FujiFilm S5 Pro Users

[levi]

Hello

Just wondering if there are any S5 Pro users here?

Hope we could exchange info/tips on how to exhaust the features of the cam.

Thanks!
Levi

[swifty]

Oops.. seem to have missed this post.
I commented on your BW series but yea, I'm a proud S5 user!!
Read my comment on your other thread but now I understand why you're a jpeg shooter.
Haha.. I really like the jpeg output too from the S5 and often have to force myself to shoot RAW for technical discipline. If only the S5 write speed wasn't so annoyingly slow and the RAW files arn't so massive etc.
How long have you had your S5? Being a jpeg shooter, I'm guessing you've experimented through all the film presets? What's your fav?

[ricktas]

I sold my S5 when I purchased the D3. But I really enjoyed shooting with it. Certainly once you got your head round the Fuji menu, it was good. Agree, some of the in-camera settings produced seriously good results

[levi]

Oops.. seem to have missed this post.
I commented on your BW series but yea, I'm a proud S5 user!!
Read my comment on your other thread but now I understand why you're a jpeg shooter.
Haha.. I really like the jpeg output too from the S5 and often have to force myself to shoot RAW for technical discipline. If only the S5 write speed wasn't so annoyingly slow and the RAW files arn't so massive etc.
How long have you had your S5? Being a jpeg shooter, I'm guessing you've experimented through all the film presets? What's your fav?
Thanks for the comment.

Yep I most shoot jpeg. But for majority of these b&w shots were from my nikons and panasonic.

I had my S5 early this year... but been lusting for it since 2007. I did a review a couple of years ago and was blown away with what it can do in my type of photography. Yeah its slow compared to today's standards.

As for the presets - i mostly use standard mode with my own settings on saturation, etc.

But I do find the F1b pretty effective for studio work.

I used to like the F2 mode... though it has tendency to clip the blacks.

[levi]

I sold my S5 when I purchased the D3. But I really enjoyed shooting with it. Certainly once you got your head round the Fuji menu, it was good. Agree, some of the in-camera settings produced seriously good results
How do you compare the DR of your D3 and S5?

Based from reviews (ex dpreview) the DR of the S5 still reign supreme even among the new batch of cameras in the market.

[levi]

Here's a couple of sample shots frommy review of the S5 way back 2007

(using the F2 - velvia mode)
http://www.photo.net.ph/albums/userpics/10608/DSCF6965.JPG

http://www.photo.net.ph/albums/userpics/10608/DSCF6894.JPG

[ricktas]

How do you compare the DR of your D3 and S5?

Based from reviews (ex dpreview) the DR of the S5 still reign supreme even among the new batch of cameras in the market.

Perosonally I found the DR of the D3 beyond what the S5 could do.

Like the velvia replication, that was one of my faves, it certainly gave a very accurate digital rendition of velvia.

[Bear Dale]

Nice colour in those pics.

[levi]

Perosonally I found the DR of the D3 beyond what the S5 could do.

Like the velvia replication, that was one of my faves, it certainly gave a very accurate digital rendition of velvia.
Thats what I thought too.... that D3 would kick S5's ass in DR.

But checking on the lab test prove otherwise

Nikon D3
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond3/page20.asp
Fuji S5
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms5pro/page18.asp

at 400% DR settings, S5 has a usuable range of 11.8EV (-7EV and 4.8EV)

vs. D3 has a a usuable range of 8.6EV (-4.7EV and 3.9EV)

Notsure how accurate these review are though :)

[levi]

Nice colour in those pics.
Thanks JimD!

[michael_sa]

Great camera though I think it takes a little getting used to.
I mostly shoot in Std mode, the film sim modes never quite did it for me. I do shoot a few landscapes, but F2 mode is just too contrasty for my taste and seems to fly in the face of having such a huge DR available (IMO)
My usual settings these days are Std mode, std colour, tone & sharpening, at the 400% DR setting. Usually on AWB but I'm experimenting a little recently with custom WB settings (I'm using firmware 1.11)
I do find the WB a little off, this is most noticeable on (Caucasian) skin where the pinks tend to wander off into weirdness... so I have the AWB fine tune set to R -2.
I save RAF & jpg but almost always end up using the jpg. The S5 is a jpg machine!
When I do use the RAF's, I process using Photoshop/ACR and the amount of recovery that is achievable still blows me away. Extreme highlight recovery seems to tend toward a magenta cast in my experiments - here's someone else's test (http://www.flickr.com/photos/carpeicthus/450812330/)

There's some interesting stuff over at the Flickr S5 group (http://www.flickr.com/groups/fujis5/discuss/72157619444229635/) re settings/FAQ type topics - that might be worth checking out.

