Nikon d200 vs Fuji S5 I'm going crazy :D

I shoot mainly portrait so dynamic range and tonal gradation at highlight is

dead or alive thing for me.

 

I never really care about any other brand because i've been always faithful with

Nikon. But i just came across this article comparing Nikon D200 with Fuji S5 I'm

so amazed.

 

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdc.watch.impress.co.jp%2Fcda%2Freview%2F2007%2F02%2F27%2F5666.html&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools

 

The Fuji handles highlight details so well it really amazes me.

 

 

The Nikon show familar blown up highlight and more importantly, not smooth

gradation in highlight details:

 

 

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/static/image/2007/02/26/dj_d200.jpg

 

The Fuji gives really smooth gradation:

 

 

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/static/image/2007/02/26/dj_s5pro_230.jpg

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/static/image/2007/02/26/dj_s5pro_400.jpg

 

 

 

I'm really not up for changing over to Fuji :(

 

But can you please advise me how to keep highlight details better in Nikon.

Should I shoot RAW more often (I shoot mostly JPEG) and save highlight details

in Raw converter, and if so exactly how to have highlight details like the S5?

What kind of tone curve should I use.

 

And can I load that tone curve to D200 to give better JPEG production?

 

Thank you.

Well, if you buy the Fuji, you still have a Nikon... Only the interiour and the logo is different. But the handling is the same.

it really does look like a Nikon does it

Most digital cameras today are capable of producing superb images. Probably more important than the camaera body itself is an understanding of how the camera works through its custom settings, the lens you are using, a good understanding of exposure and of course composition.

 

With care and patience, and inexpensive P&S camera can shoot impressive pictures as good as cameras costing 10, 20 even 30 times more.

 

Never having used the S5, I cannot comment on it, but from what I have read, it is a great camera, as are Nikon and Canan DSLR cameras. Many of the differences in photos I have seen as far as color could easily be a result of camera setting such as exposure or custom settings.

 

Regardless of which camera you choose, you will get superb results, so get your camera and have fun.

It is a Nikon body. Same lens mount.

hi Mark ...

 

there's been a lot of recent postings (here in Nikon forums)about the S5/D200 quandary. i invite you to start with the most recent:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00KJMO

 

look for my first reply in that thread and check out the links to other threads discussing the S5.

 

the S5 is based on the D200 body, yet all the internal organs are different, i.e., sensor, internal logic, menuing system, and a few more features unique to the S5.

 

please keep this in mind - (in my opinion) - the S5 is "not another D200" ... it offers enough unique features to set it apart.

 

i also suggest you jump into this forum, specific to Fuji:

 

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1020

 

regards, michael

Just get Fuji. Will save you a lot of time in post processing. It's nikon camera with Fuji electronics and imaging. D200 does have higher resolution, but Fuji has better dynamic range and noise performance.

 

To get better highlight details out of d200, you'd underexpose it and brighten it up or take multiple exposures (exposure bracketing will do the trick) of same image and combine them. First method will create noise in shadowy area, and second won't be practical with moving subjects, and both method will take up time. There is no other way of doing it just using the curves, once it's been blown out that's it, you cannot retrieve the lost information.

 

Fuji sounds like the camera you need and want. So why limit yourself to Nikon badge on the camera when the one with Fuji badge will do everything you want much more easily?

I have struggled with this myself. I have decided to go Fuji. I have owned 6 different point and shoot models including the newer S9100. The above post is correct, internally they are completely different. The Fuji sensors are the best in my humble opinion. I prefer their color renditions and the best digital pictures I have ever taken were with my Fuji S602Z SE.

 

I love that the Fuji Pro cameras use Nikon lenses. I am a huge fan of both companies.

Hi, I have always shot jpeg, which is what steered me towards Fuji from the start (S2). But the S2 needed a lot of care (typically 1/2 stop of underexposure) to preserve highlights. So later I bought the S3 specifically to address that issue. It worked for my purposes. Below are 2 jpeg pics, the first taken as a test shot in front of my house and the 2nd while on vacation. The S5 is basically the S3 sensor (with some fixes for better white balance, etc) in a D200 body. The reports from the field of early users have been quite positive... again, for their needs. Cheers, -Greg-

 

http://www.pbase.com/coraltown/image/58818230

 

http://www.pbase.com/coraltown/image/61508010

Its the loyalty thing you know :(. Like you grow up supporting Liverpool, then you cant switch to Manchester United. Okay Manchester United would be Canon, but Fuji would be like .. Barcelona. Maybe I can support both? But its still morally wrong ...

hi David W. and Mark JK.

 

(to Mark) i'm a pretty friggin loyal Nikon user (back to the late 70's) and yet i don't see a problem adding the S5 to my arsenal of bodies. as a matter of fact, i got my S5 last night (and MB-D200 grip). it's my opinion that if there is a need for a specific tool to accomplish a task, quicker and more efficiently, then get it. i can see where i'll spend less time post-processing with images coming out of the S5, so why not take advantage of that? all the Nikon peripheral gear i have is usable on the S5 (Sb800s SB600s zooms primes).

 

(to David) the images coming out of the S5 are pretty incredible*. i see myself using this body more than the D200, unless i require high FPS. i'll [really] be exercising the S5 through this weekend. i've only taken about 10 quick shots just to check high-ISO performance and for DR. if i can find the time to post the photos, i will.

