arminw Posted May 6, 2011 Share #1 Posted May 6, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Ok, I have been waiting and waiting and wasn't sure at all whether to jump onto the S2 bandwagon or not, but here we go Leica you got me after all . Yesterday, I went into my local Leica Store and bought the S2. I have been up all night playing and learning how to use it. First of all I have to say the manual was very irritating to read and I couldn't make anything of it. I presume that goes for any manual really ... so I went on you tube and found a video tutorial from DalePhotoAndDigital. YouTube - Kanal von DalePhotoAndDigital Now I wonder what RAW converter to use ? I have Phocus for my Hasselblad H4d , CaptureOne and Apple Aperture. I don't' really want to learn another program like Adobe Lightroom , but do I have an option here I wonder ? If any of you have some advice on the matter I would love to hear it . I will also compare the service and support Leica offers for the S2 .... should be interesting to see the difference from my dedicated Hasselblad team and the Leica team ... You might wonder why did he buy it ??? I will answer that once I have come out of my delirium . good day to all ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 6, 2011 Posted May 6, 2011 Hi arminw, Take a look here New S2 Owner. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
JMacD Posted May 6, 2011 Share #2 Posted May 6, 2011 Lightroom is what I use. Adobe and Leica have been working pretty closely together to improve things over the last two years. Hey, it's free so you might as well try it. Plenty of video tutorials are available to help you learn it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arminw Posted May 6, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted May 6, 2011 Thanks for your reply! I'll give it a try ... but it is a shame that Leica fell out with the capture one people ... it's such a good tool and would be ideal for the S2 . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted May 6, 2011 Share #4 Posted May 6, 2011 You can use any (modern) raw converter you want. By now, all major raw converters should support the Leica S2 ... and those which don't most likely will with their next update. You definitely are not limited to Adobe Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw. Actually, ANY raw converter that supports the DNG format should have been able to support the S2 right from the beginning. But apart from Adobe, most raw converter software makers unfortunately are too dumb or too lazy to correctly and completely implement full DNG support—which is surprising because DNG is, and always was, an open standard. Most implement only a subset thereof. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfarkas Posted May 6, 2011 Share #5 Posted May 6, 2011 Thanks for your reply! I'll give it a try ... but it is a shame that Leica fell out with the capture one people ... it's such a good tool and would be ideal for the S2 . Armin, I'm glad that you found our video tutorials on the S2 useful. Speaking as a 4+ year user of Captue One (at the time of my switch to LR), I've found the workflow, ease of use, stability, features, AND image quality of Lightroom to be superior to C1, especially with the S2. Adobe is a powerhouse when it comes to imaging software. Photoshop is THE standard for image editing and manipulation. Lightroom takes many of the algorithms from PS and puts them in a multi-image workflow while incorporating a full digital asset management system (DAM). In my experience, LR is currently best in class unless you need to process proprietary Phase One files, which is what C1 was made for. Also, I wouldn't say that Leica "fell out with Phase One". Rather, they became direct competitors when Leica launched the S2. Besides, in speaking with key people at Leica, it's clear that they felt that Adobe would be a much better long-term partner for all future digital products. Best of luck with the S2. I'm sure you will really enjoy it. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertknappmd Posted May 7, 2011 Share #6 Posted May 7, 2011 I second the use of LR... Welcome to the wonderful world of the S2.. Albert :) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMB Posted May 7, 2011 Share #7 Posted May 7, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Welcome to the club and make sure to post some shots. It's a great camera. The only (indirect) contact I had with the Leica service team was when the 120 macro that I received was defective out of the box. My dealer contacted them and Leica shipped a brand new lens directly to me within a few days and in time for a planned trip. I never liked C1 because I found the workflow tortuous. LR works great. Happy shooting! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arminw Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share #8 Posted May 7, 2011 Thanks to all... I just downloaded LR and about to go through some tutorials ... The S2 feels great ... I can't wait to use it on my next portrait shoot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwilliamsphotography Posted May 8, 2011 Share #9 Posted May 8, 2011 Welcome Armin, Love your work ... and it is very diversified. It will be interesting to hear your feed-back on the S2 given your diversified applications. Which S lens/lenses did you get? I also use Phocus with an H4D, and have dabbled in C1 for Leica M8/9 files. I think you will find Lightroom relatively easy to pick-up on because Phocus is a bit similar ... I believe Hasselblad used some Lightroom people to develop Phocus. Note that Lightroom now includes lens correction profiles for the S lenses similar to DAC in Phocus. Not that the Leica optics need much, but it does help a bit. Lightroom offers many advantages that neither Phocus or C1 have ... and most of them are centered on work-flow. You can set up and access Photoshop and some 3rd party software programs through LR while keeping the file in the LR Library you are working on. If you work with multiple brands of cameras like I do, you can drop all the files into one folder and sort by time shot or by camera etc. For example, if you shot an assignment with both a H4D and the Leica S2, you can process the RAW files from both cameras together in LR. You will find that images can be segregated by camera or even lens used with the metadata selector. And there are so many processing tools that allow local