Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro, 12.3 Megapixel (6.17 million S-pixels & 6.17 million R-pixels), SLR, Digital Camera (Camera Body)

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

Excellent camera for portraits,art and wedding photography. However, its slow for multiply shots, specifically sports photography.

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

I'm a professional photographer and use this camera for studio and on location work. I use it for both portrait work and weddings and find it easy to use, it produces great images with natural looking skin tones, and I love it so much I own two.

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

I am a professional wedding photographer. This camera is the exact same body as the D200, the color is amazing on this camera, pictures need almost no color correction. It's pretty fast compared to the Fuji S3. Cons - Needs a special battery, not interchangable with the Nikon batteries. Great for wedding photography!

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

I use my cameras to mainly photograph people. I do lots of PR and MARKETING work. Ilove being able to shoot at ISO'S OF 1600 TO 2000 and getting great results. BUT,slower than some other camera on focusing BUT,I don't shoot SPORTS and I dont shoot AIR SHOWS SO,I can live with it.

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

Fuji has way outdone any Nikon product. I was always a Nikon film camera user F100, F2, FM2, EM, and had the gamut of lenses, manual and AF.

fast, dependable focusing, uses Nikon lenses, and I just love it. Great color, exposure is always perfect. Built on flash is super!

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

I have two of the Fujifilm s5's. I use them for weddings, portraits, school photos. Being an "Old Schooler" I usually shoot on manual and am very happy with the results, but more importantly, my clients are happy!

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

O.K. here are the facts. I have been a professional photographer for over 30 years. When Kodak introduced the first pro digital camera,the dcs 660 for [$]. dollars. I was one of the first to jump on the wagon. What was I thinking!!. Yes big mistake. O.K. then was then. Now is Now.The fuji S5 pro is hands down the best DLSR I have ever owned. I have a lot of nikon glass, and I own (7) fuji S5 body's . I don't change lenses, I just change cameras.I love these cameras. they all have work flawlessly . My studio dose a lot of weddings, portraits, and commercial work. and we just love this camera.

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

I'm currently in the 8th month of a love-hate relationship with my Fuji S5 Pro. The camera has some great strong points: unbelievable reproduction of smooth skin tones in nearly every lighting condition, an effective auto white-balance (with preset override and kelvin for manual adjustments), great color rendition, recoverable highlights +2 stops (great dynamic range) and a capable menu system once you figure it out..and this does take time.

The biggest drawbacks to the S5: you're working with 6 mp. Reports will tell you that the extended DR and pixel site alignment produce higher quality images than a 6mp - this is true - but don't be fooled, this is NOT a 12 megapixel camera.

Long of the short of it: I can get exactly the correct balances in my images with my S5 Pro (RAF)- but the detail simply isn't there. Even with sharpness set to +2 and post-shooting adjustments in photoshop, 6mp is not enough for landscape work. If you're a wedding photographer or do lot's of portraits (of subjects wearing white in the snow) get the S5. If you shoot landscapes and want to print big...I can't recommend this camera for you.

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

For those that have never had a Semi-Pro dSLR before, there is quite a learning curve to this camera. I have heard complaints about the S5's menu layout, mainly from those who have owned the Nikons (the S5 is in a D200 body), but if one has never owned a Nikon before it should not be a problem. It wasn't for me (I came from a Pentax K10D and Nikon D40). The only problem I've seen so far with the S5 is the viewfinder seems small to me, compared to the K10D. I added the DK-21M eyepiece magnifier and it made a world of difference.

Overall I would highly recommend this camera. Get one while you still can!

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

I am a professional photographer that needs reliable, quality equipment. I use this camera for portraits and corporate photography.

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

This is a camera that excels in producing excellent skin tones and lovely color palates. love it or hate it, the fuji produces some unique looks that my clients always love. Images that have unparalled dynamic range which most consumers overlook. instead relying on resolution chart testing to determine overall performance. I will say that this is one of the few downfalls of the s5 for product and high res photography applications. I have heard the whole "in camera interpolation" argument many times and overlook this because of the wonderful shadow and highlight detail I can pick up while other sensors would totally blow the shot. I have, however; produced enlargements up to 20x30 that looked great. I use the best nikon and zeiss glass with the s5 and like any dslr it benefits tremendously. The body is built well and feels balanced. It's exactly the same as the d200. THe battery life is excellent and I usually go through 1 and a half for a 10 hour wedding or shoot.
Softness is a common complaint with using the standard setting for jpeg output but this is to eliminate noise at very high iso's. It can be adjusted to your liking though. If a file is well exposed a at 2500 iso it looks acceptable in an 8x12 print. that's impressive. It has finer tuning of color and gamma adjustment than a d200.
The Raw file size is ridiculous and write times are super slow in RAW. Approx 25mb and are difficult to deal with at a wedding when one shoots about 1500 images. Since the jpegs are really excellent that not too big of a deal. The raws do look slightly better in color rendering but lack, of course , the fine in camera noise reduction that I enjoy. My assistants are confused when I tell them I shoot jpegs, but it's only with this camera because they are 95% as good as the raw. Detail in enlargements of ten or more people in groups could be better rendered but this is where you pick up your d2x. Oh, The face recognition fgeature actually works in groups if they are all directly facing the camera.
It's not for everyone but if you shoot portraits and weddings it's one of the best and most unique cameras available.

