bberg
Senior Member
Well, today I returned the S2 I had been testing over the weekend. (returned it to Circuit City with no restocking fee charged 
Here are the reasons that drove me to chose the Pro1 over the S2...
1.) Image Quality - Pro1 has much less noise when images are viewed at 100%. This is extremely important for both cropping and printing of larger images. If you have a lot of noise (I don't care what anyone says) it is definiately not good when you want to crop or make 8x10 or larger prints.
2.) External Flash Hotshoe - I have the 420ex for my Pro1 and I can't tell you how much of a difference this makes for indoor photography. The instantly noticable benefit is no more redeye (which I had tons of in my test shots with the S2). You can also bounce the flash which eliminates people from having flash reflections on their skin and face. In addition, the lighting has much better (more natural) coverage and there are no harsh shadows behind the subject like the S2 produced. The only trade-off here is weight as the Pro1 with 420ex weighs quite a bit in comparison to the relatively light S2.
3.) 8 Megapixels - While there is always a lot of discussion about why people really need 8 megapixels, the simple fact is that most pictures need cropping. Really think about the percentage of pictures you normally crop once you get them onto your computrer. When you took them, they looked well composed on the LCD but now that you see them on your larger computer monitor you notice something on one of the edges you really wish wasn't in the picture. This especially happens with outdoor/landscape shots where you aren't focused on one thing in particular. It could also happen indoors too... What if you really like the way your sister looks in a particular shot that you took with your uncle Charlie who your whole family hates. Just crop him out of the picture
4.) Lens Quality (28mm wide) - This is something that can only be appreciated when you do a side by side comparison of the S2 and the Pro1. You really realize how much of the picture you are losing with the 36mm lens of the S2. Having the 28mm lens is priceless for those indoor shots of the entire family. With the S2 you would have to knock down a wall so you could back up far enough to get everyone into the picture.
And the clinching reason for why I returned the S2...
5.) Price - The Pro1 is at an excellent price point right now where the camera you are getting far exceeds it's cost. The S2 is so hyped up right now that you are paying nearly as much for an S2 and you can for a Pro1 (maybe $100 less for the S2 depending on where you live). In 6 months, the hype around the S2 will be over and I'm sure the price will have dropped at least $100 in some places by the end of the year.
That will be the perfect time to buy an S2 to put along side your Pro1 as the perfect compliment.
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Brandon
Pro1
Here are the reasons that drove me to chose the Pro1 over the S2...
1.) Image Quality - Pro1 has much less noise when images are viewed at 100%. This is extremely important for both cropping and printing of larger images. If you have a lot of noise (I don't care what anyone says) it is definiately not good when you want to crop or make 8x10 or larger prints.
2.) External Flash Hotshoe - I have the 420ex for my Pro1 and I can't tell you how much of a difference this makes for indoor photography. The instantly noticable benefit is no more redeye (which I had tons of in my test shots with the S2). You can also bounce the flash which eliminates people from having flash reflections on their skin and face. In addition, the lighting has much better (more natural) coverage and there are no harsh shadows behind the subject like the S2 produced. The only trade-off here is weight as the Pro1 with 420ex weighs quite a bit in comparison to the relatively light S2.
3.) 8 Megapixels - While there is always a lot of discussion about why people really need 8 megapixels, the simple fact is that most pictures need cropping. Really think about the percentage of pictures you normally crop once you get them onto your computrer. When you took them, they looked well composed on the LCD but now that you see them on your larger computer monitor you notice something on one of the edges you really wish wasn't in the picture. This especially happens with outdoor/landscape shots where you aren't focused on one thing in particular. It could also happen indoors too... What if you really like the way your sister looks in a particular shot that you took with your uncle Charlie who your whole family hates. Just crop him out of the picture
4.) Lens Quality (28mm wide) - This is something that can only be appreciated when you do a side by side comparison of the S2 and the Pro1. You really realize how much of the picture you are losing with the 36mm lens of the S2. Having the 28mm lens is priceless for those indoor shots of the entire family. With the S2 you would have to knock down a wall so you could back up far enough to get everyone into the picture.
And the clinching reason for why I returned the S2...
5.) Price - The Pro1 is at an excellent price point right now where the camera you are getting far exceeds it's cost. The S2 is so hyped up right now that you are paying nearly as much for an S2 and you can for a Pro1 (maybe $100 less for the S2 depending on where you live). In 6 months, the hype around the S2 will be over and I'm sure the price will have dropped at least $100 in some places by the end of the year.
That will be the perfect time to buy an S2 to put along side your Pro1 as the perfect compliment.
--
Brandon
