Rear of Camera Controls

On the rear of the S2 Pro we have a row of photographic settings along the top of the camera (bracket mode, flash mode, metering, AE-Lock & AF-Lock, Main command dial). On the main back of the camera is the rear display panel (illuminated orange in this shot) with its four soft-buttons, the 4-way controller, LCD monitor and four other buttons.

Photographic settings buttons

Button
BKT Auto Bracketing Enable

• On
• Off

Auto Bracketing: Shots / EV

Choose any combination of:
• 2 or 3 shots of
• 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 or 2.0 EV steps
Flash sync mode

• Front-curtain sync (normal flash)
• Red-eye reduction
• Red-eye reduction with slow sync
• Slow sync
• Rear-curtain sync		 No action

Metering Mode

Metering
 		 Description

3D Matrix Metering with 10-segment SPD

Selects 3D matrix metering which uses a 10 segment sensor to calculate the best exposure for the frame. Use D or G type lenses with 3D Matrix Metering for the optimum metering.
Center Weighted Metering

The camera uses the entire frame for light measurement but assigns a greater weight to an area in the center of the frame (indicated in the viewfinder by the circle).

Spot metering

The camera measures light only in a circle 4 mm in diameter. This is tied to the currently selected AF area point unless dynamic AF or a non-CPU lens is used when it defaults to the center of the frame.

Other controls

Button
 		 Description
AE-L
AF-L

Auto Exposure and Auto Focus Lock

Pressing this button locks the current exposure and focus, they remain locked for as long as you hold the button even if you press or release the shutter release button.

Rear Display Panel buttons

The function of the four buttons below the rear display panel depends on the status of the display and selected menu. By default the display is used to relay information such as ISO sensitivity and frames remaining, press the FUNC button and the display switches to a menu of four options, each controlled by one button. In play and preview modes a menu is always displayed. Each of the available menus and the function of each button is described below.

Menu
  		Button 1 Button 2 Button 3 Button 4
Record 1 White balance

• Auto
• Custom 1
• Custom 2
• Sunny
• Cloudy
• Fluorescent 1
• Fluorescent 2
• Fluorescent 3
• Incandescent		 Focus area mode

• Single Area AF
• Dynamic AF		 Image quality

• High (TIFF/RAW)
• Fine (JPEG)
• Normal (JPEG)		 Image size

• 4256 x 2848
• 3024 x 2016
• 2304 x 1536
• 1440 x 960
Record 2 Color

• Standard
• High
• Original
• Black & White		 Tone

• Standard
• Hard
• Original		 Sharpening

• Standard
• Hard
• Off		 Lock

• Off
• On
Preview Record Erase Histogram

• None
• Master (Lumin.)
• Red Channel
• Green Channel
• Blue Channel 		Standard chart

• Off
• On
Play Histogram

• None
• Master (Lumin.)
• Red Channel
• Green Channel
• Blue Channel 		Erase

• No
• Ok		 Protect

• On
• Off		 Thumbnail index

• No
• Yes (3 x 3)

Rear controls

Button
 		 Description
FUNC

Rear Display Panel Function

Press the FUNC button to rotate through various options available in the current mode (record / play) which can be executed using the rear display panel. The panel will change its display and up to four options made available on the softkeys below the panel.
PLAY

Playback

Displays the last image taken (or the last image on the storage card) in this mode you can browse through images and view various items of exposure information (detailed later in this review). The S2 Pro is a shooting priority camera, a half-press of the shutter release will turn the monitor off and ready it for the next shot.
MENU
/OK 		Camera menu / Confirm

Display or cancel the camera menu or confirm a selection (detailed later in this review).
4-way controller

In shooting mode where AF point selection is enabled the 4-way controller is used to choose AF points. In playback mode this control reverts to image navigation / menu movement. The 4-way controller can be locked by turning the small lever below the dial to the 'L' position. Unfortunately the 4-way controller lock is a physical lock which disables the controller for use in menus too.
BACK Back

Back out or cancel the display of a menu.

Front of camera controls

On the front of the camera are two controls, first on the right side (from the back) of the lens is the depth of field preview button, pressing this button stops the lens down to the selected (or metered) aperture allowing the photographer to preview the depth of field of the final shot (obviously the viewfinder view becomes dimmer when the lens is stopped down). On the left side of the lens mount is the focus mode selector (modes defined below).

Focus modes

Mode
 		 Description
M

Manual Focus

Focusing is carried out using the focus ring on the lens, the focus indicator on the viewfinder status bar will indicate 'o' when the manually focused subject distance matches that calculated by the camera's AF system.
S Single servo AF (focus priority)

If the subject is stationary, the camera focuses when the shutter release button is pressed halfway. Focus remains locked while the shutter release button is held in this position (focus lock). The shutter can only be released when the in-focus indicator is displayed.
C

Continuous servo AF (release priority)

The camera adjusts focus continuously while the shutter release button is pressed halfway, automatically tracking moving subjects (focus tracking). The shutter can be released at any time, whether or not the camera is in focus (release priority). Focus is not locked when the in-focus indicator is displayed.

SuperCCD Cleaning

The procedure for cleaning the SuperCCD is summarized in the S2 Pro manual. It requires the optional AC adapter and a blower. You must then switch to manual mode and press the flash mode and illumination button at the same time as powering the camera on, the mirror will flip up and the shutter will open. At this stage the mirror and shutter will remain locked open until the camera is powered off. Cleaning can be carried out with either a blower (without a brush) or a sensor swab.