OVER THE MOON

[FUJI]

I feel very happy today...I think I mentioned recently that I have a friend to whom I owe a very big favour for work done over four years without payment...except for an odd bott;e of wine and a couple of meals....he hails from a country with a different outlook to ours.....he isn't rich but extremely roud and I happen to know that he is a very keen photographer who is stuck with old Russian film cameras.

 

I know that he hankers after a decent digital set up......Well! I chanced upon just the kit on eBay last week.....A rather dated but fully functional FUJI S2 Pro a largeprofessional camera based on a Nikon 100? (BP will know....with his advice I also went for a decent NIKON 18-200 AF  lens I managed both for under £200....a bargain in my book:

 

Perhaps BP or DaveW can tell me when FUJI stopped making them and where to find dating evidence of manufacture?

 

The camera, because it is of 2002 vintage takes some getting used to, I am only just starting and the fact that the only manuals supplied are in French and German...but the proof of the piudding as they say........here are three of the first shots I took with it, JPEGS and TIFFS (cant recall which is which here)

 

Except for re-sizing and converting to jPEGS  for posting here they are all....as-from-camera uncropped too.

 

On the tiny and very quirky LCD screen the indoor shots looked blue but on screen they look just fine:

 

Cant wait to see my hard working friends face when he sees it....before I hand it over I want to take a whole series of special shots in all genres. then print the best on my special Matte paper.

 

The subjects I found around the house........

 

1: The jumble on my display table that reflects my toy-making-collectoing side:

 

2: Dolly Daydream, is a Rag Doll I found years ago, she sits in old  damp conservatory:

 

3: 'Er indoors pouring tea (She'll kill me if she finds out I've put it on here ;-)

 

Best viewed LARGE....Click on Pic:

 

Currently I am printing all 110 pages of the English Manual:

 

Please let me know what you think:

 

FUJI

 

 

 

 

[NannyFerret]

I think you got a bargain there. Your friend will be thrilled.

I still have my old Fuji S7000 and it still captures a good shot. The screen is tiny but it does the job, and most of us view on the PC before saving or printing, don't we?

Will it be a complete surprise to  him when you give it to him?

[annie]

lovely colourful shots there fuji

 

i love ''her indoors''......she makes proper tea...

 

i have a friend who has recently purchased one of these camera's, also from ebay. it looked huge, and heavy to me, but she is getting some brilliant shots with it and says now she has got used to it she is totally in love with the beast..........

[FUJI]

lovely colourful shots there fuji

 

i love ''her indoors''......she makes proper tea...

 

i have a friend who has recently purchased one of these camera's, also from ebay. it looked huge, and heavy to me, but she is getting some brilliant shots with it and says now she has got used to it she is totally in love with the beast..........

Yes Annie, it is truly, a beast of a camera, but surprisingly comfortable to use, I was caught out by the lack of ...Live-View and by the slow processing speed, but neither affect what it produces.

The two battery systems are archaic, but one huge bonus is that standard high power or rechargeable AA Batteries can be used instead of an aging dedicated one, the other two batteries power the flash.

Focus confirm seems to be just visual, rather an aural and the lens AF is almost silent.....the LCD is tiny and doesn't really do shots justice, unless they go a bit bluey with age........as you can see, pics are fine on the monitor and in print.

I saw two on eBay, but before I took any steps to bid or buy, I carried out a whole lot of research on the camera......it has a great pedigree and has had a good following amongst the Pro fraternity........I am wondering jus how long they were in production and hoping that mine is a late model.....does anyone know?

On BPs recommendation I purchased an 18-200 AF NIKON lens which was also a god buy......most of the old reviews on the camera, state just how good it is for recording detail and colour which is why it became a Wedding Photographer's camera.

You mentioned having grand kids to stay.......my little monkey of a granddaughter (9) flatly refused to let me test a portrait shot with my new/old toy........Typical girly flounce.....nose in the air stance.......little Diva!

Shoud your friend have any hints or tips on using the camera perhaps he or she can ass them on?

FUJI

[Black Pearl]

Fujifilm S2 Pro - 2002

 

 

It was based on the Nikon F80 film camera and has 6.2 million pixels on a SuperCCD sensor outputting 12 million usable pixels. Ignore the 'Pro' badge as that was Fuji trying to big-it-up, its a plastic body with no weather sealing. It is a decent one though, I had a F80 for a number of years and it gave great service. At the time it was very popular among wedding photographers as it had a very decent dynamic range meaning you could capture detail in the whites of a dress and the blacks of a suit. The weird sensor has a diagonal layout of pixels instead of the more conventional linear grid, means you can interpolate 12 from 6. Not used any more as sensor design have improved but still a fascinating bit of kit and a good camera upon which to build a nice set of lenses. It is compatible with older 'shaft drive' auto focus lenses as well as the current AF-S (Silent Wave) designs and it will work with VR (Vibration Reduction) technology. One very odd thing about the camera is the split menu layout with some options available on the main (scarily tiny by todays standards) screen and some via the small orange LCD. Nikon use this method on the D1/2/3/4 bodies so its not unique but it takes a bit of getting used to. One very odd quirk is the need for two different types of battery. It needs four AA's to power the digital based bit of the camera and CR123A's to make the film parts operate.  I think the lens Fuji bought with it is a Nikon 18-55mm 'Kit' lens, a great bit of glass and a perfect first lens.

 

I remember these being launched, sold a bucket full and had a good old trial of them - I was living in the Lakes at the time so a few may have made there way home with me at the weekends to get a proper testing.

By todays stands it is slow (2fps), has limited usable ISO's, a minuscule screen, the battery system is mental and while it has dual memory card slots one of them is Smart Media (you need to be older or geeky to remember those) - but - it is still a very solid camera and very capable of producing fantastic results. Remember that it was one of the best available at the time and was used professionally all over the world. 

[annie]

my god....look at the size of that...!

 

but fuji's shots and what i have seen of my friends shots confirm why it would have been the choice of professionals...i doubt very much i could handle it though..

[Guest Lee]

When I was getting back into photography, and the digital age was upon us, I hankered after one of these cameras; saw an article in Amateur Photographer recently about buying older digi cameras and the S2 Pro featured as a good buy. 

[FUJI]

When I was getting back into photography, and the digital age was upon us, I hankered after one of these cameras; saw an article in Amateur Photographer recently about buying older digi cameras and the S2 Pro featured as a good buy. 

If you search for YouTube videos on the FujiS2 Pro, you will find a professional photographer recommending it as an excellen buy for those on tight budgets.

FUJI

[Guest Lee]

If I was just starting out then I'd seriously look at this camera and the S2 or even the S3; shame Jean didn't go down the Nikon route as I'd have been tempted to get one.

If you search for YouTube videos on the FujiS2 Pro, you will find a professional photographer recommending it as an excellen buy for those on tight budgets.

FUJI