Opinion on S3 pro.

[jesser]

definitely 4k for a F80 body built camera is a no no for me no matter how good those electronic stuffs are inside. :nono:

may be a more kind of solid body which can hold the stress.........like a work-horse.......and priced at 3k to 3.5k........or else i will prefer to go for the D2H.

 

[yowch]

I'm not really defending the S3pro here, but there are peole who does not use a camera like a work horse, yet demands good results and is willing and able to pay for that. The S3 may just appeal to them. As for colour correction and raw processing, sure PCs can do almost anything, but to get great colours straight from camera means reduced time in a workflow, and that'll mean faster earnings in the commercial sense. Why post-process when the process is already good enough? Fuji seems to be heading in this direction.

 

[Niccon]

Most new low price dslr cameras nowadays have polycarbonate material as body (for low cost & weight and ease of shaping). Polycarbonate has been used for green house roofing for sometime (to replace glass). This is almost unbreakable but under intense weathering like roofing application, the lifespan is typically between 12-15yrs. But I am not too sure about its scratch & chemical resistance properties. Another important factor for a lasting body under rugged usage is the frame of the camera & plastic body thickness.

For most users the pure plastic body without metal frame may still last us for anything from 5-10yrs, I guessed. For those who shot in extreme weather condition like hot desert, cold mountain/arctic or in corrosive & rough handling environment then a metal body is preferred.

I think the likely things to fail us will be the shutter, ic chip, sensor and main board (which are sensitive to wear, shock, vibration, humidity, temperature & voltage variation) after a few years of usage. For an average user the body will survive the test but the electronic component may not.

 

[nightpiper]

thats why i said the electronic parts r cheap & low quality. yet they still sell u at such high price. do u know there r different grades in electronic components in the first place?

a good eg is MSI, a computer component maker. they use very cheap caps & no doubt their motherboards run smoothly for 2yrs but after that, many people complain of leakage & that leak burnt the whole sys incl devices plugged into it.

so basically. D70, 300D, F80, etc, use low grade components & will fail pretty fast esp if u r in a desert where heat is a big killer. unless fuji claims that their S3 uses military grade components, otherwise, i really don't see why its worth $4k+.

btw, my F80 can't be used on humid days (after heavy continous rain) becos the main circuit will malfunction when its too wet. so much for this 'solid build' illusion.

 

[nightpiper]

I'm not really defending the S3pro here, but there are peole who does not use a camera like a work horse, yet demands good results and is willing and able to pay for that. The S3 may just appeal to them. As for colour correction and raw processing, sure PCs can do almost anything, but to get great colours straight from camera means reduced time in a workflow, and that'll mean faster earnings in the commercial sense. Why post-process when the process is already good enough? Fuji seems to be heading in this direction.

i have to disagree a little on this area. i still believe in getting the 1st shot right the first time round as if u r shooting slides. so with all the controls built in the cameras, u can create presets (contrast, sat, sharpness, etc) to get the shot right 1st time round, so no need to post. nikon has this extra advantage of custom curve which will take out the pain of guessing the right colour & exposure from photographers.

from this point, i don't see why fuji superCCD can command such a high price, not unless u r a noise freak. but noise on other DSLRs r pretty acceptable too thou not as low as fuji's.