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S2 Demo at PMA


dfarkas

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I just did a little search of my name on google and found this site - I'm not entirely Steve Unsworth likes me?

 

Anyway,I'm slightly flattered that I'm still remembered after all these years......

 

Phil,

See post #89 in this thread, someone thinks that I am you. :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

David,

I hope Leica will read this incredible detailed look by Joseph Holmes on how to get sharp pictures with medium format. I got led to this from the luminous landscape, but here it is directly:

 

Joseph Holmes - News: Medium Format Methods for Sharpness

 

Some learning: Leica's decision to not have interchangeable backs seems smart and will probably improve sharpness, as Homes found focus variation in Phase One backs vs the body. Since Leica clearly plans for the S2 to be a rental, a body plus sensor will avoid mismatches that Homes found troublesome with current back plus body offerings.

This is not to imply that Homes says anything about Leica or the advantages of a sensor built into the body. It is my conclusion not his.

 

He explains and I quote. "here is how I would immediately test a new medium-format SLR camera with a digital back, as soon as I got it, on the presumption that it might need to be returned."

 

On the presumption that it might need to be returned catches my attention! Leica needs to avoid that.

 

I hope Leica reads this report and learns well how difficult their task will be. If they get it right, they will make inroads in the medium format field.

 

Incidently Joseph Holmes is a terrific landscape/nature photogrpher.

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Since Leica clearly plans for the S2 to be a rental, a body plus sensor will avoid mismatches that Homes found troublesome with current back plus body offerings.

 

I think this is an interesting point. Additionally, having a removable back would not necessarily be a useful feature in a rental camera. Someone can simply rent a technical camera and a back if that is what they need.

 

That is quite an interesting and very detailed read.

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David,

I hope Leica will read this incredible detailed look by Joseph Holmes on how to get sharp pictures with medium format. I got led to this from the luminous landscape, but here it is directly:

 

Joseph Holmes - News: Medium Format Methods for Sharpness

 

Some learning: Leica's decision to not have interchangeable backs seems smart and will probably improve sharpness, as Homes found focus variation in Phase One backs vs the body. Since Leica clearly plans for the S2 to be a rental, a body plus sensor will avoid mismatches that Homes found troublesome with current back plus body offerings.

This is not to imply that Homes says anything about Leica or the advantages of a sensor built into the body. It is my conclusion not his.

 

He explains and I quote. "here is how I would immediately test a new medium-format SLR camera with a digital back, as soon as I got it, on the presumption that it might need to be returned."

 

On the presumption that it might need to be returned catches my attention! Leica needs to avoid that.

 

I hope Leica reads this report and learns well how difficult their task will be. If they get it right, they will make inroads in the medium format field.

 

Incidently Joseph Holmes is a terrific landscape/nature photogrpher.

 

Thanks for the link, Jack.

I expect the Leica S glass will set a far higher bar than the Mamiya lenses tested in this article, especially with regard to tolerances and design. The at-the-factory micro fine tuning of AF encoded into each S lens will also solve some of the issues faced here.

 

And, yes, I agree that having a tighter tolerance fully integrated, modern digital solution will certainly go a long way towards getting the most out of a 37.5MP sensor.

 

David

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Focus precision seems to be a really difficult task in high resolution digital cameras. All the AF development is one of the key areas in the S2 design and manufacture.

 

It is going to turn out that AF is a more precise way to focus than manual focusing. I have been shooting tethered for years and when I look at the image on the monitor at 100% I often have to do a focus adjustment - especially to get my depth of field exact. Because we have the tools to easily look at the images so carefully, we're much more critical than we used to be.

 

Now I use the 10x magnification in live view very often. It is too bad that MF backs don't have this feature. But at least you can shoot, review, and adjust if necessary.

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Not sure I would trust "live view" for critical focus as it is not the "taking" sensor, so I don't think it is needed.

 

For many cameras, it is the "taking" sensor so LiveView with x10 loupe is now the preferred way of focusing for people who need maximum precision.

But implementing it with the kind of CCD used in MF seems quite problematic or even technically impossible.

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Not sure I would trust "live view" for critical focus as it is not the "taking" sensor, so I don't think it is needed.

 

Hi, Jack. I wondered what you based this comment on. So far as I know, only ONE "live view" camera (the Olympus E-330) does NOT always use the "taking" sensor to produce its live view image - and even the E-330 had two live-view modes, one using the "taking" sensor, and one using a separate sensor in the viewfinder.

 

The E-330 is long discontinued, and every other camera I know of that has live view uses the taking sensor to achieve it.

 

BTW - Luminous-Landscape has a "thoughts on the Leica S2" blog post up now from MR.

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