OK, So here is my very quick
review of some of the best DSLR's out there. First I am a studio
photographer mainly I do studio fashion/glamour and beauty/make-up most of the
time, I also do some location fashion/glamour and my share of weddings (in a
fashionable photojournalistic sort of way.)
I have also done some table top and product work as well as still life,
I don't do landscapes unless there is a model in front of it so I am not going
to base this review and my opinions on anything but what I do, those that shoot
landscapes or architectural photographers even wildlife photographers may find
that some of my likes or dislikes are based on camera characteristics that
would have no effect on there line of photography.
The contenders:
Canon 1DS : Canon 10D : Canon 1D :
Canon D60 : Kodak 14N :
Fuji S2Pro : Nikon D100
Check this link to see the shots
themselves: http://www.photographersportfolio.com/canon_samples TO SEE RETOUCHED COLOR CORRCTED SMPLE CLICK
ON THIS LINK http://www.nyphotographics.com/dslr_weddingtest
The testing conditions: I
had way too little sleep, (it seems people like to start these tests at 12PM
which is about an hour or two before I am awake and ready to go usually) The Studio, at my home I have devoted the
second floor of a quaint two family house to be a studio, office, prop room
prep kitchen. Studio is never as big as
I want but I have been very able to do most work here conviently, thanks to a
long straight run extending from the studio I can have a full 40 plus foot run
to use a longer lens and still shoot a full length shot when needed, so space
was adequate, I have more equipment, strobes, light modifiers and accessories
and props then I know about so that’s not an issue. The Model is the most gorgeous model I know, and my favorite to
use on a test such as this as she is one of the very few rare individuals
blessed with truly beautiful skin that can withstand the scrutiny of the worlds
best digital cameras and the eyes of many who have been use to seeing the standard retouched beauty shots of magazines
not many women could hold up well under direct scrutiny with no retouching luckily I have found one that does it with
ease. (OK I am kissing up here but
believe me she is one in a million when it comes to needing so little
retouching I wish all models were this great)
The Issues: well
if one was to call me and say I want you to produce a breathtaking shot with a
certain camera you have all day to shoot it but you cannot retouch it, well
that is not that hard a crew of me, model , make up artist, hairstylist, and
stylist should cover it and getting the lighting and exposure so perfect as to
create a flawlessness of skin and texture should take no more then a few hours
and there you have it. However, what we
have here is lets take some test shots with all these camera (plunk down 7
cameras, and we should of course use the same lens plunk down two lenses one
canon, one Nikon as equal as can be, and lets not have a designated make up
artist and hairstylist or stylist for that matter) So we have to shoot a few and switch lenses, shoot a few and
switch lenses and hopefully keep track of what we shot and have a similar
aspect ratio and similar shot and switch lenses again, and next. You get the point, so while this is
happening we still try to get some nice shots and I feel we have succeeded in
that. So the average was three to 5
shots taken of each look and from that we picked the best ones and I through up
a quick site for all to download so be kind about the poses, expressions, and
such remember this is a test of the cameras ability to capture what’s in front
of it not testing what’s in front of it.
OK, I
know, you don't care about any of this what about the cameras well here it is:
Since not all camera shoot in adobe rgb we
stick with srgb colorspace, fair is fair, since standard (daylight, strobe)
color temperatures differ by camera and not all cameras have an adjustable
Kelvin setting we decide to shoot a gray card and custom white balance all the
cameras. Being a canon user setting all
this up on the canons is a breeze, the Fuji is straight forward and settings
are fairly simple, the Kodak has some very nice features and ease of use is
again noticed, the Nikon D100 needs a manual to figure out how to set a custom
white balance, so without a manual we are asking online (dpreview for one) we
are calling on the phone to people that might have one stores that may have a
boxed one with owners manual, and finally it is discovered as to how to set the
custom white balance. Easy to figure
out the Nikon is not, but hey that’s no concern to a photographer they would
have read the manual, what’s important is actual use and quality so on we
go.
