Fuji FinePix S3 ProFuji updates their digital SLR with a 12.34-megapixel Super CCD SR II, for amazing tonal range.<<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:OpticsReview First Posted: 9/7/2005 |
Optics
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The S3 Pro is equipped with a Nikon "F" type lens mount, which fits a wide range of Nikkor lenses (the user manual has a full list of compatible lens types, reproduced below). The S3's lens mount includes both mechanical AF coupling for older lenses, and AF electrical contacts for the latest AF-IF or AF-S Nikkor lenses with internal focus motors. With very few exceptions, you can use the S3 Pro with any F Mount Nikkor lens ever made. (Actually, I'm not personally aware of any F-mount lenses that flat-out *wouldn't* work, but do know that some of the really unusual Nikkor lenses from the past [full-frame fisheye lenses?] had problems on some camera bodies, requiring mirror lockup to function properly. This is a vanishing percentage of the possible lenses that could be used with the camera though, so you can safely assume that most any F mount lens in your camera bag will work just fine with the S3 Pro.)
As with the Nikon N80 camera body on which it's based, functions and exposure modes available with a given lens will vary greatly with the lens type. More recent Nikkor lenses (the D- or G-type models) include a microchip that communicates focal-distance information to the camera. Lenses without the microchip won't support the 3D Matrix metering mode. Here's a table giving a brief idea of the functionality available with different Nikkor lens types (abstracted from the S3's manual).
| Modes -> |
Focusing Mode | Exposure Mode | Metering Mode | |||||
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Auto Focus | Manual with electronic rangefinder | Manual | Any mode Other than M | M | 3D 10-segment | 10-segment | Center weighted, Spot *1 |
| Nikkor lenses with built-in CPU*2 |
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| D-type, G-type AF lenses, AF-S, AF-I *3 | O | O | O | O | O | O | - | O |
| PC micro 85 mm f/2.8D *4 | - | O*5 | O | - | O | O | - | O |
| AF-I/AF-S Teleconverter | O*7 | O*7 | O | O | O | O | - | O |
| Non-D/G type AF Nikkor (excluding lenses for F3AF) | O | O | O | O | O | - | O | O |
| Ai-P Nikkor | - | O*8 | O | O | O | - | O | O |
| Non-CPU Nikkor*9 |
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| Ai-S, Ai Series E lenses, modified AI Nikkor | - | O*8 | O | - | O*10 | - | - | - |
| Medical 120 mm f/4 | - | O | O | - | O*11 | - | - | - |
| Reflex lenses | - | - | O | - | O*10 | - | - | - |
| PC Nikkor | - | O*5 | O | - | O*10 | - | - | - |
| Ai-S, AI Teleconverter | - | O*7 | O | - | O*10 | - | - | - |
| Bellows PB-6 (used with K ring 1, 3, 4 or 5) *12 | - | O*7 | O | - | O*10 | - | - | - |
| Auto close-up rings (PK-11A, 12, 13 and PN-11) | - | O*7 | O | - | O*10 | - | - | - |
| Key: |
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| O : | Usable |
| - : | Not usable |
| *1 | Spot metering area can be shifted with focus area selector |
| *2 | IX Nikkor lenses cannot be attached.. |
| *3 | This camera is compatible with the Vibration Reduction function of the VR Nikkor lens. |
| *4 | The camera's light metering modes and flash control functions do not operate correctly when camera movements are performed (both shift and tilt) or when the aperture is set to any setting other than fully open. |
| *5 | Only possible when camera shift or tilt are not performed. |
| *6 | Compatible with AF-S and AF-I Nikkor except AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8 D I-ED and AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED. |
| *7 | With maximum effective aperture of f/5.6 or faster. |
| *8 | With maximum aperture of f/5.6 or faster. |
| *9 | Some lenses/accessories cannot be mounted on this camera. |
| *10 | With the exposure mode set to M. Note that the exposure meter cannot be used. |
| *11 |
With exposure mode set to Manual and shutter speed set to 1/125 sec. or slower but the meter cannot be used. |
| *12 |
Attach the PB-6 vertically (PB-6 can be set to horizontal position after attaching.) |
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AS-15 must be attached in combination with Medical-Nikkor 200 mm f/5.6 for the lens to fire flash. |
| • |
Reprocopy Outfit PF-4 can be attached in combination with Camera Holder PA-4. |
Lenses that cannot be used: (Caution, do not attempt to forcibly mount or damage to the camera could result!)
| Lenses other than Nikkor lenses with a built-in CPU that cannot be used |
The lenses other than Nikkor lenses with a built-in CPU listed below cannot be used with this camera. Any attempt to forcibly mount one of these lenses on the camera could damage the camera and lens.
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A release button just to the right of the lens mounting flange unlocks the lens so that it can be rotated and removed from the mount. Below the release button is a Focus Selector switch, which sets focus control to Single Servo, Continuous Servo, or Manual modes. In Single Servo mode, focus is set just once, whenever the Shutter button is halfway pressed. Continuous Servo mode adjusts the focus continuously, as long as the Shutter button is pressed. Manual lets you control focus by turning the focus ring on the lens. In Manual focus mode, a focus indicator appears in the optical viewfinder (a green dot, on the left-hand side of the viewfinder readout), letting you know when the camera thinks the focus is set properly.
