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S2 as a vacation point'n'shoot (gallery)


tashley

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I just got back from a week's Caribbean cruise (if you'd seen the weather in England recently you'd know why I went!) and as an experiment I took the S2, 70mm and 180mm lenses, an X1 loaner as a pocket cam, and two small chargers. Spare cards. Nothing else.

 

This was not work, just vacation, a good opportunity to find out how I'd feel about the gear as a substitute for my normal vacation kit of M9 or 5DII.

 

I've added a selection of shots, all developed quickly and basically in LR3, to my S2 samples gallery. Some are slightly cropped, some full sized, all are sRGB and 90% quality JPEG. All can be downloaded at full size.

 

The only comment I have to add to what I've already said here and elsewhere about the S2 is that I'd ideally like Image Stabilisation and CaNikon style high ISO performance, and the AF of a high-end Nikon, but actually I rarely missed a shot without them. Easier in bright light, for sure, but I now have the measure of the beast and would use it on a real job. I think, aside from it's obvious studio uses, it will make a very fine travel camera. It really is very nice to use and perfectly easy to carry - in fact for me, personally, it is the only viable way of 'doing' travel with MF because it's form factor, weather sealing, ease of packing (very few 'system' parts needed), light weight and smooth mirror and shutter mean that you really can take it pretty much anywhere.

 

This gallery doesn't contain anything I'd call great photography, they're mostly just 'educated snapshots' but it does give a fair idea of how easy it is to sling this thing over your shoulder and go for a walk in a foreign land on the off-chance that you come across something that you'll later want a four foot wide print of...

 

Tim Ashley | S2 Samples

 

p146390977-5.jpg

 

 

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Tim

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Tim,

Thank you for keeping us up to date on your experience with the S2. It is very encouraging. I agree with your comment "...I'd ideally like Image Stabilisation and CaNikon style high ISO performance, and the AF of a high-end Nikon..." However, there aren't any other MF solutions that offer these features so the S2 is no worse off. The main thing I got from your comments about the S2 is "...it is the only viable way of 'doing' travel with MF because it's form factor..." This is my main interest in the S2 in addition to the image quality.

 

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the X1, if you care to share.

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Aww, c'mon, Tim! Surely you could have gotten these results with a P&S? (Wink-wink! Nudge-nudge!)

 

Barbados and St. Martin/St. Maarten? (among others - there are a couple of Marigots in the islands)

 

I think I recognize the Bridgetown docks - was there in early Dec. on the QM2 - lowly M9 shot

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Thanks Guys!

 

@ Peter, that logic is exactly why I didn't take my ski jacket! :D

 

@ Terry and Mark, here's a link to a short X1 gallery, though you've probably seen loads of those by now. Coupla snaps inserted into this post too. All with beta FW and all cooked from RAW in LR3.

 

I have no real thoughts to add on the X1 beyond what LL, Sean Reid and DPR have said: it has the best image quality in its class but by a margin over the micro 4/3rds cameras which is almost academic at lower ISOs. Despite a lovely design in so many ways, it is slow and cumbersome to use, no substitute for an M8/9 for street shooting. The MF system isn't great, the AF is weak and I wish that while I had it I had tried the add-on finder because on anything like a bright day the rear screen is pretty much useless.

 

I liked it a lot but I won't be buying one. My Pen is nowhere near as good at higher ISO but it in the same ballpark at lower ISO, is easier to use, only a tiny bit larger and, oh! It takes M lenses even if not always with much grace! But if Leica improve the focus systems, add a Zone Focus mode and throw in a finder at the price I might be persuaded!

 

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Tim Ashley | X1 Samples

 

 

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Tim

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Aww, c'mon, Tim! Surely you could have gotten these results with a P&S? (Wink-wink! Nudge-nudge!)

 

Barbados and St. Martin/St. Maarten? (among others - there are a couple of Marigots in the islands)

 

I think I recognize the Bridgetown docks - was there in early Dec. on the QM2 - lowly M9 shot

 

those things are cool aren't they?! I saw them last year and had a particular shot in mind for the S2 but that damned tug boat is always in the way!

 

Barbados, St Kitts, St Marten, St. Barts, Iles des Saintes and St Lucia. It's a tough life...

:D

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Tim,

 

Really nice snapshots! Love the colors of the Caribbean. The S2 seems to be in capable hands.

 

Did you like the Wind Surf? My wife and I took the ship a few years ago from Rome to Nice. Too bad I didn't have an S2 then. :(

 

David

 

Thanks David,

 

I loved it - it was only half-full so felt very personal and relaxed and, most important of all, the bed in my cabin was extremely good! My only regret is not having a true wide with me so I could capture the magnificent sight of the ship under full sail!

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Tim,

Fantastic pictures that you have made.

I have downloaded the first picture with the palm tree leaves, and noticed strange artefacts in the vertical direction. Has this to do ith the Jpeg conversion ?

 

Hans

 

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Tim,

Fantastic pictures that you have made.

I have downloaded the first picture with the palm tree leaves, and noticed strange artefacts in the vertical direction. Has this to do ith the Jpeg conversion ?

 

Hans

 

[ATTACH]184001[/ATTACH]

 

Hmmm, not sure. I don't have the original with me at the moment but I will later on today so I'll check. I have to go through these in detail anyway since I originally reviewed them on a Macbok Air whilst on vacation and have only quickly flicked through them on a proper monitor. Thanks for pointing this out - it might be a JPEG conversion thing (it looks 'folded', as if the conversion is to 1px less width than the original or something) or it could be a LR3 beta issue or it might have come off the sensor like that. I'll let you know!

 

T

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Looks like it to me Ian, that is not normal to see a straight vertical perfectly aligned artifact with a image that actually changes in that area from green leaves to blue sky. Looks like a mapping issue. The S2 will show moire no question about it just like anything else but that does not look normal. If this was processed in C1 which is known for artifacts on the S2 at the moment you could maybe chalk it up to that but LR3 I have not seen artifacts. Can you try this in Raw developer Tim and see if it is showing.

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Hmmm - something similar turns up in this M9 thread: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/112921-bad-sensor-bug-pixel-mapping.html

 

As I said there, I occasionally got little cyan "creases" like this from the M8, although rare enough that I can't even find any examples now. (Using Adobe Camera Raw).

 

Hadn't thought of mapping for bad pixel lines as a cause - interesting possibility. If one throws away a line of data and then interpolates to fill in the missing line, it makes sense that borrowing data from adjoining lines would increase the odds (and size) of aliasing effects.

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I checked a whole load of frames and actually it crops up a lot, it's just normally invisible. Those palm frond shots are where it's most obvious though in another shot it slices someone's lip. It seems to have been happening throughout my time with the camera but for the life of me I can't work out if it's there in every frame but very hard to find, or only there sometimes. To answer Guy's question, this happens whether you develop RAW in LR3 or C1 and I haven't tried Raw Developer because I don't have it and frankly I'd expect this effect to show in any developer.

 

I've asked Leica for a response...

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Tim, as Andy pointed out I am seeing something very similar (if not the same) with my M9. It looks like there are three columns of pixels that can show the problem -- incidentally the columns are within 200 pixels of each other. I only see it if I have high contrast, thin lines that are vertically oriented, e.g. twigs from trees, in that area of the frame.

 

Please keep us posted on Leica's response.

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Looks like a line of some sort (the artefacts are aligned vertically). Is this in the same place as the line that was recently mapped out in firmware?

 

Nope, I checked that, it's elsewhere - and it seems to effect about a 5px wide stripe though it looks like the culprit is only 1px wide but has a sort of coloured fringe to it of 2px either side. I think!

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