24 MP is enough

[Likaleica]

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Just my opinion. The 37.5 mp S, an incredible camera with the best lenses ever made, out resolves camera movement hand held, even often on a tripod, mirror up, with cable release. I often get very sharp images of camera shake. On the other hand, I often get the best photographs I have ever made.

 

I've been experimenting with the S, M (240), MM, and M8 for several years. By far, in general, the 24 mp of the M is more than adequate for my needs. The MM has greater resolution and file depth than the M, so for pure B&W work I feel that the MM is the ideal camera for the greatest latitude in processing and printing. My opinion is based not only on pixel peeping, but on silver prints and ink jet prints. The beauty of the M or MM is that I can get great shots hand held whereas I NEVER take a photo with the S without a tripod.

 

By the way, I am pretty high on the M and MM because I recently had an entire portfolio of M/MM photos published in the September LensWork, and samples will be in the December issue of Black and White magazine and will be on exhibition at the Center for Photographic Arts in Carmel, California. That tells me that the M system has allowed my art to flourish enough that, in a relatively short period of time, I have achieved some measure of accomplishment. I've always been a reflex guy, so this has come out of left field to completely take me by surprise.

 

Leica M, 75mm Apo-Summicron ASPH, f/4.0 at 1/60 sec, hand held, ISO 800

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[chris_tribble]

Great work! Many congratulations on the deserved success. I also agree with you that 24mp hits the sweet spot, and I have no desire for more. The next M - improved implementation of EVF / Live View so that there's no distinguishable performance hit when switching between EVF and RF. I'd buy that. More MP? Not interested.

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[indergaard]

Congratulations!

 

I totally agree. 24 megapixels is perfect. I surely hope the next M doesn't have more, as it will cause issues for hand-held photography, which is what the M is about in the first place.

 

So I hope Leica focuses on improving dynamic range, high-iso performance and color depth instead. They should also focus on getting rid of the IR contamination that sometimes can create a lot of unecessary work for certain skin tones. Oh, and the banding and green casts in lifted shadows. The resolution is perfect.

Edited December 2, 2014 by indergaard

[mirekti]

So I hope Leica focuses on improving dynamic range, high-iso performance and color depth instead. They should also focus on getting rid of the IR contamination that sometimes can create a lot of unecessary work for certain skin tones.

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

BTW This article describes the megapixel race well LEICA Barnack Berek Blog: THE PIXEL RACE - DOES IT REALLY MAKE SENSE?

 

So, there's still some room for Full Frame sensor, but I wouldn't say it's high on my priority list.

[Jon Warwick]

I'm inclined to agree now that I have been using an M240 for half a year. For 30x20 prints, it is perfect and I've even done 60x40 prints that somehow didn't look "pushed too far". I think subject matter matters, of course - the 60x40 was a portrait, which can maybe get away with fewer MPs than (say) a landscape. But I also think files from the M240 enlarge VERY well, and maintain an excellent "smoothness" that I didn't see as obviously with an M9 (or MM for that matter).

[erlingmm]

Just my opinion. The 37.5 mp S, an incredible camera with the best lenses ever made, out resolves camera movement hand held, even often on a tripod, mirror up, with cable release. I often get very sharp images of camera shake. On the other hand, I often get the best photographs I have ever made.

 

I've been experimenting with the S, M (240), MM, and M8 for several years. By far, in general, the 24 mp of the M is more than adequate for my needs. The MM has greater resolution and file depth than the M, so for pure B&W work I feel that the MM is the ideal camera for the greatest latitude in processing and printing. My opinion is based not only on pixel peeping, but on silver prints and ink jet prints. The beauty of the M or MM is that I can get great shots hand held whereas I NEVER take a photo with the S without a tripod.

 

By the way, I am pretty high on the M and MM because I recently had an entire portfolio of M/MM photos published in the September LensWork, and samples will be in the December issue of Black and White magazine and will be on exhibition at the Center for Photographic Arts in Carmel, California. That tells me that the M system has allowed my art to flourish enough that, in a relatively short period of time, I have achieved some measure of accomplishment. I've always been a reflex guy, so this has come out of left field to completely take me by surprise.

