Happy with the S2!

[Arif]

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Let me start with the statement that I am not a professional photographer and do not depend on the quality of my photography to make a living. I am a people and travel photographer and have typically used a combination of Leica and Nikon gear for my photography. My work can be seen at Arif Iqball Photography.

 

My Leica gear consists of an M6, two M7, M8.2, an M9 and a few lenses. My Nikon gear consists of a D3s (mainly for horseback archery/sports/high ISO), and a D3x and few unique Nikon, as well as a few Zeiss and R lenses. I typically only go out with one camera and a lens and photograph regularly. As I get older, I prefer not to carry a backpack/tripod with me.

 

For the past few months I was toying with the idea of selling some of my Leica/Nikon gear and moving up to an S2. I was particularly attracted to the larger sensor size allowing me to retain a fairly decent crop from what I would shoot and I was extremely curious to see the quality of the S-lenses and what I could do with the autofocus assist. I have, and love to use the 80 Lux-R on my D3x as well as the 100/2.8R Macro and wanted to have close to that capability in autofocus. I also recently started to print some of my pictures and was looking at the S2 for increased resolution. The form of the S2 was a major reason for my interest in the MF and hence I had not looked at other cameras from Phase/Hasselblad.

 

I must admit I was a little discouraged in the beginning reading all the reviews and the gap in expectations that many people had and that influenced my decision to delay purchase. With some discussion and words of encouragement from Mark about his satisfaction from the S2 as well as how the S2 could fit my style of photography, I decided to sell my D3x, the Nikkor 24-70, Nikkor 58/1.2, 50 lux pre-asph and my M8.2 and my two M7 to bridge the purchase gap and placed the order for the S2 and the 70mm.

 

I received both camera and lens yesterday and was able to put it in full use today as the skies cleared up a little here in Tokyo. My first day confirmed that the S2 is an extraordinary camera and I have been very happy with the fact that I could use it as a walk around camera with complete ease and that it could replace my D3x/lens combo as well as have MF quality files.

 

I shot 310 photographs (battery still had plenty of charge left) and tested against many situations to see if there were limitations for me with the camera and I am happy with the initial results. I am sure I could improve the results if I used a tripod but that is not my normal mode of operation. The colors were consistent with what I saw and even when I tried the X-rite Checker profile that I created, there were very little differences.

 

The camera is a joy to use. I love it and that itself will make me take it out more often. I have been very happy with the M9 and now with the S2 so Leica is doing good things and I appreciate their hard work. For many of you who use the D3x and have a few gear sitting around, I do encourage you to seriously look at the S2. You may be pleasantly surprised.

 

I just wanted to get this out to let people know that there are a few who use the S2 and like it. I know that it will be with me for a long time as I grow into the many capabilities it can cover. For the interim, I am just going to go out and have fun with it.

 

Thank you for reading and please feel free to comment on my pictures.

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[tollie]

Wonderful photographs on your site.

 

I played a little game when enjoying your photography... I tried to guess what camera you used... I failed.

 

It is the eye that is most important. Of course we use the equipment that is most consistent with our work style. I shoot with Nikon and Leica (M8) gear and look forward to growing into a MF system for my landscape photography. I appreciate your words on the S2.

[c6gowin]

Arif,

 

Congratulations on getting the S2. It sounds like you are as happy as I am about the S2. It is a pleasure to use and the new firmware makes it even better. Also, it is great to have another S2 owner to share experiences with.

[Constable]

Arif,

It is a pleasure to use and the new firmware makes it even better.

 

I agree. No more renaming all files! Now all we need is support from Bibble and lense support from Capture One!

 

Ed

[markowich]

I agree. No more renaming all files! Now all we need is support from Bibble and lense support from Capture One!

 

Ed

 

ed,

maybe you also need a few more lenses from leica...

p

[Constable]

ed,

maybe you also need a few more lenses from leica...

p

 

Peter

 

I hope you don't do this at parties as well

 

Naturally you are correct ... just two lenses at the moment (70, 180) and the 35 mm promised "this week". They are stunning lenses though .... although I fully agree with everything said earlier that the Phase One, Mamiya, Hassy stable is as good/better/equivalent.

