Leica S006 sensor corrosion question

[Tirpitz666]

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So far quite liking the color signature and the rendering, reminds me A LOT of my DMR, only with more rez and dynamic range (and more shallow DoF to play with of course). Having a reliable AF and the dot indicator for MF (along with that gigantic viewfinder) is quite a boon to not screw up focus, which with the DMR is the order or the day (and with its acutance you notice immediately every slight focus error).

As I only have the 70 F2.5 for the time being, I'm experimenting with some adapted lenses with pretty good results: the Hasselblad HC 35 F3.5, even if it's not considered a super solid lens, it's actually pretty good if you stop it down to 5.6 (and definitely not terrible in most of the frame also wide open, as it was made to cover a much larger sensor), while HC 210 F4 looks to be a very strong performer even from wide open to me, with a pretty nice bokeh too. Both work flawlessly with the adapter and AF is very precise.

Also the Mamiya 200 F2.8 APO looks to be a winner on the camera, of course being a MF lens, focus has to be spot on when shot wide open. 

Edited December 1, 2024 by Tirpitz666

[chrismuc]

I also owned the DMR with a R8, long time ago. At that time I wasn't overly satisfied with Kodak colors (and the crop), especially the kind of pink tint skin tones, created by the 6.8um 27mm x 18mm KAF-10500 Kodak CCD used in the DMR and the M8. I more favoured cameras / backs with Dalsa CCD sensors. My mind changed with Kodak's upgrade of the basically same 6.8um sensor to 36mm x 24mm and its usage in the M9 (KAF-18500). That sensor generation also came in larger flavours as KAF-31600 (44mm x 33mm) and as KAF-39000 (49mm x 37mm) in PhaseOne, Hasselblad and Sinar digital backs. 

The next CCD generation with 6um pixel pitch was the last CCD sensor Kodak released. As KAF-37000 it was used in 45mm x 30mm in the Leica S2, S-E and S006, as KAF-40000 in 44mm x 33mm in the Pentax 645D and in a PhaseOne back and as KAF-50100 in 49mm x 37mm Hasselblad backs. 

In my eye the color scheme of the S with CCD sensor is unique and very pleasing and with 37.5 MP resolution also usable for large scale prints. And it comes in a reasonable package size (compared to 645 AF options like Hasselblad H or Contax or Pentax 645 D) and with a very mostly sufficiently precise auto focus. That makes it a highly enjoyable system, also in 2024 (or soon 2025).

The Mamiya 645 200f2.8 Apo lens is excellent. I converted one to use on my Contax 645. It is very sharp edge to edge with minor aberrations and resolves higher that the Contax 645 210f4 lens (on a 5.2um IQ180 back). It would be interesting to compare it to the Leica S 180f3.5 Apo.

The Leica L adapters to Contax 645 and Hasselblad H are AF, unfortunately the version to Mamiya 645 isn't. Otherwise the Mamiya 645 300f4.5 Apo also would be an interesting lens to use on the Leica S.

[HuntingSand]

vor 5 Stunden schrieb chrismuc:

 

The Leica L adapters to Contax 645 and Hasselblad H are AF, unfortunately the version to Mamiya 645 isn't. Otherwise the Mamiya 645 300f4.5 Apo also would be an interesting lens to use on the Leica S.

I highly recommend the L -S adapted Contax 645 lenses on the S006. The Zeiss glass and coatings do not fight the CCD sensor (Zeiss optics often appear overly contrasty in my experience) but instead they form a wonderful, warm tone sort of unit. The 55mm f3.5 is a wonderful walkabout lens on the S, and it’ll save you tons of money since you don’t need to buy that tasty looking Q3 43, the focal length is about the same. 

[Tirpitz666]

I had the Mamiya 300 F4.5 APO but sold it right before getting the S, it's an excellent lens, sharp already wide open, I took some pretty good shots with my Fuji GFX 100s with it and it had no issues in resolving all those MPs. The problem is that it's an electronic lens, so the aperture cannot be set at anything than wide open, either on the Fuji or the S with the "dumb" adapter, also MF at that FL was quite fiddly to nail. Therefore I decided to part with it and keep the 200  F2.8 APO that has a proper aperture ring and a better focus ring since is a MF lens. Another two that I'll try on the S as soon as I have the time are the Mamiya 80 F1.9 and the 45 F2.8.

The Contax 645 adapter is indeed quite enticing, as well as the glass, but it's still quite expensive and apparently nowhere to be found used, while I managed to find a couple of good deals for the H and Mamiya 645 ones.

 

Talking about sensors, it's actually funny how subjective things (luckily) are in photography: I found the skin tones of my DMR very likeable, while I always found the Dalsa colors usually too yellow and "vintage-y" for general purpose shooting, while I found the colors coming out of my P45+ (guess it was a Kodak KAF-39000) too pinkish right off the bat. The S 006 sits somehow in the middle, much more similar to the DMR to my eyes, but with a slightly "modern" look to it, and is rapidly becoming my favourite of all 🙂

Edited December 3, 2024 by Tirpitz666

[BernardC]

6 hours ago, Tirpitz666 said:

Therefore I decided to part with it and keep the 200  F2.8 APO that has a proper aperture ring and a better focus ring since is a MF lens. Another two that I'll try on the S as soon as I have the time are the Mamiya 80 F1.9 and the 45 F2.8.