 

Leica M, 75mm Apo-Summicron ASPH, f/4.0 at 1/60 sec, hand held, ISO 800

 

Two very different cameras. I love the bright finder of the S, the autofocus, the zoom lens, the diopter, and I have developed techniques for handheld shooting that preserves quality down to a certain level of shutter speed. The 100mm on the S is a "Noctilux" with autofocus, very powerful for portraits, and walk-around. But in general I agree about the pixel race, for the S there is an interesting discussion here: http://www.reddotforum.com/content/2...the-s-typ-007/

[AlanJW]

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I agree that 24mp is more than adequate. I also said that about 18mp.

 

I have 36 in my D800e and handholding is fine if you are careful about shutter speed.

 

The question is whether Leica will succumb to the marketing hype of more megapixels. I hope the engineers prevail and the mp count stays where it is.

[jaapv]

I think the range of 18-24 Mp is just right for a high quality reportage type camera.

As far as I am concerned Leica could easily drop down to 18 MP again to realise more dynamic range, less noise and smoother transitions.

They probably won't, if only for marketing reasons.

[bocaburger]

 

I have 36 in my D800e and handholding is fine if you are careful about shutter speed.

 

 

Nikon also has VR lenses to mitigate handholding camera shake to some extent.

[mirekti]

I wondered what were the negative points of implementing image stabilization on the sensor?

To me it sounds reasonable if by any chance Leica goes out with 36MP sensor in future.

[indergaard]

I think the range of 18-24 Mp is just right for a high quality reportage type camera.

As far as I am concerned Leica could easily drop down to 18 MP again to realise more dynamic range, less noise and smoother transitions.

They probably won't, if only for marketing reasons.

 

Agreed. If Leica were to launch a separate M with a sensor like the one in the Sony A7S I would run out and buy it in a heartbeat. That sensor is the most versatile product within the realm of photography that I've experienced in a long time. It would have been the perfect match with an M camera!

[Jon Warwick]

The smooth shutter (no need for a mirror lock-up) and decently heavy body do combine to facilitate sharpness of files from the M240 when handheld even with the highish MP of 24MP. Given those factors, i would be curious to see how well those benefits could allow a higher MP (say 36mp) sensor for handheld reportage - with the obvious benefit of owning a higher resolution sensor for more "critical" work if it was on a tripod, which would be better for landscapes etc.

Edited December 2, 2014 by Jon Warwick

[jmahto]

I wonder how much IBIS helps in handheld shot for high megapixel camera?

[indergaard]

I wonder how much IBIS helps in handheld shot for high megapixel camera?

 

Oh I assume it can help a whole lot, if you photograph static subjects that don't move. IBIS won't help with movement. And the higher the MP of a sensor, the higher the shutter speed to freeze movement with proper focus.

 

And forget about zone focusing with a 36MP sensor. The results will be terrible even at f/8.

[tom0511]

I agree that 24MP is also sufficient for my needs, however I can not confirm the problem of the S2/S. I try to use 1/250 or shorter with the S whenever possible and use it quite a bit and while occasionally there can come up some problems with shake but most often I get very sharp images. I use the S not because of 37 MP but for other reasons.

[01af]

I compared the Leica S to the Leica M with equivalent lenses: Summarit-S 70 mm vs Apo-Summicron-M 50 mm Asph and Super-Elmar-S 24 mm Asph vs Super-Elmar-M 21 mm Asph. Result: As expected, the S does outperform the M. But: The S outperforms the M by a surprisingly small margin.

 

I am very happy with my Leica M and M lenses.

[Jeff S]

As expected, the S does outperform the M.

 

In what specific respects?

 

Jeff

[AB007]

Congratulations! My M doesn't get much use since I love using my M9. I bought the M to use my R lenses not because it has 24MP.

 

I'll admit that I use a D800E, A7R and also enjoy using my S2. However, I still shoot with my Nikon D3S and D300 as well which are 12MP:cool:

[Jennifer]

I have the 36MP Sony A7R (which sits around unloved and unused since I got my M240) and I find it quite demanding to use hand held.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[jaapv]

People tend to forget that the jump from 24 to 36 MP is not that dramatic,

The S image may be 7500 pixels wide, but the M is 6000...

Edited December 3, 2014 by jaapv