Leica To Demonstrate S2 at Fotocare in NYC on July 13

[sean_reid]

Leica USA has asked me to mention the following:

"Fotocare celebrates the grand opening of their new store location on 22nd Street on Monday, July 13, 2009 with the much anticipated Leica S2. Leica Representatives and the trained staff of Fotocare will have product demonstrations with the S2 and the S-Lenses from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Leica S2 is a 37.5 megapixels, medium format camera. It will be available in the US shortly. For more information on the grand opening at Fotocare, call 212-741-2990.

Venue: Fotocare
41 West 22nd Street
New York, NY 10010

Tel.: 212-741-2990

Date: July 13, 2009

Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m."

See:

Leica Camera AG - Fotocare Celebrates Grand Opening With Leica S2, NY

Foto Care - The World of Professional Photographers

Cheers,

Sean

[c6gowin]

Thanks for the heads up Sean. I wish I could be there. Hopefully, you or other forum members can make there to get us updated info on camera performance. I hope they will be have early production models of the S2 there.

Mark

[sean_reid]

Hi Mark,

I can't be there either. I have a shoot in Vancouver then.

Cheers,

Sean

[c6gowin]

Sean,

Too bad you can't be there either. Are any other forum members going to be able to make it to the S2 demonstration?

[paulmoore]

Originally Posted by c6gowin

Sean,

Too bad you can't be there either. Are any other forum members going to be able to make it to the S2 demonstration?

I am going to try to make it..beside getting my hands on the S2 I bought my first 8x10, a sinar norma from them way back when, so would like to see the new store.

[c6gowin]

Did anyone make to the S2 demonstration today?

[barjohn]

If no one made it, it makes you wonder just how much interest there is in this camera. I would think a perspective buyer ready to plunk down $30K for a minimal system wouldn't think twice about spending a couple of thousand to fly in and see first hand what they are thinking of buying. Additionally, there are quite a few members that live in the NYC area so it should have been a piece of cake for them.

It makes it appear as if the interest is more academic curiosity than real pro need for this camera. Where is Guy when we need him to spend his money

[leicanut2]

Here in Cleveland last wensday I asked my Leica dealer if he had any bites on the S2 he told me that he has one customer for the S2 then here comes in the store the Leica rep who told me they will have a price by the end of the month. We will see. I don't think I could do it even if I sold everything I have. But one can dream.

Cheers Jan

[paulmoore]

Originally Posted by c6gowin

Did anyone make to the S2 demonstration today?

yes I did make it over to fotocare today.
Leica had a working S2 with both a working 70mm and the 180mm,
I brought in my dmr to compare size and feel.. My r9/dmr with little 50 lux was just slightly lighter than the S2 with the 70mm but the S2 was a better ergo fit in my hands and feel I could shoot longer hand held.. this was without the S2 extra battery/grip attachment which was not there.
Biggest and brightest impression was the viewfinder, very nice, af seemed to work well too. No need to press any buttons to have manual focus just turn the ring.
the controls have all been covered by others..and I did not spend that much time shooting it..iso was adjustable to 1600 on the screen, nice ev adjustment.. and the top oled is very cool..I think it would take an hour or so to get into the groove with the camera comimg from the r9..faster if you are already a d3 or canon shooter.
the 180mm looked good as well..not as big or heavy as my rollei schneider 180.. the mock up 35mm was bigger than I thought it would be but not much different from the 70mm which seems to fit the body well. So all in all I was pleased to get my hands on it and feel it and was not at all disappointed, but the proof will be in the files..and price.. and we are all waiting for those.
as for turnout.. while I was there in the late afternoon there was a steady stream of folks wanting their turn with it.. I did not hold it more than 5 minutes before someone else made their desires known.
When asked about software there was a hint by the rep that adobe might be a way as well as still a possibility with "denmark". nothing for sure yet on that front.
It was very real and worked without a hicup.

[guy_mancuso]

Originally Posted by barjohn

If no one made it, it makes you wonder just how much interest there is in this camera. I would think a perspective buyer ready to plunk down $30K for a minimal system wouldn't think twice about spending a couple of thousand to fly in and see first hand what they are thinking of buying. Additionally, there are quite a few members that live in the NYC area so it should have been a piece of cake for them.

