Happy again!!

[timatwork]

:) Hmmm,..no one has posted here for awhile! Well,..I have posted before and I'm gonna post again after a satisfied moment with my S2.

Apart from a CCD problem which was replaced FREE by Fuji (singapore) few months back,...I had an assignement to take stock images based on lifestyles just last week. It was a 4 day shoot at various places around Singapore.
First day it rained!!! :mad: The Whole Day!! :mad: So we had to shoot indoors and whenever the rain let up.
Though it was a light drizzle, I had to run around in order to get the shot I wanted. I had my S2 covered with a towel and though it did get some drops of rain on it,...it performed well thru-out the day. The flash got a little wet too (Nikon SB80Dx). Got home in the evening and wiped it dry and checked every nook and cranny. Cleaned it up and prepared for day 2!

Day 2 was sunny and all went well.

Day 3 was a day to remember!!
We had a bikini shoot by the beach and 3/4 of the day had great sun with occasional cloud cover. Unfortunately I had to do some shoots with the models on a platform in the middle of the lagoon! eeep! I dont have a rain cover or anything and had to make do with a towel again and keeping my S2 above water. The models were helpful with taking my camera from me when I needed to climb up the platform and handing it to me when I went into the water. Though their oily and salty hands sent fears down my spine!! :eek:
First Scare came from a model who was supposed to jump into the water to my right! She mistimed it and jumped towards me!!! :eek:
Unavoidable,..the splash covered me and my S2 with Salty water!! Quickly I rushed to shore,..wiped it clean and took a 15min break from shooting!
I was fearing the worse from that and what is to come when salt meets electronics! Having no choice but to carry on,..i did so without complaints putting my trust in the S2. Then the highlight of the day arrived! A Storm!!
The whole Storm passed right over us and we took shelter from it to no avail as the winds were just too strong. The models covered themselves and huddled together! I wished I could join them,..but decided to cover my camera bag instead. Everything was wet,..but my S2 and lenses were dry!
After the Storm passed,..we had another hour of shooting and packed up. I got back did my same ritual of cleaning only this time,..praying that nothing serious has happened to my S2.
Day 4 came and the S2 performed once again. All in all,..I clocked up 5000+ shots for the agency and the creative director returned home happy and satisfied with my efforts.

Though I am one who would brave the cold and swim in water to get a great shot,...the S2 still played the biggest part in being there, performing and still performing day after day!! If it zonked out on me,..I dont think I would even have the mood to wade thru a swamp, crocodiles and all. No camera,..would mean no fun anymore!

Over the next few days after the shoot, I got a friend who is also a Nikon tech to check my S2. I trust him as he is qualified and an expert in digi cams. He called me to say that internally,..the S2 was dry as a bone!! :rockon:

Pleased,..I got the camera back,..cleaned the exterior,..cleaned my lenses, viewfinder, whatever else,..packed it all up into my cabinet and started to shoot again just yesterday chalking up another 500+ images.

Overall,..i am pleased that even with the suntan oil,..dust, dirt, my fiddling on the dails each day of shooting for exposure, changing lenses, changing ISO, switching focus modes, etc etc,...the S2 never complained and went from shot to shot!!

I have to say once again,.. WHAT A WONDERFULL CAMERA TO HAVE!!!
Maybe I was lucky,...but I will still tell anyone that my S2 is a trooper and can outstand more abuse than any other camera. The way I use it,..I'm amazed it's still alive!!

It may be old in the market...but it still Rulezz!! :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

The End
Tim

[Tom Nolle]

I'm glad things went well for you. I have also had the experience of getting my S2 wet though not as wet as you're describing. On my recent Patagonia trip, I had to use the camera out in the rain several times. I had the Laird hood for it (two sizes) and it kept the camera from getting soaked, but the winds insured that there was water blown onto the top and back from time to time. I also had an experience in a boat where a salt water splash from the bow hit me. I saw it coming and had a chance to pull the camera out of the worst, but it still got splattered with salt water.

I've found that if you wipe the thing down with a damp towel after it gets salty, or just wipe it down with something dry, it seems to work OK. I hope that continues to be true! However, I also now have the D2X, and it's supposed to be more forgiving in the wetness space.

Tom

[High ISO!]

My S2 has been through summer rains, and winter snow from July of 2002-2004. It has gotten wet, regardless of my precautionary measures. I have a thing called a rain cape. It keeps me & my camera pretty dry. Getting the wet thing off in a "monsoon", without geting the camera wet is another story. :eek: I always have a small towel with me, to wipe my cameras dry, if they happen to get wet.

The S2 has been a very reliable camera, for the most part. It's getting old, (it has just about 100,000 captures on it now). It has a few dead or hot pixels, and the noise in higher ISO dark areas, seems to be more signifcant than it used to be. I didn't use it much once I got my D70 last July. Now the D70 is gone, and it's my D2X & S2 who share my camera bag. I still have my S1, but it's in retirement now.

I may even end up with an S3 by years end. I miss good ol' Fuji color!

Alissa

[timatwork]

I agree with you High ISO!,...the Fuji colors are something else.
On my S2, and on a good day, you get really nice warm colors which are great for portraits and people shots.

And Tom,..wiping it down immediately does help alot! The key word is immediately.. :lol: !!!
I do hope this does continue to be true,...S2 or not,...getting a camera soaked and not working is worst than breaking up with someone you really love..HA HA!!

My cam's in the cabinet but I'm drying out my strap cause it's the only thing that got really soaked.

hmm,..now with more jobs like this, provided my S2 doesn't die on me,..I'm aiming for a D2x (finance consideration) or the S3.

Lastly,..just a story to share,
Anyone had a good shot ruined by ONE #$@^%@$#%^ raindrop on the lens?
HA HA,...had to take this shot of the models on the beach and when I checked the LCD there was a blob of raindrop!! Arrghh!!! Did another shot after wiping, but whenever I look at that rain drop pic,..the smiles and poses were so so so perfect!!! Ah well,..thats photography!

[-fruity-]

Had to attend the Linz Marathon http://www.linz-marathon.at/en/index.html (at my hometown) again and got my share of rain & wind. S2 was rather wet between the "sun-phases" and the wind drying it again.

No problems taking ~ 150 shots within 10 minutes of bypassing runners.
Guess the busy led was getting warm ;).

I was using the S2 with the slide 80-200:2.8 and despite the slow AF of the 80-200, which was a real pain in the #!@", the S2 still did well. The focus point was about 20-30m away an the runners apporached very fast (only right after the start :D) so, respect to the S2 AF!
(D2H + AF-S 80:200 covered a different, more demanding position of the track).

Btw, i use the old (no slits) sunhood to prevent rain on the lens.
A cut of Mc-Donalds cup will also do on teles (the white inside wont reflect on shady/rainy days).

:cheers:

Btw, I've seen quite a couple of D2X, 1DsI/II on the track so i'll look forward to compare.