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New Leica S3 camera review

djmay

By djmay
in Leica S System

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Milan_S

Milan_S

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Thank you for the review @djmay

I was also fortunate to beta test the S3, but had no time for a real review.

Here a photo with the S3 and the Elmarit-S 45mm f2.8 CS

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djmay

djmay

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13 minutes ago, peterv said:

Great review, Jesse.
Really nice write-up and interesting photography, everything I expected and hoped seems to come through in the S3, 12,500 looks amazing too.

Thank you. Leica did a very nice job on this camera.

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Jeff S

Jeff S

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Jesse, a lot was said at Photokina 2018 about a new color array and, in particular, an improved red channel.  Your results (on small screen) seem superb, but I haven't seen this improvement aspect mentioned as part of the marketing for the release.  I might have missed it.  Do you know the specifics, or why it isn't highlighted in the early marketing?

Jeff

 

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djmay

djmay

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3 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

Jesse, a lot was said at Photokina 2018 about a new color array and, in particular, an improved red channel.  Your results (on small screen) seem superb, but I haven't seen this improvement aspect mentioned as part of the marketing for the release.  I might have missed it.  Do you know the specifics, or why it isn't highlighted in the early marketing?

Jeff

 

I do not know the specifics. Actually, I do not care too much; I am interested in the results, which are superb.

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Jeff S

Jeff S

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1 minute ago, djmay said:

I do not know the specifics. Actually, I do not care too much; I am interested in the results, which are superb.

The S007 results were also superb, as you've said many times.  Are you seeing improved color, specifically reds?

Jeff

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djmay

djmay

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36 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

The S007 results were also superb, as you've said many times.  Are you seeing improved color, specifically reds?

Jeff

Reds are very good. I purposely included examples with red in the review.

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Jeff S

Jeff S

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10 minutes ago, djmay said:

Reds are very good. I purposely included examples with red in the review.; 

Screen shots don't tell me much, but you've tested, made prints using both generations, so I was curious about any difference.  One of the very few complaints written here about S007 IQ quality pertained to red/skin tones.  I'm sure we'll hear from those who had issue, assuming they test the S3.  Like you, I'm more of a b/w guy, but won't be buying the S3 (price); just curious about the system and its evolution/direction. Your b/w tonality and texture (snow, etc) make me envious...I'm sure the prints look fabulous. Thanks for sharing.

Jeff

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djmay

djmay

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2 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

Screen shots don't tell me much, but you've tested, made prints using both generations, so I was curious about any difference.  One of the very few complaints written here about S007 IQ quality pertained to red/skin tones.  I'm sure we'll hear from those who had issue, assuming they test the S3.  Like you, I'm more of a b/w guy, but won't be buying the S3 (price); just curious about the system and its evolution/direction. Your b/w tonality and texture (snow, etc) make me envious...I'm sure the prints look fabulous. Thanks for sharing.

Jeff

You are welcome.

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Stuart Richardson

Stuart Richardson

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Looking forward to trying one as soon as is practical! I was also interested to hear that you used it for film scanning, as I might be interested in doing that as well. Like you I am a 4x5 shooter and have a Hasselblad scanner for film. But for 4x5 it stops at 2000dpi...still very good, but does not get everything out of the film. Did you find that the S3 extracted more detail, or was it primarily that it has a better dynamic range?

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djmay

djmay

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18 minutes ago, Stuart Richardson said:

Looking forward to trying one as soon as is practical! I was also interested to hear that you used it for film scanning, as I might be interested in doing that as well. Like you I am a 4x5 shooter and have a Hasselblad scanner for film. But for 4x5 it stops at 2000dpi...still very good, but does not get everything out of the film. Did you find that the S3 extracted more detail, or was it primarily that it has a better dynamic range?

I do not own a Hasselblad scanner and I have no direct comparisons of a single negative. I made the comparisons between prints. I doubt that anyone could see a difference between the test digitized prints and the darkroom prints from the same negative.

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djmay

djmay

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3 minutes ago, davidmknoble said:

Thanks @djmay for the review.  Images look stunning and was particularly impressed with the negative reproduction as I long worry that my Nikon Coolscan will eventually die and it has been a tremendous mid range scanner compared to the drum scanners.

You are welcome.

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Jeff S

Jeff S

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20 minutes ago, Jan1985 said:

The images of David are the best seen so far of the new S3... Great light and really shows the quality.

Jesse’s pics serve well for me, including b/w, as far as online viewing. Thanks again, Jesse. I rely on my own pics, editing workflow and prints to determine IQ. But it’s good to see and read about impressions from respected sources.

Jeff

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Milan_S

Milan_S

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Another one this time with the Summarit-S 70mm f2.5 CS

 

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