Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro review
It's a good idea: take another manufacturer's camera, strip out the innards and install your own sensor and new electronics. And it's an even better idea when it works this well...
Words & Pictures Ian Farrell
In the FinePix S5 Pro, Fujifilm has got a clear winner on its hands, and also a camera that we think could be used professionally to great effect. The camera is well made and handles superbly. Having a Nikon F lens mount, it has a huge system of available lenses and accessories. The S5 Pro will make a great second body to anyone using a D2Xs, although this is probably doing it a disservice; for many pros, especially those in the portraiture and wedding markets, the S5 Pro is the perfect camera and will serve them well. In fact we'd go as far as to say that if you are thinking of buying a Nikon D200, maybe think about buying one of these instead.
It's not unusual to see (almost) identical versions of the same camera for sale under two different brands. Pentax and Samsumg do it, as do Leica and Panasonic. But we have to start this test of Fujifilm's new FinePix S5 Pro DSLR by saying that any perceived similarity to Nikon's D200 shouldn't be taken as an indication that these two cameras are clones. In fact, far from it.
Fuji has collaborated with Nikon on its S series of digital SLR cameras for a number of years now, and the relationship has produced some very good cameras. The previous model, the FinePix S3 Pro, was based on the Nikon N80 body, with some external modifications and, obviously, completely new innards. Likewise, the £1250 S5 Pro is based on Nikon's successful D200 DSLR - again with major modification.
Just how much modification Fuji has made to the D200 is officially a trade secret, but looking at the specification of the two cameras, the focus and exposure systems seem to be the same, as does the control layout and general build. From there on in, though, things are different. Fuji uses a 12.34-megapixel Super CCD SR Pro sensor. This has 6.17-million R-type pixels for wide dynamic range and 6.17-million S-type pixels for high sensitivity. Best of both worlds? Well, it would seem so. Fuji says that its Real Photo Processor Pro, which handles the in-camera conversion of Raw sensor data into JPEG files, offers excellent low noise performance at high ISO values - and we'd have to say that our tests would confirm this. Pictures are smooth and noise free up to ISO 400 and any noise visible above this is actually quite pleasant to look at, having a film-like quality. The S5 Pro can shoot at sensitivities up to ISO 3200, and we were blown away by the camera's performance at this setting. In fact, we can't remember when we last saw low-light performance like it.
In operation the S5 Pro handles like a dream, which isn't surprising as the D200 does too. Build quality is rock solid and the various controls fall nicely under the thumb. The only niggle we found (and it is a niggle) is that the focus mode switch is easily moved by accident, leaving you occasionally wonder why the camera isn't auto focusing. Once you've realised the switch can move round to M by mistake, though, it's something you find yourself keeping an eye on. Not a huge cause for concern.
Talking of focusing, the S5 Pro's AF is as slick as can be, especially with the more top-end Nikon lenses. Exposure metering is also very good, and we found ourselves desperately trying to find a situation where we could trick it. We did, but it took some doing. White-balance is one area where, in the Pro office, we generally like to work with presets, but the S5 Pro's auto white-balance is actually very good, falling down only occasionally when shooting into areas of shadow on a sunny day, resulting in somewhat blue images.
The outside of the S5 Pro may look like a Nikon, but a press of the menu button reveals that all has changed with regard to software under the cover. The various commands are in quite different places compared with the Nikon camera, and this takes some getting
used to.
Fuji has always tried to give its digital cameras film-like features and the S5 Pro has the film simulation settings of its predecessors. Picking one of the F1 settings mimics the look of various print films for different styles of portraiture; the F2 setting mimics Fujichrome slide film characteristics, boosting colours and contrast. Obviously this doesn't have any effect on Raw files (although Fuji's Raw processing software can apply these settings too), but the level of control this offers when shooting JPEG is great. We actually found ourselves thinking of some scenes being Velvia situations, while others required the look of NPZ print film, for example.
Continuous shooting speed is a little on the slow side, so action snappers may want to look elsewhere. The S5 Pro can manage 3fps when no film simulation modes are engaged, and 1.5-2fps when these
are selected.
CONTACT
www.fujifilm.co.uk
fujifilm finepix S5 pro £1250
body only
| Features | ***** |
| Performance | ***** |
| Value for money | **** |
| Overall | ***** |
