Fuji S5 or Nikon D90

[OreoCookie]

Does the D80 have the same viewfinder as the D90?

Not quite, but they should be very similar (I haven't tried a D90 personally yet, but I own a D80). The D90 has a 96 % coverage vs. the D80's 95 %, the other specs (eyepoint: 19.5 mm, magnification 0.94x) are identical. In both cases, it's a huge jump from the D40x. I've sold a D70 after two weeks, because the D80's viewfinder was just that much larger.

The Fuji shares the viewfinder with the D200 which is essentially the same as the D80's viewfinder. Again, that's not a bad thing.

I am just thinking with a Tokina lense it will not auto focus on my camera but would on a D80 and I can then "tweak" the focus manually from there.

Yes, the new Tokina lenses have a simple clutch mechanism: you pull back the focus ring and you are in MF. To engage AF again, you have to push it forward. As mentioned by others, AF is not as critical with wide-angle lenses. Plus, if you replace your D40x (which will become your backup body, I presume?), most of the time you will be working with a camera that has a built-in focus motor anyway.

 

[mattw126]

I shoot weddings for a living and have D2X, D200 & an S3 Pro. Although it's painfully slow, I still like the 'film like' quality and dynamic range of the S3 over both Nikons. My next camera will be the successor to the S5. My uncle is a wedding photographer in NY and has 2 S5's. When I'm up there shooting with him, I bring my cameras, but my lenses go on his backup S5. It's a great camera, especially for landscapes, but it also provides great skin tones.

 

[leighonigar]

I don't think many people are expecting an S5 replacement, at least, not from FUJI.

 

[mattw126]

I don't think many people are expecting an S5 replacement, at least, not from FUJI.

I guess it's kind of wishful thinking , I haven't heard about anything in the works, which is a real shame considering what they could do with an updated Super CCD SR Pro sensor. Maybe something like a full frame, 10MP + 10MP, in say a D3 body...

In the meantime, I might just sell the D200 & S3, and grab an S5 for myself.

 

[ChrisA]

So I am wasting my money and am better off spending the cash on some better quality lenses?

What you need is "balance". The way I think to achieve that is to ask yourself if you are spending so much on the body that you have to save on other parts of the system. If you are doing that then move down to a lower priced body.

Years ago it made some sense to put money into a body because you'd keep it for a long time, a decade or more. But today you upgrade them like you upgrade computers

 

[Digital Skunk]

Nikon will never give Fuji the D3 or D700 body. Fuji got the D200 but that was about it. No electronics. Fuji supplied all internals sans the shutter and we got a body that had a kick @$$ sensor, better than any Nikon do date, even the D3 (in terms of dynamic range) but in a super retarded slow speed for said DR.

The successor would be a winner in the Fuji camp if it were FX, but I don't see Nikon giving up their D700 or D3 bodies for an FX sensor that would in essence be far superior IQ wise to the current ones as long as a shooter sticks to ISOs below 500.

If I had a choice, I'd go for glass and another D40 type body, or just the glass. Grab the Tokina's the ones that DO autofocus on the D40x and such. The 12-24 got updated months ago and now has an AF motor. But, if i had a choice between the S5 and D90 I'd evaluate my shooting style and where I am going with it, and choose the S5 if I do more landscapes and portraits, or the D90 if I need the speed.

No speed needed --> S5
Speed needed --> D90

 

[Mr Ski 73]

Not quite, but they should be very similar (I haven't tried a D90 personally yet, but I own a D80). The D90 has a 96 % coverage vs. the D80's 95 %, the other specs (eyepoint: 19.5 mm, magnification 0.94x) are identical. In both cases, it's a huge jump from the D40x. I've sold a D70 after two weeks, because the D80's viewfinder was just that much larger.

The Fuji shares the viewfinder with the D200 which is essentially the same as the D80's viewfinder. Again, that's not a bad thing.

