.

- The dynamic range. It's amazing how you can recover burnt highlights with the S5, even on JPGs !

I also prefer the softer rendering of the S5, which suits portraits perfectly. This camera is special, it gives a "soul" to the pictures it produces.

Of course, the D700 is a way better camera overall. But it doesn't have this "magic".

It's a very subjective matter, of course !

I own a D700, and you really hit the nail on the head! The images from the Nikon are great, but my X-T2 is just a little bit better.

The D700 is a legendary camera for good reason. It does most things very well. Right now, we're seeing mirrorless cams surpass some DSLRs in some features but not all.

That's why a lot of pros are still gonna go for the latest offerings from Canon, and Nikon.

But things are changing...