Canon EOS 20D vs Fujifilm S3 Pro

[DreamDriven78]

Hello every one,

I'm in need of advice on which camera is better Canon EOS 20D vs Fujifilm S3 Pro. What interests me the most is how often and in which situations would the high ISO's and shutter speeds that EOS 20D gives and Fuji lacks, be needed. I am an amature, and looking to buy a camera. Fuji has 12mpxls and Canon 8. But Canon has higher ISO and Shutter Speed numbers. I would like to create interesting closeup images, mostly Macro (flowers, bugs) and something like spiling a glass of water in the air and shooting the water in the mid air, and of course landscapes and people with lenses EF-S 17-85mm f4.0-5.6 and EF 100mm f2.8 Macro (any advices on what settings to use for water in the mid air shots would be a great help). I have no idea what lenses to use if to get Fuji which works with Nikon lenses. I know that this is Canon forum, but I'm asking in case anyone had an experience with Fujifilm S3 Pro or heard about it, or had the same problem of choice. I also like that Fujifilm S3 Pro is made with the batery grip and I would need to buy one for canon, minor thing but it makes a difference in comfort.
Fujifilm S3 Pro can be bought for about $1400 (body only) and Canon as my research showed with the EF-S 17-85mm f4.0-5.6 lens for about $1400 plus Microdrive and battery grip. So please guys help if you can.

Thanks,

Art.

Fujifilm S3 Pro specs:

Key FeaturesImage Sensor TypeCCDResolution12.30 MegapixelCamera TypeSLR/ProfessionalLensInterchangeable LensWith Interchangeable LensFocus RangeVaries With LensImage QualityResolution12.30 MegapixelResolutions4256 x 2848, 3024 x 2016, 2304 x 1536, 1440 x 960Exposure ControlISO Speeds1600, 800, 400, 200, 160, 100StorageMemory TypeCompact Flash Card Type II, IBM Microdrive, xD Picture CardCompression ModesBasic, Uncompressed, Normal, FineCompression TypeJPEG, Raw ImageFile Size (High Res.)25.6 MB (5 images on 128MB card)File Size (Low Res.)2.26 MB (about 56 images on 128MB card)FlashFlash TypeBuilt-In & ExternalViewfinder / DisplayViewfinderOpticalLCD PanelWith LCD PanelLCD Panel Size2 in.LCD Screen Resolution235,000 pixelsLCD Protected PositionWithout LCD Protected PositionInterfacesInterfaceFirewire, USBVideo InterfaceVideo OutPower SupplyBattery Type4 x AA BatteriesIncluded FeaturesSelf Timer20 Sec., 2 Sec.Mp3 Built InWithout MP3GeneralDimensions (W x D x H)5.90" x 3.2" x 5.3"Weight1.84 lb.





Canos EOS 20D Specs:

Key FeaturesImage Sensor Type CMOSResolution 8.5 MegapixelCamera Type SLR/ProfessionalLensInterchangeable Lens With Interchangeable LensDigital Zoom Without Digital ZoomFocus Range Varies With LensImage QualityResolution 8.5 MegapixelResolutions 3504 x 2336, 2544 x 1696, 1728 x 1152Exposure ControlISO Speeds Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200White Balance Auto, Manual, Daylight / Sunny (Preset), Cloudy (Preset), Fluorescent (Preset), Tungsten (Preset), Shade (Preset), Flash (Preset)Frames Per Second 5 FramesStorageMemory Type Compact Flash Card Type I, Compact Flash Card Type II, IBM MicrodriveCompression Modes Fine, Normal, UncompressedCompression Type JPEG, Raw ImageFile Size (High Res.) 8.7 MB (14 images on 128MB card)File Size (Low Res.) .6 MB (about 213 images on 128MB card)FlashFlash Type Built-In & ExternalFlash Functions Auto Flash, Red-eye Reduction FlashViewfinder / DisplayViewfinder Optical (Through-the-lens)LCD Panel With LCD PanelLCD Panel Size 1.8 in.LCD Screen Resolution 118,000 pixelsLCD Protected Position Without LCD Protected PositionInterfacesInterface USB 2.0Video Interface Video OutPower SupplyBattery Type Proprietary LithiumIncluded FeaturesSelf Timer 10 Sec.Mp3 Built In Without MP3Tripod Mount With Tripod MountGeneralDimensions W x D x H)5.7" x 2.8" x 4.2" Weight 1.51 lb.

[Mike Panic]

let me sum it up the easiest way i can

the 20d uses a lith ion battery which should give you 350-500 shots before needing a recharge. buy the grip for it and a 2nd battery and now that doubles.

the s3 uses four AA batteries... it is for the most part, a studio camera - so much so it comes w/ an ac cord - so if you plan on being teathered - go w/ the s3

aside from that - i think canon has a better, bigger range of glass then nikkor does at the current time

[BoySpot]

Art,

I don't wish to sound unhelpful but you probably won't get as many objective answers as you hope for. Having read through a lot of similar threads, a number of people seem more focused on justifying to themselves the camera they have already bought (obviously a Canon) than actually answering your question. Some will be far more objective, though.

Pick the responses you listen to with care.

[jbradc]

Think of it as buying a whole systen, not just a camera body and it becomes very clear. Canon EOS system is very hard to beat.

[bfphoto]

Not a whole lot out there on the S3 yet, but the s2 has had a lot of problems. A good friend of mine has the S2 and the sensor just went out. He now wishes he had sold all his Nikon lenses and went with Canon. You might want to check out this thread: http://theswampbbs.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=17&page=3&sort=lastpost&order=&pp=25&daysprune=-1.

