Move to Medium format digital Leica s2, Pentax 645D or the new Fuji. Advice needed.

[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

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I would reiterate that the S is not necessarily a tripod bound camera. yes, a tripod can enhance certain technical aspects and brings a bit more rigor to your composition and is very helpful in low light etc but I have gone all over the world with my S handheld probably 80% of the time...

Albert     

 

+1 Albert.

When I'm shooting models its all hand held

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[mikeodial]

The S is a step up on the D810. The S2 (and 006) isn't. The S2 has around 12 stops of DR and poor high ISO performance. D810 is almost 14 stops and the type 007 is almost 15 stops.

 

The Pentax 645D has around 13.5 stops of Dr and the 645Z has just over 15.

 

All the MF options have superior tonality and transitions at base ISO, even if the DR is less.

 

The S has the best selection of near perfect lenses. No bad choices. Pentax has some but choose carefully. The new ones are all great. The 120 macro and 200mm are great. The older zooms and other older lenses need to be stopped down. I have the 28-45, 45-85, 80-160, 55, 75, 120, 150 and 200mm. they're all very good but only the 28-45, 120, and 75 are great from wide open. The rest need to be at 5.6 or f8 to be great. OTOH I can shoot the Leicas at f2.5 all day with no hesitation, except the zoom which is better a stop or two down.

 

For reference I have an S2, 007, P645Z in mini MF. My reference 35mm camera is an A7R2. For landscapes I usually take the Pentax. For everything else and general shooting the S cameras. Smaller formats when I have to although the A7r2 functions mostly as a backup to my SL.

 

Gordon

Thank you Gordon. Very helpful. I am worried I might be making a marginal transition to the S2 from Zeiss/D810. I love the look of my X-Vario and just would love to move up the chain with Leica. 

[mgrayson3]

The notion that there is a linear scale of cameras (or systems) from bad to good is extremely misleading. What I like and what you like may be at the opposite ends of each other's spectra. Specifications and abilities don't mean anything if you hate using a system. If you love a decent system, you will get superlative results from it. Small annoyances can become big. Big problems can be worked around or ignored. You really must try each for the way you shoot.

 

Every time I pick up a Hassy ( 500, H-series, X1D ) or Phase (DF+, XF) , I want to put it down immediately. When I picked up the S, it stuck to my hand like glue. 

 

Systems I love: Leica S, Leica Q, Canon 1-series.

Systems I hate: Leica M, Sony A7*, Canon everything else.

Systems I'm not sure about yet: Leica SL, Mamiya 7, Graflex Super Graphic.

 

Does that information help you at all? If I went into detail about why I feel that way, it would tell you very little. 

 

Try them. It will become obvious very quickly what you want. Enjoy!

 

--Matt

[R3D-D0T]

Typ 007 (not S2 or earlier) might be better in IQ than Zeiss/D810 (and way better handling), but the AF motor issues and sensor corrosion put a huge dent on reliability. You have to decide whether it's worth taking that risk.

 

I heard great things about Pentax and Fuji, but if you shoot with strobes, you cannot shoot past 1/125th sec. They have bigger sensors than the S cameras, though.

[2wk]

^ Just wanted to add that there are two older leaf shutter lenses for the Pentax 645 system that work with strobes on the 645z. There are also a few 3rd party strobe manufactures that offer High Speed Sync for the 645z.

 

Make sure you try the Pentax out. It is a great system.

[menos I M6]

As cool as the Pentax bodies are and also older H system cameras, one of the very big advantages of the Leica S system is it's simplistic, smooth and very compact body design.

 

It really feels like a slightly larger 35mm DSLR camera body and handles as such.

There is no button and function clutter and no awkward hand positions or user interfaces spread all over the place.

 

It is one camera body that really shows that some very clever people have spent many years refining this simplified user interface.

 

One word to the old S bodies vs the latest one: I always found the true shutter speed dial on the S2 and 006 one of its major assets, making it superior in ease of use and extremely quick to work with.

Unfortunately Leica has changed this interface design and omitted the fixed shutter speed dial in favor of a multi purpose dial.

 

This may something you want to try out first before committing the cash into a body.

 

Btw, the Nikon body battery live is pretty amazing as you know. The Leica S battery life is even AMAZING-ER as you will find, considering its much larger sensor. You can go on and on with a single battery.

With one battery and a spare and the worlds best battery charger (the dual charger Leica sells separately) you will find not much you would need more.

[tom0511]

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I would like to mention that-IMO- the comparison between the S (or another MF camera) and the Nikon is not only resolution and DR. It is also about color, and it is about the transition between the focused subject and the background. IMO visibly smoother with larger sensors.