Here's a couple straight out of the camera (shot using a custom white balance, EXIF is here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelbuddle/3028724991/meta/)and here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelbuddle/3065792590/meta/))

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3060/3028724991_773cb8fc83.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3157/3065792590_f535c9672a.jpg

On the downside, the S5 absolutely sucks bananas at long exposure photography (in comparison to my D50) It really is a people/portrait/wedding camera imo and not a 'one body for all occasions' camera like most of the consumer/prosumer DSLR's.
I used to shoot a lot of night stuff and anything I've done using the S5 takes a bit (read: 'lot') of fixing up.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3264/2853723212_70e2abd6f3.jpg

A lot of noise and hot pixels were fixed up in that. Makes me appreciate just how good the long exp NR was on the Nikon!
Shooting at anything other than 100%DR for long exposures results in too much noise to be useful. (obviously noise generated from the R pixels)

I could go on but I'm starting to ramble... :crzy:

Love my S5

[swifty]

Michael_Sa: that flickr highlight stress test link you posted is amazing. I've never pushed it that far before and to be honest, when I've had a blow out like that I've just deleted the photo, not knowing something can be salvageable eg. covert to BW.

Re: long exposures - I've only tried it once for exposures a few minutes long. Up to 30sec I think the S5 is fine but in bulb and a few minutes later, the images are plagued with hot pixels. I've never figured it out but S5 doesn't have dark frame subtraction NR, does it?

About 3 min exposure I think of the milky way
http://swifty.smugmug.com/photos/449278452_5eqgn-L.jpg

~30sec
http://swifty.smugmug.com/photos/594395892_DHtiG-L-1.jpg

I also use standard mode mostly with DR set to 400% when shooting jpeg. Yes, it comes out flat but a lot of info to work with there. When shooting RAW + JPEG, then I'd often experiment with the presets. Not a fan of F2 I must say. Having said that, I've just shot through a roll of the real stuff and am waiting to get it developed to see how it compares to F2.

Re: DR. I believe the D3 would have far more DR in the shadows, after all it is the ISO king (well D3s is now) but north of mid-gray, its hard to match the S5. But not having a D3 its only a guess based on samples online.

[levi]

using the standard mode

http://www.photo.net.ph/albums/userpics/10608/3856/DSCF5610.JPG

http://www.photo.net.ph/albums/userpics/10608/3826/DSCF1615.JPG

[Gregg Bell]

will fujifilm make a replacement? hopefully being based off the newer nikon tech? anyone know?

[levi]

will fujifilm make a replacement? hopefully being based off the newer nikon tech? anyone know?
hmmm... no official word from Fuji on this... though there's been rumors the past year or so that the S5 pro has been discontinued..... though Fuji still has them on its website.

If they would come up with a new model... hopefully it would be a FF + Fuji's senso.

That would be sweet! :)

[levi]

http://www.photo.net.ph/albums/userpics/10608/3847/DSCF5305.JPG

[swifty]

will fujifilm make a replacement? hopefully being based off the newer nikon tech? anyone know?

All is quiet on the Fuji front re: DSLRs
Only rumblings are of a Fujifilm mirrorless camera system, ala EP-1, GF-1.
Which ain't a bad thing if they're using large sensors instead of only developing their small sensor technology, as seen in their EXR line.

Going a bit OT but personally I'd like to see Fuji take Ricoh's flawed genius idea in the GXR one step further.
Instead of modules where the lens are fixed, give us a modular system with a number of sensor + mount modules but don't fix the lens.
Given us:
- 2 base bodies (one EP-1 sized, one GH-1 sized).
- 2 initial sensor modules with a fuji mount and stabilisation (one lower MP, nice high ISO, extended DR and the other high MP, best low ISO and extended DR).
- 3 initial Fujinon lenses (pancake 40mm f1.8 equiv, pancake 24mm f2.8, collapsible zoom 28-70mm f3.5-5.6).
- adapters for every major mount
Later, just keep developing sensor modules eg. monochrome that we can add to the base bodies. Don't worry about needing to develop too many lenses but just keep the system as accessible as possibly by anyone with pre-existing lens from any system.
Yep... I'm completely dreaming!!

