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Well, I finally got a response on my lens (my local dealer works via a distributor in another country, so it took much longer than normal to get this organized…I will be sending it direct from now on), and Leica said that there was something wrong with it, and they were replacing it. So we'll see. I will get the replacement by Wednesday, I hope.
Even though this had a problem, I am continuously impressed with Leica's responses. There is no skirting an issue — if you have a problem, they do their best to address it and do right by you. I would expect nothing less at this price, but it is still reassuring to know that they excel at this. I have had my share of problems with Leica gear (though I have also had a large number of different models and lenses over the years!), but I cannot think of a single instance where Leica did not go out of their way to help solve the issue. That is also the main reason I felt ok to buy the S2…I knew that Leica would back it up, no matter what. I have not had that experience with certain other manufacturers, even of very expensive gear.Lovely colors! Well, I am still not entirely sure what's up. I have been busy recently, so I did not get around to talking to Leica about it until last week. They saw the sample images and said they would like me to send back the lens so they could check it out. That's the stage I am at now. So still up in the air! I hope it is something easily correctable.
Thanks for looking. I have a feeling that this is an issue with my lens, or my body (though I don't really see it in other lenses…or haven't noticed it).
Bandwidth be damned, here is an example. Am I crazy, or is this really weird? It was shot at f/4.8 and 1/250th. Handheld, but the same issue appears in other shots taken on a tripod or a great or lesser degree.
Bravo! I agree in that I am extremely happy with the S2. That said, I think there is always room for improvement.
One of my only pet peeves with the camera is the 4 button interface. Is it a vestigial remain of the early cooperation with Phase One? Whatever it is, even after a year of use I still do not get on with it. The interface in the M9 is only slightly less “clean”, but it is SO much quicker and more intuitive. And the scrolling on the S2 is really poorly implemented. A simple scroll wheel and four button interface like on the M9 works so much better than the S2, which is like plotting a graph on some ancient machine (First you need to find the exact place on the X axis, then the Y axis etc). Even after a year of using it, I still will hit the wrong button and have to start over again. I don't think this is because I am technologically challenged, I think it is because the ergonomics of the interface were crippled by a desire to keep the layout as simple as possible. Keeping it simple is nice in principle, but they went too far.
The programmable buttons (where you hold down a button and it brings up a menu of your choice) are very useful, and the only saving grace of the current interface. Even so, it can be hard to remember exactly which button was ISO and which AF behavior in a stressful or quick shooting situation. I have kept mine in the same positions for the year I have had the S2, but since there are no labels, it is still easy to bring up the wrong menu when you are scrambling to get a picture. Leica has always been really good about designing seamless interfaces that just allow the photographer to do their work, and I think the pinnacle of this is the M9, while the S2 really went off the rails on that front.
At least the interface only comes into play if you need to change a setting. When it comes to the actual act of photographing, the S2 is perfect to shoot — the shutter release is great, the aperture is great (thought I would love to be able to change the direction of the wheel), and the combination of the shutter dial and clicking to change shooting modes works very well.
On the technical side of things, I am sure they can improve the high ISO, add resolution, make it faster etc. All of these things are already good enough for me, and would probably not compel me to upgrade. If they fixed the interface, however, I might be tempted (if it was not 20,000 to upgrade!)
Iceandfire;2684 wrote: Nothing, S2 is perfect like this…I don't have need of another things…
Simply camera, no gadgets, just pure Lens…Any specifics? I am sure they update little things, but I don't always upgrade firmware that quickly unless there is a clear advantage. I guess I am taking a “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” attitude. For example, the last time I did a Mac OSX update, it destroyed my computer…luckily I had a backup.
I would never have thought about this…thanks for the suggestion! I have not updated to the latest firmware yet. I am not using the H adapter, and it did not seem like there was anything else in there to make it worth upgrading…I will probably just wait until there is a more significant update.
Gérard — I am glad the advice worked for you! I have not used Capture One in a long time, but when I did use it, I never got along too well with it. It did have nice results, but I did not really like the workflow. I am quite glad Leica chose to work with Adobe, because like David says, they have a much larger resource of people, money and talent for development of the software. For example, the new lightroom has a great implementation for soft-proofing and printing, it's sharpening and RAW conversion algorithms are top notch, and the file management and sorting system is very sophisticated. No program is perfect, but Lightroom is probably the best end to end solution for image management currently made, and to have the S2 natively supported in it is a great advantage. It might not be the best choice for everyone, but I think the time spent learning Lightroom is really worth it. My work is primarily printing exhibitions for other photographers and artists, and I am using Lightroom to work on almost all the files…even from film scans. I now only go to photoshop for sophisticated masking or layer work or for heavy spotting/image restoration.
