Legends go to battle

In the comments on Radozhiv, I was asked to write more about my observations, to slightly dilute the dense routine of boring reviews and tests :). Therefore, this post is exactly a 'post' on my blog and does not pretend to be objective.

I give you LIGHT

An article about something legendary, like Prometheus, only from the world of photographic equipment

Now marketers are stuffing a lot of pixels into new 'DSLRs' and mirrorless cameras (gigapixels!), force them to shoot at 100 frames per second and in parallel try to cram in an 8K 120p video recording. For amateur photography, these are useless bells and whistles for which you have to pay big money. And you end up with an awful boring picture. I want to tell you about the old legendary digital SLR cameras that never go out of my head.

Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro (2006)

This camera uses a unique Fujifilm SuperCCD SR II sensor. IN S5 Pro review you can read everything in detail. Fujifilm FinePix S5 P creates great shots immediately in JPEG, without dancing with a tambourine, without long stretching from RAW. Even for 2022, the camera is very well balanced: professional controls, an excellent magnesium protected body, Live View, support for old optics and a fabulous image.

Fujifilm's FinePix DSLRs use the Nikon F mount, so all Nikon optics (except the newest 'E' and 'AF-P' series lenses) are suitable for them. At Fujifilm FinePix S5 P there is a very good dynamic range, and I like the color reproduction more than on the giant Nikon D850 (at least stand on your head).

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro (2004)

This is the predecessor Fujifilm FinePix S5 P with the same sensor (almost the same). Housing from Nikon F80. It is very obsolete, it is cheap, but the output picture is simply gorgeous. Such joy costs about 200-400 USD. For this amount, you get a very good image. Many claim that the image of the Fujifilm FinePix S3 is even better than with S5 Pro... Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro review can be viewed here.

Nikon D40 (2006)

This is one of the cheapest cameras on the secondary market. In 2017, I bought Nikon D40 for only 70 dollars. It is built on the basis of a 6-megapixel Sony ICX-453-AQ CCD sensor, which creates a very pleasant picture in color. For such a modest cost, you can hardly find a more pleasant and soulful color reproduction. My gallery for this camera here.

Kodak Professional DCS PRO 14n (and its modifications, 2004)

Kodak Professional DCS PRO 14n with Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D lens

Kodak Professional DCS PRO 14n with lens Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D

14 MP full-frame camera without anti-moire filter. That says it all! Super sharp picture and nice color reproduction. Can use ISO 6 units (six!). Overview here.

Canon EOS 5D (Mark I, 2005)

Canon EOS 5D (Mark I, 2005)

Canon EOS 5D (Mark I, 2005) with lens Canon LENS EF 50mm 1: 1.4

A full-frame camera with nice color, nice white balance. With only about 13 Megapixels, ISO 50 support and a buffer for almost 20 RAW files, shooting and processing on the first stage is enjoyable and easy. It is one of the cheapest and most functional full frame cameras to this day. My photo gallery for this model here. Overview here.

Canon EOS-1DS Mark II (2004)

Top professional full frame camera with nice color. Only about 17 megapixels, support for ISO 50 and a buffer for 11 RAW files. Advanced focusing system, many interesting settings. This is one of the cheapest and most functional full-frame cameras to this day. Overview here.

All these cameras are obsolete. If you use the camera for your own pleasure, leisurely thoughtful shooting, understand the subtleties and use the 'right' lenses, then these disadvantages become damn small compared to the image that you can get from them.

I shot with almost all modern and old cameras of popular brands. And all these cameras are not always comparable in the picture with the cameras presented above. I'm not talking about some abstractions of 'color depth' or 'dynamic range', on paper, modern cameras are a million times better than these ancient elders. But the picture (namely the picture!) in these cameras just bewitching. Many are chasing something exclusive, unusual, non-standard and at the same time cheap - here is a list of old units that can satisfy these requests.

I also suggest taking a look on a full-frame camera with 28 MP for $ 240 :) and in the article 'Nostalgia for 6 MP CCD'.

Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

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Comments: 200, on the topic: Legends go into battle

  • flueg

    Alex (y) K For such accounting and there are wide-angle and super-spheres. (and other multi-focus) lenses…. For the plot - the choice of lens.

  • Vyacheslav

    I have a D300 (without index s) and it completely suits me for my tasks: staged shooting on an open air, in a studio, landscape and like a camcorder. I plan to change the maximum by 700k, but so far I don’t see the point, since I shoot mostly for myself)

  • Yuri

    The article has a link to the $ 20.000 experiment by Eduard Stelmakh about the D800 and 1Dx.
    I read and now I can not free myself from the thought that Nikon conveys the color of human skin in violet shades. Violet shades seem everywhere :(
    Both on your D7000 and on the picture in your article “Nikon 18-105mm f / 3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Review”
    Is it really that way?

