Best set-up for Leica S3 outside the studio

[Chris Akin]

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I've been using the typical film shooter approach with the S3: manual ISO, preferably at 100, aperture priority, and careful not to shoot below 1/125. When it gets dark, increase the ISO, and so on. However, I'm thinking the folowing setup would be better: use Auto ISO in P mode with a minimum ISO of 400 (to keep noise at bay) and a maximum exposure of 1/125. If I see the x in the viewfinder, I know the current settings are outside the range of what I've chosen as my preferred limits. The great advantage of this setup is that I can still toggle the aperture according to what I want, and the camera will automatically adjust the ISO and shutter speed for me. Is this a good approach for using the S3 outside a studio setting?

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[Pieter12]

My observation is the S3 delivers relatively noise-free images at much higher ISOs than 400. I think you can reasonable go to 800 or 1200 with little loss in quality. Personally, I don't mind some high-ISO noise, it reminds me of film. A lot depends on your expectations. If you intend to make giant prints or just pixel-peep, keep to the lowest ISO and use a tripod.

I assume you meant minimum shutter speed of 1/125, reasonable for hand-held exposures with normal or wide-angle lenses. But the weight of the S3 and S lenses really begs for a tripod, like any medium-format film camera. With 60MP, camera shake becomes apparent more than you would expect.

[Stuart Richardson]

Honestly, I would keep the ISO as low as possible at all times. Even if you don't see it in the grain, raising ISO lowers processing flexibility, color depth and signal to noise ratio. The S3 is a dual ISO camera, however (at least in my experience). So I would say keep it at ISO 100, or at 400/640, while avoiding ISO 160, 200, 320 etc. I cannot remember the exact steps, but I found that very ugly shadow noise on pushing would be easily visible at ISO 100, but it would actually improve at ISO 400 or so, before eventually getting bad again as the ISO was raised. It was also my experience that the S3 had a lot more latitude in the highlights than the shadows (was the first digital camera that I used that was biased this direction). Obviously, don't go blowing the highlights, but definitely give it as generous an exposure as possible. It is not a camera that likes to be pushed, at least mine wasn't. I also agree with using a rather high shutter speed if you can, unless you are using a tripod. Even then, the S mirror and shutter can cause vibrations that diminish sharpness at speeds like 1/4-1/60th even with the mirror pre-released. I found my best results with very short shutter speeds, or speeds longer than 2 or 3 seconds. I definitely think that the camera is at its best on a tripod, or shot in bright light at shutter speeds 1/250th and faster. It is a lot more finicky in this way than, for example, M or SL cameras. More finicky even than cameras like the Mamiya 7II. It is closer to its big SLR cousins like the Hasselblads, Rollei 6000 series and RB/RZ cameras that need more vibration/stability management. It is better damped than most of those, however.

[PhotoCruiser]

I don't have S3, but a SL2 and Q2 and the principle of low light shooting applies to all cameras, on some more what may be the case of the S3.
I do quite a lot of night shots if i find a suitable location, a city with neon lights after a rain is a great location and i mostly shoot by hand.

All hints above are valid, however i don't see the ISO Noise nowadays not a big problem as it can be corrected very well with the Lightroom Denoise tool.
Also, raising exposure a bit will help with noise in shadows, but may blow out the lights, but it depends on the scenery.

If there are no moving objects you can use longer exposure time and use a tripod what gives usually the best results without later denoise,
but depending on the scenery thats not always possible. In this case use timer function to have the mirror up for a few seconds, switch off stabilization and use a stable tripod, adding a bag of weight helps greatly to keep a tripod more stable.
A good, stable tripod for night is expensive and heavy what makes it uncomfortable to haul around but better than the most ultralight tripods for hiking.

I suggest you to go out to a known location at night and try the hints you got here in series of photos so see what works best.

Chris

Edited April 28 by PhotoCruiser

[Slender]

On 4/27/2025 at 10:09 PM, Stuart Richardson said:

Honestly, I would keep the ISO as low as possible at all times. Even if you don't see it in the grain, raising ISO lowers processing flexibility, color depth and signal to noise ratio. The S3 is a dual ISO camera, however (at least in my experience). So I would say keep it at ISO 100, or at 400/640, while avoiding ISO 160, 200, 320 etc. I cannot remember the exact steps, but I found that very ugly shadow noise on pushing would be easily visible at ISO 100, but it would actually improve at ISO 400 or so, before eventually getting bad again as the ISO was raised. It was also my experience that the S3 had a lot more latitude in the highlights than the shadows (was the first digital camera that I used that was biased this direction). Obviously, don't go blowing the highlights, but definitely give it as generous an exposure as possible. It is not a camera that likes to be pushed, at least mine wasn't. I also agree with using a rather high shutter speed if you can, unless you are using a tripod. Even then, the S mirror and shutter can cause vibrations that diminish sharpness at speeds like 1/4-1/60th even with the mirror pre-released. I found my best results with very short shutter speeds, or speeds longer than 2 or 3 seconds. I definitely think that the camera is at its best on a tripod, or shot in bright light at shutter speeds 1/250th and faster. It is a lot more finicky in this way than, for example, M or SL cameras. More finicky even than cameras like the Mamiya 7II. It is closer to its big SLR cousins like the Hasselblads, Rollei 6000 series and RB/RZ cameras that need more vibration/stability management. It is better damped than most of those, however.

