Let's have a look at some DNG files from the S3

[Chaemono]

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Less compressed JPEGs here: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-JkgxSt/

S3 + 70 Summarit-S DNG download here: https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g99309190-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=4vXsPr79-2vQyQWH8fVtO7RV0LkDW_qX3YCC8IO3qCE=

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ISO 200 f/4 @1/2000 sec. 

S3 + 70 Summarit-S DNG download here: https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g424175568-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=oswcGwYNTqDBPApe1Twh11kqbUSWg_ZwCFQTfNHP8cM=ISO 200 f/4 @1/2000 sec.

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[onasj]

Chaemono, thank you for all of your sample photos and thoughts on various Leica products.  Could you please post some ISO 12,500, 25,000 and 50,000 photos from the S3, including 100% crops?  I'm interested in seeing how the S3 performs at high ISO values.

Many thanks for your help!

[djmay]

2 hours ago, onasj said:

Chaemono, thank you for all of your sample photos and thoughts on various Leica products.  Could you please post some ISO 12,500, 25,000 and 50,000 photos from the S3, including 100% crops?  I'm interested in seeing how the S3 performs at high ISO values.

Many thanks for your help!

Example ISO 12,500 100%

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[Chaemono]

Am 14.7.2020 um 17:09 schrieb onasj:

Chaemono, thank you for all of your sample photos and thoughts on various Leica products.  Could you please post some ISO 12,500, 25,000 and 50,000 photos from the S3, including 100% crops?  I'm interested in seeing how the S3 performs at high ISO values.

Many thanks for your help!

I haven’t been out shooting much and lately not at all. I’ll try to do them at some point.

[John Smith]

A Leica S3 is available for purchase on the Leica Online Store (USA). 

[jhulton]

Quote

Leica S3, S120mm ISO 12500 F13  180/sec  STRAIGHT out of the camera!

 

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[Chaemono]

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Am 14.7.2020 um 17:09 schrieb onasj:

Chaemono, thank you for all of your sample photos and thoughts on various Leica products.  Could you please post some ISO 12,500, 25,000 and 50,000 photos from the S3, including 100% crops?  I'm interested in seeing how the S3 performs at high ISO values.

Many thanks for your help!

As promised, but only up to ISO 12500. I wouldn't use ISO 25000 nor ISO 50000 on the S3. The pushed files show color banding. 

I include a link to less compressed JPEGs in the next post where one can zoom in and the download of the ISO 6400 file here. The ISO 12500 file can be made to look pretty bad and I'm not including it, therefore. I like to ETTR in order to keep shot noise down. 

S3 + 70 Summarit ISO 12500 as shot

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 ISO 12500 f/4 @1/2000 sec.

 S3 + 70 Summarit ISO 6400 as shot. DNG download here: https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g881364836-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=98wtLBJpG7W5cMRfGG6yvn6j9vx1lmC37z7WVc8z6A4=ISO 6400 f/4 @1/1000 sec.

[Chaemono]

Now the processed files.

Less compressed JPEGs here: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-JkgxSt/

Edit - NR +40 and Sharpening +50 applied to both in LR.

ISO 125000 processed to taste

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ISO 6400 processed to taste

Edited August 1, 2020 by Chaemono

[Chaemono]

Stand up Paddling

Less compressed JPEG here: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-JkgxSt/

S3 + 70 Summarit processed in LR and in Topaz DeNoise AI. DNG download here:https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g765728702-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=Ap0VE5t3GPFGM4x27_K-f3dUZAssMW888w65iC5fZdU=

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ISO 200 f/4 @1/1500 sec.

[Manzur Fahim]

Hello everyone,

Hope you are well. I'm new to this forum and this is my first post.

Does anyone have any DNG portrait samples that they can share? I am mostly a portrait shooter and would like to try out some DNG portraits taken with S3. I'm mostly interested in the 100mm F2 and the 120mm F2.5 samples.

Thank you very much in advance.

Have a great day.