OK, we start shooting, we set up our lighting and place the model in the middle, David Sparer
who brought the cameras by shoots a few frames and passes it on to me, I pick
up the Kodak 14N and think well it feels a bit awkward, a bit off balance and a
bit smooth, not very contoured but hey neither is a hasselblad and there is not
anybody complaining about them! then
move for a vertical grip and realize that while they have a button there and
what seems to be some ergonomic like design it feels too awkward to shoot this
way so that’s OK I hold it like normal and turn the camera, have done this for
years, I am a Pro I can handle this lets shoot away...so with Kodak 14N in hand
model ready and a blackline pack that can handle whatever I can dish out with a
recycle of under a second I am ready to shoot away or should I say shoot one
maybe two then press the shutter...press the shutter...press the shutter...pop
out from behind the camera and look at model and laugh then refocus and press
the shutter...no not yet then ...click... WOW it fired cool, OK so I am being a
little sarcastic but the reality is this camera takes forever to write and the
buffer is beyond too small, a 4x5 would not be too far behind this in speed,
get fast CF cards and lots of them its slow and the files are quite large and
take up a lot of space. So OK, what I
learned is I have to learn to tell some jokes in between shots otherwise you
make the model a little uneasy when you are pressing the button and nothing is
happening all they think is he's not shooting am I posing wrong, should I
smile, frown, look at my watch and remind him I get paid by the hour so feel
free to take you time. Now while the
model may be OK with you telling them jokes and making coffee, tea or perhaps a
soufflé while you wait for the camera to ready itself and occasionally it
recalibrates itself for some reason, hopefully a good one an art director
looking over your shoulder would probably wonder why you are taking soooo long
looking through the camera and not shooting.
Well OK, like I said 4x5 and 8x10 cameras are slow as well, I am dying
to check this baby out I have been looking forward to the 14 mega pixel
$5000.00 camera for some time, lets run to the computer and see what we
have. Plug in the card and open a file
white background pretty model in white wedding dress with veil and whoa what’s
that red, green and blue area in the white veil? uh ohh, first shot we opened
and there it is the dreaded moiré open another at 100% and look there it is
again, maybe its a problem with the bright white lets change it all and start
again, the first shot is on the website if your interested its name is 14N_006_2.jpg courtesy of David Sparer. So lets do a black background and shoot
again, change backgrounds and shoot one then two then tell a few jokes while
the camera writes, then struggle with the shutter as I try, attempt, do my best
to coerce the camera to shoot by pressing the shutter every time I see the
perfect expression only to see the beautiful model get that inquiscal look like
"what are you doing?" then and only then do I get the camera to go
"click" this is not funny, and maybe I am spoiled by the likes of a
canon 1D who is always ready and a 1DS which is usually always ready unless you
are working it but never by shot three and never ever this long. OK, I said it the camera takes a long time
to write, it can be worked around and a larger buffer will buy you some time
maybe four or five shots until you have to stop dead in your tracks, like I
said earlier a landscape photographer may never be bothered by this unless the
clouds are blowing but usually they have plenty of time to wait in between
shots, and an architectural photographer also has some time, hopefully there is
no rushed deadline or impatient AD on the scene. As for me I would find this camera to be a bit too slow to deal
with so the only option is buy two and have them both up and running, this is
not a bad alternative since a professional should have a backup anyway. So I now have some 14 MP files to look at and
you too can see them at http://www.photographersportfolio.com/canon_samples
this first set is of Vered our lovely model in a wedding veil, names 14N_004_2.jpg and 14N_005_2.jpg
comments on the files in the quality section of this review. What else bothered me in my short time
waiting err, shooting this camera, everything lights up in the view finder,
then the focus point stays lit longer? Its a bit distracting but that’s just my
preference I would have preferred just
the active point to light up and show me where its focusing.