    • Serhio

      It looks like paranoia, green and purple are opposite colors, maybe just one thing. ) Edurd's article, a typical fanboy article, there are enough such ardent adherents here and there. It is immediately evident that the photos taken with your favorite camera are well-composed, but on the camera of a competitor anyhow. And in order to play for the audience, bright saturated, in themselves beautiful pictures were chosen for your favorite camera, and basements, markets and cursory shots on the competitor's camera. Where are the pictures taken with the same conditions and the same composition? The price spent in the headlines already says that now there will be nothing adequate, and perhaps even a label that the event was paid for.

      I took an old lens (Nikkor 135mm f / 2.0), and let's describe all the shortcomings based on the new lenses, first of all check the autofocus in the video ... What kind of photographer is he after that? Is this the first time he meets chromatic aberration? He writes how well his beloved camera captures everything, that almost nothing needs to be processed, at the same time in his portfolio there is not a single “live” photo without a ton of Photoshop, and with real skin color. Another upstart playing to the audience, and not to the detriment of his pocket. Thanks to him, tons of onlookers and beginners will make their choice in favor of beautiful words, and not an adequate assessment and comparison.

      As I already said, there are enough fanboys everywhere, so feel free to close those articles where there is a comparison of cameras from different manufacturers by “personal” experience or other similar “air” experiments, nothing good will be there.

      • Sergei

        http://vmirefoto.blogspot.ca/2013/06/fujifilm-finepix-s5-pro-nikon-d5100.html
        here is a direct comparison of matrices. Let me remind you that the D5100 / 7000 picture is almost identical to the D800 (it has a 15MP crop).
        any questions?
        the problem of CMOS matrices is incorrect work on color channels.
        the advantages of CMOS are obvious - many pixels, low noise, cheap, low energy consumption, good for video.

  • Dmitriy

    damn, really green-purple skin ... what to do? (((
    maybe paranoia is all?

    • Yuri

      Yesterday I tried all kinds of shooting modes. Fine-tuned WB: Set WB manually, took pictures with presets, fine-tuned color temperature.
      The result is the same - the skin appears purple-reddish. Cheeks are generally like after frost. The feeling that the portrait is suffering from allergies :(
      What am I doing wrong? It seems he did everything with his hands (legs tenaciously rested on the floor with his nails)

  • Basil

    Arkady, thank you for the article! I would like to know your opinion about the Pentax K100D / 110D and Konica Minolta Dynax 5D / 7d - all four have 6-megapixel sensors - I suspect that all four are made by Sony and are most likely the same as in Nikon D40. All four are obsolete in every sense, except for the number of megapixels. Regarding megapixels - I saw amateur pictures with the vaunted D7000 - it's just a shame! The feeling is that you were shooting with a soap box. I understand that maybe I was filming a sucker, but still on my d40 on a full automatic I have NEVER seen such a nightmare. Having looked at this, I realized that I will not do any "upgrades".

    • Arkady Shapoval

      On Pentax K100D / 110D and Konica Minolta Dynax 5D / 7d did not shoot, therefore I will not write anything. But I still have d40, her CCD on ISO 200 gives a nice result. Recently revised his colorful gallery (under EXIF ​​photo) http://wedding-photographer.tv/gallerys/nature/travel-nature.html , so most of the pictures I have with D40.

  • flueg

    In the West, due to the resource curtailment of the laboratory business (there is no point in updating the equipment ...) the most competitive auctions for topslide scanners (all CCDs) and home development equipment (for slides and negatives) ... A commercial photo needs quality.

  • Zubek

    After switching from Olympus with a CCD to the Nikon system, I was simply at a loss ... how a modern camera like the D5100 / 7000 cannot correctly convey skin color ..
    I regret that I sold Olympus.

  • far apart

    Infected with Fujivirus. I'll betray the D90 soon. Ordered on ebay S5 Pro. Waiting, not much left.

