Leica S2

[jackal]

this is the most exciting thing ive heard so far

so what do people think ?


a MF DSLR with large FF sensor and ability to accept different lenses ?

[luigi bertolotti]

what are the (unofficial) news about ? Really so exciting ?

[jackal]

well it fits with the rumours and the Leica interveiw where they said they might possibly revive an older product

the S1 was very high resolution (~24MP) and could take different lenses

so extrapolate form there onwards

i think it would be great for leica to get into Leaf/Phase one/Hassy pro market and keep away from the nikon/canon war as well

[luigi bertolotti]

Agree... and I posted about 1 year ago the idea that maybe their next SLR would have been "something more" than FF ... surely I won't buy it, but if really they are to announce a "MF or near to" SLR, I take a little satisfaction...

[mooky]

Anything is possible but that technology was really SLOW and was basically a Studio/Lab 'camera' if my memory serves correctly.

It could take the R lenses - while it was unique for it's day - the main thing we could hope for is a similar 'new wheel invention' that is unique in it's style, capability, compatibility, quality,,,,,etc...... That isn't too much to ask, is it ???!!!!!

[mgcd]

"Leica S2 : le retour du système S par gautier@summilux.net - 09/09/2008 - 22:00:02. Après 10 ans d'interruption, Leica va profiter de la Photokina 2008 pour ..."

This story appears to have some legs, no details per se. I'll see by next Monday if I will be purchasing any more Leica equipment... or not. My anger about the lack of support for the R system is subcutaneous at this point...

[martindahlcph]

I have been working for Leica and selling Leica equipment for years. I think before judging prices one should look at the quality of the lenses. I have rarely been dissapointed with a Leica lens - and if a small (read what ever you want ) price increase should keep Leica alive instead of disintegrate to nothing - thats fine by me.
I have still to this date this experience : All Leica M8 users are happy users/owners. All against the M8 have never used it and compare the specs to Canon and Nikon..... sorry ´bout the hard words.
i look forward to the new lenses, and the upcoming black paint M8... (no M8.2 this Photokina)

[ho_co]

S1 was a scanning camera, not a carry-around camera. It's a workhorse still in use today. Very short flange distance, so it could take just about any lens on the market, from Leica M on up. Extremely versatile.

It would have been groundbreaking from any manufacturer, but it was truly amazing that it came from someone as slow and stodgy as Leica. Don't put it down, mooky.


A lot of us have voiced the fear that if Leica brought out an R10, revolutionary as it might be technically, it could never compete with the Japanese on price and speed of obsolescence.

Now if they're naming this new camera the S2 instead of the R10, doesn't that mean they're not going after the Nikon/Canon market, but once again going where they can shine?

I think so and I hope so. IMHO, this company is going to fly!

From Kaufmann interview FTD.de - Porträt: Andreas Kaufmann - Der Selbstablöser:

1989 diskutiert der Vorstand ein Papier der Entwicklungsabteilung: "Warum die Digitalkamera die Zukunft ist". Kaufmann wirft die Arme in die Höhe. "'89! Da wussten 99,5 Prozent der Menschen nicht einmal, was eine Digitalkamera ist." Er springt auf und wuchtet einen klobigen, schwarzen Kasten auf den Konferenztisch - die erste digitale Kamera von Leica aus dem Jahr 1996. 38.000 DM kostet das Gerät damals - untauglich für den Massenmarkt. Vier Jahre später wäre eine kompakte Digitalkamera möglich gewesen. "Und wieder zögerte man. Geht das? Was kostet das? Wie soll man das machen?", schimpft Kaufmann.

[palec]

This looks like sensor for it:
Specifications

Already used by Leica Geosystems for a LIDAR system.

[veraikon]

Originally Posted by mgcd

"Leica S2 : le retour du système S par gautier@summilux.net - 09/09/2008 - 22:00:02. Après 10 ans d'interruption, Leica va profiter de la Photokina 2008 pour ..."

This story appears to have some legs, no details per se. I'll see by next Monday if I will be purchasing any more Leica equipment... or not. My anger about the lack of support for the R system is subcutaneous at this point...

yeah now you can read this

Erreur 404
Cette page est inaccessible - Merci de retourner à

may be some "sperrefristen" like in Norway

Leica Geosystems for

Leica Geosystems and Leica Camera are total different manufactures which only have a common name (which IMHO belongs to Leica Microsystems)

[mooky]

I didn't mean it to sound I was putting it down - it's way cool camera. I looked at it when it came out as a new product and actually thought of using it for a project. But my project needed it to be a easy to use as an outdoor field camera, so I was disappointed it wouldn't 'fit the bill'. Well okay, the price was also a huge factor!

No. I think it's still a great 'camera' - I kept wondering just how I could justify it, price and all. I would still like to have one - but it still has to be usable - hopefully, the next great idea from Leica will be just as cool and usable in all conditions......

[adan]

Assuming the "S2" is real - there is no reason it has to stick with the slow scanning mechanism and bulk of the S1. There were big leaps between the Digilux, Digilux 1, Digilux 2 and Digilux 3 in operation and form factor (we'll leave aside whether there were "improvements").

