[tufty]

I am looking to purchase a DSLR and have Nikon lenses so basically I've shortlisted down to the 'old but respected' Fuji S2 pro, the new and it seems highly recommended Nikon D70 or the soon to be released (Sept 04) Fuji S3 pro.
Obviously the S2 is a great camera but is it classed as a bit 'dated' now.
The new D70 has had good reviews in the mags but I'm not keen on Lithium batteries (my CP4500 eats them) and it only has a lowest ISO of 200.
Then there is the soon to be released Fuji S3 pro which is apparently ready for shipping in Sept. but no prices are available yet.
I've seen second hand S2 pro's for over £800 but I could buy a brand new D70 for less than £700.
I probably will wait to see how the S3 is priced and what reviews it gets, surely it can't be priced at more than £1300 with the Canon 10D for sale at just over £1100.
Any comments or advice will be much appreciated.

[Andy Bright]

Hi Paul, for out and out bird photography the D70 would seem the best bet, both the Fujis will resolve a fraction more but the AF systems are not really up to modern standards, from what i gather the S3 will still be based on the ageing F80 film camera and that includes AF. You'll find iso100 a luxury you can live without... if you have it, you will still be shooting at 200 most of the time to get fast shutter-speeds or stopping down. There's precious little difference between iso 100,160 or 200 on the Fuji.

[tufty]

Hi Andy,
Aren't the Fuji cameras classed as 'pro bodies' and the D70 an 'entry level' camera.
What features do the Fuji cameras have that enable them to be classed as 'Pro bodies'

[Andy Bright]

Other the Fuji themselves, I'm not too sure who'd describe the Fuji as having a 'pro' body ... being plastic and having a pop-up flash seems to indicate non-pro to me. Maybe someone can define a 'pro' body ... A certain ruggedness and weatherproofing would help. To be fair, it is a camera used extensively by professionals, but inside studios and at nice sunny weddings... not some muddy field

Having said that, the body on the Fujis is pretty durable.

I think the defining aspect could be that they are built on the F80 body, which isn't a pro body according to Nikon, where-as something built around the F4 or 5 would be.

[geoff hurley]

hi Paul, i have nikon D70, fantastic camera everthing you could wish for except having to use a wireless remote release. the build quality is superb any camera you abuse or drop is likely to suffer from some sort of damage. Battery power i can't flatten the battery although i have a spare i've not had to use it. spent the day at my grandaughters sports day the camera was on for vitually all afternoon plenty of continous shots and previews to the kids and teachers, still didn't flatten the battery. i originally purchased the camera to go with a nikon 300mm lens and have used the same at Leighton moss with some good results still getting use to photographing birds and using the camera, next stage is to get the digiscope adapter from opticron. i see you live in cheshire i live stretford south manchester you can visit to see touch and play if you like, or i shalll be at martin mere next week commencing 2nd august probably towards the weekend where again you can play hopefully i'll pick up the digiscope then as well. for full reviews of the camera and the new fuji s3 go to the following site where there is a lot of useful info. www.dpreview.com/
geoff