Sounds almost as if the S007 was more flexible than S3….🫠

[Stuart Richardson]

Yes, I think it is. It's almost as if Leica didn't really sort it out as well as it should have because they were just swapping the sensor in a last gasp cash grab/goodbye gift to expectant users before they discontinued the system. But the vibration issues were present in all generations, just more visible on 64mp. I think Leica did a good job damping the mirror, but getting a big mirror and shutter like that to be completely vibration free is seemingly an insurmountable task. Yet another advantage for mirrorless. It is a shame that just using an EVF solves so many problems, because it certainly can be nicer to use an OVF.

Edited April 29 by Stuart Richardson

[dritz]

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13 hours ago, Slender said:

Sounds almost as if the S007 was more flexible than S3….🫠

Is the S3 really dual ISO?  I asked my AI friend, and here is a link to its response:

--------------------

Ah, the Leica S3 — that’s an interesting case. Let’s look at it carefully:

 

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Leica S3 Overview

 

• Sensor: 64-megapixel medium format CMOS sensor (30 × 45mm).

• ISO Range: Native ISO 100–50,000.

• Design: Traditional single amplification path — not a dual ISO sensor.

 

Important:

The Leica S3 does not have a dual native ISO system.

It uses a single native ISO, most likely centered around ISO 100 (or close to it), and simply applies digital gain for higher ISOs.

 

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So What Are the Implications for the Leica S3?

 

Because it does not have dual ISO:

 

• You get maximum image quality at the base ISO (ISO 100).

• As you increase ISO, you gradually lose dynamic range and accumulate noise — just like classic DSLR and medium format cameras.

• The S3 is very “clean” up to ISO 800–1600 (compared to older MF sensors), but after that noise builds predictably.

 

In short: old-school rules apply.

You don’t have the luxury of “jumping” to a second native ISO for clean high-ISO performance like with a dual-ISO system.

 

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Strategies for Maximizing Quality with the Leica S3

 

Here’s how you’d approach it:

Strategy	Explanation
Shoot at ISO 100 whenever possible	The sensor is optimized for this base ISO: best detail, best DR, lowest noise.
Expose to the right (ETTR)	Especially important in medium format to avoid noisy shadows. Push histogram right without clipping highlights.
Use fast lenses or add light when needed	Instead of increasing ISO, favor faster lenses (wider apertures) or bring more light to keep ISO low.
Accept moderate ISO increases carefully	ISO 200–400 is very safe. ISO 800–1600 is usable, but beyond that you start trading off dynamic range notably.
Print and crop carefully	High resolution (64 MP) lets you crop aggressively — but only if noise levels stay low (hence, manage ISO and exposure).
Post-process noise reduction subtly	Light noise reduction can work well at ISO 800+, but preserve detail — heavy NR will destroy the fine medium format texture.
Bracket exposures in tricky lighting	Especially for high-contrast scenes: medium format is about tonality and subtlety — bracket and blend if necessary.

ISO Behavior - Leica S3
----------------------------------------
ISO 100  |  Maximum DR, minimum noise
ISO 200  |  Almost no loss
ISO 400  |  Slight loss
ISO 800  |  Moderate loss, some noise creeping in
ISO 1600 |  Noise more apparent, DR shrinks
ISO 3200+|  Use only when absolutely necessary

-------------------

It's funny, I never really felt constrained shooting Ektachrome 200.  MF slides are so juicy to project! Now, I need an excellent ISO3200. What's wrong with me?

[Stef63]

Ahh, AI tools are champions at one thing: confidently presenting insights based on statistical analysis of written data—whether or not the original content was accurate. I’m not dismissing everything AI produces, but I do keep salt handy.

Similarly, at 7:05, you’ll hear David Farkas mention that the S3 sensor uses a dual gain design.

And for the record : I asked my AI friend a similar question and very confidently it stated the S3 has a dual gain ISO sensor.  It even indicated it learned this from… a post on this forum.  🤨 🧂

Edited April 29 by Stef63

[Stuart Richardson]

I would appreciate not being gaslit by an algorithm based on unverified stolen information. Can't we keep that shit out of this forum? It is one of the last places on the internet that is usable.

[Jeff S]

On 4/29/2025 at 4:22 PM, Stef63 said:

Similarly, at 7:05, you’ll hear David Farkas mention that the S3 sensor uses a dual gain design.

And he put it in writing…

https://www.reddotforum.com/content/2020/03/leica-s3-64mp-medium-format-camera-now-shipping/