A quick glimpse at the combinations of Fuji S3 Pro settings and Real Life Use of this

pretty amaing digital camera! "n this article " #ill present my o#n choice of settings$
so your opinions may differ!
Fuji S3 pro Settings%
Resolution and quality%
RA& or jpeg$ '( )p* or + )p*$ Fine or ,ormal
-his decision is based on the final use of the image and the shooting conditions!
" shoot RA& for ultimate quality . commercial clients$ magaines$ all situations #hen
the image is going to be used for offset printing at A/ sie or larger or printed bigger
than A/ using photo printers!
0peg is for fast paced assignments and for the images #hich are going to be used
smaller than A/!
-he Fuji S3 Pro is -12 camera for shooting jpegs and if the e*posure and &3 are
nailed the images can be used confidently for any purpose!
'( )p* or + )p*% " use + )p* for e4ent shots$ since most of them #ill ne4er be used
at more than 56*76! -his allo#s for about 333 images on a '83 card and for a much
faster image management on the desktop computer back at the office!
Fine or ,ormal% " only use Fine$ " like to ha4e minimum compression on the images
since most images could benefit from some minor corrections before deli4ery to the
client!
9ynamic range
" use Auto most of the time$ e*cept in 4ery high contrast situations #hen &ide (
could help! "f shot in RA&$ all the follo#ing settings e*cept the "S: can be altered in
post processing!
&hite balance
Again Auto most of the time$ e*cept #hen " ha4e a chance to use ;ustom and in
-ungsten lighting #hen " use the appropriate setting! ;ustom #hite balance is really
important in studio settings$ to ensure shot to shot consistency!
-one
Surprisingly$ " found that <1ard= is the best choice for me! -he <standard= and
<original= are much more adapted for the images #hich #ill be post processed$ but
<hard= gi4e me ready to use files!
;olor
1igh! All the time! As #ith the -one abo4e$ if the shot #as properly taken$ there is no
need for post processing #ith these settings! 3e#are that if the #hite balance is
#rong$ high tone #ill make things a bit #orse! 3ut you already kno# that getting
#hite balance right is the key of successfully shooting jpegs!
Sharpness
1igh$ e*cept for portraits #here " prefer standard! " do a lot of corporate$ industrial$
architecture$ and high sharpness is 4ery #ell suited to these subjects$ since the
images do not need any other additional sharpening!
"S:
'>> "S: #hen possible$ but for the e4ent shots " do not hesitate to go to ?>> "S:! "
like to bounce the flash a lot$ and in medium to big rooms$ "S: ?>> is really needed!
Up to />> "S: there is 4irtually no 4isible noise$ so " do a lot of a4ailable light
industrial images at "S: />>!
sR83$ aR83
" prefer sR83$ unless the client specifically asks for Adobe R83! As most clients do
not kno# #hat Adobe R83 is$ " deli4er sR83 just to be on the safe side!
Real life use%
Studio and location #ith studio lighting
Since the lighting is abundant and under control " prefer to shoot for ma*imum
quality! -his means RA&$ '>> "S:$ custom #hite balance$ if possible tethered
shooting!
&eddings and 24ent photography
" al#ays ha4e an S3 ?>> on a ,e#ton bracket attached to the camera$ and " am a
big fan of fill in flash! -his means that " prefer to increase the "S: setting to be able
to capture as much as possible of the a4ailable light! " determined that for my @and
my clientsAB taste$ "S: ?>> offers an acceptable quality so " use it a lot!
" shoot almost al#ays jpegs$ in '( )p* or + )p* setting$ depending on the final use
of the images!
Location portraits
&hen in location$ " prefer to mi* the a4ailable light #ith some flash$ so " use t#o
portable flashes #hich allo# me to cope #ith most situations! " prefer to do a custom
#hite balance$ for precision and consistency! " usually shoot jpegs '( )p*$ since it is
much faster!
Architecture and "ndustrial
For architecture a good tripod is sa4ing the day$ especially in the interiors! " again
prefer to sho# the natural ambiance$ so the a4ailable light get used as much as
possible!
