price of the new S2

[AlanG]

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The Mamiya has a special where they also give you a free 50 or a 150 for the $14,995

 

Hasselblad has a special where the 31 megapixel camera and lens is only $14,995. $12,995 for the body only. And you can buy used Hasselblad lenses for it. They also make a 39 megapixel version not a 37. But who knows how aggressively they'd be willing to price that when the time comes? Plus they have a 50 megapixel model.

 

You could buy the 31 for 15 grand and then pop on the 50 megapixel back some time later. Or rent it if you need it.

 

In a few months, all of these prices will probably seem high to us.

[R10dreamer]

Hassy 37 Mpixel camera + lens: $22,000 today (B&H)

 

Mamiya DL Leaf Aptus 28Mpixel + lens (I guess): $14,999

 

Leica S2 37.5 Mpixels. If Dr. Kaufmann can attain his "hoped for" 15,000 euros for the body + 2000 Euros for the most basic lens (we'll assume it's the 70mm), that works out to around $23,000.

 

I'd call that pretty competitive - head to head.

 

Now factor in a) form factor and shooting speed, for which one has to own a top-end "35mm" DSLR system (say, $15,000 minimum) in addition to the Hassy/Mamiya and whatever "something" Leica lenses may bring to the table that Fujinons and Sekors don't deliver (which I'll leave for others to debate) - and I'd say the S2 will be a bargain at anything under $25,000 for camera + 1 lens.

 

Realistically, I'd guess Leica will charge a "Leica" premium - Euros 18,995.00 for the body and E2,500 for the basic lens - with maybe a small "kit" discount - or around $28,000. Still less than a Hassy of the same pixel count plus a 1Ds (or D3x) body.

 

 

The first line is the most important line. Hassy has that camera available TODAY. Leica doesn't have any camera available and they have notoriously been the caboose in the digital camera world. By the time they bring out "their" version of digital the digital technology has already passed them by. If they don't come out with their camera until September that is 5 months from now. Five months in this digital world is an awfully long time for their competition to meet and match them and a typically much less expensive price.

 

Innovation and technical superiority is the fuel that fires this digital camera age. Camera's now have built in obsolescence. They are no longer a 5-7 year purchase. The rules in this market have changed from even 5 years ago. Play by the old rules and life can be very very unforgiving. See Rollei, Contax, Polaroid, Kodak, etc.

 

http://www.garydwhalen.com

[leicanewbie]

To adan's point, yes Leica has taken a long time to get the S2 and R10 to market.

 

But in this case I think the delay will play to their advantage. Imagine if they had rolled out the S2 in

October 2008, with the production costs, marketing budget expense, etc. They would not have sold even

one copy I bet, on account of the nervousness of the economy.

 

So if they introduce it in late fall ... or even by the end of the year, then they are actually getting the

benefit of the stabilization in the economy and they get to see their larger competitors bleed more cash

as they try to realign their business to the new realities.

[georg]

@AlanG

I'm sorry for my English, some statements seem to be easily missunderstood ;-)

"Perfection" is of course an illusion but Leicas approach is different than the mass-producers - they chose certain production technologies, materials that aren't chosen by others because they're difficult to handle and expensive.

A "Professional" is of course everybody who makes money from his work and not necessarily a very demanding user. Press-photographers for example don't need very high IQ. But I simply wanted to make clear that this is not a discussion about the mass-market of millions of plastic-cameras.

 

The R8 was entirely different than other "professional" SLRs, high-end-models of Nikon/Canon were fast press-cameras while the R8 was a niche camera for highest-quality 35mm-photography (in a shooting style that was mostly using medium/large format - print, landscape...) but customers measured the "professionality" of a 35mm-SLR already by FPS and AF-sensors because this was the race Nikon and Canon started a decade before. So while it was the perfect tool for a niche of professionals (just a few hundred thousand?) even they didn't realize it.

 

To make something clear: Leica hardly made ever the best press-cameras on the market and never aimed it, the M met their demands to a certain extend (but it was over-engineered) but already the Leicaflex was designed for a different kind of customers and never tried to be a Nikon F.

The failures in engineering were made later with the R3-R7, compromising quality, using Minolta-parts... but this was just a desperate try to gain amateurs.

 

I hope the Leica S2 will be understood even if it is an unusual concept and 35mm-photographers don't just expect and speed of their N/Cs or medium-format-photographers are disappointed because of it's lack of modularity - just because they're used to it and not because their style of shooting fits the concept.

[egibaud]

Hi steve;the French provincial dealer address is

 

MURO Photographie & Galerie SARL

CENTRE CONSEIL LEICA diplômé - EXCLUSIF LEICA -

 

Summilux - Centres Conseil Leica - MURO Photographie & Galerie SARL

 

I can tell you this is not a wind up, and also the Muro family have strong links with Leica; Take a look at their web site

 

david

 

I have bought my second M8, an Elmarit 28 and a Noctilux from Muro... beleive me his information is always spot on or he just does not say anything.

 

Eric