adjustments that further work in Photoshop is often unnecessary. The drawback of Lightroom compared to Phocus or C1 Pro is the lack of proprietary profiles refined for the specific sensor characteristics like Hasselblad and Phase One offer. If you go down to the LR tool section to: "Camera Calibration", there are 2 choices for the S2: "Adobe Standard" and "Embedded" (in contrast, LR has 14 choices for Camera Calibration with a Canon file). I, and others, have found the S2 files a bit hot on the reds and some skin shadow tones in certain lighting can get pretty vivid depending on how much ambient is utilized in the shot. What we can hope for is that Leica steps up and provides Adobe with more sophisticated and versatile profiles and/or User loaded Lightroom Presets. The other drawback is tethered operations. Leica offers their own software called the Leica Image Shuttle which is pathetic compared to Phocus or C1 Pro. While it offers some control from the computer, the image window is almost useless in the usual studio environment, and seems designed for very small laptops. Alternatively, you can use Lightroom's tethered operation which is better but also still lacking compared to Phocus or C1 Pro. Of course, the above all depends on your shooting methodology and wether you use tethered operations at all. Personally, I do for in-studio product work and some people works. Hopefully, Leica will also address this to bring the S2 up to its full potential as a diversified tool for the professional like yourself and the advanced enthusiasts who can be just as demanding. BTW, be aware that if you DO shoot tethered to Lightroom, be sure to select the Lossless Compressed DNG option in camera as it helps speed the load time to the computer screen. -Marc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arminw Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share #10 Posted May 9, 2011 Hello Marc, Thanks for your message and great advice. I got the 70mm and now waiting for the 35mm, which should be available in a couple of month. ( no comment on the product availability policy form Leica ) I tried to process some S2 files in Phocus, but most of the adjustments are greyed out so no point trying, it doesn’t seem to be supported properly! I will use Lightroom and see how it goes, I might even move my catalogue over form Aperture ? I got the S2 because I like the Leica brand and have been a Leica M shooter for some years now. Since gave up my Canon gear the gap between my Hasselblad H4d50 and the Leica M9 was just too big and I also didn’t really have a back up for the bigger gun. With the S2 I now have a high resolution camera to accompany my H4d 50 as a back up and also to use it more freely without tethering to a computer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spylaw4 Posted May 10, 2011 Share #11 Posted May 10, 2011 So you finally did it, Armin! Congratulations, I"m sure you'll love it once you get really familiar with the S2. BTW if you need someone to discuss any LR points with - pop in to the shop! You know when I'm there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arminw Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share #12 Posted May 10, 2011 Absolutely Brian I DID IT!! Shame you haven't been around on the day when it all happened I signed up to Lynda online university to learn by watching online video tutorials , this seems to be the only way for me to learn new software. see you soon Armin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cirke Posted May 11, 2011 Share #13 Posted May 11, 2011 how do you compare h4d 50 and S2 IQ files ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arminw Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share #14 Posted May 18, 2011 how do you compare h4d 50 and S2 IQ files ? Both cameras deliver outstanding image quality. I don't really compare, but I know what I want to see when I look at the files... The Leica S2 is amazing, and I have never shot with a camera that size, so simple to use and the ability to produce such amazing image quality. It's not all perfect, but then no camera really is, and you make the tool work for you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cirke Posted May 18, 2011 Share #15 Posted May 18, 2011 thank you Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAA Posted May 20, 2011 Share #16 Posted May 20, 2011 I'm an Aperture 3 user. Does anyone have insight into when Aperture might support compressed DNG for the S2? I was disappointed when the last update came out a few days ago without support. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haydenjr Posted June 16, 2011 Share #17 Posted June 16, 2011 Hi. Im a new Leica user (or addict) and I just got my S2 last week. I'm reading the manual coz honestly im also new to photography. i have several questions that maybe someone can help me answer: (1) In the viewfinder, there are arrows like > O < .What does these arrows mean. MAnual said it means Distance too far or too near. But i dont understand what distance it is referring to. ALso, if the O lights up, does that indicate correct exposure in manual mode? Isn't the light meter already there to indicate correct exposure? (2) What is the difference between A (aperture priority) and Ps mode? I notice that the Ps acts similarly to A i.e. you control aperture and the shutter speed changes accordingly. (3) What does the Depth of Field preview button do? HOw do you do it? And what is it's practical application? I'm sorry if the questions sounds dumb, but i do hope someone can help me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arminw Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share #18 Posted June 17, 2011 Hello and good luck with your S2. I suggest you follow the link on my first post and have a look at Dales instruction videos for the S2, they are really helpful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haydenjr Posted June 17, 2011 Share #19 Posted June 17, 2011 Hello and good luck with your S2. I suggest you follow the link on my first post and have a look at Dales instruction videos for the S2, they are really helpful. Oh wow! Thank you so much ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfarkas Posted June 18, 2011 Share #20 Posted June 18, 2011 Oh wow! Thank you so much ! Glad you found our video tutorials useful. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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