-he #ide 9R of the Fuji S3 comes to the rescue quite often in high contrast
situations usually encountered #hen doing architecture interiors! Since the
architectural subjects do not mo4e$ "S: '>>$ optimum aperture and a matching
e*posure time do the trick!
"ndustrial images are quite different$ since there is usually poor and ugly light
combined #ith mo4ing people! 1ere " use #ith great pleasure the high quality "S:
/>> of the Fuji S3$ combined$ if possible #ith some flash light!
Product shots
-he Fuji S3 Pro can be a lifesa4er #hen shooting shiny products because the SR
sensor #ith its #ide 9R!
:ther#ise$ the resolution is good enough for the images to be printed up to a double
page in the magaine!
Studio . tethered% Fashion$ Portraits$ Products
Cuite strange$ the Fuji S3 shoots much faster #hen tethered to a computer than
shooting on ;F cards!
" prefer to shoot tethered to a laptop as often as possible$ al#ays in the studio and in
static setups in location!
3oth " and the client enjoy the possibility of seeing the image on a calibrated screen$
#hich makes for a great time sa4er in many situations!
Using flash% S3 ?>> and studio
-he Fuji S3 has only 9D--L flash$ as opposed to the more modern ,ikon
iD--L system! " found that the 9D--L on the S3 does a 4ery decent job #hen using a
,ikon S3D?>> flash!
" also enjoy the 5th battery on the ,ikon S3D?>> #hich gi4e much faster recycling
times$ 4ery neccessary if you$ as me$ like to bounce the flash a lot!
&hen the Fuji S3 senses an S3 flash it #ill automatically s#itch to Auto #hite
balance$ ignoring any setting you made$ e*cept for custom #hite balance! -his can
be a bad or a good thing$ depending on your shooting style! "f " am in a tungsten lit
interior and intend to shoot both flash and a4ailable light shots$ " simply s#itch the
camera to tungsten #hite balance so #hen the flash is on it #ill #ork on auto$ and
#hen the flash is off it #ill shoot on tungsten #hite balance$ a quite fool proof feature!
Price E performance
&hen first realease$ -he Fuji S3 Pro #as a quite e*pensi4e camera$ but only at the
first glance!
-he combination of #ide 9R$ good resolution @much better than the + )p* cameras
and at least as good or better as the ? )p* camerasB$ great jpegs out of the camera
and good high "S: performance made it a pretty unique camera for a lot of
photographers!
-he Fuji S3 Pro is 4ery #ell suited for architecture$ industrial and landscape
photography$ product shots @#ide 9R$ resolutionB$ social e4ents$ portraits and
#eddings @#ide 9R$ great jpegsB!
2specially the #ide 9R and if shot properly almost no need for post processing make
the Fuji S3 Pro an in4aluable tool for #edding and social photographers #hich can
sa4e countless computer hours after shooting hundred of frames at each
assignment$ so thousand images each #eek!
;onclusion
-he Fuji S3 could be either a great or an unusable camera$ depending on your
shooting needs!
-he S3 can not shoot fast in RA& due to a small buffer and incredibly lo# transfer
speed$ and e4en in #ide 9R jpegs it canAt reach more than ' fps! So it is out of the
question for any fast paced shooting$ including press$ sports or any situation #here
you need to shoot a lare number of RA& files in a short time @high end fashionB!
3ut there are situations #hen the Fuji S3 simply e*cels% high contrast subjects
@including #eddingsB and all situations #hen you need to shoot a lot of jpegs and do
not ha4e the time or #ill to postprocess!
Also$ e4en the Fuji S3 is labeled by some as a + )p* camera$ its resolution is really
incredible$ only to be bested by the ne# '(D'+ )p* cameras!
For my needs " consider the Fuji S3 as one of the best cameras$ especially at its
price! And e4en if " #ill add a ,ikon 9(* in my bag " do not intend to get rid of my Fuji
S3