I don't have the 45, but I have the other two. The 80 serves a purpose, but it is inferior to the S 70 in almost every way. Most of the time the half stop isn't worth it, given that the 70 is so much sharper and has better separation.

The 200 Apo is interesting. It is one of the few legacy medium format lenses that is sharp and contrasty enough to hold its own against S lenses, but it renders backgrounds in a very harsh way. I would trade it in an instant for an S 180, if not for the fact that I occasionally need a good 400, which the 200 provides with the matched tele-converter. Come to think of it, I should get rid of it now, while S lenses are still undervalued.

[Tirpitz666]

I would agree that the 80 F1.9 is just a "special effect lens" and that most of the time I prefer to shoot it at F2.8 anyway since the (much) added sharpness increases the separation perception vs shooting wide open. And as you say, if you have the 70 F2.5, it's just a divertissement.

I also agree that the 200 F2.8 APO bokeh at mid to long distances gets pretty harsh, the Mamya 300 F4.5 was definitely better in that regard, although the 200 is a bit sharper and contrastier, for landscaping it's a winner, even because is pretty light and compact.

[ZHNL]

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Contax 80f2 bokeh is very different than s70. The spheric aberration make the image glow, the shorter distance, the more glow and it is just plain beautiful. 
To my eye, this one offer a unique bokeh that none of my other lenses have, no matter are classic or modern design. I also had lengendary Hasselblad 110 but prefer C80 bokeh. It is not the amount of blur but the look of the blur, especially at closer distance. 

now days, if people ask me my favorite bokeh, C80 is top on my list. Shooting with S on crop body are both good and bad. Bad is with limited the coverage, on S reduce equivalent speed(in term of FF DOF) to f1.6 instead of f1.2. Good thing is because generous coverage, the corner rendering is very calm in a good way, and also easy to stitch image wide open without much artifact due to corner coverage. ( though S glass in general have great coverage too)

contax 45mm is not as unique but size is much smaller with AF and it is way better than Mamiya 45 I had. I have both c45 and S45 and find myself take C45 most of time due to size. 45 and 80 pair nicely without pain to carry S45 and S100. The look is just different enough to keep both setup. S is really for fun and classic look for me and keep contax 645 make lot of sense to me for S system. 

[shedboatshed]

5 hours ago, ZHNL said:

Contax 80f2 bokeh is very different than s70. The spheric aberration make the image glow, the shorter distance, the more glow and it is just plain beautiful. 
To my eye, this one offer a unique bokeh that none of my other lenses have, no matter are classic or modern design. I also had lengendary Hasselblad 110 but prefer C80 bokeh. It is not the amount of blur but the look of the blur, especially at closer distance. 

now days, if people ask me my favorite bokeh, C80 is top on my list. Shooting with S on crop body are both good and bad. Bad is with limited the coverage, on S reduce equivalent speed(in term of FF DOF) to f1.6 instead of f1.2. Good thing is because generous coverage, the corner rendering is very calm in a good way, and also easy to stitch image wide open without much artifact due to corner coverage. ( though S glass in general have great coverage too)

contax 45mm is not as unique but size is much smaller with AF and it is way better than Mamiya 45 I had. I have both c45 and S45 and find myself take C45 most of time due to size. 45 and 80 pair nicely without pain to carry S45 and S100. The look is just different enough to keep both setup. S is really for fun and classic look for me and keep contax 645 make lot of sense to me for S system. 

Do you have samples of the Contax 45mm on S? I am still looking for a 45mm lens and have not considered adapting.

[ZHNL]

1 hour ago, shedboatshed said:

Do you have samples of the Contax 45mm on S? I am still looking for a 45mm lens and have not considered adapting.

If you haven't read this, you can take a look  https://alikgriffin.com/kipon-baveyes-contax-645-gfx-af-0-8x-adapter-review/

He seems really like C45mm but not so much on C80. I am a big fan of C80 (the magic happen at close distance, half body portraits or any subjects around that reproduction ratio). I like C45mm mostly because its size and neutral rendering and don't think S45 can replace it even its optics is not as good as 45S.    

I am at work and can find you samples later. 

[Pieter12]

Shouldn't this be its own thread...we've strayed way off-topic.

[chrismuc]

Just an update. I received my S006 from Leica Service Wetzlar. Service time one week, as announced, excellent. They did sensor re-mapping, sensor cleaning, AF fine-adjustment and eye cap exchange. Total EUR 210 + VAT, very reasonable.

Result: Camera works fine, the two vertical stripes are gone, AF is pretty precise and stable, so far all very good. 

(Two initial set backs: 1. They forgot to return my SD cards with a test file ... they are still looking for it. 2. Directly after I received the repaired camera, added a card and a battery, switched it ON, it showed a weird information on the back screen with the title of a file like 1234.jpg, but not the image itself, the top screen showed a certain status, all buttons dead, no function at all, ... and that status with the rear screen showing a strange information and the top color screen showing a certain status even stayed ON after turning the camera OFF! Has anybody experienced such thing with a S camera? After removing and re-inserting the battery, the camera suddenly worked fine. I hope it stays like that.)