Bigger singleshot sensors and compact fast 32 Gbyte storage cards (or even tiny hard drives) delete the need for tethering and slow scanning operation.

I.E. the name likely refers to heritage (high-quality, flexible digital that has little to do the with the former "35mm" paradigm except some lens compatability).

I can easily imagine a very portable, even hand-holdable "middle-format" camera that uses live-view (perhaps, or optional - don't panic!) plus a prism finder (removable) to capture, in different formats, images from M lenses, R lenses, and perhaps a new line of wider-field S lenses.

As a rough guess to form factor - perhaps the look and feel of a classic Hassy with a Polaroid back. Maybe configurable with external finders (prism removed) for use with wide lenses a la Hassy Superwide. Mount an R 19mm or M 21 (f/1.4 anyone?), crop for a 30mm x 30mm area of the sensor (adjustable cropping in camera has been around since at least the Nikon D2x) and - voila - Superwide digital at 20 megapixels that even the original Superwide can't (yet) duplicate.

Or flip it around, put the prism back on, set cropping for 24x36, and it can shoot sports with an R 280 f/2.8.

Pop on an S lens, turn off the cropping (40-50 Mpixels 36 x 48? I'm just roughing in the math here) and shoot studio fashion (with electronic moire reduction for fabric). Hand-held or tripod as appropriate - tethered to a computer IF that's what works in that situation.

Jeez - I'm so excited by MY conception of what the "S2" could be that now I'll probably be disappointed by the reality - which may just be a rebadged Leaf body.

(Edit) I'd also just point out that an S2 making use of live-view is actually a much simpler camera to build than an SLR - no need for the mirror mechanism with its fiddly levers and springs and cocking gears.. Just a box with a lens mount on one end and a sensor on the other, plus electronics, which can be modular assemblies farmed out to Jenoptik.

[Goldie]

I suspect that this is the correct thread to post this piece of rumour.
Quite a while back somebody told me Leica was developing a product that was only going to be for rental and not outright sale and that it was to be announced at Photokina.
Is this perhaps the S2?

[overgaardcom]

Adan,

I feel you there. Reminds me of the flexibility and out of the box thinking of RED / SCARLET

[Peter D Lux 2]

Andy, you...

I'm on the road shooting for a project I'm working on and after reading your remarks in the Wide Summilux thread about this S2 phantom, it's been haunting me constantly.
If the specs you outlined are - remotely - true, I'm finished...
Gotta have one of those. I'll keep my fingers crossed untill monday.

Kind regards,

Peter

[adan]

Actually, someone mentioned "Sinar M" in another thread in another context, which actually comes pretty close to my speculation as a rough sketch:

Sinar

Note top of page "A Jenoptik Company" - and who just completed a digital imaging cooperation agreement with Jenoptik in June? - our buddies in Solms!

http://www.jenoptik.com/cps/rde/xchg.../5705_6277.htm

If the Leica S2 turns out to be a rebadged Sinar M straight up , M lenses might be tricky - but the modularity likely means it would be possible with a Leica-only module for the short backfocus.

I'm suddenly getting a really warm fuzzy feeling here....

http://www.sinarcameras.com/file_upl...system2005.jpg

Note that the Sinar M currently takes Nikon-mount lenses - a little screwdriver engineering could make that an R mount....or, without the extra thickness of the reflex module, an M mount...

Oh, and Overgaard...yes the Red/Scarlet system occured to me also as an example.

I just LOVE system cameras. Even when I used nothing but a plain prism I LOVED the interchangeability of the Nikon F and Canon F-1 systems - something Leica SL/R always lacked: backs, prisms, screens, motors, waist-level viewing - build the exact camera YOU want - or field strip it just for the heck of it.

Now - if only the Sinar focusing screen is up to Doug Herr standards.....I imagine he can lean on Leica to make their own if not.

[luigi bertolotti]

Thanks for the link... I never surfed the Sinar site... noticed that the Sinar M has a pair of "Visoflex" mirror boxes as accessories...
Well, this question of S2 is becoming more intriguing than the usual speculations on M8.2, M9, R10... and, at least, people like me are personally uninvolved (I'd HATE to see a marvelous "M9"... my M8 has to ENDURE, damn !!! ).

The only thing that comes to my mind is that if Leica has decided to try to really re-enter the pro market, surely better to try approaching the Sinar & C. niche than struggling against the Ni-Ca DSLR powerhouses.

[wildlightphoto]

An exciting concept, and if they avoid a market share battle with CaNikon so much the better - I'm a bit concerned about the size, weight and cost this would entail. OTOH, Dr. Kaufmann did say at one time that the R9+DMR was too big, so there's hope.

[mgcd]

Originally Posted by wildlightphoto

An exciting concept, and if they avoid a market share battle with CaNikon so much the better - I'm a bit concerned about the size, weight and cost this would entail. OTOH, Dr. Kaufmann did say at one time that the R9+DMR was too big, so there's hope.

I don't really know right now, guess I'll wait and see what Monday's announcement brings... Not really hot on this concept as I see it presented with Sinar.

[sdai]

I hope they can sell at least 50 sets of this so there's 1 million dollars to put into the R&D of a R10 or SL3. Good luck.