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Digital Reflex S2 - please post all thoughts here...

JohnG

By JohnG
in Leica S System

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dkCambridgeshire

dkCambridgeshire

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There is an S1 at ebay.

Only 200 ever made.

So far no takers for this one, so could be had for pennies.

 

Scan High Spee Digital Camera Leica S1 Alpha Set - eBay (item 350099042286 end time Sep-23-08 02:40:09 PDT)

 

Has been offered on ebay before and did not sell ... I thought it was incomplete because it does not have an interface box but on checking only the Hi-Speed version uses the interface box http://www.fotomoto.de/reprobit/S1_Productinformation.pdf TTBOMK Silverfast still offer software support but only for for Windows XP .

 

Cheers

 

dunk

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luigi bertolotti

luigi bertolotti

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Without seeing a spec sheet, a thorough review and sample pictures, I certainly won't pass judgment on it pro or con. Quite an achievement for Leica and/or whomever built it with them. The camera is set to be released next summer. It is hard to predict what else will be in the market at that point. There is a lot of established competition in the MF segment of the marketplace, which is pretty small too. So we will have to see if the usability and performance of the camera is appealing enough to make up for the lack of a removable back.

 

From looking at the posted photos, it is hard for me to picture how one could efficiently control this camera using so few knobs and buttons. But I don't know what features it has so it is hard to say what needs to be controlled. (Assuming standard functions such as, various metering patterns, ISO, bracketing, AF/MF, exposure overide, etc.)

 

I have a few observations of the MF manufacturers that may indicate that consolidation is happening:

 

Kodak and Dalsa make MF sensors

Kodak used to make MF backs.

Kodak bought Leaf a couple of years ago but Leaf still uses Dalsa chips.

Hasselblad and Imacon merged and had Fuji make them a closed digital MF camera.

 

Rollei, Sinar, and Leaf teamed up to make a fairly open camera system that uses existing Rollei lenses and various digital backs. The Rollei lenses and the Leaf backs (Sinar too?) can also be used on the Linhof Techno and probably on other cameras via the Rollei electronic lens adapter and controller. So this is a fairly open system.

 

Phase One is rebadging Mamiya cameras and lenses with its Phase One backs. (Hartblei lenses too.)

 

Phase One has a deal with Microsoft.

Mamiya has its own digital backs and cameras.

Jenoptik, the parent company of Sinar, has a deal with Leica.

 

Leica gets sensors from Kodak and processsors from Fujitsu. Who knows where they get AF technology and design and construction help if needed. I have no idea how much of this Leica can do on its own. But since Hassy/Imacon turned to Fuji, I wonder how Leica had the resources to design and manufacture the camera and an entirely new line of 9 AF medium format lenses from scratch. Heck, Leica never even made a TS lens for the R, relying on Schneider for PC lenses. Yet suddently they have what looks like a great design for a 30mm TSE (24mm equiv on 24x36 format.) Could it be that they have Asian or German partners to help keep this "somewhat" affordable? (Just pure speculation on my part.)

 

Well it says on David Farkas' blog that, "The S2 was developed 100% in-house. Leica is very proud of this. The hardware engineering to the optics to the firmware was all done in Germany."

 

Leica now has a sales/marketing and support deal with Phase One.

 

Isn't this kind of curious?

 

Interesting analisys, Alan... indeed, while the DSLR "35mm" market is already rather stabilized on players, the DMF is still into a complicated consolidation phase... probably Leica is trying to capitalize on this fact... isn't still clear, today, which are the definitive survivers/winners/trendseters ... why Leica couldn't be one of them, after all ?

The real issue/bet is HOW big this market shall be in the future, in term of volumes and revenue flow it moves: I haven't figures, but seems to me that at film times, after the pro SLR boom of '65-'75, Nikon-driven. the MF market found its stability... will it be so even in the digital era ? Boh ....

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JHAG

JHAG

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That's quite a funny thing to say, because one of the first things I noticed was how much of its design it owes to the R9. You have looked at it, right?

 

Of course, it's funny : the S2 body makes it the big brother of the R9, and the R10 will be its sibling.

In any case, I'd love to have something in my work that justifies such a purchase…

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JHAG

JHAG

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The M8 didn't look promising to many, but ergonomically it was superb.

 

Frankly, I don't know any Leica camera which is not. Regarding ergonomy, the S2 seems to reach full mark — as the R9 and every M I know. Bauhaus/form/function and no frills — Leica's forte. German forte, in fact.

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tom0511

tom0511

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Question:

Do those who use MF want a camera which feels like a Canon 1DsIII or Nikon D3 or do they enjoy the difference of form factor when using MF, including flexibility like using weist level finder etc,?

 

I have been tempted to add a MF-camera to my M8 and my Nikon D3 and now I ask myself this question.

 

Probably there are both types of photographers. Some who enjoy the more traditional MF cameras like a Hassy or Synar, and some who might prefer the S2-idea (IMO the phase645 with the integrated viewfinder goes in the same direction).

Thanks for any feedback,

Tom

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Rolo

Rolo

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Dr Kaufman is now saying that the S2 body is likely to be in the €10-15,000 price area and the lenses will not be tooooo expensive. That is very promising.

