Nikon D2X 12-megapixel Shoot-Out

My cousin Sam came over last night to conduct a 12-megapixel digital SLR shoot-out with the new Nikon D2X D-SLR. Shoot-out against what? Why, against my venerable Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro, of course! Naturally, we didn't expect too much, since there should be no way that a US$5,000 camera can possibly be matched by a much cheaper US$1,500 camera.


Photo info: Nikon D70, Nikon AF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 ED IF DX, Nikon SB-600 flash

All the tests were performed with the following lenses:

• Nikon AF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 ED IF DX
• Nikon AF-D 60mm f/2.8 Micro
• Tamron SP 90 f/2.5 Manual Focus Adaptall (to test manual focus lens support on the D2X)

All test shots were performed with the camera on a Manfrotto tripod, self-timer shutter release and the same, identical lens fitted to the body being tested. Test subjects were a snail shell, some potpourri and the night-time landscape through our condo window. All images were shot as 12 megapixel JPEGs.

I won't go into too much detail or nitty gritty of the test as I think that is being covered already in very great detail on other sites, but my conclusions are:

• Not surprisingly, the D2X captures an extroardinary amount of detail, certainly much more than the S2 Pro.
• But, having said that, given that the S2 Pro is after all a 6 megapixel camera at heart, it did very well, the 12 megapixel JPEGs comparing very very well with the D2X JPEGs. The D2X JPEGs of course had that extra bit more cripsness and detail, but the S2 Pro produced a very respectable set of 12 megapixel JPEGs.
• D2X has a much more solid build and is infinitely more configurable and customisable. It is of course, much heavier. Heavier even than my Bronica RF645.
• Surprisingly, we experienced a little bit of focus hunting with the D2X, and none on the S2 Pro with our potpourri test subject. We would have expected it to have been the other way around.

Ultimate conclusion? If you have an S2 Pro already and are wondering whether it produces decent 12 megapixel images, the answer is definitely yes. Does it produce excellent 12 megapixel images like the D2X? No, of course not, but you do save a packet in the process.

Photo info: Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro, Nikon AF-D 18-35mm ED IF, ISO 800