It makes it appear as if the interest is more academic curiosity than real pro need for this camera. Where is Guy when we need him to spend his money

I'm two days late on this one. Will be in NY on Wednesday for two weeks and leaving any kind of credit card behind on this one. Even if this is amazing and even if the price is, okay that was more than a dream if you know what I mean . I would still wait it out until all the check marks are checked with service, support , system wide parts and all that end of it and that would take it out until the spring for me and i would imagine a lot of Pro's would wait for everything to come into play. We have to remember it is a one way street in total. There is nothing used and nothing to back it up except itself and that will take a lot of confidence or shear balls to jump on it right away. For the hobbyist these risks are just not holding them back. So it will start there and let's see how it grows. I do wish Leica the very best on this, we need more MF players in the house and give people choices. It really has gotten down to two for all practical purposes and that is not enough.

[lxlim]

Thanks, Paul. Sounds good. I was wondering how loud does it sounds.

Like Guy, I will wait. Fortunately I am not in a hurry and I am more interested in a S2/ 30-90 combo.

[paulmoore]

Originally Posted by lxlim

Thanks, Paul. Sounds good. I was wondering how loud does it sounds.

Like Guy, I will wait. Fortunately I am not in a hurry and I am more interested in a S2/ 30-90 combo.

Sorry about the continued comparison to the dmr but it was less noise that that
both in length and volume
seemed to have less delay as well, atleast that was my impression

[lxlim]

Thanks, Paul.

That was one of the things I wanted to know. MF SLRs are usually big and loud to go with the superior image quality. Not what I want if I should decide on going MF.

[c6gowin]

Thank you for the report Paul. Your impressions of the S2 mirror my impressions when I handled a prototype last fall. Is it safe to assume that you handled a production version of the S2 and did it have the AF button on the rear?

I am crossing my fingers, but not holding my breath, that Leica prices the S2 aggressively. I know its very doubtful.

Mark

[paulmoore]

Originally Posted by c6gowin

Thank you for the report Paul. Your impressions of the S2 mirror my impressions when I handled a prototype last fall. Is it safe to assume that you handled a production version of the S2 and did it have the AF button on the rear?

I am crossing my fingers, but not holding my breath, that Leica prices the S2 aggressively. I know its very doubtful.

Mark

while it had the button, they said the first production cameras were still in germany..this S2 was a prototype..

[c6gowin]

I was hoping it was a production camera instead of a prototype. When I handled the prototype at PhotoPlus last fall, Leica indicated the body covering on the production model would be different than the prototype. The AF button is a new and welcome addition to the camera since I last saw it.

Mark

[thrid]

Here is a link to an article on the showing.

Leica S2 Makes Debut at Fotocare


On page two is a photo of the rear of the camera showing the new AF/AE lock button.

[mgcd]

Originally Posted by thrid

Here is a link to an article on the showing.

Leica S2 Makes Debut at Fotocare


On page two is a photo of the rear of the camera showing the new AF/AE lock button.

I have to admit that I am a little annoyed at this new AF/AE Lock button. Traditionally, this function (minus the AF) has been performed by simply depressing the shutter release button half-way on Leica bodies. Why not continue it this fashion? This new button is ergonomically awkward IMO especially for left eye users - yes I'm one of them.

[dfarkas]

Originally Posted by mgcd

I have to admit that I am a little annoyed at this new AF/AE Lock button. Traditionally, this function (minus the AF) has been performed by simply depressing the shutter release button half-way on Leica bodies. Why not continue it this fashion? This new button is ergonomically awkward IMO especially for left eye users - yes I'm one of them.

You can still depress the shutter release halfway for AF/AE lock. The rear button was added as another option based on countless requests from photographers at Photokina. It also allows functions to be seperated so that you could shoot with the shutter release button, without having the camera refocus during a shooting sequence.

David

[c6gowin]

I belief the shutter button will still function AF and AE as you are familiar with. This extra button is just another way to trigger AF/AE. Hopefully there will be custom functions to modify the AF/AE button behavior. I use this feature frequently on my Canon and it can be very convenient. It may or may not be as helpful on the S2 since, for example, I don't expect to use the S2 to track a bird in flight.