 

Perhaps, many here don't appreciate the investment that many professionals and some committed amateurs have invested heavily in equipment. I run three sets of kit: M, Canon 1D and Hasselblad (x3) with film and digital back, plus a number of free standing cameras.

 

Any single system that can reduce that lot down to one outfit and maintain the image quality at the highest level would be a fairly big cost and space saver. Lens hoods, filters, software ...... all reduced for efficiency.

 

So, whilst in no way can I afford to ADD an S2 to my existing kit bag, if it will REPLACE everything else that I own, I'll have the funds to buy it and if it's €10,000, I might take two. :)

 

Rolo

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rick_dykstra

rick_dykstra

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I bet my R glass fits, as well ;)

Here's hoping, ...

 

but what's the considered view on this? I remember raising the issue of using R glass on medium format bodies at a Leica PR event and was told by those that knew that it wouldn't work - all to do with image circles and such like.

 

Could R glass work on the S2?

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dkCambridgeshire

dkCambridgeshire

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Here's hoping, ...

 

but what's the considered view on this? I remember raising the issue of using R glass on medium format bodies at a Leica PR event and was told by those that knew that it wouldn't work - all to do with image circles and such like.

 

Could R glass work on the S2?

 

Maybe ... after all Nikon full frame DSLRs mask down the format when using DX lenses ... would this possible for R lenses on the S2 ... to a 36mm² square format? What is the lens flange to image plane distance on the S2?

 

Cheers

 

dunk

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graham_mitchell

graham_mitchell

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The Contax 645 is a film camera. The Leica S2 is a digital camera and you will not find a medium format lens designed for digital use that is faster. This camera is not designed for toy lenses or old film offspring, but as we should assume for professional lenses. Check out the latest Rodenstick and Schneider designs to see what kind of f stops are possible for medium format backs/cameras.

 

Sorry but this is not true, there is a Hasselblad 100m f2.2, for example. It's also irrelevant whether a lens was designed for digital use. That fact is that it's possible to make faster leaf shutter lenses, even for larger formats than the S2. Examples: Rollei 110mm f2, Rollei 80mm f2.

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Guest guy_mancuso

Guest guy_mancuso

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Leica sent this to me this morning. Did not check to see if this Press Release was posted but i am sure that photo is not. Anyway thought I would share it

 

 

Press Release

 

 

 

Unexpected but inevitable. The brilliant new Leica S2 digital SLR.

LEICA S2 – Remarkable new camera from Germany redefines the professional DSLR class with a custom 37.5-megapixel, 30 x 45 mm sensor built into a 35mm-sized body.

 

Some companies tweak the features. At Leica, we transform the concept. That’s why the introduction of the flagship Leica S2 is not merely an incremental advance. It is nothing less than a watershed event that sets an entirely new performance standard for professional digital SLRS. With a custom 37.5-megapixel, 30 x 45 mm sensor that is 56% larger than full frame, it establishes parameters of imaging excellence that are well beyond those obtainable by conventional pro-caliber DSLRs. In the Leica tradition, it utilizes the classic 3:2 aspect ratio that corresponds to the human field of vision and is widely acclaimed as the “Leica Format.”

 

In designing this brilliant new camera, Leica’s engineers took a close look at the best existing DSLR designs and then synergized them into a radical but practical new camera that combines the performance parameters of a medium-format digital camera with the ergonomics, form factor, and handling ease of a 35mm SLR. The result is the new Leica S2, an entirely new, finely crafted, professional tool developed in-house by Leica with hands-on input from some of the most renowned professional photographers in the world. It incorporates an advanced new dual shutter system with in-body focal-plane shutter for fast lenses, and in-lens leaf shutters for high flash sync speeds, an ultra-high-precision autofocusing system, a new series of lenses designed for the highest possible performance with the new sensor, and a Maestro image processing system that provides twice the speed of comparable medium-format backs, reduces power consumption, and provides in-camera JPEG capability. Remarkably, all of this has been incorporated into a camera that is smaller than a full-size professional 35mm SLR, and still has the unmistakable look and feel of a Leica.

 

Like Leica cameras of the past, we designed the new Leica S2 from the inside out, and its robust styling is a classic example of form following function. We began with a cutting-edge, large-format CCD sensor and literally configured the camera around it rather than adapting existing technologies. In this way we achieved a new level of performance without sacrificing size or convenience. Yes the S2 Leica is our latest masterpiece, an unequivocal statement to the world that showcases our technological prowess. But it is more than just a technological tour de force. It is a statement of Leica’s continuing pre-eminence in the world of imaging that goes back nearly 100 years. Perhaps that is why our top executives in Germany have compared the announcement of the Leica S2 to the debut of the first Leica, the legendary model A in 1925. That seminal camera did nothing less than redefine 35mm photography in the 20th century and we believe that the Leica S2 may well do the same for DSLR photography in the 21st.

 

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Guest guy_mancuso

Guest guy_mancuso

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Am I the only one who really laughed hard on the "CS" switch?

 

Nothing to laugh at really. That maybe the switch for Compur shutter which is the use of the leaf shutter lenses. Very important for many MF shooters with the need for high sync speeds

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