Anyone still buying into/investing in the S system at this point?

[HuntingSand]

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I have two S bodies and 5 S lenses, and am thinking of adding one more S lens (either the 35mm wide or the 180mm long). It's a buyer's market now, prices are low, and Leica stores would rather not sit on old S inventory when there are signs that a new S system is in the works. Just wondering if there are people here that are building out their inventory for a system that by now has to be classified as discontinued.

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[ropo54]

I'd buy lenses at good prices now.  

I'm thinking that values may stabilize (and perhaps rise from today's market values) once the new S system is out along with an adapter. (But just an uninformed guess).

I do think they are bargains for the SL system, too, if one can find an adapter.

Edited July 27, 2024 by ropo54

[Stuart Richardson]

No, I am not. I have most of my lenses still, but no S body currently. I have not sold the lenses because of the very low value on the market, and assuming that they will be useful on a new S, even if it has its own new lenses. Surely getting several quickly will be a extremely expensive endeavor, so I am happy I have the older ones around. But for people without S lenses looking to invest in a potential S4, I would advise them to wait until it is on the market. The lenses may increase in price a bit, but I imagine there will also be an entire new line of lenses that suit the new body better. Moreover, Leica talked for a long time about an R10...it never happened. They may be fully behind an S4 and have it in the hands of testers etc, but until I can go into a store and buy it along with its lenses, I am not taking any chances. Businesses go where they think the money is, and if they don't think they can make enough from an S system relaunch, they just won't do it.

[HuntingSand]

vor einer Stunde schrieb ropo54:

I'd buy lenses at good prices now.  

I'm thinking that values may stabilize (and perhaps rise from today's market values) once the new S system is out along with an adapter. (But just an uninformed guess).

I do think they are bargains for the SL system, too, if one can find an adapter.

Thanks for your input. Just anecdotally, I've seen 645 Zeiss-Contax lenses rising in price once it became clear that they performed really well on the Leica S cameras (w/o the pesky AF motor fails that afflicted Leica's native S lenses). The 80mm Planar and the 55mm Sonnar come to mind. I have no experience putting my S lenses on an SL body.

[HuntingSand]

vor einer Stunde schrieb Stuart Richardson:

No, I am not. I have most of my lenses still, but no S body currently. I have not sold the lenses because of the very low value on the market, and assuming that they will be useful on a new S, even if it has its own new lenses. Surely getting several quickly will be a extremely expensive endeavor, so I am happy I have the older ones around. But for people without S lenses looking to invest in a potential S4, I would advise them to wait until it is on the market. The lenses may increase in price a bit, but I imagine there will also be an entire new line of lenses that suit the new body better. Moreover, Leica talked for a long time about an R10...it never happened. They may be fully behind an S4 and have it in the hands of testers etc, but until I can go into a store and buy it along with its lenses, I am not taking any chances. Businesses go where they think the money is, and if they don't think they can make enough from an S system relaunch, they just won't do it.

It won't be a small investment, this new system, I know that much. Good thinking re having the older lenses around while evaluating cost and performance of the newer ones. They pretty much decided to pull thru with the S4, so the development won't end like the non-R10.

[Pieter12]

55 minutes ago, HuntingSand said:

Thanks for your input. Just anecdotally, I've seen 645 Zeiss-Contax lenses rising in price once it became clear that they performed really well on the Leica S cameras (w/o the pesky AF motor fails that afflicted Leica's native S lenses). The 80mm Planar and the 55mm Sonnar come to mind. I have no experience putting my S lenses on an SL body.

My biggest problem with most of the S lenses is weight. And when you add the weight of an adapter to Contax lenses, they are probably in the same ballpark. Although I do use  a Hasselblad eater and it works just fine, I am always leery that it is just one more item on the camera that could fail. Still, I might grab a 45S or 100S if one with a new AF motor showed up at a decent price.

[ropo54]

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51 minutes ago, HuntingSand said:

Thanks for your input. Just anecdotally, I've seen 645 Zeiss-Contax lenses rising in price once it became clear that they performed really well on the Leica S cameras (w/o the pesky AF motor fails that afflicted Leica's native S lenses). The 80mm Planar and the 55mm Sonnar come to mind. I have no experience putting my S lenses on an SL body.

Just recently, I've seen the S 75 for under $1000;  the S45 for $1600.  

They focus more slowly than SL lenses as one might expect, but their character remains.  FWIW, one also can have the benefits of image stabilization, eye focus, and toggle switch focus on the SL.  

[HuntingSand]

vor 6 Stunden schrieb Pieter12:

My biggest problem with most of the S lenses is weight. And when you add the weight of an adapter to Contax lenses, they are probably in the same ballpark. Although I do use  a Hasselblad eater and it works just fine, I am always leery that it is just one more item on the camera that could fail. Still, I might grab a 45S or 100S if one with a new AF motor showed up at a decent price.

I hear you re weight. That's why I've stayed away from the 45mm lens, for example. The Contax lenses PLUS adapter are by volume smaller than the equivalent Leica lenses, though. Comparing my 80mm Planar with the Leica 70mm Summarit, there's quite a difference (the adapter doesn't add much to that impression). That 100mm is a tasty piece of glass, but really rare in the wild.

[HuntingSand]

vor 6 Stunden schrieb ropo54:

Just recently, I've seen the S 75 for under $1000;  the S45 for $1600.  

