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Leica S on the BBC (Countryfile)


wlaidlaw

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I was pleased to see a Scottish professional photographer, whose name I did not pick up, using a Leica S and maybe an Elmarit 45mm, plus Lee or Cokin sliding graduated filter set up, to take photographs of the North Sea coast near Montrose, on BBC's Countryfile programme last night. It was all going swimmingly until he trotted out the old chestnut "you don't need expensive equipment to take photographs like I take". Now this goes down well if you are showing great photos you have taken with a £100 point and shoot or a mobile phone but comes over as a touch less believable when you are toting round well in excess of £20,000 worth of camera and lens. :)

 

Wilson

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He was shooting with the 30mm.

 

The camera isn't his, as it happens. :)

 

Gary

 

Gary,

 

He seemed to know how to use it fairly well from some of the photos shown. Lent by a friendly Leica dealer? I feel Leica should do more of this and get Leicas seen in all the right places. I gather sales are not exactly sparkling at the moment!

 

Wilson

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The North Sea coast between Montrose and Stonehaven is spectacularly beautiful. I used to see it from the train, which runs along the coast, going backwards and forwards to school in Edinburgh from my parents' house some 50 miles north west of Aberdeen, in the 1950's and 60's.

 

Wilson

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Perhaps he is trying to tell us that this super expensive camera is not what it's cracked up to be.

 

I personally couldn't care less if the S system fails, I have no Love for it after the Leica R debacle.

 

Ken.

 

I think it is probably a pretty good camera but if I was looking for a camera in this class, I would always go for a modular one like the Phase or Hasselblad, so that I could update the sensor or body in stages. I am also not wholly convinced that 37.5 MP is enough for a professional camera. Most are now between 50 and 80MP. A modular camera is also more flexible, in that it is easier to use the digital back on a studio rail/technical camera than the Leica S/Sinar P3 arrangement. When I have used a digital back on a rail camera, it had a sliding back for focusing, with ground glass and a loupe. My guess is that this provides more accurate focusing on sections of the image when you are using tilt shift on the front lens plate of the rail, than the viewfinder of the S on the S/P3 combination.

 

Wilson

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Definitely a tripod camera.

 

Not necessarily. I have started using mine in the photographers' pit at gigs - definitely no tripods or monopods allowed there, and no flash. Here's Roger Daltrey playing at Birmingham in December last year on the WHO Hits 50 tour - S(006) and 70/2.5S

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Gary, He seemed to know how to use it fairly well from some of the photos shown. Lent by a friendly Leica dealer? I feel Leica should do more of this and get Leicas seen in all the right places. I gather sales are not exactly sparkling at the moment!

Wilson

 

Wilson, he's had it for about 6 months and I agree it's an excellent decision by Leica UK.

 

I've enjoyed using mine and have recently replaced the S2 with an S Type 006. :)

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Wilson, he's had it for about 6 months and I agree it's an excellent decision by Leica UK.

 

I've enjoyed using mine and have recently replaced the S2 with an S Type 006. :)

 

Gary,

 

Not long after the S came out in 2009, my daughter got married to the son of one of the USA's top art photographers in Baltimore, MD. There were going to be loads of professional photographers as guests at the wedding. I contacted Leica to ask if it might be possible to borrow an S for the week-end as I could think of few better ways to get it in front of such a significant group of professional photographers. I offered to pay for the insurance myself. Leica USA thought it would all be a bit "difficult". Given the level of interest in my regular M8, it would have been a great opportunity to get the S in front of them. Distinct lack of enterprise on the part of Leica USA. :(

 

Wilson

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Not necessarily. I have started using mine in the photographers' pit at gigs - definitely no tripods or monopods allowed there, and no flash. Here's Roger Daltrey playing at Birmingham in December last year on the WHO Hits 50 tour - S(006) and 70/2.5S

I am sure you can as you demonstrate so well, Charlie. I used to use my Hasselblads handheld with 350mm lens at Air Displays. But for landscape work, as typified by the OP and Colin Prior, I would always choose a tripod for slow considered photography. Horses for courses. :)

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Gary,

 

Not long after the S came out in 2009, my daughter got married to the son of one of the USA's top art photographers in Baltimore, MD. There were going to be loads of professional photographers as guests at the wedding. I contacted Leica to ask if it might be possible to borrow an S for the week-end as I could think of few better ways to get it in front of such a significant group of professional photographers. I offered to pay for the insurance myself. Leica USA thought it would all be a bit "difficult". Given the level of interest in my regular M8, it would have been a great opportunity to get the S in front of them. Distinct lack of enterprise on the part of Leica USA. :(

 

Wilson

 

Not really clever from Leica USA.

Some people at Leica can be kind of snobbish sometimes. On the other sides I have known some people from Leica Germany who have been very open and helpful.

Edited by tom0511
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I agree with Tom about the use of tripods, the S is perfectly do-able as a handheld camera. Of course one needs to keep shutterspeed above 2/f. But the form factor of the S certainly is the best there is for non tripod usage in MF land.

 

Wilson, is there some online link somewhere to the documentary, sounds interesting!

 

... the old chestnut "you don't need expensive equipment to take photographs like I take". Now this goes down well if you are showing great photos you have taken with a £100 point and shoot or a mobile phone but comes over as a touch less believable when you are toting round well in excess of £20,000 worth of camera and lens. :)

 

Wilson

 

It's all relative.

In a way, he's right you know. Going the all tripod Hassy/Phase lenses, digital back, tech cam Rodie/Schneider lens route can easily add up to twice the price of a nice S set. You'd lose a lot more money and you'd lose ease of use, but you'd gain resolving power (depending on the set up you'd choose, for landscapes, for instance.

Edited by Peter D Lux 2
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Not necessarily. I have started using mine in the photographers' pit at gigs - definitely no tripods or monopods allowed there, and no flash. Here's Roger Daltrey playing at Birmingham in December last year on the WHO Hits 50 tour - S(006) and 70/2.5S

 

 

...looks like this particular shot would have benefited from the use of a tripod.

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I think it is probably a pretty good camera but if I was looking for a camera in this class, I would always go for a modular one like the Phase or Hasselblad, so that I could update the sensor or body in stages. I am also not wholly convinced that 37.5 MP is enough for a professional camera. Most are now between 50 and 80MP. A modular camera is also more flexible, in that it is easier to use the digital back on a studio rail/technical camera than the Leica S/Sinar P3 arrangement. When I have used a digital back on a rail camera, it had a sliding back for focusing, with ground glass and a loupe. My guess is that this provides more accurate focusing on sections of the image when you are using tilt shift on the front lens plate of the rail, than the viewfinder of the S on the S/P3 combination.

 

Wilson

 

Wilson,

a back by phase one ist more expensive than the S,

Greetings,

Franz

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