[Craggs 101]

On 3/22/2020 at 10:56 PM, decurion99 said:

I think it is not to be seen negatively and I do not know the full conversation: All I was told is that it was stated that the vast majority of S customers are not professionals, but well-off enthusiasts. Clearly that then changes the marketing strategy. It is just a statement of fact that most working photographers, the vast majority of them, are not Leica customers, but Canon and Fuji and Sony and Nikon customers. The value proposition is totally different. The build quality is exemplary. The optics are among the best. But there's a reason they can get away with selling a technologically less advanced body for 18k USD, while a Fuji, chock full of technology costs half. Essentially they are the Hermes of the photography world. You wouldn't buy that Kelly bag to travel Asia, but to show it off in a nice café or at work. 

The Leica stores are in Kensington in London and you see a totally different clientele there than in a large photo store for professionals. For working photographers spending 2k on a 85mm lens is a real investment, while this doesn't even get you a 1/3rd of a 100 Summicron in S-land. Photography itself has been commoditised nowadays anyhow. Chances are you shoot that pretty landscape shot (like in Iceland) with five senior "enthusiasts" beside you all with a P150 back and an Alpa and everyone thinks he is the next big photographer just because he has the cash to buy the gear. Look at P1 - they have this marketing campaign now targeted at pensioners wanting to follow their passion because this is where the money is nowadays. The S never had a breakthrough with pros. Price point, lower resolution, Lightroom vs. C1, no support network, Pro Format instead of 4:3, AF motor issues, slow updates, etc. 

Look at the leaked S marketing materials - their target customers are SL and M customers they want to upsell to. Eg the lawyer wanting to "up" his "game", but not the Canon shooter getting squeezed on the billing side by corporate clients because there's always that eager student wanting to do it for free or for half. Lots of nice wife, car, dog, kid pics, but not Vogue photoshoots (that's then Hassy / P1). Not judging, but just a fact.

Also the fact that there's 0 marketing for the S3 IMHO says all. And that they didn't change pricing: They want to milk the die-hard Leica customers insensitive to price ... like your local Leica dealer telling you that the S3 is in stock, that you can come by ... etc.

And technology is marching on. Although the SL with APO lenses is great, Canon produced some amazing glass with their new larger R mount and the possibilities resulting from mirrorless bodies. The new 50 1.2 and 85 1.2 a extremely sharp and APO; it can well be that the new R5 will significantly supersede the SL in usability and quality with 20 FPS including AF eye tracking - as even with Maestro 3 the SL autofocus is significantly slower than what Canon now introduced with the 1DX MKIII in live view mode.

But Leica was never the best pro camera, but more the most loved camera. It is the sheer joy of holding a substantial quality product in your hands that IMHO defines their proposition and this is also that feeling of joy when you grab that aluminium SL body and bring it along for a stroll with the family. It is just an exceedingly nice product, a thing Leica is very good at, albeit not in a most technologically advanced way.  

In the case of the S I just think the body pricing should have been more like 10k, but we will see how this works out for them ...

I don't know why so many people get bent out of shape about middle-aged, amatuer, men buying Leica and only use it to photograph family, friends and holidays. (Not saying this to you decision 99; just adding it this to this element of the conversation in this thread.) 

Sure, you could get a camera for a lot less and still take awesome photos. But also no-one needs a $20k Harley Davidson for weekends, or a boat for two weeks in the summer, or a jetski, or a cabin in the woods, or a 4x4 that never leaves the road, etc etc. None of them would be the product of a rational value for money calculation. But it's our money, and if we don't have to pay a mortgage or our kid's college tuition anymore we can spend it on what we like and enjoy. 

[Chaemono]

We are all looking for more DR or exposure latitude, or both. 😂

[mgrayson3]

4 hours ago, Craggs 101 said:

I don't know why so many people get bent out of shape about middle-aged, amatuer, men buying Leica and only use it to photograph family, friends and holidays. (Not saying this to you decision 99; just adding it this to this element of the conversation in this thread.) 

Sure, you could get a camera for a lot less and still take awesome photos. But also no-one needs a $20k Harley Davidson for weekends, or a boat for two weeks in the summer, or a jetski, or a cabin in the woods, or a 4x4 that never leaves the road, etc etc. None of them would be the product of a rational value for money calculation. But it's our money, and if we don't have to pay a mortgage or our kid's college tuition anymore we can spend it on what we like and enjoy. 

