Nikon D70 vs Fuji S2 Pro

[stormywhether]

There's a hundered or so in it, but which would people say would be the best buy at the moment out the two of these beauties?

Discounted the 300d now, so just focusing (erk!) on these babies.

Anyone rate one over the other?

[Sam]

Of the 2 I'd pick the Nikon as Nikon have a better reputation for producing good optics. Alternatively wait for the new Canon 20D *drool*

[papalaz]

They both use Nikon optics :p ;)

dunno which is better - read the specs of each and decide which one's more useful to you. I've heard people rave about the S2 pro, but I've never shot with one - they were originaly in a different price bracket to the D70 - it was more a competitor for the D100

some links, from the ever helpful website of Thom Hogan

S2 review
http://www.bythom.com/fujis2.htm


D100 vs S2
http://www.bythom.com/s2d100.htm

[Sam]

They both use Nikon optics :p - dunno which is better

:shrug: learn something new... I thought the fuji had a Sigma mount for some reason :)

[stormywhether]

oooh, now that 20d looks SEXY!

Hmm, wait a couple of months... do I? ....

Yup, you know, I think I might. parkcameras.co.uk are already talking specs...

8.2Mp sounds about right.

[DeadKenny]

£999 for the Fuji S2 Pro on InternetCamerasDirect :eek:

That's half price, which tells you something perhaps ;) (though it's perhaps more just because it's older and the S3 is on the horizon).

However, seriously though, if you wade through the arguments for and against on the dpreview forums it seems the general opinion is the D70 is a much better camera all-round, however the S2 is a better imaging device.

It seems there are minor niggly problems with it that the D70 would overcome these days. There seems also to be a lot of fuss about the S2 being two separate systems in one body where it completely separates the mechanical and digital functions (even down to battery power as it takes two separate types of batteries to work it).

The big thing going for the Fuji is the 12mp interpolated mode (it's a 6mp sensor but it's SuperCCD which due to the alignment of the cells it can extract more information and interpolate up, though no where near as good as a true 12mp, and I wouldn't use it for 100% crops. Apparently it shoots always at 12mp and resamples down to get 6mp too, which can have it's benefits).

The Fuji is also more "Fuji Green" ;) (some people like that, some don't).


I think it's swings and roundabouts really. If all you're interested in is image quality, the S2 may be better, but there are a lot of things going for the D70 that make it a better camera all round. Many of the S2 owners on dpreview also have a D70 and they say they prefer to use the D70 due to it's speed and features, but still like the quality of the S2 image.


Seeing as both use Nikon bodies and mounts, you could easily get a D70 for now and upgrade to an S3 later and keep the lenses, or even get an S2 and upgrade to a Nikon later (whatever that may be, D200 perhaps? ;)).

Fuji S3 Pro (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0402/04020503fujifilms3pro.asp)

oooh, now that 20d looks SEXY!

Maybe, we're talking Fuji vs Nikon here though (you started the thread!) ;) :p. The Canon is pretty useless too if you're after Nikon mounts.

[Panavision]

I have the Fuju S2 Pro at work; the quality is tremendous, unfortunately the unit is little on the heavy side. It takes 4 AAs and 2 Lithums.

I've tried a 12mm - 24mm Sigma, looked pretty awesome to me, considering it's a cheap alternative to Nikons, I thought the image quality wasn't too bad at all.

I'm very happy with S2 Pro.

[stormywhether]

I'm going to the US in October/Nov so I may well pick up a Canon there.

I'm not tied to any particular brand but I figured that the dabs.com price of £855 for the S2 Pro body was a pretty decent price.

I can't find any expected RRP for the 20D in the US tho - nor an exact release date - but will keep a-huntin.

[Sam]

I think DPreview has expected RRP's in their preview article (Link in the Perpetual thread)

[wseed]

The problem is if you try and source a new model Canon while your on a trip you'll probably find you're in a queue with all the people trying to get the next best thing. I remember people on waiting lists for 10D's 300D's...

The chap who ran the photography class I was on last year had an S2 and rated it but it's now "old" technology

[Panavision]

Old technology but the image quality is still fantastic. Maybe a buy cheaper model, and spend more money on a good range lense.

[DeadKenny]

Remember that the S2 RRP was £2k. At half price even being two years old, it's still going to compete well with new £1k cameras (and from all reports on image quality it betters them, just that functionally it's not quite so good).

Still, if you're going to wait, why not wait for the Fuji S3 or the next Nikon? ;)