Well, the first independent reviews of production model S5 Pro’s are in and by all accounts it pretty much wipes the floor with its closest relatives. At 30% less than the Canon equivalent and 50% less than a Nikon that can match its resolution it’s a mighty tempting offer. Based on the D200 body but packing firepower to match a D2X, the Fuji uses their own internal sensors and software to produce images that are, apparently, virtually noise free right up to ISO3200 and is fully customisable in its settings including all of Fuji’s well regarded film simulation modes and the ability to completely disable all of its processing presets - even its noise reduction facility if you prefer to do it yourself. If you’re already a Nikon owner it must surely be a tempting upgrade - hell - I’m tempted and I’m a dyed in the wool Canon user. Its as good quality wise as Sigma’s 14MP offering but with a wider range of glassware on offer so start saving now :-)

I’m a canon man too Phil. But this thing is real tempting. Here is a recent preview review to tempt a few more people Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro Preview :-)

I'm already a FujiFilm user... ( my lightning shots were captured with either my FujiFilm s5000 or s5500) Fuji has often had comparable cameras with plenty of options for less then their Canon & Nikon equivalents. Now if I can just scrape up the $1,300 for the S5 Pro... plus the cash for some lenses... and extra battery... and large memory card... and filters... and a new camera bag...

well there is always the option of renting the kids out for medical trial experiments....

i'd noticed back in blighty that Canon have recently slashed the price of the 30D - hopefully this will be a sign that they are going to make the 5D's replacement much more competitive cost wise with the likes of the S5. It's good that manufacturers like Fuji can bring out products like this that show the likes of Nikon and Canon what they should be doing and for what price too.