S2 - passing comments from TOP

[LuxBob]

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The eminently sane TOP - The Online Photographer expresses the essentials of Leica and the S2

The Online Photographer

[lars_bergquist]

I agree with him. The other day I had a chance to put my fingers on a consumer-grade Canon EOS. Especially the lens was a horror. Plastic ground drily against plastic. Things rattled and shook (but did not roll, even less rock). And the camera and lens bayonets ...

 

There was only one word for it: tawdry. It was the quintessential product of the Throwaway Society. All its 'features' would probably work fine until the guaranty time was out. And then it would soon be landfill. So that the owner could, and had to, buy a new one, thereby increasing the Gross Domestic Product.

 

Without self-respect, we cannot respect other people. We cannot respect ourselves while churning out tawdry products, just for the money. My own self-respect demands products made by self-respecting people, just as anything I produced was the best I could do. The Throwaway Society, in any case, is approaching the end of the road. And Goethe said to Eckermann: "Wir müssen alle schlechte Arbeit hassen lernen wie die Sünde". "We must learn to hate all sleazy work like sin itself."

 

Everything we do, and every thing we make, has a moral dimension. That Canon was a sin against the planet -- and against our fellow beings on it, humans and others.

 

The old man from the Kodachrome Age

[lct]

The S2 doesn't need to be compared to consumer-grade products hopefully.

[rosuna]

The comments to the original article are very interesting.

 

The Canon 7D and 5D Mark II are very well made cameras, and the same can be said of Nikon's D300 or Pentax's K7 cameras.

 

However, the Leica X1 is not up to that standard, for instance.

 

The Canon 1Ds Mark III or Nikon D3x are built like the S2.

[markowich]

The comments to the original article are very interesting.

 

The Canon 7D and 5D Mark II are very well made cameras, and the same can be said of Nikon's D300 or Pentax's K7 cameras.

 

However, the Leica X1 is not up to that standard, for instance.

 

The Canon 1Ds Mark III or Nikon D3x are built like the S2.

 

absoutely. and also i do not get arguments like 'too many features, too complicated...'. one just uses the features one likes and forgets about the others. you can use the D3x just like a PS....

peter

[tobey bilek]

My Nikon D3 works well and is built well. I wish I could say as much for the build quality of the modern latest generation auto focus lenses. I don`t own any for that reason.

 

I will assume the S2 to built to pro standards as are the lenses. There is a serious cost issue with that camera I will never get over. I needs to be a business investment with depreciation and write offs. I can not see any amateurs using it unless they live in a sandy country with oil under the sand and they are part of the family that owns the sand, no disrespect ment for them. Just those are the ones wo can buy such items.

[rosuna]

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Well, I love the simple design of the S2.

 

But I was mighty impressed all the same. The S2 struck me forcefully as a supremely confident camera design. Who but Leica, conceiving its flagship camera, could so resolutely eschew gee-whizzery? Sony earns a passing mention here for the straightforwardness of the A900/A850, but that's only relatively—relative to the competition. The S2 is is another league in this regard. No other camera maker would have—no other camera maker could have—the utter confidence to make a camera that does the important things well and just says no to all the rest to the same extent the S2 does.

 

The iPhone has not a better construction than a blackberry... the key is in the general design, concept and interface.

[rosuna]

I would like to see that quality of execution and design transposed to the M9 and X1 cameras.

[wildlightphoto]

I would like to see that quality of execution and design transposed to the M9 and X1 cameras.

 

My excitement about the S2 was that its quality of execution and design would be transposed to an R body.

[cgarnerhome]

For me, the quality of a camera is always subjective and is often based on extensive use. Some things just feel great because of familiarity. I love the Canon 1Ds Mark III but that's probably because I use it so often. I have a 5D Mark II and while I love the results it is in no way the same quality or feel as the 1Ds - that quality costs a lot more and would not measure up on a cost benefit curve. I also own a S2 and a M9. The S2 is still new to me so only time will tell how it wears on me. Out of the box I am totally taken by the feel and quality. While the M9 is a wonderful chunk of camera it takes a bit of customizing to get the feel to be right. It's the quality images that it produces in a small package that appeals to me. Let's face it the M9 ergonomically is not in the same zip code as the S2. For me it's about the images I take but I must admit that the experience isn't the same without the feel of quality in my hands.

