Nikon D1 Or Fuji S1 Pro?

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I saw the sample photographs from PMA..... I was not impressed. Lots of noise in the background. I'm sure these were not shot under ideal conditions. Do you have a feel for which will be the better buy? I'm a professional shooting with the Sony D700. I have progressed beyond this and want to shoot more professional assignments. I'm a seasoned photographer of 20 years, last 15 with Hasselblads. Give me some help here. Do I wait for the Fuji S1 or purchas the D1. The price difference isn't that much. I want quality.

Thanks,

Robert

-- Robert Rains (rrains@htcomp.net), February 07, 2000

Answers

I had decided on the D1 until I discovered the S1 - at more than twice the image resolution for less money I don't think there's much to consider. I have not, however, seen the S1 or seen tests so this could be my assumption based on what the quality of the S1 SHOULD

-- Erika Pinder (erika@pinder.com), February 08, 2000.

Dear Robert:

I'm using my 7th digital camera. I take about 400 shots a month. These are about half for family and half for work. I don't play golf and I don't have a weekend fishing hobby. So I guess part of my digital camera enthusiasm is my hobby.

Anyway, here is my point. I've purchased several $1000 consumer digital cameras and never regretted buying them. Last year I bought both the Nikon 950 and the Olympus 2000, plus about $1000 in software and accessories. These are lightweight, plastic, relatively inexpensive digital cameras, as the market goes right now. Compared to just 2 years ago however, these are dream cameras! And, to get the same quality of photos in 1996-1997, I would have needed to spend $8,000. What a bargain today.

I've also owned a Kodak 300 based on the Nikon Pronea. To me, the value was not there, and I returned to the store for a refund.

Recently, I purchased a Nikon D1. What a different story. It's like a Nikon F5 with a $1,000 CCD and another $1500 in related electronics. It's solid, fast, very well thought-out in design, and it produces much better digital photos than anything I've mentioned so far. If the Kodak 620 were EXACTLY the same price as the D1, and it's NOT, I would choose the D1.

Over the last 20 years I've seen VCRs drop in price from $1000 to $89. But the original quality is not there in the sub-$200 VCRs. In fact, today's VCRs are made to last about 6 months past the warrenty. Light-weight and cheaply made! We can expect the same for digital SLRs that retail for alot less.

The S1 is made from the Nikon N60 body, a really inexpensive camera made for chain retail stores. Plastic mostly. The CCD is about 3 megapixel. Make no mistake, the S1 may prove to be a "nice" digital camera, but I believe that it is not comparable to the Nikon D1.

Blessings, Greg

-- Greg Schipper (gschipper@freewwweb.com), February 12, 2000.


You may get your question answered if you log onto http://www.photohighway.com this Wednesday, Feb 23 at 8:00pm ET when Fuji's Digital Product Manager, Darrin Pepple is going to have a live discussion on the new Super CCD. Might as well hear it from the horse's mouth!

-- Susan Giles (susan@photohighway.com), February 21, 2000.

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