They focus more slowly than SL lenses as one might expect, but their character remains.  FWIW, one also can have the benefits of image stabilization, eye focus, and toggle switch focus on the SL.  

Thanks for pointing out the advantages for putting S glass on SL bodies. Re the prices you quote, that's as low as I've ever heard. Especially the 45 going for under $2000 is pretty much unheard of. Strange market, this...

[ImmerDraussen]

I bought a 24mm and 180mm since it was clear that the S bodies are discontinued.

• There will be no new body with an optical viewfinder which I prefer for landscape.
• If I need IBIS or more autofocus points, I adapt the lenses to a SL body
• There is currently no macro for the SL and the 120mm is great
• The 180mm extends the Apo range for the SL nicely
• There is no 24mm Apo Summicron for the SL and due to Peter Karbes comments, it will not come
• I‘m optimistic that there will be a new S in future, as Mr. Kaufmann recently confirmed this again an interview. If not, nothing is worth than today.

[jhulton]

I have a nice S35mm for sale @ $1200 if you are interested. Boston based, USA ship incl

Jeff Hulton

 

[Einst_Stein]

I bought S3, planed to use C645 lenses. But soon I added s70 and s3090. S70 is more suitable than c80  for me as the standard lens, S3090 provides wider view than my c4590.  The weather seal and IQ rendering is extra bonus.

I am counting on my wife to stop me buying more!

[ynp]

I am waiting for my repaired S120 from Germany and we are looking for a second S120 , the cs version. I bought a demo S70 cs in December and the third battery. 

[Einst_Stein]

Leica S accesories are inscreasing prices. Second hand AC adapter increased 10% in the last month.  Some adapters/cables are doubling. Not a good sign. 

[HuntingSand]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb ynp:

I am waiting for my repaired S120 from Germany and we are looking for a second S120 , the cs version. I bought a demo S70 cs in December and the third battery. 

Good point about stocking up on batteries. I recently acquired two additional ones. Do we know how long Leica will repair S lenses going forward? Probably anyone's guess at this point...

[Stuart Richardson]

15 hours ago, HuntingSand said:

Good point about stocking up on batteries. I recently acquired two additional ones. Do we know how long Leica will repair S lenses going forward? Probably anyone's guess at this point...

I think probably for a long time yet. Usually with Leica it is a matter of parts, rather than them just decided they are not going to do it anymore. The cameras are more difficult because the sensors and other associated parts are discontinued more rapidly. I am sure that given their challenges with the motors, they have secured a large supply of focus motor gears. In any case, I could be wrong, but I don't think maintaining the lenses is likely to be a major issue for awhile yet. Lenses typically don't have a lot of problems, especially weather sealed, internal focus lenses. Other than the problematic gear, I don't think the S lenses are likely to have many problems.

[Nick Guttridge]

I just bought an AC adapter for the Leica S system. Had it sent over from Germany. Hopefully this will ensure that when the batteries eventually die I will still be able to use the camera. I mostly use it in the studio so for me this is a good option anyway. 

The only thing which annoys me about this camera is the oil flicking off the mechanism. Not sure if my 007 S2 is just over lubricated! 

I have the SL2 S also, and use the S adapter. The S lenses work beautifully on the SL2. Just wish the adapter had a switch on it like the fuji adapter does for hassleblad lenses, to allow the use if CS shutters. 

[da_eltsch]

Well, I have just bought myself a beautiful kit of Leica S007 plus 35, 70 and 120 in mint condition with quite some accessories for reasonable money.
I know what I am getting after having owned S2 and S007 for some years. Image quality wise it is going to be top notch and the operation is going to be slower than recent cams.

But I was longing for the handling, the viewfinder and reduced interface ever since I had sold my previous set to finance some other stuff. So, happy to have it back 

 

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[HuntingSand]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb da_eltsch:

Well, I have just bought myself a beautiful kit of Leica S007 plus 35, 70 and 120 in mint condition with quite some accessories for reasonable money.
I know what I am getting after having owned S2 and S007 for some years. Image quality wise it is going to be top notch and the operation is going to be slower than recent cams.

But I was longing for the handling, the viewfinder and reduced interface ever since I had sold my previous set to finance some other stuff. So, happy to have it back 

 

That's a very nice setup. Welcome back. Please share some images when you get around to it.

[davidmknoble]

I have used several S lenses (my first) for over 6 years without a hitch of any kind, and in all kinds of weather - sandy coast, 40mph winds the morning after a hurricane and freezing rain (iceland).  The lenses are large and were the first to have such large initial apertures, so the glass is heavy.  Although, on a side note, my tripod has never complained.

I still shoot the s3 and s007 and slowly acquired all the lenses, and except for the 70CS, they were all used with new focus motors and fresh CLA’s from Wetzlar when I purchased them.  I decided last month to get 3 CS lenses, 2 of which have come back from Germany (you can tell when a lens won’t focus, but its hard to tell if the internal shutter is operating properly).  Both were simple CLAs at no charge.

I don’t have the lenses to invest, I have them to use and shoot.

I’m likely a little bit of a loner here, but I love to shoot the R lenses as well.  While they are not all the sharpest (like the 28 Elmarit v1) they just spit out really nice color.  The SL is well suited to those lenses and because they are manual, tough as nails.

THis is a lot like the real estate market - it is a buyers market, not a sellers.