Fuji S5 vs. D2X

[shoyles]

I've been shooting with the S5 as my primary camera lately. So far I'm impressed with the camera. Yes, it's slower than the D200 and the menu system takes some getting used to but the dynamic range is incredible.

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=51125

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=51282

And the colors are impressive.

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=51611

I did a short, semi-scientific test to see how the high ISO performance compares to the D2X. These are full frame shots (well, as full as a Nikon can get ). They were shot in RAW with no noise reduction or sharpening applied. They we shot hand held with a Nikkor 17-55 on both cameras. Lightroom 1.1 was used to convert. The same conversion settings were used on all photos.

ISO 1600, D2X


ISO 1600, Fuji S5


ISO 3200, D2X

ISO 3200, Fuji S5


They all look good at this crop level. Now to zoom in to 100%.

ISO 1600, D2X, 100% crop


ISO 1600, Fuji S5, 100% crop


ISO 3200, D2X, 100% crop


ISO 3200, Fuji S5, 100% crop


I think you can see that the D2X out resolves the Fuji but the Fuji does better at high ISO. I tend to agree with other reviews that have said that despite Fuji's claims this is not a 12MP camera. It's more than 6MP...but definitely not 12.

[utmiken]

Great comaprison Steve! I totllay agree with your assessment regarding resolution and high ISO performance.

[Daniel Bates]

I guess with the S5, you're trading detail for less chroma noise. The luma noise seems to be about the same...

[my3peas]

*sigh* You're just making this a harder decision on me, steve :)
Thanks for posting these!

[shoyles]

Originally Posted by Daniel Bates

I guess with the S5, you're trading detail for less chroma noise. The luma noise seems to be about the same...

I think that's right...the luma noise cleans up nicely in photoshop and looks like film grain. I think you could print 8x10's out of the ISO 3200 images with very little effort. As for the detail, unless you are heavily cropping or printing above 20x30 I don't think you could see the difference between the two cameras.

[mramos]

Thanks Steve. Have you had a situation where you have been shooting with the D2x and have said, "I wish I would have shot it with the fuji" or vice versa. What I find nice is the fact that I could expose a ceremony shot without having to worry about blowing out all the dress details. This alone would help with noise issues, since I wouldn't have to under expose for the dress detail, then have to adjust my levels and have the shadow noise kick in.
Sounds like this would be a great available light ceremony camera, then you have the D2x for the fast low light reception focusing. Cant wait to see some wedding shots.

[shoyles]

Originally Posted by mramos

Have you had a situation where you have been shooting with the D2x and have said, "I wish I would have shot it with the fuji" or vice versa.

Here's an example from a recent shoot... I over exposed by 1.7 stops with the Fuji. My bad.

With the Fuji you can just move the exposure slider down a couple of stops and bring the image back. If you try this with the D2X (or any other camera) you could bring the exposure down but you would loose the natural color in the overexposed highlights on the face where the red channel is blown out. The Fuji has the ability to hold onto color in the highlights much better than a standard camera. This is part of the reason why flesh tones come out so nice. The first picture below is directly out of the camera the second is after adjustment in Lightroom RAW converter.

[picasso]

Nice example Steve. Great recovery on the shot.

Paul

Originally Posted by shoyles

Here's an example from a recent shoot... I over exposed by 1.7 stops with the Fuji. My bad.

With the Fuji you can just move the exposure slider down a couple of stops and bring the image back. If you try this with the D2X (or any other camera) you could bring the exposure down but you would loose the natural color in the overexposed highlights on the face where the red channel is blown out. The Fuji has the ability to hold onto color in the highlights much better than a standard camera. This is part of the reason why flesh tones come out so nice. The first picture below is directly out of the camera the second is after adjustment in Lightroom RAW converter.