lens and flash questions for S3 pro

[corks67]

Hi,

Hoping somebody might be able to help here with 3 questions for the S3 pro.

1. What would be a good macro lens to get , im more interested in closeups of flowers and inanimate objects, so no chasing bugs around.

2. Do the newer Nikon VR (stabilised) lens work okay with this camera ?

3. Finally what would be a good/reasonable flash, the SB600 seems popular but i was also looking at the older SB28, SB50 etc.

Im just a hobbyist so no mega deals involved.

cheers dave

[JimC]

Welcome to the forums. Fui did have an issue with the 18-200mm VR with some of the earlier S3 bodies. But, later serial numbers should be OK (and other VR lenses should work). See this Service Announcement about it:

http://www.fujifilmusa.com/support/S...cucatid=664262

In a dedicated 1:1 Macro lens, you may find this review of the Nikkor 105mm VR to be of use (note that VR doesn't work well at closer focus distances). Thom also included a review of the Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro (a very sharp lens):

http://www.bythom.com/105AFSlens.htm

But, you may not need a 1:1 macro for flowers. Many zoom lenses are rated at 1:4 at their longest focus length (meaning they can fill the frame with a subject 4 times the size of the camera's film or sensor), which you may find fine for flowers. Some zoom lenses have a better 1:2 rating at their longest focal length.

As for flash, I'd probably lean towards the newer SB-600, so that you'd have compatibility if you upgraded to a new Nikon dSLR at some point. Note that the newer DX versions of the older flashes should work (SB-28DX, etc.) with your S3 Pro. But, the newer flashes like the SB-600 (and SB-400, SB-800, SB-900) support the latest Nikon i-TTL flash protocol, whereas the older flash models (SB-28DX, etc.) do not. That's not a huge deal with your S3 Pro (since it doesn't use i-TTL. But, you'd want i-TTL (SB-400, SB-600, SB-800, SB-900) if you upgraded to a different body later. Here's a compatibility chart (a .pdf file).

FinePix S3 Pro Flash Compatibility

[corks67]

Hi Jim,

thanks for the welcome and answering my questions.

I bought the S3 s/h off ebay australia and so far have been very happy with, slowly getting collection of lens (again s/h) for it.

i must admitt the tamron 90mm f2.8 does seem popular although i also looked at a 60mm f2.8 nikon , but have read that, that size could be a bit too short (close) for everyday use??

IM still getting my head around the 1:1 and 1:2 ratio in macro.

Agreed on what you say about the flash, the S3 pro manual lists the sb600, although not the sb900 or sb400 (didnt relaise they made a sb800) the sb400 looks good and is nice price.

And you are right now that ive got a few nikon lens, be silly (and expensive) to go to a different make, so yeah later upgrade would be some sort of nikon - d90's seem a good mix of features and price.

cheers dave