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Archive 2014 · Fuji S5 Pro

  
 
rattymouse
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p.3 #1 · p.3 #1 · Fuji S5 Pro


asdfghreturns wrote:
Batteries were in the backpack that was stolen. Anyone interested in the charger? Ideally someone who can pick up in the SF bay area?

To add to the discussion, I replaced my S5 Pro with an XE-2 which has similar nice Fuji colors, weighs less and performs much better indoors. However the mega dynamic range of the S5 Pro coupled with my Zeiss 35/2 prime was unbeatable in broad daylight. I miss what it could do with the colors of sunset light.


How did you find focusing the Zeiss with the S5? I'd love to try that but am scared that focusing will be too random.




Jan 12, 2015 at 09:44 PM
asdfghreturns
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p.3 #2 · p.3 #2 · Fuji S5 Pro


Manual focus with the Zeiss took some practice, but I learned to like it, and even was able to shoot action pics to some extent with just the stock viewfinder. The focus mechanism of the ZF is buttery smooth - low friction, nicely damped, very grippy surface. Eventually I learned a method of focus-bracketing the (moving) subject and timing my shutter presses at roughly the midpoint. I liked having the muscle memory for a certain focal distance and not having to rely on an AF system to guess-and-check its way into focus. You can use the focus-confirmation dot in the viewfinder as an aid, also.

Shooting landscapes and stars was very convenient because the end of focus travel was infinity and perfectly focused - none of this focusing-beyond-infinity sloppiness you get in AF and zoom lenses.

My X-E2 sometimes does some stupid things with autofocus that wouldn't happen if I had full manual control through an optical viewfinder. EVF zebra stripes are a poor substitute. But other times it is convenient to wave the camera in a general direction, not needing to press my eye against the viewfinder, and machine-gun the shutter. The S5 with ZF made me feel like a real photographer, in full control of the craft capturing the decisive moment (and just like the masters, would miss focus occasionally). The X-E2 is way more convenient for snapping people photos.

Car analogy is manual transmission vs. dual-clutch automatic. Different styles more than one being inherently better.

The colors of the Zeiss with S5 are so amazing it's worth learning the manual focus. ZF 35/2 has great bokeh, to boot, as does the 25/2.8.



Jan 13, 2015 at 04:40 AM
Gunzorro
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p.3 #3 · p.3 #3 · Fuji S5 Pro


Sorry, but I have to say I was not all that impressed with the S5. I wanted to like it and was infatuated with Fuji since attending a Will Crockett seminar (infomercial) on the S2. I liked the S5, but it wasn't a great camera after using the original 5D for years. As said above, ultimately the S5 is a 6MP camera, and not a terribly sharp one at that. I wasn't a fan of the color palette -- again, it was good, but not great to my eyes.

Given the current state of used cameras and their values, I'd take a Canon 1D Mark II any day over the S5. This 8MP is very sharp, great color, larger 1.3X APS-H sensor, and a full professional body with high FPS sports shutter. I owned two of them at the same time until a few years back, only selling them to upgrade to the even better 1D Mark III at 10MP.

The S5 and 1D2 essentially sell for the same price, although $200 for this particular S5 is a very good deal, if that's the body you want. The S5 has an undeniable cult status today, so you won't be alone if you decide to buy!



Jan 13, 2015 at 10:26 AM
paparazzinick
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p.3 #4 · p.3 #4 · Fuji S5 Pro


rittrato wrote:
Does anyone still use this camera? I found a local one for sale for $200. I did some research and found out from many of its users it produces one of the best skin tones.

Does it take FX Nikon lenses or would an adapter is required?


One of my favorite all time cameras.



Jan 13, 2015 at 10:47 AM
Mescalamba
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p.3 #5 · p.3 #5 · Fuji S5 Pro












Fuji S5 Pro + C/Y 50/1.4 MM

Im using KatzEye with it, far from great but it works mostly. Plus S5 Pro has 30 sec of LV, which is usually enough, if needed (decent for tripod work, funny is that even under bad light there isnt problem to focus, unlike modern A35 which gets so noisy, its impossible to focus by hand).

