Fuji S5

Does anyone own a Fuji S5 ? if so is the veiwfinder image big enough ? the reason im asking is ive just looked thru

the viewfinder of a Nikon D3oo and it looks very small to me , will i have to go full frame (D700)?

Well, seeing as how the S5 is basically a D200 with a Fuji sensor you can get the picture so to speak. The D300 viewfinder is a little improved on the D200 so you may find the S5 VF to be a little 'cramped'.

As Neil points out, the Fuji S5 uses the same camera body as the Nikon D200, which IMO has a good viewfinder but it is not 100%. The D300's viewfinder is 100% so that the D200's is actually a bit worse than the D300's viewfinder. Therefore, if you don't like the D300's viewfinder, the chance is that you won't like the S5's. But the best way to find out is to take a look at an S5 yourself.

 

The S5 has other serious drawbacks, but that is another topic which has been discussed here many times.

What are you comparing against? The Viewfinder in the S5 is comparable to any DX format camera. If you are used to beautiful finders like the F3HP, then its tiny.

 

Frame coverage is certainly adequate, very few people need 100% coverage, add-in focusing screens can help with MF, and AF is accurate enough that the smaller finder isn't a huge hinderance.

 

It is something you eventually get used to.

If you don't like the D300 finder you probably won't be happy with any DSLR

I don't know what Shun Chung is referring to by "serious drawbacks" but I have read (even here on photo.net) a lot of praise for the S5 and I know two people who use the S5 as back-up cameras, one for his D200. I certainly wouldn't base any camera buying decision on size or magnification of view in the finder. My impressions from what I have seen, read, and been told are that the S5 can produce very smooth images at high ISOs but remember that the "real" resolution is 6 megapixels which may be an issue for you (doesn't have to be). Worth checking dpreview and also looking at popular photo sharing sites for images produced by this camera.

The image quality of the S5 is excellent without a doubt. I really liked the image quality I got from my S3, a few other

things about the camera drove me nuts though.

 

<img>http://thewarmland.com/img/v0/p236246043-2.jpg</img> S3 Pro ~ Sigma 150mm

Sorry, new to Photo.net, can't figure out how to add a photo...grrrr.

One of the primary drawbacks for the S5 is that it is extremely slow. That has already been discussed in this forum

several times. If even those who like it only uses it as a backup to the D200, which itself has been surpassed, it

doesn't sounds like an endorsement to me. Thom Hogan's review has a lot more details about the S5:

http://www.bythom.com/s5review.htm

 

However, the primary topic in this thread is the S5's viewfinder. What I learned in several years reading this forum is

that viewfinder quality is a big deal to some people and a total non-issue for some others.

In this current case, only Richy's opinion counts. It does not at all matter whether you and I like the viewfinder or not,

if Richy doesn't, that can be a deal breaker for him.

Hi sampson ,

Im comparing it to a Nikon Fe2 viewfinder,which is about twice as big (i havent yet owned a DSLR.

@Richy ....<br /><br />

 

You never specified what your needs are, body-wise,<br />

and why you're even considering an S5 Pro.