OK, next back to something a bit more
familiar so I pick up the canon 10D and get ready to shoot, it focuses fast, locks on and shoots, and
shoots and shoots, what was once sooooo slow now seems sooo much faster (funny
how relative things are in our minds) I look at the screen and its good, except
that the orientation sensor which is a very nice idea and I like that it
rotates the picture but I am so not use to it so I am always looking at it the
wrong way, then I get side tracked with
the new magnification feature because it is so awesome, (sorry been around too
many 18 year old models of late) ok, next shoot a few more same set up so far
our lovely model in a veil... oh if only all brides looked this good and
behaved this well I would give up glamour and fashion and be a full time
wedding photographer. What did I
dislike about using this camera? easy, its not as substantial as the eos 1
series, and it feels it, but still its better then the D30/D60 which I had been
accustomed to for more then a year, what else? hmm, I am not a fan of the way
they did the simultaneous raw and jpg, unlike the 1D/ 1DS, its not a raw file
and a jpg its a full size jpg in the raw file, why does this bother me? I know
its almost instantaneous to extract but what bothers me is that I need software
to do it, if I am at a clients, a friends, or even my mothers house I may have
a card reader there and with the 1 series any shots I took raw plus jpg I can
at least open the jpgs, with the 10D I have nothing but raws and would need
software to extract the jpgs by that time if I installed the software I could
just as soon use the raw. Other thing
and I may be wrong so do not quote me on this but I do not think you can bump
the jpg quality setting up from the standard high (8) to 10 like you can in the
1 series through a custom parameter.
What else don't I like? well that’s a bad way to put it, its not that I
don't like it its that I can think of ways I would have preferred it, such as the
adobe rgb setting, its either adobe rgb or its not, I though the 1 series was a
bit dumb for putting several color options on a camera when I first got one, I
used to think I want an accurate color, so why say white balance for accurate
color temp then use 1 for a natural look, two for a tinted color that is
pleasing for people, three or five for muted or vivid colors and four for all
the colors, why, why, why, but then I realized I custom white balance on a gray
card with a 1/4 blue filter on my lens usually then remove it and shoot to warm
up the shot, this is mildly what is happening when you use the portrait
setting, I used velvia if I wanted some over saturated colors, this is what the
saturated setting is doing, so this is more of a simple out of the camera
approach and I have realized its benefit as I now predominantly shoot portrait
color for proofing and only convert through adobe when going to offset. I would have preferred a set up like this
in the 10D. The write times seem long
and preview always seemed long but its still not in league with the write times
of the 14N but then its also less then half the megapixelness (not a real word)
Next lets give the old 1D a try, WOW talk
about the theory of relativity this seems to be faster then the speed of light
I can almost view the preview before I press the shutter, too bad its only a
measly little outdated 4 and a half mega pixels. (Just kidding I still love
this camera and if anyone has any doubts about these measly few pixels I want
you to download my samples and download my 1D interpolation actions free and
use them to blow up these shots as large as you want and print them as big as
you can at home and then write me an email explaining how I was right and you
cannot believe that 4.5 mega pixels could hold up so well, I like reading
those) Now this being said the 1D is
still more money then the other 6 mp cameras and for many who want the extra
pixels you can save some by going with them, and again I shot them all and have
them here for you to download and compare so there’s no reason to question,
download them and see for yourself which one you like. OK back to the camera the 1D is a dream to
use the speed is unmatched, the feel is terrific, the menu system is a bit
awkward as you have to hold a button to do everything and there is no ZOOM IN
(Hello Canon? What’s With That?) additional features I would have liked to see
is some means of changing parameters
and settings in camera rather then through a computer, also some way to add or
subtract a set Kelvin from a color temp, (i.e. set white balance via a gray
card then say add one or two hundred degrees Kelvin to get a warmer color
rendition, Yes you can dial in Kelvin but I would have to know what the color
temp is where I am shooting in order to add two hundred degrees it would be
nice to just set an accurate one and add or subtract by a set amount.) What else would I like to see? well the
