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The Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro is based on the N80 body but has some aesthetic changes that make it more comfortable and easy to use. It has a 6 megapixel + 6 megapixel super CCD SR sensor with 12 megapixel maximum output.
It has a 2 inch LCD screen and is powered by four AA batteries. More details will be published as they come in.
Get the Latest Price on the Fujifilm Finepix S3
Popular Photography reviews the Fujifilm Finepix S3 Pro and writes - 'While it's too early to make a call on the S3 Pro's image quality, the AF system and metering controls are fairly well-known entities and similar to those on the S2 Pro and Nikon N80. It would have been nice if the S3 Pro packed a faster, more sensitive AF system similar to the one on the new Nikon D70, and we wish Fuji hadn't removed the voice annotation feature. However, the sheer number of improvements and advanced features we already found in the S3 Pro, including its size and balance, its potentially wide dynamic range, expanded flash compatibility, image quality choices and settings, and better power system, should excite any photographer looking for the ultimate image quality and a very good price.'
Shootsmarter have a good first look at Fuji's S3 DSLR and write - 'It's hard not to upgrade to this camera, I cannot give it high enough marks after shooting it for a week. If you shoot on-camera flash, wedding images, editorial work or you are disappointed in the digital highlight detail of your camera, move up to the S3 right away. Beware, that if you add the S3 to your bag and plan to shoot the S2 as a backup, you will soon be disappointed in your trusty S2 because this camera is so much nicer to shoot and the files it creates are pretty amazing. We will be shooting the S3 in the Professional Workflow 2 Tour, and printing the file live in real-time so you can see for yourself. Bring a jump drive or a blank CDR to the show and I'll be glad to give you a test file or if there's time, let you shoot one yourself with our gear.'
Lets Go Digital has just posted a review of the Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro Digital Camera and writes - 'A lot has improved compared to the Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro. Which already shows on the outside; the FinePix S3 Pro looks better. And finally the Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro has a release button for vertical photography. The monitor on the back of the camera is also larger than the one on the FinePix S2 Pro. The second screen has been changed slightly and so have the buttons. Although the latter ones are still more or less on the same position. The S2 Pro user doesn't have to search for them. Whereas the Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro used 2 kinds of batteries, the Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro only uses (rechargeable) AA batteries, four of them. The camera is standard delivered with a set of 4x 2300mAh and a quick battery charger. The SmartMedia slot has been replaced by an xD slot which means the FinePix S3 Pro supports the CompactFlash as well as xD. Another improvement is the flash system, Fujifilm now also uses Nikon's D-TTL metering. So a so-called DX flash unit is required.'
Thom Hogan reviews the Fujifilm S3 Pro and writes - 'The S3 Pro takes beautiful, color-saturated photos, and when used correctly can give any digital SLR that costs less than US$2495 a real run for the money. Yes, that means everything from the Nikon D70 to the Canon 20D. It's only when you get to the pro bodies that the S3 Pro starts to suffer in comparisons, though even then its image quality holds up quite well. The S3 Pro loses a small bit in the resolution race, but not nearly as much as you might think; it performs about like an 8mp camera. In short, expect to produce good looking images out of this camera.'
Steves Digicams reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro SLR and writes - 'The Fuji FinePix S3 Pro is a camera with two personalities. In Standard D-Range it produces excellent results both at 6 and 12 megapixel image sizes, but doesn't justify its $2,500 price versus the competiting dSLRs. Set D-Range to Wide and the S3 is transformed into an amazing portrait-taking image processor. Although a bit sluggish in this mode, its results may better satisfy the needs of your portrait business than anything else available today, more than justifying its price.'
DP Reviews has a good review of the Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro and writes - 'The S3 Pro's unique selling feature, its extended dynamic range, really does exist and does work. We measured up to 10 stops of dynamic range in the camera's “Wide 2” mode, however it's seldom that this would be obvious in everyday shots. The reason for this is that in wide dynamic range mode you get the gain only in the highlights, it would have made sense to instead have the option of a completely different tone curve and expose for shadows to spread the additional dynamic range across the tonal scale rather than just in highlights (we often don't mind clipped highlights as long as the roll-off is smooth).'
Pocket Lint reviews the Fuji FinePix S3 Pro and writes - 'I’ve been in the fortunate position to have reviewed the S1 Pro, then this Digital-SLR’s (D-SLR) predecessor, the S2 Pro (twice in fact, as I compared it to its peers (which it beat) a year later) and I then wrote the First Look article on the new, S3 Pro D-SLR for Professional Photographer: I’m familiar with it’s evolution therefore.
Although the S3 Pro looks overpriced compared to many of the D-SLRs appearing on the market, it must be remembered this is not a sports photographer’s snapper. It offers uniqueness with its wide dynamic range thanks to the dual pixel layout that makes it a real social photographers tool where skin tones and whites (of wedding dresses) are the key to a good shot. A corker then, but one for a niche within niche of the photo market.'
ePhotoZine reviews the Fujifilm S3 Pro and writes - 'As a current S2 user I found the camera very easy to adapt to, in fact it was harder using the S2 when the camera was returned. Immediate reaction was the grip had been vastly improved, as had the weight and balance. Using just one set of batteries offered a better solution as well.
Image quality was hard to split the S2 and S3, unless the extended dynamic range was used. Overall it was well laid out, with the main controls well placed.'