 

Form factor is something that I suspect we disagree on, but I spend too long sneaking up on bugs to use something that is not as resistant as my Nikons.

 

The lack of a macro yet is really painful to me.

 

However, the 180 is not bad for macro work!

 

Ed

[ptomsu]

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Peter

 

I hope you don't do this at parties as well

 

Naturally you are correct ... just two lenses at the moment (70, 180) and the 35 mm promised "this week". They are stunning lenses though .... although I fully agree with everything said earlier that the Phase One, Mamiya, Hassy stable is as good/better/equivalent.

 

Form factor is something that I suspect we disagree on, but I spend too long sneaking up on bugs to use something that is not as resistant as my Nikons.

 

The lack of a macro yet is really painful to me.

 

However, the 180 is not bad for macro work!

 

Ed

 

Discussed already so often - - anyway, the lacking lenses is the real issue of the S system, as is the lack of appropriate SW for post processing, IQ wise of course.

 

The camera per se is great, sexy, perfect - what else you want. And yes, it would also fit my applications rather than a bulky Hasselblad. BUT one has to do some jobs now, today and not in 4 or 5 years.

 

Interesting how creative people start to become to convince others of how great the S system is today

 

PS: BTW, although the Hasselblad is not as sophistically sealed as the S2, usually I did not hear complaints, also from people who use it under real hash conditions.

[c6gowin]

You are right Peter. Leica does need to get additional lenses out to market to make the S system a system. I here the 35mm and 120mm macro will be available very soon (e. g., within a month). I suspect there are potential buyers waiting for a complete system to become availabe before committing to the system. As for me, I am happily getting by with the 70mm until my bank account recovers from the initial purchase.

[ptomsu]

You are right Peter. Leica does need to get additional lenses out to market to make the S system a system. I here the 35mm and 120mm macro will be available very soon (e. g., within a month). I suspect there are potential buyers waiting for a complete system to become availabe before committing to the system. As for me, I am happily getting by with the 70mm until my bank account recovers from the initial purchase.

 

Fully understand that and that you are happy with the S2. I would be too, if I had not the demand for doing landscape photography NOW, this year and maybe next and visit several places worldwide to do so. What would I do with a S2 in that case? And an incomplete system?

 

Now comes the main issue - will I be ready to jump on a S System in say 2-3 years from now once it is complete and mature? Not talking about a necessary S3 at that time. So my short answer, coming from my mind and not my heart is simply NO, because I am pretty satisfied with my Hasselblad and will have invested further over the next few years, which would it even make more difficult to justify to move over. And I suppose that I will not be the only one who is then so happy and bound into an existing system that I doubt there will be many willing to switch. Except for fun, joy etc. and I fully understand this. But business wise it will be simply almost impossible.

[Constable]

because I am pretty satisfied with my Hasselblad and will have invested further over the next few years, which would it even make more difficult to justify to move over.

 

Can't disagree with a word of that. In my case I had no investment in MF or commitment to a system. I tried the big three and they just did not fit my way of working. The S2 is an "easy" transfer into the MF world from DSLR.

 

I also have the advantage that I don't make my living through photography so I can wait (within reason) and enjoy what I have now.

 

Cheers and thanks for your insightful replies

 

Ed

[ptomsu]

Can't disagree with a word of that. In my case I had no investment in MF or commitment to a system. I tried the big three and they just did not fit my way of working. The S2 is an "easy" transfer into the MF world from DSLR.

 

I also have the advantage that I don't make my living through photography so I can wait (within reason) and enjoy what I have now.

 

Cheers and thanks for your insightful replies

 

Ed

 

You will for sure very much enjoy your S2 and system! All the best and have fun for many years!

