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This digital SLR isn't really new; it's a 2004 camera with one minor tweak. But we include it here because that tweak has a major impact on the kinds of images it produces. By removing the usual IR/UV cutoff filter in front of the camera's Super CCD SRII sensor, Fuji has made the UVIR photosensitive to wavelengths from approximately 350nm-1000nm, well into the IR and UV spectrum. The average human's visual sensitivity is approximately between 400nm-700nm, and most consumer digital cameras mirror this sensitivity range with cutoff filters.
This increased spectral sensitivity is appealing primarily to two very different kinds of photographers -- fine artists and forensics investigators. With specialized filters and/or alternate light sources, the photographer can isolate specific wavelengths beyond normal human vision. At the IR end of the spectrum, for example, organic materials typically appear much brighter, even to the point of glowing. If you're shooting in black-and-white, the effect is similar to that of Kodak's High-Speed Infrared film.
I ran the S3 Pro UVIR, which is based on a Nikon chassis and accepts almost all Nikon F-mount lenses, through its paces. I shot in full color and black and white without filters, in color and black and white with an 89B IR filter (50 percent transmission at 720nm, near IR), and with a consumer-model Philips A-type Black Light bulb, which transmits from roughly 300-600nm with its peak at 350-400nm.
In full color, without filters, many objects captured with the S3 Pro appear almost normal, sometimes with just a bit of a red tint. The big exception is organic material: leaves and grasses are a rich orange to red under daylight conditions. Certain fabrics may show a color shift as well. Full range shooting in black and white is similar: With the Cokin P 89B filter in place to limit light to near IR, through-the-viewfinder framing is impossible. However, a thoughtful feature of this camera is a grayscale 30-second preview that makes the IR world visible. This is helpful for framing a shot and to gain an understanding of what the image elements reflect in IR. In-camera metering was not very effective, so experimenting and checking the playback histograms helped me dial in on exposures.
All in all this is a very important camera, making crime scene analysis and forgery detection much easier for investigators. Perhaps more important for American Photo readers, it affords a pictorialist rendering of the world that you simply can't get, at least in-camera and out of the box, from any other D-SLR. About $1,800.
American PHOTO Editor's Choice 2007
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