 

regards, michael

 

* some might say "incredible" is a pretty strong word ... i'm mostly talking about, in addition to the great DR and high-ISO quality, spending less time post-processing. if i spend *less* time in setting up the exposure, taking the shot (don't forget reviewing the image and histogram), and if i spend less time post-processing, then that is incredible :)

i'm struggling with the same decision!!!! so glad i found this post... i would definatelly go

with Fuji but - WHY, WHY WHY WHY just 6 MP!! come on! we got point and shooters with 10

MP these days, if they're coming out with a new camera they call "pro" shouldn't they increase

the MP instead of decreasing? i don't get that. i read some article saying that it doesn't

matter because of some other stuff - all a little fuzzy to me - but i need to blow up my

images large, i can't afford just 6 MP. i'm so mad about that! but if you don't care about

printing very big images, you should definatelly go with Fuji.

i can understand you are going to get crazy. the nikon is the better choice bezuse of it's reaction speed . the fuij is not bad but the original is better. the D200 is a great camera but compaired to the fuij in car tersm the nikon is a nice expensive sportscar (ferrari/ lambo) and the fuij is a solid volvo 440 . that's is imho the difference , it also depends if you have the time and if you do not take action photo's buy the fuij and if you do forget the fuij buy the nikon.

"WHY, WHY WHY WHY just 6 MP"

 

The Fuji S5 is a 12.3mp camera shooting 6.17million "R" pixels (Regular) and then superimposed over it is 6.17 million "S" pixels (shadows). This gives it the higher dynamix range. Check out the video at

I have Nikon D70, I also am not very happy with highlight issues, most of the times the highlights on the camera shown on the LCD look ok... but once u see the image on your computer the highlights are blown out.

 

I am considering going for the Fuji but it has one disadvantage it has a slow buffer writing images on the memory card. So what do I do?

"it has one disadvantage it has a slow buffer writing images "

 

I think you need to weigh the advantages. One guy summed it well...2 stop dynamic range, excellant body, great flash, great AF module, true resolution comparable to any 10mp camera (like D200), fantastic jpwg output, great performance at high ISO (up to 3200). I think I can live with slower write speed, likely due to design of combining both images.

 

Check out http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1020&message=22340560 .

 

Click at the top of the list on poster named "Marky Boy" to see photos with both S5 and D200. Further on he posts shots with the D5. To me resolution for all 3 are similar at 300%, but I have my doubts in other areas. First, compression of tones (the zones 5 and up seem compressed). Second, what about the zone system as the software combines two images.

I would like to try it in a store, then take the results home on CD to make my decision. Also, it may seem appealing in high contrast situations like in the photos shown, but what about flat scenes. Are they going to be too muddy, and tones compressed?

Check out this video

 

http://www.noendpress.com/pvachier/cameras/fuji_S5.php

I have 3 Nikon D200. I am professional wedding photographer.

 

I bought the Fuji S5 but I am dissappointed below are my reasons why.

 

The histogram is so darn small it is really unusable.

About 1/2 the size of the D200 histogram.

Pictures were ok, but all my lenses backfocused a bit on the Fuji.

I am sure I could have sent it back for calibration but I was not that impressed.

 

Slow to use compared to the D200. I used F1 mode. I had sharpening set to +2.

Picture does not take 3 seconds, it is not that slow. Slightly slower than the D200

For a wedding the D200 is easier and faster. The D200 image can be zoomed in on faster and easier and MORE than the image on the LCD of the Fuji

The pictures out of the Fuji were ok. Others say they are great but I think they have not used the D200.

I just like the ease and quickness of the D200 better.

I feel the images on the LCD are easier to view and clearer than the Fuji

 

The Fuji , I am sure takes great image quality pictures, But I can get better from my D200.

The Fuji histogram said overexposed but the pictures were not. The histogram is SOOOO small.

The D200 LCD is clearer that the Fuji.

The flash exposures on the Fuji I feel were not as consistant as the D200.

 

It is packed up and I will send it back to Adorama tomorrow.

 

Maybe for studio work the Fuji would be great but for a wedding I like the ease and quickness of the D200.

I switched to Fuji recently after more than a decade of shooting Canon. It's a totally different world. If you are a photographer that doesn't mind taking a little time and thinking about a shot then the FUJi is wonderful. If all you care about is speed and uber-resolution then look elsewhere. Six megapixels doesn't sound like much, but if a photographer frames the image well, uses extremely sharp lenses (like zeiss F mounts) and knows how to light and exposure properly...Then its very possible to be happy with just 6 megapixels. The Dynamic range just crusehs anything you'll ever get from a canon or nikon. The Fuji plus Zeiss F mount lenses is almost like having a miniature version of a Hasselblad H series.

I have read a lot of comparison between these two cameras.

Here are some of the best samples, to see is to beleive?

 

http://www.shadow.janikit.co.uk/fujinikondr.htm

 

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1020&message=23773497

 

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1020&message=23538648

 

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1021&message=24291058

 

http://www.thinkcamera.com/news/article/mps/UAN/366/v/1/sp/

 

I personally kept all my Fuji DSLRs and sold all my Canon and Nikon gears.

Buy Nikon if you shoot sports and Fuji for the rest.........

I dont sell speed, i sell prints.

Thnxs.

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