Canon Eos D10 vs. Fuji S2: Opinions?

Hi Folks:

In April of 2003 I bought a Fuji Finepix S2 camera body, and 2 autofocus
Tamron lenses. I've been a "Canon person" for many years, but I bought the
Fuji (with its Nikon body) because it was the only affordable 6.1 megapixel
camera available at the time, and I needed that resolution for my publishing
business.

Since Canon came out with their Eos D10, though it's priced substantially
below the Fuji, I've consistently heard that it's a slightly better camera
in terms of hardware and firmware engineering. It uses a new CMOS-type chip,
and it also has a "bulb" shutter setting that the Fuji lacks.

I'm seriously considering the idea of selling my Fuji equipment, and
replacing it with a brand new Eos D10 body and the same Tamron lenses, but
with the Canon mounts.

In the current market, the sale of my used Fuji equipment would bring almost
enough to pay for the new Canon equipment. But before I do this, I want to
get some expert opinions. My questions are as follows.

1. In general photographic use, is the Canon body really better than the
Fuji body? For example, are things like brightness/contrast and color
balance better? I shoot a lot of black & white, and with my Fuji exposures,
I DO spend some time readjusting the brightness and contrast in Photoshop.

2. How does the Canon's CMOS chip compare in terms of noise? I have a
Celestron Nexstar 11 GPS, and I'm considering using the camera/telescope
combo for astrophotoraphy.

3. And I have another application too. I have a scanning electron microscope
in my shop, and for photography I use a 35mm. film camera. It takes the
scope about 60 seconds to scan an image onto the film. I'd like to use a
digital camera, but my Fuji is limited to a 30 second exposure. With the
Eos's bulb setting, I could do the 60 second exposure. But I'm wondering if
the image would look good, or would it contain a lot of noise?

Canon vs. Fuji. I'm in need of some good advice. My thanks in advance for
any helpful opinions or suggestions.

David Sleeter

On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 10:18:55 -0700, "David Sleeter"
wrote:

Canon vs. Fuji. I'm in need of some good advice. My thanks in advance for
any helpful opinions or suggestions.

I can't give you specific comparisons, but I can say that the Canon cameras are
excellent. I've used the 10D, and have a 300D (modded to the 10D features) and
find them both a pleasure to use for ordinary photography. The internal image
processing algorithms are very good. These cameras consistently review as having
higher resolution and better color accuracy than most 35mm color films, a
conclusion I agree with completely.

I haven't read a single review of the 10D/300D that doesn't find this to be the
lowest noise sensor available in any camera. At room temperature, the noise is
quite manageable up to about 3-minute exposures. At the scope, with somewhat
lower temperatures, 5-minutes is no problem. While they certainly can't compare
with a cooled CCD camera, I think you will find that the vast majority of
digital camera astroimagers are now using the 10D/300D and achieving remarkable
results.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com