Yes, the new Tokina lenses have a simple clutch mechanism: you pull back the focus ring and you are in MF. To engage AF again, you have to push it forward. As mentioned by others, AF is not as critical with wide-angle lenses. Plus, if you replace your D40x (which will become your backup body, I presume?), most of the time you will be working with a camera that has a built-in focus motor anyway.

I would sell my D40x so this would be my main camera.

 

[Mr Ski 73]

I guess it's kind of wishful thinking , I haven't heard about anything in the works, which is a real shame considering what they could do with an updated Super CCD SR Pro sensor. Maybe something like a full frame, 10MP + 10MP, in say a D3 body...

In the meantime, I might just sell the D200 & S3, and grab an S5 for myself.

Interesting, I think I am going round in circles here

 

[Mr Ski 73]

Nikon will never give Fuji the D3 or D700 body. Fuji got the D200 but that was about it. No electronics. Fuji supplied all internals sans the shutter and we got a body that had a kick @$$ sensor, better than any Nikon do date, even the D3 (in terms of dynamic range) but in a super retarded slow speed for said DR.

The successor would be a winner in the Fuji camp if it were FX, but I don't see Nikon giving up their D700 or D3 bodies for an FX sensor that would in essence be far superior IQ wise to the current ones as long as a shooter sticks to ISOs below 500.

If I had a choice, I'd go for glass and another D40 type body, or just the glass. Grab the Tokina's the ones that DO autofocus on the D40x and such. The 12-24 got updated months ago and now has an AF motor. But, if i had a choice between the S5 and D90 I'd evaluate my shooting style and where I am going with it, and choose the S5 if I do more landscapes and portraits, or the D90 if I need the speed.

No speed needed --> S5
Speed needed --> D90

Difficult as I have said before, how much is the 12-24? I have been doing some digging am am worried about the compatibility with the S5 and Aperture it doesnt cut the mustard espec on recovery and black level.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Difficult as I have said before, how much is the 12-24? I have been doing some digging am am worried about the compatibility with the S5 and Aperture it doesnt cut the mustard espec on recovery and black level.

It's about $500 in most places that I have seen. Around $400 used at b&h photo video.

Optically it's on par with the Nikon only lacking in build quality. It was going to be my choice lens until the paper finally issued me a 17-55 and I had no more need for the 12mm at f4. Now my eyes are set on the D3 and D700 replacements.... so I haven't been looking at too many DX lenses.

 

[OreoCookie]

Difficult as I have said before, how much is the 12-24? I have been doing some digging am am worried about the compatibility with the S5 and Aperture it doesnt cut the mustard espec on recovery and black level.

The S5 Pro is supported by Aperture. I'm not quite sure by `doesn't cut the mustard on recovery and black level:' both functions should work just fine. You worry too much (As I said, my offer to trade my D80 for the Fuji still stands! )

The 12-24 is relatively inexpensive, $400-500 (at bhphoto: $500 new, $400 used). I wouldn't look for the very, very cheapest price, get it from a reputable place like Calumet or bhphoto: you will have less head aches that way.

 

[Mr Ski 73]

The S5 Pro is supported by Aperture. I'm not quite sure by `doesn't cut the mustard on recovery and black level:' both functions should work just fine. You worry too much (As I said, my offer to trade my D80 for the Fuji still stands! )

The Aperture comment is true I have downloaded a S5 Raw file and the image will load in but some of the features of Aperture 2.0 do not work.

Thanks for the info on the lens I am going to look into that.

 

[Mr Ski 73]

I have decided to dismiss the S5, thanks for all the comments

 

[OreoCookie]

The Aperture comment is true I have downloaded a S5 Raw file and the image will load in but some of the features of Aperture 2.0 do not work.

Just out of curiosity, which features don't work?

 

[Mr Ski 73]

Just out of curiosity, which features don't work?

Recovery and Black Point

 

[Mr Ski 73]

Recovery and Black Point

The way round it is to use a plug in like Vivezza and then Aperture saves the file as a TIFF

 

[OreoCookie]

The way round it is to use a plug in like Vivezza and then Aperture saves the file as a TIFF

Where did you download your RAW sample from?