Kodak has a superior means of selecting the white balance and the way they
allow you to check density is very nice something similar would be nice, feel
free to use these ideas free of charge in any future models or firmware
upgrades, its my pleasure. And, I would
be happy to field test any free of charge (he types smiling in a friendly
manor)
OK now the Nikon D100, lets see what this is
all about so far it took a bit too long to figure out the white balance but
like I said not being user friendly is not a real long term problem, its easily
remedied by a degree in nikonics and a major cram session with a users manual
neither of which I have or had done. So
I set it up and shoot and shoot, hey this is not that bad, focus is better then
expected, quick, accurate, locks nicely, shoots nicely, look at the preview and
look at the screen waiting...waiting...waiting... at least it shoots relatively
quickly but when you fill the buffer you can bake a cake waiting for the buffer
to clear, whatever you do not make the mistake I made and put a microdrive in
there, microdrives are slow to begin with and the combination means you can put
the camera down and go for lunch, a fast CF card helped but this camera takes a
long long time to write to the cf and clear the buffer, again in my opinion
this is not fast enough t be used in a fast paced pro atmosphere. Of course you could also have two of these
and shoot and switch and shoot and switch and again you would have a back up
when and if you needed it, but that’s not the way I like to do things. Overall, I felt this is a nice camera for
the major prosumer market that has some Nikon lenses and wants to get into
digital or wants to take shots in a non rushed environment. Fit and ergonomics are very nice, user
interface not so friendly, too many steps to do things in my opinion. Not a bad camera but I have yet to try its
major competition the Fuji S2 so I reserve a bit of praise for now.
Now onto the 1DS for a few brief snaps here
and there, nothing too elaborate as this camera is not in the same league as
anything else here today, one look at the files on the screen would clearly
show this to be the case, and as I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE fan of this camera I can
say with confidence that it is beyond anything out at twice its price. That being said its damm expensive! I can't
buy two one main and one back up hell one is way too much to spend, at 7000+ US
dollars someone please make a competitive camera at a low price to help force
canon to lower the price a lot!! OK,
sorry about that just had to get it out of my system, what I dislike about this
camera? It’s not as fast as the 1D. I
am not so concerned with frames per second mind you I never shoot 8 fps anyway
but the write times and the wait for the preview are like molasses next to the
1D, I should buy a 14N just to make this seem fast in comparison that would
work, that Einstein, he was a genius thinking up that theory of relativity it
can solve many dilemmas we face with computers, as it is it seems my computer
is always slow until I get on a slower model.
What else would I like to see? well considering this camera is unreal in
file quality, I mean it is a models worst nightmare every pore in there skin is
picked up to the point that there pores have pores, you can see what’s beneath
there makeup its so detailed, the color is unreal accurate, the files blow up
super well, moiré is relegated to the statistically insignificant as is winning
the lotto which would help you afford one and a good L lens to fully realize
the sharpness of the camera. The
dynamic range is a bit unwieldy as I have a hard time getting a black, black, no
matter what it is seeing something in those shadows and I often have to bring
the black point down just ever so slightly to create a black, black, highlights
are held very well, almost as well as the 1D which has an amazing tendency to
hold highlights where you should have blown them out. What would I add to the 1DS? an easier way to add custom curves,
well not to add the curves this is probably more of a software issue but being
able to apply custom curves to the 1 series is in my opinion a very over looked
feature, it could create in camera film characteristics like saturated warm, or
cool film, cross processed effects, and a variety in between, and if you read
my wish list for the 1D its the same here the zoom is already added so that’s
nice, but if that’s what slows everything down give me a custom function to
turn it off and speed things up a bit, and this curve thing could be an answer
for the plus and minus Kelvin settings however, its so hard to adjust in the
canon software that it might as well not exist. Fix that by making it easier or somehow figure a way to map a
Photoshop curve over and that could be a serious plus in my book.