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

I am a professional wedding photographer....this camera is my main body replacing my S3...Love the improvements that have been made...higher shutter sync speed, larger brighter LCD screen....higher ASA to 3200 with grain improvement.

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

Best camera I have ever owned. Used for just about everything. Most usefull camera ever.
FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera.

Mel Trail

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

Used for weddings, lots on new things on this model compared with the S2, still getting used to it, but loving everything about it!

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

This camera is so much easer to use than the Canon 20D, which was the camera that the S5 replaced. I do hoby photography. Weddings, Seniors, Children, Families and Special Events. The S5 is so close to film it is scary! I love it!!!

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

I am one of those that take their time and waits for the seven month review comes out before obtaining a new product. After reading the reviews from owners I found that current FujiFilm owners were very happy with the S5 Pro. So I bought it and could not have been happier.

The menu does take some getting used to but is easy to work with after a week or so. The skin tones are exactly what people expect when they go to a FujiFilm camera. The vibrant colors in nature photography are excellent.

As for previous reviews, I have had zero issues with the MB-D200 grip. In fact it feels sturdier than the MB-D200 on my D200 body or the MB-D80 on my D80 backup. It may be something with your camera and grip. I think we have all learned that this is to be expected with detachable vertical grips.

In reference to the review discussing actual pixels, digital appearance to prints and image MP sizes, I am not sure what to tell you. There are in fact 12 million individual pixels. FujiFilm just designed them so that they recorded specific information. It is because of this that you are able to have warm yet not pink tones and smooth instead of blotchy skin which is a characteristic of Nikon sensors. As for as image MP size, check and make sure you are not shooting it set to medium image size which is 6MP. If you shoot large image size then every image (RAW and JPEG) are 12MP. Finally, as far as the printed quality, various galleries have sold 30 images of mine shot with this camera. Each has been a 20x30 print. Of these four have been portraits in which you can count the eye lashes. Most of the buyers originally thought I shot them with film. So, I would say that there is little to no “digital” appearance to the prints.

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

My first Fuji was the S3 which I immediately liked, specially after being dissatisfied with my high end Nikon & Canon. The achilles heel of digital seems to be tonal depth and this is where the Fujis excel. I found the S5 to be a huge step up from the already wonderful S3. The body is much more responsive and the color and tones are even better and deeper. This is a high resolution camera for serious photographers who love depth & richness in their photos, look elsewhere if you're impressed by meaningless figures and useless features.

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

I'm an experienced professional film photographer, and I bought the Fuji S5 to take advantage of the Nikon lenses I already own. I intended to use it for studio product photography (to offer clients a quicker, cheaper substitute to 4x5 and 6x7), and the advertised 12MP sensor was about perfect to fill a magazine page.

The great part of the S5 is the film simulation modes and color rendering. Also, as advertised, the dynamic range is remarkable (apparently thanks to this Super CCD, S-pixel/R-pixel business...)

Unfortunately, this leads me to the BIG problem with this camera, which is that this camera's effective resolution is 2000x3000 pixels = 6 Megapixels. At least they are very pretty pixels... until the built-in interpolation function streches the picture to 12MP. This causes horrible artifacts and "staircase" lines that make the picture look both too soft, too sharp, and much too digital all at the same time. To make this worse, you can ONLY shoot at 12MP in the RAW mode. If you want the perfectly nice (albeit small) 6MP image, you have to shoot in JPG... which pretty much kills any chance you would have had to just shoot in 6MP and blow it up yourself with a good photoshop interpolation plug-in.

I decided to trade mine in for a Nikon D300, and I have been much happier with that camera. I would only recommend the S5 to someone who needs good color quality over large image size.

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

My specialty is Weddings and Family Events. After 37 years using 35mm format to 2 1/4 format the S3 was my first Digital Pro experience. My excitement for the S3 was clouded over by my first experience using the S5. Now I'm seeking a second S5 to replace the S3. The transition from the S3 to the S5 was soooo easy. I'll continue with the S5. The improvements truly excell the S3. Thanks Fuji for improvements. Do pay attention to the screw-on Power Grip. It came loose during a wedding. While switching to the S3 backup I found the loose screw-on connection, which had resulted in intermittent power and shutdown.

Comments about Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera (Camera Body):

I bought a Fuji S5 Pro in May 2007 now in Feb. 2008 I'm finally able to use it for the first time.When I bought it, it seemed soft focusing but I tried it on all my lenses and in several situations. When reviewing my images I concluded that nothing was really in focus. I had used it too much to return for exchange so I sent it to Fuji for repair.I received it about 2 weeks later and it was much better but now it was back focusing. I would focus on someone's eyes and their ears would be in focus. I sent it back to Fuji a second time for repair.I received it about 2 weeks later and it was exactly the same; back focusing by two inches!I had pretty much given up on ever getting it to work properly when I met a Fuji rep who told me to call Dennis Lopez and he would get me a new one. He said that I shouldn't be stuck with a lemon like I had.I called Dennis Lopez and left a message. His secretary called me back and said they weren't interested in giving me a new S5 but to send it to Fred's attention at Fuji repair.I sent it to Fred with a complete explanation of what I had gone through and 2 weeks later I received my S5 back but now it focuses properly. Some Nikon lenses work better than other Nikon lenses but it's O. K.So now, 9 months later I finally have a working S5 and almost[$] in shipping expenses.