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Reviewed by
pentax645
, Professional
Price Paid
$525.00
at KEH.com
Summary
A great pro level point & shoot digital for a lower price. I purchased this model as a back up camera to supplement my 645 wedding/portrait film cameras, and also to meet my customer's demand for instant results. It is light weight, yet has a small boxy feel for those used to holding 35mm cameras. Most main settings are available with easy access buttons in the same typical areas of a 35mm, however, most detailed settings are only available by accessing menus. A plus is being able to set the camera with "film speed ISO, F stops, and so on like a regular film camera, allowing control over lighting and depth of field in a way other P&S digitals do not. Another plus is the pop up flash and hot shoe & sync allowing for off camera flash & strobe photography. A perfect feature for portrait and wedding photographers. In general this camera exceeds the picture quality demands of my customers and produces great enlargements to their satisfaction. The Xd, CF ability and Microdrive media slots allow for high capacity storage and quick changes. Although some would argue about battery issues, I have preferred the ability to use (4) AA rather than OEM recharables. The battery life is long enough to get through an event and I am able to quickly reload batteries on the fly. I recently did an event where someone asked me to use the staff's digital camera. The battery was dead, and I couldn't use the camera at all because they had an OEM battery that needed charged overnight, and did not have a backup battery.
Strengths
The Super CCD high-definition processor gives film like quality to average size enlargments at 6.2 MP. The range of control over ISO from 200-1600, P/S/A/M exposure modes allows 35mm users an easy transition of the same control in "film" terms. A strong pop up flash with hot shoe and sync are just the right added touch for portrait & event users. Though the AF lens is still on the "slower" side for fast subjects, it does not pose any major problems for the portrait/event photographer. Easy and comfortable grip and body size/weight for those used to 35mm. Overall a great small pro camera with alot of power for the price. A good main or back up digital for the wedding/portrait photographer in particular.
Weaknesses
The 6x zoom lens although equivalent to a 35-210 lens on a 35mm, is a point & shoot, so lens interchanging is not an option. This is the limitation that the S2 and S3 do not have as SLRs. The detailed options for the camera must be accessed by menus which at times can consume valuable picture oportunity time, but once mastered are fairly easy to find. It depends on the users comfort of using menus as oppossed to buttons for all the options. Some menu options are not quickly intuitive and the user must refer to the manual to clarify.
Customer Service
N/A
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4 of 5
4 of 5