Saying that colors are nice is understatement. Its plenty sharp for 6 mpix, unfortunately it really is just 6 mpix. DR is very good.

Problems? Yea a lot of them. Its pretty slow, getting something from RAWs took me ages to figure "how to", but results are nice. And Im using kinda hazy lens (possible to "fix" in PP, not completely but it works most of the time).

Only real problem for me is that focusing by OVF only is kinda pain and that auto-exposure with non-chipped lens is unreliable. Not mentioning that if you want to get best of it, you need to severely overexpose (ETTR) and pull back in processing. Then those 14-bits and a lot of DR works nicely.

S5 Pro works best with Zeiss/Leica lens, especially Leica R are one of best for it. My only real problem is with what to replace it. But I have few adepts.. actually 1D MK3 is very nice substition too (one of best colors in Canon camera).


About noise, as long as you do ETTR, its usable up to ISO 800 (it provides full DR till then - actually even ISO 1000 works, but its just SW ISO, not real one). Just dont underexpose.. My old KM-7D is same, suprisingly usable even on higher ISO when ETTR is used.



Jan 13, 2015 at 10:48 AM
Gunzorro
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p.3 #6 · p.3 #6 · Fuji S5 Pro


Mescalamba wrote:
http://36.media.tumblr.com/4b51a43450b61b901d5e0a68287ac850/tumblr_nagj6htYfn1rmsltbo1_1280.jpg

http://41.media.tumblr.com/99f2379f1641d8520c1ef299d3220bcf/tumblr_nb6b0mC3gK1rmsltbo1_1280.jpg

http://40.media.tumblr.com/f5ace25e7361b160bf6e38058fea650e/tumblr_nbdp08I33F1rmsltbo1_1280.jpg

http://40.media.tumblr.com/fdf30a21cda411fcf5be3bd46d396885/tumblr_na45ijo68g1rmsltbo1_1280.jpg

http://40.media.tumblr.com/88028460cb659f8d63ce9cbec20ce53c/tumblr_nhx869bNJL1rmsltbo1_1280.jpg

Fuji S5 Pro + C/Y 50/1.4 MM

Im using KatzEye with it, far from great but it works mostly. Plus S5 Pro has 30 sec of LV, which is usually enough, if needed (decent for tripod work, funny is that even under bad light there isnt problem to focus, unlike modern A35 which gets so noisy, its impossible to focus by hand).

Saying that colors are nice is understatement. Its plenty sharp for 6 mpix, unfortunately it really is just 6 mpix. DR is very good.

Problems? Yea a lot of them. Its pretty slow, getting something from RAWs took me ages to
...Show more

Lovely shots, but they all look like they were dunked in chicken broth (or 81A filter). That's what I'm saying about what I don't care for in the S5 color shifts. I prefer pretty neutral color, then make additions as desired, not have the cameras do it for me.



Jan 13, 2015 at 12:25 PM
Mescalamba
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p.3 #7 · p.3 #7 · Fuji S5 Pro


Could you specify in normal talk in which way they have color shift? They might look tad bit cooler, cause thats what I like and also they are mostly heavily tweaked in color side of things.

Apart sakura and roses, these are pretty much close to just output from camera.

Plus my C/Y 50/1.4 shifts color balance towards cooler quite a bit.

One FM member (worldinlens) uses S5 Pro with Leica R lenses, results are rather neutral and pretty nice colors.. (never saw any color shifts in his pics). Actually very close to results from Leica R lens and old Kodaks (SLR/n and 645 Pro back).


That said, yes S5 Pro doesnt have neutral colors, none of Fujis have. But neither does have Canon, or Nikon. As far as I know, very close to perfect and neutral in same time was A900 and 5N.



Jan 13, 2015 at 02:10 PM
alba63
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p.3 #8 · p.3 #8 · Fuji S5 Pro


Mescalamba wrote:
That said, yes S5 Pro doesnt have neutral colors, none of Fujis have. But neither does have Canon, or Nikon.