Now the last camera to test the Fuji S2 Pro,
a wonder of physics as I like to call it, the only camera I know that can take
6million pixels turn them into 12 and then tell me that they are not
interpolating its actually seeing more because there 1's and 0's (I don't make
this stuff up a Fuji rep explained that I don't understand digital its all 1's
and 0's and there camera gets 12 million of them even though they only have 6
million receptors. Boy, I am dumb I
always though 6 plus 0 equals 6 not 12 but they know digital and its all 1's
and 0's) Anyway, who cares is there
camera good? Well I like the ease of
use, it is fairly simple to operate, the menus are intuitive, the write times
are slow but definitely bearable, I do not like a dual battery system, just
more things to go dead and have to carry, I miss the vertical shutter release
but no biggy there. Feel and ergonomics
are pretty good, shoot shoot and it feels ok, not bad I am kind of liking it
overall, much nicer feel then the D100 and 14N for that matter. I do not like that to shoot at say 6 mega
pixels it has to interpolate up to 12 then back down to 6, defeats the purpose
of shooting at 6 for me anyway as saving space is not the biggest issue quality
is.
A few quick shots with the now discontinued
D60 why? well because its been a big question to people who have a D60 and are
thinking of jumping to the 10D and to may who are looking at getting a used D60
as a starting point in the DSLR market rather then go for the very reasonable
priced 10D, plus I have a D60 still as I myself love the colors straight as
they come. So I am not taking too much
time here on this as it had been discontinued but I did a few direct comparison
shots, the auto focus is inferior to the 10D no question, its slower to focus,
slower to lock and has less points, I hear the Ettl is improved on the 10D but
in a studio this is moot and untested, the colors coming from this camera are
still some of the most pleasing (not accurate but pleasing for skin tones
anyway) from any camera out there, and many say its sharper the 10D? maybe, I
say if you need higher iso's the 10D has them, if you need Adobe RGB setting
which has merit when going to offset, the 10D has it, if you need faster and
better auto focus the 0D delivers, and as for file quality and color rendition
this is subjective to many so check the site for yourself download the shots and
see for your self side by side print them if you like blow them up and see what
you think.
OK so this was the first round testing
everything one thing to note as luck
would have it I inadvertently underexposed the 10D shots by shooting them at
f13 instead of f9 but fortunately there is this wonderful exposure compensation
in breezebrowser and I compensated up by one stop and WOW, no extra noise and a
good clean shot that I would be very comfortable blowing up to larger then life
poster and presenting to clients, brides, mother- in- laws, art directors and
others, in fact the first shot I had posted the same night I shot these shots
before I even converted most of them was one such shot that I personally fell
for, its one I like a lot for some reason and I converted it (exposing up a
stop in the conversion) and posted a full size link to it along with my
interpolation action and a direct challenge to anyone who doubts the 10D
quality to download it, and the action blow it up and print it large for
themselves, then let me know. I should
stop doing this as it tends to generate hundreds of emails saying wow what
about? not that I mind but I feel bad
because I get swamped and cannot get back to everyone in a timely manor, though
I try my best. That shot is 10D_000_2.jpg
Now for the quality portion: First Software and conversions
OK, so that’s how the cameras worked and I
have added my own little comments here and there in case you had not noticed,
but what’s actually even more important? well I am not sure, what is more
important a camera that lets you get the shot or one that has better final
outcome? I don't know for sure if there is an answer, all these cameras
technically out perform the D30 and I have some of my best and largest shots
from that still, and by any of these cameras its functionality and file size is
substandard, so I guess its a matter of what’s important to you? getting the
shot at any cost or missing a few but having them be the best possible
quality? Does this mean there is no
compromise? Not at all, but these cameras excel at different things, pure and
simple nothing is as fast the 1D, you will catch more shots then anything else,
but its only 4.5MP's and nothing is as slow as the 14N in this test but that
may not matter at all if you are shooting still life and used to an 8x10 view
cam. (I am not saying it’s that bad,
just if that’s what your used to speed is an irrelevant issue) Another little side note, I am soooo spoiled
by the speed of the 1D, and yet I was used to an eos 1 then 1N the 1VHS then I
got a D30 and while the auto focus was as bad as manually focusing with one eye
blindfolded and the other dilated I was
soooo enthralled by the fact that I could see the shot immediately (my first real digital camera) that the
speed became a non issue, overshadowed by the benefits of my new found
enthusiasm for photography and the ability to experiment and instantly see the
results and learn new things, attempt new ideas and play more then ever. I shot more then I ever would have with the
10 yes that’s TEN FRAMES PER SECOND that the 1VHS was capable of, so for me
back then it was not speed or quality but rather pure enjoyment that meant the
most and caused me to become reinterested in photography and the whole art of
making nice photos.