Photographic Magazine reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro and writes - 'What the Super CCD SR II sensor gives that nobody else offers (at least as I write this) is an adjustable dynamic range that changes the ratios between “S” and “R” pixels. Function Buttons, under the second, smaller LCD screen on the camera’s back, offer four choices: Standard (100 percent); Wide 1 (230 percent) for studio portraits; Wide 2 (400 percent) for outdoor portraits; and Auto, where the camera chooses between 100–400 percent depending on the scene.
While the S3 manual and multiple autoexposure modes produce accurate exposures under average conditions, Fujifilm provides two compensation buttons immediately behind the shutter release that let you apply adjustments to the overall exposure or flash.'
CNET Reviews has a review of the Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro and writes - 'The Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro digital SLR (dSLR) replaces the S2 Pro, which enjoyed some modest success among photographers who prized its image quality. Like its predecessor, the S3 Pro uses Nikon F-mount SLR lenses and a (debatably) 6-megapixel Fujifilm sensor. But the sensor, called a Super CCD SR II, is an all-new design that uses two photodetectors per pixel to deliver the widest dynamic range we've seen in a dSLR. The camera's performance is mediocre, but if you hate blown-out highlights and love rich colors, the S3 Pro is worth a close look.'
Digital Camera Info reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro and writes - 'The FinePix S3 really does offer expanded dynamic range, with beautiful color and excellent noise control. Maybe we should stop right there, because that’s the news. That’s what the competition has to try to match.
The question is whether or not to buy one. Sure, lots of people need more dynamic range and good portrait color, but do they need it for $2500? Do they need it at one frame per second? Do they need it with autofocus that wasn’t top-of-the-line even three years ago?
Actually, yes. The camera will serve a sizable market. Wedding and portrait photographers need to take flattering pictures with rich color even when they can’t control the lighting. This is a very large sect of commercial photographers, compared to other segments of the photographic profession, and they can put up with many of the limitations of the S3. Fuji is wise to go after them. '
PC Magazine reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro and writes - 'Like the Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro before it, the new Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro is built on the Nikon N80 film SLR chassis—one of the most enjoyable cameras to hold. Because the N80 is a plastic-bodied camera, however, it's not as rugged as other pro cameras, such as the Nikon D2X, which has a harder magnesium-alloy body. It's just one of the ways in which the S3 Pro seems to exhibit an identity problem: Is it an expensive consumer digital SLR or a cheaper alternative to the high-priced pro D-SLRs? That's a question that you may have to answer for yourself, depending on your needs.'
February 2004 - PMA, Las Vegas, USA*: This year will see the eagerly-anticipated launch of the FinePix S3 Pro –successor to Fujifilm’s critically-acclaimed FinePix S2 Pro digital SLR. Set to confirm Fujifilm’s status as one of the top three digital camera makers, this model has been conceived as the camera of choice for photographers who wish to achieve image quality worthy of Fujifilm’s professional film heritage.
This camera will be a breed apart from all other DSLRs because of its sensor and processor technology, without doubt the most important components within any digital camera. The FinePix S3 Pro's 4th Generation Super CCD SR sensor will use 6.17 million S-pixels and 6.17 million
R-pixels (12.3 million effective photodiodes) to deliver 12 million recorded pixels. The picture quality from this 23 x 15.5mm sensor will show noticeable image improvements to that of single-pixel cameras. The SR sensor's unique double photodiode design will produce images with a dynamic range four times greater than that of a sensor working on single-pixel technology. This dramatically broadens tonal capability, and guarantees exceptional rendition from bright highlights to deep shadows. It gives greater sensitivity, improved signal-to-noise ratio and consistently natural colour reproduction.
The camera is designed around the long-established Nikon F-mount, and will have two shutter release buttons to ensure comfortable shooting in both landscape and portrait orientations. A further improvement on the S2 Pro is that power is provided by four AA batteries.
The FinePix S3 Pro's Intelligent Flash with D-TTL full-aperture exposure metering will enable photographers to achieve outstanding results with compatible Nikon DX-series Speedlights. Appearing for the first time in a Fujifilm digital camera, this will allow a new level of creative lighting options for FinePix S3 Pro users. What's more, the PC sync connection will allow strobes or other external flash systems to be connected for ultimate studio connectivity.
The camera will accept both xD-Picture Card™ and Microdrive™ media, for more flexible storage. It incorporates a newly-developed, bright two-inch 235,000 pixel LCD monitor (with approximately 100% frame coverage) alongside a second LCD data display for information on settings. And for improved data transfer speeds, the camera is set to offer both high-speed IEEE1394 and USB 2.0 interfaces.
Feedback from customers on the design and functionality of the FinePix S2 Pro was an integral part of Fujifilm's design process for its successor. As a result of this input, and the success of the FinePix S2 Pro, Fujifilm has retained the camera's solid, one-piece body made from durable polycarbonate, as a basis for the FinePix S3 Pro.
Adrian Clarke, Director of Consumer Products, Fujifilm UK, said, "For many years, the world’s top photographers have chosen to load their cameras with Fuji film, to produce the very best images from their cameras. Once they see the images produced by the S3 Pro’s Super CCD SR, we are confident that Fujifilm will be their choice for years to come.
“Rather than follow the trend of removing features from the digital SLR, our mission has been to improve on a top-class product. Almost all the development effort is being focused on where it matters most – the imaging sensor and processing. This announcement reconfirms Fujifilm as one of the three leading developers of digital SLR cameras."
Pricing and availability
Pricing and availability of the FinePix S3 Pro will be announced soon.
Buy the Fujifilm Finepix S3
Posted by Darren in our Fuji category on February 05, 2004