Very true, very true. Maybe in color chart reproduction under controlled light some have, but in real life, CaNikon and Sony already fail to produce correct WB, let alone life- like skin tones. Nikon has always miserably failed in the latter, Sony's color (A7 system) isn't that great either. Canon is sometimes good, sometimes horrible.

All in all I always found S5pro to be one of the best in terms of WB and general "naturalness", S5pro images often have given me the feeling to look at a photo like "the eye has seen it".

Bernie



Jan 13, 2015 at 02:28 PM
DavidZvi
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p.3 #9 · p.3 #9 · Fuji S5 Pro


Other than limited battery availability as mentioned, it's not the fastest, and high ISO leaves a bit to be desired. But it was still one of my favorite cameras (and I've had a few*). I remember shooting a wedding with a guy using a brand new 5D. He was going nuts with white balance but the Fuji didn't have a problem. (Truthfully it was a bit of a torture test, my D200 was only doing a little better than his 5D.)

But I loved the colors and the dynamic range was incredible for the time.

At another wedding I was shooting under and into a dark overhang in the shade on manual and turned to see this and fired, then turned back to the bride and groom. I got home and at first figured I would just hit delete but figured I see what I could get, I seem to recall it was like 3-4 stop:

http://www.blueberryphoto.com/photos/i-WPwSzZ4/1/S/i-WPwSzZ4-S.jpg


http://www.blueberryphoto.com/photos/i-h7wLBnH/1/S/i-h7wLBnH-S.jpg


And colors?

http://www.blueberryphoto.com/photos/i-tSdQQhW/0/XL/i-tSdQQhW-XL.jpg




*40/50/70/200/300/700/600/800/750



Jan 14, 2015 at 10:16 PM
rattymouse
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p.3 #10 · p.3 #10 · Fuji S5 Pro


If you shoot RAW, you can nearly recover from 5 stops overexposure with the S5 Pro. The camera simply has an amazing ability to pull highlights down.






Jan 15, 2015 at 03:05 AM
banpreso
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p.3 #11 · p.3 #11 · Fuji S5 Pro


that fire hydrant photo is beyond impressive


Jan 15, 2015 at 04:26 AM
Mescalamba
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p.3 #12 · p.3 #12 · Fuji S5 Pro


Well, there is 4-stop (exactly) difference between those big and small cells. Usually thats what you can get back (in LR its a bit more, cause they have quite clever algorithm to reconstruct highlights, but not my cup of tea.. also their demosaicing isnt for me either).

Plus recently LightZone can do some magic with those files too, bit pain to use tho.. (also if things didnt change, pain to actually get it ).



Jan 15, 2015 at 10:17 AM
Gunzorro
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p.3 #13 · p.3 #13 · Fuji S5 Pro


Mescalamba wrote:
Could you specify in normal talk in which way they have color shift? They might look tad bit cooler, cause thats what I like and also they are mostly heavily tweaked in color side of things.

Apart sakura and roses, these are pretty much close to just output from camera.

Plus my C/Y 50/1.4 shifts color balance towards cooler quite a bit.

One FM member (worldinlens) uses S5 Pro with Leica R lenses, results are rather neutral and pretty nice colors.. (never saw any color shifts in his pics). Actually very close to results from Leica R lens and old Kodaks (SLR/n
...Show more

I should say that your subject and composition is lovely -- no offence intended for your thoughtful work.

I meant there is an overall color cast of "tea-colored" or " tea-stained". Not cool, but a warm orange-ish color, emphasized in all but the last shot.

I find Canon and most new Nikon to be fairly neutral, and Canon most realistic with Nikon slightly exaggerated in saturation in the Standard style.

Everyone has their own take on embellishments or even aberrations that add to their images (I'm fond of the 50L's wide open softness due to spherical aberration.)



Jan 15, 2015 at 10:30 AM
alba63
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p.3 #14 · p.3 #14 · Fuji S5 Pro


Mescalamba wrote:
Well, there is 4-stop (exactly) difference between those big and small cells.