Lets
get back to quality shall we. OK, first
I want to say that the samples are up for all to download and judge for
yourself, so you need not take my word for it as I myself can tell that I am
somewhat skewed in one direction as I have been a Canon owner and fan for
years, But that won't stop me from telling you what I think. Canon is not paying me and even if they
would (I would take high end digital
cameras as trade possibly if your reading this hint, hint) they would have to
understand from the get go that while I am more then happy to tell people how
good a good product is I will also tell people the truth above all in my opinion,
so if a competing product excelled I would say so and I would hope Canon would
come up with a better product for it (it would be very costly to have to switch
over all my anon gear for Nikon or Minolta or Pentax by the way are Minolta and
Pentax still around? they could help by jumping in here and causing the prices
to fall so I can get myself a more affordable 1DS anyone listening?) So, that
being said I opened the files, I converted the raw canon files through
Breezebrowser as I am a Tremendous fan of that program, I think I could add
some features and I would be happy to list them should anyone care to read it
but overall, I do not remember the last time I had my computer on that breeze
and Photoshop were not open and running.
So I converted the canon files, 1D, and 1DS as shot custom white
balance, matrix 2 sRGB, sharpening off, save as high jpg, the D60 convert as
shot normal, tone, low saturation, normal contrast, normal sharpening, save as
high jpg, the 10D like I said I had to exposure compensate up one stop
otherwise normal everything sRGB save as high jpg.
The Nikon D100 I used Phase One LE, I convert
as shot save as tiff and in Photoshop I convert to high jpg just as the last
samples I did.
The Kodak 14N I used photo desk 3.0 convert
as shot to high jpg using the portrait look.
The Fuji S2Pro, OK I have no software for
this at this time so I look online nothing, nada, zilch, so I find that bibble
supports S2 files and I use it I think the files look way way to pink/purple,
so I give Fuji a call and explain the situation and explain that I want to be
more fair and I feel that perhaps Bibble is not doing their files justice, I
speak with two people at the NJ
location who say, "Our colors are very accurate and good Bibble is
not," OK, so is there someway I
could get the software to convert the files or have them converted its only 5
shots? "NO, its proprietary, our colors are very good and bibble is not,
there is no way to get the software, sorry" Its not like I wont get it? I mean HELLO? ever hear of customer
service? be a little bit more helpful, I am going to get it, its just not a
real priority for me to go find someone that has it and get a copy oh sorry
have them convert the files, I almost wanted to run to B&H and buy and S2
just to have the software and concert it then return the camera but what
purpose would that serve? So I will get the raw files converted soon, Just a
few phone calls and a planned trip to whoever has it, in the meantime my
versions are up online as they came out Yes I could correct them but I could
correct all the files or whatever yet that would invalidate the whole thing so
instead take it for what its worth these are just a straight conversion through
bibble, I will soon put up the new ones converted through there software and
anyone who wants to be informed of that can email me to be updated when it
happens, I do have some links to similar samples posted by David Sparer who was
shooting with me and who has the Fuji software, as his are less pink but still
on the magenta side I will direct you too his shots to see what he has
converted with there software, same camera, same settings same everything but
button pusher. Check those shots at http://www.pbase.com/dsphoto/s2
My quality conclusions: (Its about time why wasn’t there just a
button to skip to this in the first place rather then read all the blabbering
that came before?) OK, here it is, say
it with me the CANON 1DS ahhmmm well
enough said, if only it would be less expensive otherwise it is worth it every
penny, you can replace all your gear up to 6.45 without hesitation with this
one. Check the files there is nothing
more to say about it, look for yourself and if you do not think it is worth
what they are charging then there is something wrong with your valuation.