While I have not seen that kind of color fringing from the S lenses, I would say that if you go into the manual corrections area and select “defringe” and then “all edges”, it should help with that. If that does not work, then doing a local selection on that area and desaturating it should work fairly well.
Hi Cira,
When did you last update CS5? In my version, all the Leica S profiles are there…in Lightroom 4, they have also added many M lenses… I think the profiles are ready, you might just have to download them specifically and add them. I don't believe I did this, so it might just be a matter of checking for updates and installing them that way. Hope this helps!
StuartClick on the filter menu, then on Lens Correction. That will open up a dialog box and a preview. On the right under auto correction, there should be a list of camera manufacturers and lens models, if it does not automatically detect it from Exif.
You might need CS5, I am not sure…You should talk to Andrea Frankl at Leica Solms, and probably forward all correspondance you have had with the dealer to her (after speaking with her, of course). Leica will take care of you. I deal mostly with them directly, as I am in a country without an experience S line dealer. They are easy and helpful to deal with. Their reputation rides on how the dealers represent them, and if the dealer is responding with things like “What do you want me to do about it?”, that is totally off the radar for what an S-line dealer is supposed to be like! That said, I doubt they are an S-line dealer if they are acting like that…they probably obtained the camera through a distributor or another source and sold it on to you.
The good news is that the line in your sensor is usually not difficult to fix, and Eric Chan wrote a program that should take care of any images already affected (it is posted on this forum somewhere…).
Agreed about the S-league…when I saw that it was only for commercial photography I lost interest. We are bombarded with these sorts of images on a daily basis trying to sell us stuff, who wants to pay to see more advertising just because it was taken with a certain camera? It's just like Victor magazine…invariably there is some waifish looking girl on the cover in extensive makeup and unusual clothing choice…and yet that is supposed to represent “Hasseblad photography”. I get that they can't go put cat photos on the cover, snapshots of the owner's wife or boring landcapes, but it is really one-dimensional. Beyond that, it's all just so aspirational! The S “league”? All those puny mortals who have not paid 30000 for a camera and lens are out of our league. I hope it is just a German translation issue, because it all sounds very shallow to me. This is not to disparage the work of the photographers who have been in it — I know that fashion is difficult and there ARE some truly amazing photos done by fashion photographers (I love Diego Uchitel, for example), but to suggest that it is the only, or even primary, subject matter for an entire camera system is a bit off the mark.
In summary, bah humbug.
Nice review Irakly. I think it is also quite clear that by now, a camera is much more than the sum of its megapixels! For example, I don't expect to throw away the S2 in favor of the new 41mp Nokia camera phone (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2107496/Nokia-releasing-phone-41-megapixel-camera–sale-Europe-now.html).
I think the real beauty of the S2 is how well it works as a system — the lenses extract every ounce of detail out the very good sensor and are very fast with very low aberrations. The camera is quite quick in processing for such a high megapixel count. Every ISO is usable. Every aperture is usable. The AF works accurately, the weather sealing is very effective (my camera got drenched the other day…no ill effects at all. It's happened several times now so I am very confident in its weather sealing!), the battery lasts a very long time, the color and detail looks great out of the camera. The ergonomics are great, barring some interface quirks (still don't like the unlabeled 4 button interface, but I have set up the camera so that it is minimally disruptive). The only real downsides I can think of are the size and weight (comparable or less than most competitors), and the expense (ridiculously expensive, but worth it).
I can certainly see people wanting more detail and how that might improve exceptionally huge prints, but I don't really see anyone NEEDING more detail. I honestly don't, not outside of satellite imaging or spying!
Edit: I used “very” six times in the description of the S2. I think that says something…it is a word that applies to many aspects of the S2. It's a very camera!
Eric, this is genius! Thank you so much! This will be a great tool to have around. Hopefully I won't need it, but it is very comforting to know it is there.
Ok, here is an example of a really bad version of the effect. This was a test just out my window with the Hasselblad 350mm. These ship lights are extremely high intensity, but this is still not an effect I like to see! I have also seen it occasionally with the 120mm, but not that often. Only in night shooting with very strong lights in the frame. I would expect this with filters (I had it with the UV/IR filters on the M8), but a bit disappointed to see it with the S2 and no filters. I am willing to put up with it in exchange for the superlative performance in all other aspects, however.
Or maybe there are just a lot of ghosts and UFO's in Iceland? Also a possibility…
