Groundbreaking dynamic range (Fujifilm Finepix S3 Pro)

Member Name: sax_man_al

Product:	Fujifilm Finepix S3 Pro
Date:	26/07/09 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 4x more dynamic range, great 2nd hand value, AA batteries

Disadvantages: slow file writing and focusing

By now any of you reading this review will be getting this camera second hand as it is now rather old. Having said that I would say it is a great camera for the price that you would now pay for it, and at the time it was released it had revolutionary dynamic range, and also the first incarnation of live view in a dSLR.

Fuji dSLR's use Nikon lenses, these are great lenses so this is really good.

Dynamic range: This camera uses a super CCD sensor. This uses about 6MP in a diamond formation, with about 6MP of smaller pixels between these main pixels. The smaller pixels are less sensitive to light, and this means they won't 'blow out' the highlights and will retain more detail in the image. This is an ideal feature for wedding photography where you will be dealing with a bright wedding dress but dark suits too.

The body is from an older nikon film camera, and uses the same focus and metering units. The focusing is rather slow unfortunately, but copes with everything but fast flying birds. The file writing speed is also rather slow, so don't expect high frame rates, especially if you have the dynamic range optimiser on.

There is a vertical grip as part of the body, although this only has a shutter release and no other functions. The batteries are in this grip, and being able to use 4 AA batteries is very versatile as they are available everywhere, and you can use solar or car chargers with ease to charge AA batteries now.

The sensor is easy to clean with sensor swab products which with care you can do at home yourself.

For a second hand cheap body, as a first dSLR or as a back up body this would be ideal, and will give great quality images. If you have used a S2 pro you will find this easy to use.

Summary: Great as a second/spare body, especially for weddings

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