Compared to the 1DS the skin on every other camera ses soft almost smoothed as
if a slight blur were applied. Now this may be desirable as the 1DS seems to
cause the pores to pop out in a three dimensional way, however it is accurately
sharp so sharp many may easily say its too sharp at times, do you think you are
up for a challenge? I have placed 100% crops up together labeled A-G of Vered,
these are small crops all as shot no sharpening, it will demonstrate the skin
texture smoothing I mentioned but if you are really up for it see if you can
tell which skin and eye and in most a piece of hair is from what camera, the
answers are on at the buttom of the page so scroll down. Click here (warning 300+kilo file) . Also check these links
I think it shows what this camera captures quite nicely, Click here to see a
full frame Full frame
and a click here
to see a 100% crop with some unsharp mask applied, shot with a 24-70 L I think
you'll see that a L class Prime lens may be more then a model could take.
OK, the Canon 1D holds its own, its an
amazing camera that I would place above the 6MP cameras here any day. Its faster, built better, its file hold up
very, very well, its metering and spot metering ability is top notch, auto focus
is beyond reproach, and the dynamic
range is superior, for its age its still worthy of its price even the MSRP if
you are a working pro this outperforms the 6 MP cameras in most every aspect
file size is not everything its the pixel size that matters (just kidding)
seriously the 4.5 MP camera holds up well and other characteristics add up to
more then worth the upgrade.
The Kodak 14N It has some very nice design
ideas, extended range jpgs is a very nice idea, dual card slots again a nice
idea, I did notice that highlights blow out in a way that is very filmlike,
this you may notice on the hair in a shot of our model with the black netting.
Noise is unbearable at anything above 80 for a camera this expensive, and even
at 80 iso its not acceptable for a 5000.00 price tag, the fact that most all
the shots I took with it had some file problem (i.e. moiré, noise and a noise
reduction algorithm that just made mush out of certain fine detail) was more
then I expected, as I see it a moiré issue should be one that is very rare
could happen but the real likeliness is one in every two hundred that would be
ok by me, I shot four when we first stopped to check and four had the problem,
and yes I know a veil is tough but weddings are a big business for photographers
and a veil is going to be a common item to be photographed (why do you think we used a veil?) Also I
noticed slight issues where it seemed to squash detail in the hair and somewhat
soften the skin texture or so it seems as compared to an also unsharpened 1DS
file, the skin lacked pore detail, I am not saying I want pore detail on a
bride hell most wedding photographers I
know have a collection of soft... softer... softest filters to place on there
Carl Zeiss lens but GOD forbid that Carl zeiss lens was soft they are paying
for some of the sharpest glass made on the finest grain film. So again if I want to soften the image
that’s my choice if I want it sharper then a models skin can bear that’s what
the camera should produce as that’s what’s there. Overall, I think the camera has some very nice features I think
the extended buffer is mandatory as is fast CF cards, I feel the major flaws
are quality, and moiré. Thinking about
it, if you are a wedding photographer and you take a shot of a bride and groom,
and they want a blow up, not too big lets say 16x20" and you blow it up they can overlook some
noise may not even notice it, and in truth they can overlook some softness as a
soft focus filter would have produced that anyway, but even the totally untrained
eye would have to question where the red, green and blue pattern came from in
their expensive white veil, on the nice clean white dress, or why there hair
has come funky colors running through it which their hairdresser and colorist
did not put in? That to me is a problem
and a flaw that cannot be overlooked, Kodak is a well respected company there
dcs 760, 660, 560 and probacks are all very good cameras for there purpose and
use and this is not in my opinion up to the standards that they should be maintaining. Nothing personal I was just a little
disappointed.
