Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

Auto Mode (7.0)
The S3 relies on an exposure control module originally manufactured for the Nikon N80. In program mode, a turn of the control dial will change the aperture-shutter speed combination without changing the exposure value, so you can skew toward faster (or slower) shutter speeds without switching modes. The S3 does not have an automatic ISO setting, which is available on some competing cameras. Leaving out the automatic ISO setting is a rare occasion where Fuji figured that omitting a feature, rather than adding one, would make the camera appear more sophisticated—an auto ISO setting apparently would have lessened the S3’s professional appearance and given it more of a prosumer-level feel.

The S3’s automatic exposures were very accurate over a range of scenes, though it could be fooled by backlighting and other tricky situations. The camera’s extended dynamic range helped compensate for small errors in exposure.

Movie Mode (2.0)
The S3 has a video mode, oddly enough. Usually, SLRs don’t have video modes, because their imaging chips are hidden behind shutters and mirrors, except during exposures.

When I read about the S3’s video mode, I lacked the imagination to think of anything useful to do with it. Here are a few of its limitations: it operates for no more than 30 seconds at a time. It’s black and white. You can’t shoot a still shot when it’s running. And the clincher: you can’t actually record the video. "Wow," you might well ask, "what’s left?" Simply this: it’s the best focus-checker I’ve ever seen on an electronic camera, because you can zoom way in. If you’re working on a tripod, and your focus is critical, you might actually use it.

Drive / Burst Mode (5.5)
Good things come to those who wait, they say. Well, S3 users will do at least their share of waiting. The camera’s method for recording extended dynamic range involves a significant amount of computation, which slows down the camera enormously.

The camera offers three modes for dynamic range, and in the extended dynamic range modes, the camera manages a bit less than 1½ frames a second when shooting RAW files, but saturates its buffer with three frames. In extended dynamic range shooting JPEG, the rate drops to 1 frame per second, but the buffer doesn’t reach capacity until you’ve shot eight frames. On the other hand, with extended dynamic range turned off, the camera acts very much like the S2, turning in about 2 1/2 frames a second for seven frames in RAW mode, or for 12 frames in JPEG.

Playback Mode (8.5)
The 2-inch, 235,000 pixel color LCD on the back of the camera offers bright, saturated replay of images. When an image is displayed on the LCD, the other rear display and its buttons control the histogram, an image delete key, an image protect key, and a key to show multiple images on the LCD. The histogram is small, and a bit hard to read.

The S3 allows video playback, and is both PAL and NTSC compatible through an analog A/V output jack. In the US, NTSC is the standard television format; elsewhere, PAL prevails. The user can set both intervals and transitions. Fuji recommends using an AC adapter to power the camera during playback, but the AC adapter is not included with the camera. Fortunately, Fuji has added auto-rotate to the S3, allowing proper orientation of images that are played back on a television.

Custom Image Presets (8.5)
The S3 offers a range of options for color reproduction. Like the S2, the S3 offers four color settings: "High" produces punchy, saturated colors; "Standard" tones things down for smoother color for portraits, "Original" doesn’t shift things at all, leaving the file intact for postproduction editing; and "Black and White" does the obvious.

Also in line with the S2, the S3 offers a "Tone" setting to adjust contrast. The choices are "Hard," for higher contrast, "Standard," and "Original," which again leaves as much data intact as possible for post-processing.

Perhaps in support of its dynamic range options, Fuji has included "Film Simulation" settings. I smell marketing hype here, but here’s a pretty straight description: there are three choices for simulation. "Film 1" is optimized for portraits. The priority is smooth transitions from mid tones to highlights. "Film 2" is recommended for landscapes and nature, where more vibrant colors are a priority. The third choice is "Standard," which is recommended for general use.

Both "Film 1" and "Film 2" lock out changes in Color, Tone, and Dynamic Range (which I’ll discuss in the Picture Quality section). It seems as though they are simply grouped combinations of settings for those parameters. Regardless, they do render image adjustments as Fuji describes.