[markowich]

Peter

 

I hope you don't do this at parties as well

 

Ed

 

ed, it is just my envy because the S system is really super sexy. i think that the copy of the 70mm lens which i had was faulty after all and i could have had it replaced. but then the S2 really prompts a comparism with the D3x.....and i decided that i need VR, multi-point AF etc on a body like that. and reasonable high iso capabilities. i know that hassy does not have that but nikon does.

still, i do like the feel of the camera. if a 24mm comes out then i reconsider..

peter

[c6gowin]

Peter, I can understand your desire for VR. All of my Canon lenses are IS and it works very well. I don't share your desire for multiple focus points. Perhaps because I have never owned a camera where the peripheral focus points are as fast and accurate as the center focus point. As a result, I have learned to only use the center focus point quite effectively. Reasonable high iso capabilities would be great also, but in all honesty I have never seen high iso from "any" camera that is more than just acceptable and I want more than just acceptable. If it were possible to get high iso without sacrifice in dynamic range, contrast, and sharpness, then yeah I would love it.

 

Leica is working on a 24mm - so I've heard (perhaps you have heard that as well).

[markowich]

Peter, I can understand your desire for VR. All of my Canon lenses are IS and it works very well. I don't share your desire for multiple focus points. Perhaps because I have never owned a camera where the peripheral focus points are as fast and accurate as the center focus point. As a result, I have learned to only use the center focus point quite effectively. Reasonable high iso capabilities would be great also, but in all honesty I have never seen high iso from "any" camera that is more than just acceptable and I want more than just acceptable. If it were possible to get high iso without sacrifice in dynamic range, contrast, and sharpness, then yeah I would love it.

 

Leica is working on a 24mm - so I've heard (perhaps you have heard that as well).

 

here is my priority ranking for the S3:

1)VR

2)VR

3)VR

4)LV

5)reasonable iso (defind by myself as at least D3x level)

6)multiple AF points

7)sensor cleaning.

 

i do find D3s high iso excellent. it opens up new photograpic worlds when combined with fast lenses. just shoot in the dark.

peter

[Arif]

Peter, I can understand your desire for VR. All of my Canon lenses are IS and it works very well. I don't share your desire for multiple focus points. Perhaps because I have never owned a camera where the peripheral focus points are as fast and accurate as the center focus point. As a result, I have learned to only use the center focus point quite effectively. Reasonable high iso capabilities would be great also, but in all honesty I have never seen high iso from "any" camera that is more than just acceptable and I want more than just acceptable. If it were possible to get high iso without sacrifice in dynamic range, contrast, and sharpness, then yeah I would love it.

 

Leica is working on a 24mm - so I've heard (perhaps you have heard that as well).

 

Mark,

I agree. I also don't care much for multiple focus points and feel I can do the work with a center sensor and crop if needed. All my eagles and bird pictures in Northern Japan (under recent work on my web page) were taken with the center sensor and one was even manually focussed. With the S2 I still feel like I am in control versus the camera taking over. For high ISO, I will always use the D3s but since I am a film shooter as well, I can accept/appreciate the S2 results. I look forward to more lenses down the road but am happy now. Is this what they call mid-life crisis?

 

Thank you,

Arif

[wildlightphoto]

here is my priority ranking for the S3:

1)VR

2)VR

3)VR

 

You could give up coffee instead.

[c6gowin]

That is a fine wish list. I would like those things as well. But, as a buddy often says, "if wishes were fishes we would have a fry" or "sometimes you have to decide whether to fish or cut bait". The S2 had enough check boxes ticked in the plus column for me to take the plunge. I know you really wanted that to be the case for you too by being one of the first to get an S2. Unfortunately, your experience with it wasn't as enjoyable as mine has been. At least you tried it for yourself. I respect that and your opinion of the camera.

[markowich]

That is a fine wish list. I would like those things as well. But, as a buddy often says, "if wishes were fishes we would have a fry" or "sometimes you have to decide whether to fish or cut bait". The S2 had enough check boxes ticked in the plus column for me to take the plunge. I know you really wanted that to be the case for you too by being one of the first to get an S2. Unfortunately, your experience with it wasn't as enjoyable as mine has been. At least you tried it for yourself. I respect that and your opinion of the camera.

 

if i can raise 50K euro i shall definitely give it one more try. after all the S3 might be three years or so down the road. and i need the 24mm...

p

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[markowich]

You could give up coffee instead.

 

sorry, here is the corrected list:

 

1)VR

2)VR

3)VR

4)VR

......

 

peter

[wildlightphoto]

sorry, here is the corrected list:

 

1)VR

2)VR

3)VR

4)VR

......

 

peter

 

caffeine addiction?