Fujifilm finepix s2 pro dslr

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...20JOHN%201.jpg

found this, a $5000.00 pro-grade digital camera, at my local GOODWILL for a whopping $10.00.

scare up some memory cards for it, find that, being based upon elements of NIKON design,
using lots of off the shelf NIKON parts, and employing NIKON's F-MOUNT lens mounting system,
it is fully compatible with my existing NIKON D5000's lenses.

four AA alkaline and 2 CR123A lithium later, it works, damn well indeed for a 2002 DigiCam.

here are comparison shots, my 2009 D5000 vs this 2002 S2 Pro.
the S2 has a VERY bright built-in flash, and i haven't figured out how to adjust it yet;

-D5000-

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...SLRs/D5000.jpg

-S2 PRO-

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/S2%20PRO.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...20JOHN%203.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...20JOHN%204.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...20JOHN%202.jpg

For real quality photographs, use film. It has a better range than digital, and you can get the image you want rather than what the computer chooses to give you.

i figured out how to adjust the flash brightness way down.
even so, i have to pull WAY back from my subject when employing the flash, something i DO NOT have to do with the D5000.

any way, this S2 is mighty impressive for a DSLR the better part of two decades old.
even so, the 2009 mid-level D5000 is the clear winner, providing far more natural images
without hardly any of the tweaking that the TOTL PRO S2 requires to get even close;

NIKON D5000

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...0-%20D5000.png

FUJIFILM S2 PRO

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...20S2%20PRO.png

^ Are you mounting the flash on your camera? That's the worst thing to do. You want a detached unit you can set up away from the camera so you can adjust the point of the light source. Personally, I don't even mess with a flash. I use old fashioned hot lights, which work quite well, or available light.

I think that's the on-camera flash firing. Honestly, a camera mounted flashgun isn't bad, but I wouldn't use it without a diffuser, or pointing it up or back at a wall. Here, if you're using the on-camera flash, try putting a crumpled up kleenex or something in front of the flash, it'll make the light softer. However, I do agree, external lights are much nicer and let you do better work in a studio type setting, flash is really mostly for stuff like events or photography where you can't do anything about the actual light, and the external lights aren't an option for one reason or another. Myself, I'd rather work with a fast prime in those conditions, but I'll fall back to a flashgun if I have to. Though I do have an off-camera bracket that I can mount it on.

I much prefer digital to film tho, just for the versatility, it's probably been two decades since I've shot with film at this point, and I honestly don't miss it.

I do use a diffuser filter on my lights when shooting indoors. But to get a softer effect, I would put sheer material over the lens. Then I experimented by moving the material away from the lens and shooting through it. Interesting effect.

For a proper flashgun, I swear by the Gary Phong lightsphere, it's given me wonderful results.

And your method actually reminds me of how they used to do soft-focus effect ages ago, just by smearing vaseline over the camera lens.

The problem with vaseline is trying to clean it off your lens. Cloth is so much easier!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kaitou Ace

I much prefer digital to film tho, just for the versatility, it's probably been two decades since I've shot with film at this point, and I honestly don't miss it.

---

indeed, you cant just casually shoot at will with film, unless raw film and development costs are not an object to you...

-S2 PRO-

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...20S2%20PRO.png

-D5000-

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...30%20D5000.png

I always get great results with film. The only problem is when I have to convert prints to digital in order to send them off. I often develop dark, and that is something digital just cannot handle with ease. You get a lot more latitude with film.

Although news photographers usually use digital so they can quickly send their photos to their employers, they still carry film cameras as well for those shots which do not have to get into print the next morning. It gives them a much wider range.

now THIS... is really starting to look damn good... especially for a 15+ year old DigiCam...


http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSCF0428.jpg

i'm just being a plebeian amateur and all, but after days of dinking around, this is the best i can wrest out of the S2 PRO.
it looks good, save for the moire' quite visible on the texture of the right-hand girl's pink dress, an overall coarseness of edges in high image magnification,
and, of course, that damn-blasted Vacuum-Tubey flash warmth.

compare that to the NIKON D5000 in AUTO mode; i think we've a clear winner here;


FUJI S2 PRO

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSCF0486.png

NIKON D5000

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...CF0486%202.png

Honestly I like the slightly warmer tone of the Fuji image, though all the other problems do make the Nikon one superior. You might have some good results with a fast prime lens too, maybe a 50 1.4? Shooting smaller objects like these figurines, it'd let you get some nice background separation. Not necessarily a macro lens, but a basic fast prime might get good results for you.

thanks. they're dolls, not figures, though. a full 10in. tall at 1/6 scale...

naw, more like the S2 PRO for $10, at my local GW. Actually, less than $10.00, since it was on a MONDAY, and my mom was with me, so i benefited from GW's senior discount.

the NIKON D5000, i paid full price for that back around 2009, about $1000 or so for a starter kit at COSTCO, D5000 body, two lenses, camera bag and a pair of instructional DVDs.

in addition, i got a high-grade tripod for $150, a high-capacity SDHC card for another $50 or so, and a secondary battery pack for the camera at another $40 or so,
as well as a couple of starter books specific to the D5000.

all told, an expensive day, probably the most expensive i've yet had...

Wish i could find a discount camera that low. Still wouldn't pay 5 grand for that camera, even if it was new, back in 2002.

Aaah, i recall purchasing my very first PowerShot 100, that year.

actually, i don't believe that the FinePix S2 was more than $2000 when new in 2002, and, according to what i have read about it,
it sounds like it wasn't long before it was being commonly offered for something closer to $1500.

not inexpensive by any means, but a far cry from the $4000/$8000 that Nikon's top-of-the-line professional models have traditionally listed for...

Not to change the subject, but. . . .

KODAK HAS BROUGHT BACK T-MAX P3200!

Had some friends come back from central america, they brought over a Fuji poloroid camera thing. It was kinda spooky at first...