Remember the Internet Translation Rules:

Company X needs to make Camera Y to survive --> I want Company X to make Camera Y

Camera X is used by amateurs, Camera Y by pros --> I just bought camera Y and can't afford Camera X

Only Hipster Poseurs use Camera X --> I can't afford camera X

Camera X will never sell at that price  --> I can't afford Camera X

Company X is going to crush Company Y --> I own a camera made by Company X

Pros don't do Y, they do X --> I do X

Here's a list of internet rules --> I'm a pompous know-it-all who ... Hey! How did this one get in here?

 

[CharlesL]

On 9/15/2020 at 1:14 PM, Chaemono said:

Stand up Paddling ...

Thank you for these DNG samples. I ran this one through Silkypix and Picture Window Pro, with noise reduction off in both. Here is a full-size JPG, 100 MB.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50413204656_d8a6372f16_o_d.jpg

 

[Googaliser]

I just spent a very enjoyable hour reviewing this thread - thank you to everyone who contributed. I have owned the S system since launch - upgrading with each new iteration - but also experimenting with the other offerings out there (usually a short-lived honeymoon period). The S3 did give me pause for thought, though - and not just because of the cost. I decided to pull the trigger though and expect delivery next Friday. Look forward to contributing my findings for those who are interested. 

[GiorgioNuvolari]

Thank you all for a great thread, and interesting discussions! I am in the middle of decision making process to determine which way to go on an S3 paired with a 100... @Googaliser, please do share your perspective once you have the camera. Thank you all!

[mgrayson3]

I did end up trading in the 007 for an S3. I actually have no desire for a different camera. I lived with an X1D for a year. Nope. GFX100 for a year. Nope. Back to S. Yay! I don't care much about 100% view. I don't care much about noise at ISO6400. Neither is relevant to the final image, especially if printed - even quite large. If a Phase One XT, IQ4150, and three lenses fell in my lap, I'd probably use them. But they wouldn't replace the S3.

Matt

Dinner outside through plexiglass. S3, 24mm@f/6.8 (user error - should have been wide open) ISO 6400.

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Edited April 15, 2021 by mgrayson3

[tom0511]

Matt,

how would you describe differences between S007 and S3 in your experience?

Do you see color differences?

Is your AF accurate?

Anything else (I know MP of course)

Tom

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[mgrayson3]

46 minutes ago, tom0511 said:

Matt,

how would you describe differences between S007 and S3 in your experience?

Do you see color differences?

Is your AF accurate?

Anything else (I know MP of course)

Tom

Tom,

I almost always convert to B&W, which is odd, as I love the color from the S. Color, by which we really mean supplied converter profiles, is not noticeably different from the 007. While I always thought the 006 had something special, I was unable to show that when I owned both 006 and 007, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Its AF has never failed me. I have never gone to magnified live view, something I did on every GFX100 shot (I hated the EVF. In fact, I removed it. AF was very good on the Fuji, but the resolution was so high that I always wanted to check.). Of course, mis-focus is more visible with more pixels. Mind you, I almost always use the 24mm, which is very forgiving on focus, having a huge DoF.  In one shot made with the 120 of nearby objects, I did a hand-held 2-shot focus stack (focus on one point, recenter on other point, shoot-AF-shoot.) That worked perfectly. Focus points were vase and front clasp on the box. Well, it caught the edge of the vase and not its front, but it doesn't hurt the image.

I've had three S models. With the 006, importing each image was like opening a present. That excitement has faded over the years, but not, I think, due to changes in the bodies. I'm just used to extremely pleasing results. I certainly have no desire to go back from the S3 to an earlier model. Oh, ISO 6400 is better on the S3. I topped off auto ISO at 3200 on the 007.

Matt

 

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Edited April 16, 2021 by mgrayson3

[chrismuc]

On 9/16/2020 at 4:14 AM, Chaemono said:

Stand up Paddling

Less compressed JPEG here: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-JkgxSt/

S3 + 70 Summarit processed in LR and in Topaz DeNoise AI. DNG download here:https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g765728702-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=Ap0VE5t3GPFGM4x27_K-f3dUZAssMW888w65iC5fZdU=

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ISO 200 f/4 @1/1500 sec.

thx for sharing

it seems that the S 70 has quite a field curverture

in the center the focus is from the boats up to the house

at left and right it's much towards the front (boats)

it even seems that the dof in the center is much larger than outside center

can you compare with other samples?