[mhoersch]

My excitement about the S2 was that its quality of execution and design would be transposed to an R body.

 

Exactly!

[zlatkob]

That Canon was a sin against the planet -- and against our fellow beings on it, humans and others.

 

And yet ... that consumer Canon may make a lot of good photos in its relatively short life (5 years?), more than some much finer cameras that last for decades but get little use. That Canon may go to many birthday parties, pool parties, wedding celebrations, school plays, kids sporting events, family trips and days at the beach. And it may bring home many, many in-focus, well-exposed photos of memorable events. And those photos may become a treasured part of one's family history. And it may bring home the occasional video, including video of baby's first steps or junior's first lost tooth or school graduation ceremony or band performance or winning baseball game. And despite it's creaky, plasticky body, in the end, after all of its service, it will create much less waste than the plastic food wrap, product packaging, shopping bags, water bottles and drinking cups that we used in the same time.

 

I don't disagree entirely; I just have mixed feelings about it. And thankfully, Canon and NIkon and others makes some solid, high quality products to balance their low end.

[cgarnerhome]

It's sort like automobiles. Most cars will get you there but a lot of people, like me, probably put too much emphasis on what I'm driving. That being said, I would choose the journey over the car.

Cam

[jaapv]

My Nikon D3 works well and is built well. I wish I could say as much for the build quality of the modern latest generation auto focus lenses. I don`t own any for that reason.

 

I will assume the S2 to built to pro standards as are the lenses. There is a serious cost issue with that camera I will never get over. I needs to be a business investment with depreciation and write offs. I can not see any amateurs using it unless they live in a sandy country with oil under the sand and they are part of the family that owns the sand, no disrespect ment for them. Just those are the ones wo can buy such items.

Hmm.. I wonder in my muddy and wet country where all those 250.000 Euro+ yachts in our marinas come from. An S2 system is just a matter of postponing a set of new sails for one year for quite a number of people....It is just how one ranks one's priorities as a hobby shooter.

[Steen]

My excitement about the S2 was that its quality of execution and design would be transposed to an R body.

 

Spot on.

[AlanG]

I think moving forward a lot of the size of the pro DSLRs and S2 will be unnecessary. If you look at the Sony Nex, all the electronics, tilting LCD, and 7 fps APS size shutter fits into a very tiny package. So in the 1DS, S2, D3X, other than a larger shutter, prism, and mirror box, what is all the rest of the bulk needed for?

 

Separately, when it comes to durability, I can appreciate good construction, but I also have an original 1Ds that barely has seen any use in the past 4 years. I sold a 1DII for $1800 after about 3 years of use. Since then I have used the 5D and 5DII cameras which have been flawless in pretty heavy use. This is not to say that the larger models don't have some useful features. But I'd rather not spend a lot on bodies that become outdated way before they wear out.

[andybarton]

I can not see any amateurs using it unless they live in a sandy country with oil under the sand and they are part of the family that owns the sand, no disrespect ment for them. Just those are the ones wo can buy such items.

 

From what I understand, the vast majority of S2s have been sold to people who do not make a living from photography.

[01af]

So in the 1DS, S2, D3X, other than a larger shutter, prism, and mirror box, what is all the rest of the bulk needed for?

It's needed to convince the professional photographer's customer the photographer really is a pro.

[AlanG]

It's needed to convince the professional photographer's customer the photographer really is a pro.

 

I was thinking along those lines when I saw Markus Klinko's rig.

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[c6gowin]

From what I understand, the vast majority of S2s have been sold to people who do not make a living from photography.

 

Based on what the pros on the forums say, there isn't much work out there. So what you are saying is not hard to believe. I don't think that reflects as much on the S2 as it does the current state of the economy and pro photography industry. Fortunately, there seems to be enough non-pros willing to buy the S2 to help keep the market strong.