found this, a $5000.00 pro-grade digital camera, at my local GOODWILL for a whopping $10.00.

scare up some memory cards for it, find that, being based upon elements of NIKON design,
using lots of off the shelf NIKON parts, and employing NIKON's F-MOUNT lens mounting system,
it is fully compatible with my existing NIKON D5000's lenses.

four AA alkaline and 2 CR123A lithium later, it works, damn well indeed for a 2002 DigiCam.

here are comparison shots, my 2009 D5000 vs this 2002 S2 Pro.
the S2 has a VERY bright built-in flash, and i haven't figured out how to adjust it yet;

-D5000-



-S2 PRO-

Very cool find, I did a very very quick search and its either a 12 megapixel that will downsize to 6 or something else and I just don't have the time to read every detail.

Pretty amazing as my old digital camera from that same time is only a 3.2, but it was only 120 new.
But the again yours is a pro.

i figured out how to adjust the flash brightness way down.
even so, i have to pull WAY back from my subject when employing the flash, something i DO NOT have to do with the D5000.

any way, this S2 is mighty impressive for a DSLR the better part of two decades old.
even so, the 2009 mid-level D5000 is the clear winner, providing far more natural images
without hardly any of the tweaking that the TOTL PRO S2 requires to get even close;

NIKON D5000



FUJIFILM S2 PRO

Dang, nice of them to just use the Nikon mount.

I have a D3200. I’ve had it since 2012 and I can’t really see upgrading it ever. I’d probably buy a $10 backup if I found one though.

Man, you need to dust under that player
Nice pics, I'm sure you would get better outside from the S2 rather than your other camera.

Yeah, everything looks the same when you point it the same way at the same thing.

the D5000 close-up of the doll's face just plain looks cleaner and sharper to me, practically like the naked eye, if not better.

tough it would seem the D5000 is the clear winner, i've long lusted after a "pro-level" DSLR, and this old FUJI does fill that desire quite well...

now THIS... is really starting to look damn good... especially for a 15+ year old DigiCam...

i'm just being a plebeian amateur and all, but after days of dinking around, this is the best i can wrest out of the S2 PRO.
it looks good, save for the moire' quite visible on the texture of the right-hand girl's pink dress, an overall coarseness of edges in high image magnification,
and, of course, that damn-blasted Vacuum-Tubey flash warmth.

compare that to the NIKON D5000 in AUTO mode; i think we've a clear winner here;


FUJI S2 PRO



NIKON D5000

then again, this does seem rather impressive after all, the sort of razor sharp detail this 15 year-old DigiCam can render up close,
with the ISO dialed back. (ISO 100) i just might, -MIGHT- be getting a feel for this old beast;

Wow, that is a pretty phenomenal deal on an S2. A very good camera for its day. Pretty sure you could sell it for 10-20x what you paid. That being said, I would totally keep it if I found that deal, but I have so much gear as it is.

All too often, I think people forget how good many of the older top level DSLRs were. Yes, older DSLRs have limitations (high ISO noise etc.), but are very capable of taking a phenomenal picture if you know how to use them. Several of my pro photographer friends used S2’s back in the day and took some amazing shots that were published in magazines. The newer cameras now have more MPs, faster work flow, better ranges for ISO, and special things the older cameras don’t have, so most have moved on. However, for someone getting into photography, I highly recommend buying a top level camera from a few years ago and really learning how to use it.

6MP is more than most people will ever need for web posting and family photos. The only thing you really use is the ability to crop down images, and make large prints. Speaking from experience, 6MP will get you an 8x10 inch print easily, and can be upscaled to a very good print of 13x19 inches if the original image was sharp. I am guessing most people don’t routinely print images > 5x7 inches.

Most people don’t print images anymore at all. They use tiny cheap screens with way higher resolution than most prints.

i do love the look and feel of this old beast. modern DSLRs have far too curvy and streamlined a look about them,
older high-end models like this S2 look and feel, to me, anyway, like they really mean business,
a solid, meaty camera that just feels wonderful to wield, in a base, boneheadedly "manly" sort of way.

that said, it is MUCH HARDER to get photos off the hip with this old tank, than with my newer, lower-end NIKON D5000.

this S2 has this awful way with "extreme highlighting" on a subject,
tending to make all else in the background of any given frame dark/murky
in this "Blair Witch Project Close-Up" sort of way. it's exasperating.

even so, this camera does seem to perform far more to my liking with a long-distance zoom lens fitted,
helping to take the edge off that overly enthusiastic built-in Flash, though perhaps a bit too much;

FUJI FINEPIX S2



NIKON D500

I like the S2 but also the other cameras seem to be good as well.