Anyways.. back on topic.
Great shots in standard mode, Levi. Tones and colours are just great. I expect nothing less from the Fuji and now that I've seen some of your work, I have high expectations from you every time you post from now on :th3:

[michael_sa]

It's great to see so much discussion here on the S5 :th3:

swifty,
In relation to long exposures and dark frames, no, there's no long exposure noise reduction by dark frame subtraction in the S5.
To clarify a little, most of my night photography exposures were in the order of minutes long, and the Nikon was just so much better at it. Sub 30 second stuff was ok from the Fuji - but only at the 100% DR setting.
That test shot- I tried image recovery from an extremely overexposed shot of my own and got nowhere near as clean a result as that example. Mine had poor detail and a strong magenta cast - in itself it was still impressive - to be able to pull an image back from what looked like a white frame, but for all intents and purposes, it was unusable. (I'll see if I can find it later, it's on a back up drive somewhere)
The thing is though - we're not trying to recover an image from a 3 or 4 stop overexposure, none of us are *that* bad - (are we?) but what we are trying to achieve, is to maintain image information in areas that would otherwise (in dare I say 'lesser machines') blow out.
The Fuji simply does it by capturing that highlight info, rather than by recovery from shadows - correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there more info in the highlights than the shadows?

[levi]

All is quiet on the Fuji front re: DSLRs
Only rumblings are of a Fujifilm mirrorless camera system, ala EP-1, GF-1.
Which ain't a bad thing if they're using large sensors instead of only developing their small sensor technology, as seen in their EXR line.

Going a bit OT but personally I'd like to see Fuji take Ricoh's flawed genius idea in the GXR one step further.
Instead of modules where the lens are fixed, give us a modular system with a number of sensor + mount modules but don't fix the lens.
Given us:
- 2 base bodies (one EP-1 sized, one GH-1 sized).
- 2 initial sensor modules with a fuji mount and stabilisation (one lower MP, nice high ISO, extended DR and the other high MP, best low ISO and extended DR).
- 3 initial Fujinon lenses (pancake 40mm f1.8 equiv, pancake 24mm f2.8, collapsible zoom 28-70mm f3.5-5.6).
- adapters for every major mount
Later, just keep developing sensor modules eg. monochrome that we can add to the base bodies. Don't worry about needing to develop too many lenses but just keep the system as accessible as possibly by anyone with pre-existing lens from any system.
Yep... I'm completely dreaming!!

Anyways.. back on topic.
Great shots in standard mode, Levi. Tones and colours are just great. I expect nothing less from the Fuji and now that I've seen some of your work, I have high expectations from you every time you post from now on :th3:
Fuji has been concentrating on the p&s market... and given that they have been doing that for a couple of years now, I guess they're pretty successful at (sales-wise) it inspite not having much hold of the dslr market.

@Swifty

Now thats additional pressure! Hahaha. Thanks anyways ;)

[levi]

@ michael_sa

i like ho you frame your shots. good control on the highlights too.

i guess thats one strength of the S5 (even compared to today's DSLRs).

share some more images! :)

[levi]

not particularly a great shot, but just wanted to show how S5 can control highlights in the scene.

http://www.photo.net.ph/albums/userpics/10608/3826/DSCF1786.JPG

[levi]

more snaps from the S5 PRO

http://www.photo.net.ph/albums/userpics/10608/3826/DSCF1721.JPG

http://www.photo.net.ph/albums/userpics/10608/3826/DSCF1679.JPG

[michael_sa]

@ michael_sa

i like ho you frame your shots. good control on the highlights too.

i guess thats one strength of the S5 (even compared to today's DSLRs).

share some more images! :)


Cheers mate, thanks.

Sorry I hadn't re-visited this thread.
The S5's been mostly in work mode rather than play mode lately...