[Mark Kemp]

1) This is a Canon forum so there may just be a hint of bias.

2) I have never tried and S2 or S3 - but all the reviews I have read suggest that the image quality is good, but the meter and AF are not so good.

[MDJAK]

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/fujifilms3pro/page6.asp

Above is a completely unbiased "preview" of the Fuji 3. I can't remember in recent memory a preview finding so much fault with any camera.

[DreamDriven78]

I see now.... looks like S3 has problems, and I do like the fact that Canon has more lenses available. What also interests me is how often and in which situations would the high ISO's and shutter speeds that EOS 20D gives would be needed. Remember I'm an amature so this question may sound like something basic that I'm suppose to know. And also how u guys would make a shot like throwing a glass of water up in the air and shooting the water in the mid air (I'll be using the EF-S 17-85mm lens)

[CyberDyneSystems]

The Fuji offerings have allways provided some very nice image quality,. but they are "unpolished" gems,. many functional issues,. start up times are dog slow,. buffer speed, batery life,.

you know,. the little things in life that don't effect the image itself,. but really hinder the cameras usability,. particularly in working situations.

Canon has been improving all of this usability aspects with every new release since the D30 was introduced. With that, the 20D is severla generations ahead of Fuji in ergonomics and features. The Fuji is back in the D30-D60 era as far as this is concerned.

[Phil V]

I see now.... looks like S3 has problems, and I do like the fact that Canon has more lenses available. What also interests me is how often and in which situations would the high ISO's and shutter speeds that EOS 20D gives would be needed. Remember I'm an amature so this question may sound like something basic that I'm suppose to know. And also how u guys would make a shot like throwing a glass of water up in the air and shooting the water in the mid air (I'll be using the EF-S 17-85mm lens)
Canon has a better range of lenses,:rolleyes: however all the major brands have more than enough lenses for most photographers. If you don't know what a T&S lens does or a 1-4x macro, or a 1200mm 5.6, well you'll probably never need one.

High ISO = low light shooting or shooting action in mediocre light.

High shutter speed = when the light is bright and you still want to isolate a subject with small DoF by using large aperture (you'll need large aperture lenses).

Freezing moving water (you need a very powerful air conditioning unit:lol:) High shutter speed or flash to freeze the motion.

[Mitch]

I, at this point, am a Canon devotee. HOWEVER, I just shot a wedding (this time as videographer) with a guy that used a Fuji S3 Pro. He said the he has and has used Canon and Nikon camera and lenses. He is sticking with the S3 because, he said "I don't have to do nearly as much post processing with the S3 as with the other two cameras". He said that the exposure and color was more 'right on' for wedding photography than the other two brands by a substantial margin.

Ofcourse, that's what he said. I don't own Nikon or Fuji stuff, never used them, and, what I just relayed to you was 'hear say'. I use Canon, I know that for sure.

[RDKirk]

Hello every one,

I'm in need of advice on which camera is better Canon EOS 20D vs Fujifilm S3 Pro. What interests me the most is how often and in which situations would the high ISO's and shutter speeds that EOS 20D gives and Fuji lacks, be needed. I am an amature, and looking to buy a camera. Fuji has 12mpxls and Canon 8. .

By the way, speaking of pixels, you have to check Fuji's pockets on their claim of 12 megapixels. Their sensor puts two pixels beneath each photosite, a high-range pixel and a low-range pixel. But each photosite is actually the effective "pixel," so the effective resolution is actually just 6 megapixels, not 12 megapixels. However, this design does give the camera better dynamic range than an ordinary CCD.

[mbze430]

A very good friend of mine runs a site. http://www.fmount.com. He uses a S2 Pro. So alot of people on his sites are Fuji shooters. Take the bad from each group of users, and you should come up with an idea what going with the 20D and S3 Pro.

[Jay J]

The 20D has it over the S3 is all categories EXCEPT color quality. It's the curse of the 20D for wedding photographers. You won't get accurate colors and you'll spend a lot of time post processing. However I, for one, sold all my Fuji S2's and went with 10D's and 20D's because I couldn't get a fuji camera that didn't have a back or front focus problem.

[ron chappel]

The S3 pro is not really 12Mp ,and it doesn't really give three more stops of dynamic range.
Those that have objectively tested it say the '12Mp' is equivilant to about 8-9(?) Mp,and have found the extended dynamic range feature only gives about a one to two stop improvement.

Other than that there is the inevitable problem of nikon lenses tending to cost more than their canon counterparts

[chtgrubbs]

The Fuji seems to be more popular with portrait and wedding photogs because of better skin tone rendition and highlight rendition that doesn't blowout the white wedding dresses. The functionality and ergonomics of the Canon camera is better, though. As for stopping water in midair, that is done using highspeed flash, not with high shutter speed, so either could do that. The color rendition and better dynamic range really appeal to me for landscape use, but I already was heavily invested in the Canon 35mm system. But someday I would really like to try an S3.

[Bob Sherwood]

When the Fuji S1 came out I got it. Used it for a while and struggled with it in shooting weddings. Bought the S2 soon as it was available. Shot weddings on it for about 2 years and loved it for the most part. All my 35mm gear was Canon so I bought a Digital Rebel just to play with and because I had some good Canon glass. I bought another Rebel because I thought, "hey I just might shoot a wedding with this". Well, I did and just before Christmas, I bought a 20D. After using the 20D for about 6 weeks, I took all my Fuji bodies, lenses, Nikon flashes, etc to KEH in Atlanta, traded it all in and came home with 2 additional 20D bodies and 580 EX flashes (already had lenses). So for someone who has used both a lot, I opted for the Canon all the way. This is how I make my living and I'm staking it all on Canon now.