One important difference between Single and Continuous Servo modes affects the shutter release: In Single Servo mode, the shutter won't release unless the lens is focused (Focus Priority). In Continuous Servo mode however, the camera will fire regardless of the state of focus (Release Priority). If you want to be sure that the camera is focused when you snap the picture, use Single Servo mode. Use Continuous Servo for moving subjects, and/or times when the instant of shutter release is more important to you than sharp focus.
The AF Area Mode option on the rear-panel data readout/button panel lets you select between Single Area and Dynamic Area by hitting the "FUNC" key until the "AF" option appears, and then pressing the first of the programmable "soft keys" under the data display. The Dynamic Area autofocus mode also offers a closest-subject focus priority option. Both focus modes are capable of responding to any of five individual focus areas, as indicated in the viewfinder by sets of brackets arranged top, bottom, left, right, and center.
Single Area AF simply means that the camera judges focus based on a single, manually-selected focus area. (Focus areas can be selected by pressing the arrow keys on the Four-Way controller on the camera's rear panel.) Dynamic AF employs all five of the autofocus brackets, or areas. Autofocus behavior in Dynamic AF mode is further controlled by CSM menu options 7 and 8, which enable closest-subject AF priority in single and continuous autofocus modes respectively. Normally, Dynamic AF mode begins by focusing on a given AF area, selected by the user from among the five available. If the subject then moves to a different part of the frame, the camera will automatically switch to a new AF point to follow it. In closest-subject priority mode though, the camera itself selects the initial AF point corresponding to the portion of the subject that's closest to the camera. Once the subject is acquired, the camera tracks it as in normal Dynamic AF operation. (Note that no focus area brackets are illuminated in the viewfinder with this mode and on their own cameras, Nikon states that this mode doesn't work well with telephoto lenses or poorly lit subjects. Fuji's manual doesn't caution against telephoto lenses or dim subjects, but it seems safe to assume that the S3 Pro would be subject to the same limitations as the N80 it's based on.)
As noted, in Single Area AF mode, you can change the primary focus area by unlocking the focus area selector (the Four-Way controller on the camera's rear panel) and then shifting the focus area using the up, down, right, or left arrow keys. You can lock the focus area selection by turning the switch back to the lock position. By default, the S3 Pro does not "wrap" the focus area selector as you scroll between focus areas. Through the CSM menu though, you can opt for a "Wrap" function. What this means is that if you press the right arrow key again, after the right focus area is already selected, the selection will immediately jump to the left focus area. The same thing happens when moving the focus area selection vertically as well.
There are two methods by which you can lock focus on the S3. The first is to half-press the Shutter button to lock the focus, placing your subject in the selected focus area, halfway pressing the Shutter button, then realigning the composition and firing the shutter. (By default, this also locks exposure, but you can disable the exposure lock on shutter half-press via CSM option 5.) Alternatively, when using Single Servo AF, you can press the AE-L/AF-L button to lock focus (and exposure too, unless the button is set for focus-only via CSM option 9). Keeping this button pressed will lock focus and/or exposure, even if the Shutter button is released. This lets you recompose the photograph without keeping your finger on the Shutter button, but on the AE-L/AF-L button instead. (Reducing the chance that you'll accidentally trip the shutter when you don't intend to.)
There are several options available for the AE-L/AF-L button, which can be set via CSM option 9. You can program it to lock either focus or exposure separately, or both together (the default). You can also change its operation so a single press locks and holds the exposure setting. (No need to keep the button pressed down.) Finally, you can set the AE/AF lock button so it alone controls the autofocus system, meaning the autofocus won't actuate when the Shutter button is half-pressed, but only when the AE/AF lock button is pressed instead.
Autofocus Speed
I mention AF speed because it's the topic of frequent questions from my readers, although I confess to having no quantitative way to measure it. I also need to point out that AF speed will vary greatly with the lens being used. All that said, the S3 Pro's AF speed seemed "average" to me, overall roughly equivalent to what I experienced with my own Nikon D70. Swapping the D70's "kit" lens (the 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5) back and forth between the S3 Pro and the D70, my subjective sense was that it took about 0.5-0.7 second for either camera to switch focus from a distant subject to one near the closest focusing distance. Traversing smaller distances, the focus lock was much faster.
With a moving subject (Charlotte the Wonder Dog), and the camera set to single-shot focusing mode, I felt that the S3 consistently lagged the subject slightly. This was an entirely unscientific test, but I had the distinct impression that the lens/camera combination could have been faster. (As a rough guess, Charlotte was moving about 10-12 mph towards me, at a distance of around 15 feet when I was snapping the picture. - The most sharply-focused area seemed to be one to two feet behind her under those conditions.) Under similar circumstances, my impression was that the D70 also lagged the subject slightly, but perhaps not quite as much. (Maybe a foot vs two feet?) Neither camera was as fast as I remembered higher-end Nikon models like the D2x being. (Take this with a large grain of salt though, this wasn't any kind of a controlled test, and my memory is far from perfect.)
Low Light Focusing
The S3 sports a bright incandescent autofocus-assist light on its front, between the hand grip and the lens mount. By default, this light will illuminate whenever the ambient light level is too low for the camera to focus well without it. The light is bright enough that the S3 can focus in total darkness out to a good 10 feet (three meters) or so. CSM menu option 15 lets you disable the AF illuminator lamp, for more candid shooting.
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