Here is one from a few weekends back though:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2771/4097541215_fbc39ac741.jpg
(My 'Joey.' Shot near Basham Beach (Middleton, South Australia)
Fuji S5Pro, 1/400 @ ISO100 & 400% DR, Tamron 17-50/2.8 @ 50mm/f5.6, Fill flash from SB600, TTL -0.7 (on camera))

Been dabbling in a bit of real estate photography recently:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2537/4105563802_4580c1d1ac.jpg
- How's that for an *ensuite*!
(1/60th, F7.1, ISO400, 400%DR, +1EV, 14mm, a slight levels adjustment but otherwise straight from camera.
Not so happy about the mirror flare and the barrel distortion needs a bit of correction...)

Here's one from back in March - The lower lakes in SA (Taken at Pt Sturt)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3577/3322471270_f45a1ee441.jpg
(1/140th, f13, 10mm, ISO100, 400%DR (again - I rarely change from that))

That one's been a bit of a sleeper and when I look at it now, it really gets me in.
At risk of sounding up myself - It's worth looking at large (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/onblack.php?id=3322471270&size=large)

It's great to see the output from other S5's
- Keep 'em coming!

[michael_sa]

Hi S5 owners.
Sorry to dig up an old thread -
Just back to make another comment about the Fuji. (For those unfamiliar with the Fuji S5Pro, it is built around the Nikon D200 body but with a (very) different CCD sensor and firmware)

Recently I bought myself a second hand D200. I've shot maybe a hundred or so frames with it and the thing that has struck me most, is the amount of overexposed blinky spots I get. It reminds me of my first digital SLR (D50) - This stuff practically never happened with the S5.
I'm not after exposure coaching with the Nikon, I'm just saying how well - how brilliantly well, the S5 handles itself in those situations.
It takes shooting with a normal sensor to really appreciate just how good the S5 is at not blowing the whites. They're still an awesome performer. :th3:

Michael.

[Bear Dale]

Do Fuji still make DSLR's?

I've never seen any for sale for ages.

[swifty]

No, the last of the S5's were sold off around late 2008 I believe.
U'd be quite lucky to find any new S5's and I've certainly not seen any of late.
Slight rumblings about an S6 recently but I highly doubt it'll happen and even if it does, expect a high intro price although they do seem to be aggressive with their recent p&s pricing.
It's a shame about fuji. The S5 sensor's essentially the same as an S3 sensor which just goes to show how ahead of the curve they use to be. I've got a sneaky suspicion my 14-24 is out-resolving the S5 sensor n it'd be great to see an up to date fuji sensor improving on resolution and the already class leading DR.

[dsaini]

I tried S5 pro for few days and it was great however i would appreciate a S6 or similar. But cannot see it happening anytime soon.

[arthurking83]

..... however i would appreciate a S6 or similar. But cannot see it happening anytime soon.

I'm fairly sure that Fuji have officially pulled out of the professional level camera market, and are going to direct all theior eforts at the more profitable consumer/P&S market where sales are 10 fold greater.

The reason Nikon/Canon/any others can reap any benefit in the DSLR market is parts commonality. One sensor gets passed down from (generally) a high end body down to the lower end bodies over time(ie. D200 and D300 sensors). There's much less development cost involved in doing business this way and the sensor R&D pays itself off over a much longer time frame.
Fuji only ever had one DSLR in the market at any one time. Sales were low, so the return on investment in R&D and so forth was always low.. i suspect more of a showcase to what they can do with their sensor technology rather than a big profit product.

I'm sure I read an article on DPR a while back where some Fuji bigwig said that they're not producing any more DSLR's.
You'd have to expect tho that they will maintain a big presence in the sensor tech market, so it'd be interesting to see if they start to compete with Kodak in those terms(where Kodak sell more of the technology they've research, and sensors in the P&S market, and now seem to cater heavily to the larger format camera makers. Woudl be good to have a bit of competition in that segment(from the likes of Fuji) to start driving prioces down even faster.

$2K MF cameras anyone? :D

Anyhow.. don't quote me on this but I'm sure Fuji have stopped making DSLR's.

[swifty]

$2K MF cameras anyone? :D


Yes please. I'd take a MF back for me Contax. I'd even go to $4k :D

[clipper79]

This is one of my favourite all time digital SLRs. Completely reliable and superb colours. Does the job and I am completely amazed by it's DR range too. Here is one to share.

Taken at Anantara, Krabi, Thailand
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2665/3881047421_35b3e630d5_o.jpg