The Nikon D100 OK, I am not going to say I loved
this one, fact is I was not thrilled by the files here, they are soft in my
opinion, and over saturated two supposed flaws of the old D60 and new 10D
and yet here they are seemingly softer and more saturated then the 10D by
far, the skin looked a bit pasty, but I will say this the prints up too 16x20
looked very nice, warm saturated skin tones are not that unpleasing just not
as accurate. Softness can be helped
these files require a good deal more unsharp mask, and while USM seems to
be a miracle of after the fact focus adjustment its actually damaging the
real recorded detail of the scene and should be used sparingly.
The Fuji S2 Pro, Commenting is touchy as I
have what I believe to be substandard conversions, yet color and saturation
aside it does seem to have sharper detail then the D100, in fact it seems to be
the sharpest out of the camera of any of the 6MP cameras, it also appears to have
very slight moiré and artifacting patterns showing up but only on high
magnification, overall it looks to be a fairly nice file as far as detail goes,
on par with the D60/10D in detail as
for color I cannot say at this time but I do look forward to having a good
report as I have seen some beautiful images come from some S2 cameras, I have
little reason to think that this will not be the case. As far as my images go
assuming the color is only a conversion issue and is fixed to as good as if not
better then the D100 I would then place the S2 above the D100 even with the
less then helpful customer service reps and somewhat obnoxious attitude of the
Fuji proponents when it comes too explaining there version of mathematics. I hope to amend this with a more detailed
description of the files converted with Fuji’s software as soon as
possible.
The Canon 10D This is an improvement over the D60 in many ways I do
still have a real fondness for the D60 colors (pleasing, not accurate) and that
appreciation grows when I see direct side by side comparisons with other files,
that being said I recently posted a 10D file and an interpolation I used for it
to go to 500 megabytes from the 18 meg raw converted to jpg not even a tiff and
I have to say that I was definitely impressed with the cameras quality, Its
functionality is improved and of the 6MP cameras I would recommend it to all,
This may change from a recommend to all to a reckoned to anyone with canon or
no heavy Nikon investment if and only if the Fuji’s colors do prove to be equal
to or preferably better then the D100.
The Canon D60 while I have a very hard time
using it after using a 1D, 1DS I still have one and I think I will keep it for
its nice color renditions of people for portrait type work when 11 MPs' are
defiantly overkill and every now and then its just nice to see the colors come
straight from there. Its also very nice
to print direct from the camera not magazine stuff but everyday shots here and
there its still very pleasing, I would recommend that anyone today looking a
10D is a better deal overall but if you can deal with the D60 shortcomings as
many of us have and still do and you can get one for a good price by all means
this is a great camera that produces a very nice file, if you currently have
one and are contemplating upgrading to the 10D I would say it is worth it only
if the functions of the camera are what your after as far as file quality its
on par and perhaps not worth an upgrade for that alone, not withstanding some
external need for an adobe rgb color space.
Any questions? I know hold on I will be bombarded by them
no matter what so I can only say I hope you will attempt to take advantage of
the wonderful resource available called www.dpreview.com and its forum which I
regularly frequent, many of the questions you have will have already been
answered, I also hope to have this running there as a thread so that all of you
with the same questions can get the answer once rather then my normal retyping
it to thirty or so people who email asking the same thing. I hope to have posted a link below to a
forum thread where you all can ask and answer each other when I am not able to
respond. USE THIS FORUM THREAD CLICK HERE http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=4959739
Link to the website of sample images. Click on a thumbnail to see a larger version
click on the larger version to download the full size jpg. http://www.photographersportfolio.com/canon_samples
Link to my website http://www.nyphotographics.com
Link to my interpolation challenge http://www.nyphotographics.com/ftpsites/10Ddemo.htm
Link to my interpolations and actions to
download http://www.nyphotographics.com/ftppage.htm
Link to David Sparers Fuji samples as well as
1DS, 10D, 14N, and D100 Samples and images. http://www.pbase.com/dsphoto
Link to Dpreview forums a valuable resource
for digital photographers (I can
usually be found in the canon slr forum)
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/default.asp