If I am not wrong: It is 2 stops. Not 4.

1 stop = 200% brightness. 2 stops = 2x200% = 400, which is what the last DR step is called.

The X cameras try to simulate the same by pulling the stuff from the shadows, but it is not the same look. The S3pro and the S5pro are still the only cameras that can ´hold such huge DR *in the highlights* where they have a ceamy, soft, analogue look. Once you lift the shadows in ISOs above 200, visible noise in the shadows is the inevitable price to pay. This sensor is easily 10 years old (S3pro) and one can only speculate how good it would be, would Fuji have pushed it's development further.

Even without further development, a imaginary S6pro with FF sensor in a d700 body with - lets say - 14MP (x2 in Super CCD version) might have been the only camera I would have needed for many many years to come.

Sigh - it never became true, although Fuji reportedly tested a prototype of such a camera. But probably decided it would be too expensive. At that time....
But the fact that Fuji has - whenever they published new facts about their "organic sensor" development - always emphathised that it will have superior DR, so they are well aware what really matters, and that their X- cameras - so far - are not a match for the S5pro...



Jan 15, 2015 at 02:24 PM
Mescalamba
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p.3 #15 · p.3 #15 · Fuji S5 Pro


Gunzorro wrote:
I should say that your subject and composition is lovely -- no offence intended for your thoughtful work.

I meant there is an overall color cast of "tea-colored" or " tea-stained". Not cool, but a warm orange-ish color, emphasized in all but the last shot.

I find Canon and most new Nikon to be fairly neutral, and Canon most realistic with Nikon slightly exaggerated in saturation in the Standard style.

Everyone has their own take on embellishments or even aberrations that add to their images (I'm fond of the 50L's wide open softness due to spherical aberration.)


Meh, I dont mind or take it personally. Thing is I dont see that cast at all.. Im using quite decent model of EIZO LCD, which is pretty accurate in colors and Im color almost hyper-sensitive, so either there is some ICC flaw in my pics (might happen as I use far from standart processing) and it shows somehow my pics with warm tint, or dunno..

But my pics shouldnt have any warm color cast. Damn, I need to check it on some other PC or so..



Jan 15, 2015 at 05:14 PM
Mescalamba
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p.3 #16 · p.3 #16 · Fuji S5 Pro


alba63 wrote:
If I am not wrong: It is 2 stops. Not 4.

1 stop = 200% brightness. 2 stops = 2x200% = 400, which is what the last DR step is called.

The X cameras try to simulate the same by pulling the stuff from the shadows, but it is not the same look. The S3pro and the S5pro are still the only cameras that can ´hold such huge DR *in the highlights* where they have a ceamy, soft, analogue look. Once you lift the shadows in ISOs above 200, visible noise in the shadows is the inevitable price to pay. This
...Show more

I wrote it in "dream camera system 2015".. use same tech on 36 mpix FF CMOS. I suspect result would be close to 20 eV. Problem would be probably in delivering it into some processable files (I guess that would exceed 16-bit). Im not sure how big is that eV difference, just read those 4 eV somewhere and from what I tested, it seemed close to 4 eV (3 - 3,5 eV but sometimes more in my testing).



Jan 15, 2015 at 05:16 PM
Gunzorro
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p.3 #17 · p.3 #17 · Fuji S5 Pro


Mescalamba wrote:
Meh, I dont mind or take it personally. Thing is I dont see that cast at all.. Im using quite decent model of EIZO LCD, which is pretty accurate in colors and Im color almost hyper-sensitive, so either there is some ICC flaw in my pics (might happen as I use far from standart processing) and it shows somehow my pics with warm tint, or dunno..

But my pics shouldnt have any warm color cast. Damn, I need to check it on some other PC or so..


Maybe it's my monitor! It's really not important, and I'm sorry that my comments caused you any distraction. The images are very nice, and I'm possibly being influenced reminiscing about my one S5 experiences.



Jan 15, 2015 at 07:19 PM
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