Fujifilm Finepix S3 Pro
As you might already have guessed the S3 Pro is an upgraded version of the extremely successful S2 Pro developed by Fuji. The S1 Pro distinguished itself with high resolution and beautiful colour while the S2 Pro was a big hit in the professional arena and with S3 Pro, Fuji is trying to go one step further. The S3 Pro with its new high end features is sure to take the market by storm.
If you have used the S2 Pro then handling of S3 won’t be a matter of concern. The S3 Pro is also based on the Nikon N80 and has dimensions of 5.8 x 5.3 x 3.1 inches. Weight of the S3 Pro comes to somewhere around 32.7 ounces without batteries and lens. One of the best features of the S3 is its 12.34-megapixel SuperCCD SR II with a dual-pixel layout which has the capability of simulating the tonal range and colour handling of colour film. Live monochrome viewing mode allows photographers to use it for a brief period of time while framing shots. The S3 Pro makes use of the Nikon F type lens mount present in front of the camera.
The optical viewfinder like in other SLRs looks out through the lens. A sliding diopter adjustment control is present so that the focus of the viewfinder can be adjusted to accommodate eyeglass wearers. Information such as focus area indicators, shutter speed, aperture, exposure mode, metering, AE lock, exposure and flash compensation, frame counter, ready light, and five sets of focus brackets are displayed in the view finder. One special feature of the S3 Pro is the “live” mode which makes the LCD screen to behave like a view finder. When this is activated then the shutter is opened for 30 seconds and the LCD monitor has the image area displayed in it. The “blinking highlights” display is another new feature added in the S3 Pro and this basically flashes any overexposed highlights. Another notable mention about a S3 Pro’s feature is the magnification range it offers.
The S3 has three focus control modes which include Single Servo, Continuous Servo and Manual mode. In Single Servo the focus is set just once, whenever the Shutter button is pressed halfway. In Continuous Servo mode the focus is adjusted continuously until the shutter button is pressed. While Manual Mode allows the photographer have complete control over the focus. To assist the photographer a focus indicator does appear in the form of a green dot, on the left-hand side of the viewfinder readout letting the photographer know the camera’s idea of the focus being perfect at which instance of time.
The various exposure modes available in the S3 Pro are Auto, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Manual modes. Another feature of the S3 Pro which might leave you surprised to some extent is clarity and the lack of hot pixels even during very long exposures. The limitation of the S2 in the metering system has been properly dealt with in the S3. The autoexposure system has no problem metering exposures even when used to its maximum extent of 30 seconds. The various ISO levels available in the S3 are ISO 100, 160, 200, 400, 800, and 1600. The shutter speed has a range of 30 to 1/4,000 seconds and the aperture depends on the lens being used. The S3 comes with a built in pop up flash and also comes equipped with a hot shoe which can be used to connect an external flash when required. The various flash modes available are Auto, On, Off, Anti Red-Eye, Slow Synchronization with Anti Redeye, Slow Synchronization, and Rear-Curtain Sync. TheS3 has a diverse variety of wide balance options which includes Auto, Sunny, Shade, Fluorescent, Incandescent and two separate Custom settings.
The start up time required for the S3 is good but it falls short on average in comparison to most of the other d-SLRs. The S3 Pro uses 4 AA type Ni-MH batteries. It can store images in 1M (1,440 x 960), 3M (2,304 x 1,536), 6M (3,024 x 2,016) and 12M (4,256 x 2,848) resolutions. The S3 has an IEEE 1394 FireWire and USB 2.0 data interface to connect it to mass storage media.
Last but not the least looking at the picture attributes of the S3 the colour quality is vibrant and soothing to the eyes. The exposure levels are best said above average in comparison to the other cameras available in the same range. “SR” sensor technology present in the S3 makes the dynamic range brilliant. The camera works very well in low light conditions. Even low light focusing is extremely good. Night shots are very effective. Battery life is not its best feature but overall image quality is excellent and better than most cameras in its range.
The S3 Pro surely continues the success that was brought by both its predecessors the S1 Pro and the S2 Pro. If you are looking for a camera with excellent colour and tonal rendition then S3 provides just that.
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Filed Under: Fujifilm Finepix Digital Camera
