Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro review

Fujifilm's update to the S3, but will it live up to the hype?

Don’t let the body fool you: this really is a Fujifilm camera. It looks and feels very similar to the high-scoring Nikon D200, but don’t be tricked into thinking they are one and the same. After a few minutes investigating the way that the S5 handles and the technology it has to offer, you’ll soon realise that it has Fujifilm written all over it.

Not only does the S5 Pro now offer the ability to shoot RAW and JPEG files at the same time, it also touts an impressive 3fps and 20 continuous shots before buffering, as well as a max flash-sync speed of 1/250. The Super CCD SR II sensor is the same in almost all respects to the one in the S3 Pro, but has been enhanced to handle noise better, and to make use of the extra processing power from the new RP Processor Pro.

Just like the D200, the S5 Pro feels sturdy and professional. Chunky, rubberised grips make it easy to operate, and the body has a very reassuring weight. The way the buttons and dials are laid out is very accessible, and users will rejoice at not having to scroll through endless menus to change their settings. A cluster of buttons on the top left of the camera allows quick changes to be made to image quality, white balance and ISO, while the AF mode is easily altered using the dedicated switch on the back of the camera. Despite all these controls, the camera never looks daunting – on the contrary, the S5 Pro is the epitome of simplicity and order.

Fujifilm’s 2.5-inch LCD comes with a protective cover to shield it from knocks and scrapes. It delivers fantastic image quality, but doesn’t feature the wide viewing angle offered by rival models. It also lacks anti-glare coating, making it troublesome to view in bright sunlight. In terms of negatives, however, that’s about it – hardly enough to put off potential buyers. 

The image quality from the S5 Pro is superb. The camera really demonstrates its versatility in high-contrast conditions: the dynamic range is impressive, allowing the camera to cope with potentially challenging photographic situations very well indeed. When faced with the challenge of capturing an overcast but bright sky, and pools of highly reflective water on the ground, the S5 Pro made light work of calculating an average exposure that yielded aesthetically pleasing results. The user can select from six different dynamic range settings, from ‘normal’ up to an expansion of two stops. This helps you control precisely how you want your images to look and allows greater versatility when shooting in the field.

The camera’s verbosely titled Fujifilm Super CCD SR Pro sensor, in combination with its new Real Photo Processor, does a great job of reproducing accurate colours and textures, while the two stages of noise reduction that images are subjected to really do seem to make a difference, producing much cleaner images than a lot of comparable models, even at ISO 3200. These factors ensure the S5 Pro fulfils Fujifilm’s hopes of appealing to a wider spectrum of photographers, from nature and landscape photographers, to gig and astrophotographers (the noise filtering can be turned off too). Fujifilm’s Face Detection technology is not featured as a tool when shooting, but it’s utilised for checking focus in Playback mode. This is bound to be a hit with social and wedding photographers, as will the ability to shoot RAW and JPEG at the same time, so images can be uploaded and displayed on a laptop instantly, while the photographer retains the RAW images for post processing.

Something that’s likely to appeal to all is the Film Simulation feature. Whether you shoot people or places, this mode is great for creating images with added punch or subtle softness. Each setting provides unique features: F1 is geared towards smoothing skintones, while F1c increases sharpness, and F2 is designed to mimic the qualities of Fuji Velvia. There are five settings in all and each can be finetuned to suit your own individual requirements.

The list of shooting options on the S5 Pro really is too long to print – suffice to say, if you’re a control freak, this camera’s going to keep you very busy and very satisfied.

It’s clear that Fujifilm has made a concerted effort to offer something different with the S5 Pro. There’s an incredible range of settings available to be tailored to your precise needs, and the results are superb, even at ISO 3200, which is very commendable, even in this price bracket. Whatever your field of photographic expertise, the FinePix S5 Pro will have something to offer.