  • flueg

    And this is for those who have read to the end about $ 20000 - pictures from a very serious master Constantine Kikvidze (top CANON ... and the same Taban-Karagoy) link: tp: //kesman.35photo.ru/photo_383764/ (don't forget to add ht to the beginning)

  • name

    It is pleasant all the same that in the modern consumer world, there are people who, when writing reviews, not only praise new equipment, but also pay due attention to old proven cameras and not be afraid to admit that sometimes they have unattainable advantages.
    Progress is certainly an undeniable thing, but unfortunately, in the world of physical laws it’s still pretty

    strictly and therefore, it is impossible to create a thing with ideal characteristics, but it is only possible to decide on a compromise. buying

    You are a new camera investor for the manufacturer in the development of the technologies used by him. But vryatli we ask ourselves

    the question is, what step of development is this technology at the moment. And far from always a new technologig

    surpasses the old solutions in all the parameters you need (Because sometimes a new invention happens

    bike). Sony brochures about new cameras and arrays are especially interesting on this subject, when they praise the new, they

    compare with the previous solution and it’s fun to see achievements about for example the useful area of ​​the photo receiver of new cameras, which

    almost 3 times more, look and catch up with the CCD! And if Sonya showed this area of ​​the receiver from last year’s camera

    much earlier (in brochures over the past years when the old cameras were praised), many would have thought whether to buy a camera now

    or wait for the development of matirtsy :)
    In general, the grass used to be greener, and camera manufacturers were not so keen on high ISOs. The basis of the current sensors is the Bayer filter. Bayer is based on light-splitting filters. And if the manufacturer “plays with their transparency” to get a larger number of photons, then he will surely face problems with colors and BB.
    But Fuji, this is generally a different story, the same as Kodak. These 2 companies have the richest experience in working with color.
    Something like this:)
    My first camera was Nikon, and you can call me a fan of this brand. A couple of years ago, I believed that I would definitely buy the D700 when I could afford it ... But now I don't need either the D700, or the D600, or the D7100 .. And this will be so until the companies change their policies ...

    My path to fuji is described here:
    http://forum.photokaravan.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=190

  • flueg

    Slide "Velvia" 4x5 inches (incomplete study of the clouds, this is a marriage of the tablet epson) Anton Noskov in this very Tabanka…. tp: //dofmaster.35photo.ru/photo_228814/ (don't forget to add ht to the beginning of the link) ...

  • Oleg

    Hello. Tell me please, does it make sense to change your Nikon D 5100 to Fuji 5SPro mainly for landscape and portrait photos? Will this replacement be justified?

  • flueg

    Considering that impregnation is from the second-hand category - it's up to you to decide whether or not to risk ... For me, the Super CCD SR II output is more acceptable ... (You also need to understand that you won't be able to remove the maximum right away ...).

  • anonym

    An option with a range of up to 50 thousand is being considered. It is clear that you can buy a "pig in a poke", but the temptation is too great, especially after such laudatory comments towards 5Pro. On the other hand, will I really see this difference in the picture and will I be able to choose the right settings for this, given my experience of only 1 year. Or take your time and “grow up a little bit more,” and there you will see. I am engaged in photography unprofessionally. for the soul. I would like to hear sensible and adequate advice.

  • flueg

    The given examples combine: experience, skill, specifics of setting, the state of the mirror shaft (for cameras with high mileage, the blackening of the shaft "burns out") and the main quality of optics…. I advise you to wait a bit and try to take the most out of what you have (with all available post-processing tools ...).

  • flueg

    On any camera, remember to close the lens after every shot ...

  • flueg

    A hood is also required for any exposure (its condition also affects - the best anti-reflective effect was achieved with old valve cameras {leather accordion} ...).

  • Oleg

    I understood you. Many thanks!!! And if you are not bothered, one more question: what kind of lens hood would you recommend for Helios 1N?

  • flueg

    OLEG: I have not had Helios 20N for about 81 years now ... (you can use at least one of the Soviet light filters on the thread - without a shiny ladder, with the most black color, matt is better ...)

  • flueg

    OLEGU: Yes, in terms of geometry - for a crop a little over 30 degrees, for a full crop over 47 ...

  • Oleg

    Thanks. I took Helios on the advice of Arkady, and so far I have no regrets. He draws more beautifully than my other 18-55 and 55-200, although sometimes manual focus bothers me. Today I even specially compared them (since everything around is already fragrant in the greenery of vegetation) -G. Transmits the picture softer and more natural.

  • flueg

    The word softer alarms - (watch the blackening of lenses and aperture blades ...)

  • Oleg

    M. be, because he is 92g. release. Softer, I did not mean such a sharp transition between colors. Perhaps we are talking about the same thing, but so far I am poorly versed in these characteristics. I will rely on your opinion.

  • flueg

    It is also necessary to be extremely careful with the antireflection coating of the lenses - also one of the possible reasons for refraction and light scattering ... (and no greasy spots on the lenses - fat eats up the glare ...)

  • Oleg

    I agree. I often wipe it, although for a long time I’m going to buy a UV filter, but my hands still don’t reach. I am going soon to rest from the beginning to the Crimea, then to the Carpathians, so I’ll have to buy it. Polarik is already there. I read for the gradient. Should I take it?

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