 

[Mr Ski 73]

Where did you download your RAW sample from?

From here

http://www.jirvana.com/raw_large/fuji_s5/

I have tried converting as well with Abobe DNG and that doesnt work at all, I cannot even get the file into Aperture.

 

[Mr Ski 73]

The S5 Pro is supported by Aperture. I'm not quite sure by `doesn't cut the mustard on recovery and black level:' both functions should work just fine. You worry too much (As I said, my offer to trade my D80 for the Fuji still stands! )

The 12-24 is relatively inexpensive, $400-500 (at bhphoto: $500 new, $400 used). I wouldn't look for the very, very cheapest price, get it from a reputable place like Calumet or bhphoto: you will have less head aches that way.

Tell me if I am wrong but you think I should still be looking at an S5?

 

[OreoCookie]

Tell me if I am wrong but you think I should still be looking at an S5?

The two advices is independent.
At that price, it's an intriguing camera -- for me, at least. I don't want to push my opinion on others, especially if both choices are good The lens fits on any of the two and will last longer than either body.

For a reason that is beyond me, Aperture has forgotten its license number, so I will have to try this at home (I forgot to add my license code to my keychain). But thanks for the link to the RAW file. It opens just fine in Preview (why shouldn't it), but I have to wait until tonight to fiddle with it in Aperture.

 

[mattw126]

Just my

but I (almost) never use those 2 features in Aperture. If one of my Fuji images needed some extra love I would just open it in ACR. I say go with the S5 & save the extra money for glass. I know it's a tough choice - if you can get your hands on the 2 cameras, take a few shots, etc. maybe that will help. Either way you're gonna get a great camera, I just wouldn't let 2 relatively negligible (IMO) Aperture adjustments sway your decision, especially when you can always open the file in PS.

On a side note: I've found that even with a 'perfect' exposure all digitally captured images need their histogram tweaked. However, a lots of shots from my S3 break this 'rule', no doubt due to the dynamic range. Case in point, check out my entry for this weeks photo contest. This online version does the photo no justice, I don't like some of the noise I'm seeing in the stream, and the gradation looks off (I can only guess this is due to the hosting site). BUT, the only adjustment I've made to that image was a rotation, and I can assure you the original has a histogram that needed no adjusting. The 24 x 36 I have on my wall looks flawless.

BTW, I feel like I'm trying to sell you a car, but ultimately I just hope you get the most out of your investment.

 

[OreoCookie]

Case in point, check out my entry for this weeks photo contest. This online version does the photo no justice, I don't like some of the noise I'm seeing in the stream, and the gradation looks off (I can only guess this is due to the hosting site). BUT, the only adjustment I've made to that image was a rotation, and I can assure you the original has a histogram that needed no adjusting. The 24 x 36 I have on my wall looks flawless.

Wow! Great pic, hard to believe you didn't tweak the image!

 

[OreoCookie]

Aperture uses its older RAW engines to process the Fuji's pictures. That's why some functions aren't available when processing RAWs, but work fine when rendering the RAWs.

 

[Mr Ski 73]

I got my new S5 Pro about a week ago. I wasnt 100% I was making the right decision but after looking at the results I couldnt be happier. The colour is amazing and the images require far less adjustment through the likes of Aperture than my old Nikon.

I am now investigating Tokina lenses

Thanks for all your help

 

[Digital Skunk]

I got my new S5 Pro about a week ago. I wasnt 100% I was making the right decision but after looking at the results I couldnt be happier. The colour is amazing and the images require far less adjustment through the likes of Aperture than my old Nikon.

I am now investigating Tokina lenses

Thanks for all your help

I would have it no other way if I didn't get my crap for cheap/free from the paper.

Going through this post may have me trading my D200 in for an S5 for the versatility.

I am very glad you made the right choice by the way. Image quality should always win out if the two competitor's don't produce the same IQ.