Forum Replies Created
The thought of a trade in program by Leica is pretty far fetched for a company that has never done it in their history. Add to that the thought of a price lowering of a camera again an event that has never been done. Two speculations that have very low probabilities to come to fruition.
However, stopping in a Leica shop in Honolulu, the sales guy said that the S2 price is going down. He searched his computer but could not find the document. So this might hold some water.
As far as holding value, high end digital tends to have the greatest depreciation so I did not expect the body to hold much residual value. Even the Hasselblad H4D 40 has dropped precipitously, from $20k new with 80 to $18k new to $15k for a demo. I have seen the H4D 40 stainless for as low as $10,500 for a 600 cycles body. Gone are the days of buying a camera shooting it for 7 years and selling it for 50% of the original cost. Now it is 7 months of use.
Higher ISO would be nice to 2500 – but a new noise algorithm for the S2 would be even better!
Double tap on the scroll wheel for 100% mag – could be a software upgrade for the S2
Higher res screen would be nice, not that important to me.
Faster buffer = higher frame rate
Basically happy with the output and feature set of the S2. Don't know what an S3 would give me aside from a lighter wallet.
Marc,
You are a skilled technician and have a great eye! I greatly enjoy your comparative evaluations on real world situations. You prove that there is more to a photo than pixel peeping!Al
Josh and David did a great job on the S2 pre sets so this should be great!
David,
Any explanation on why the extender and extension tubes will not work? I can understand the TS adapter due to the extra software commands but the extender and extension tubes should just pass right through. Thoughts?Al
LOL! David, I have my ways, after all you use a MS based computer!
Seriously, the local camera store, Glazers, had a two day camera fest where the manufacturers brought in speakers and showed all the gear. So I got a chance to handle all of the latest goodies including the M9M and X2. What I have to say is that while it is an incremental improvement with the X1-X2, it is by far the cleanest solution for imaging. A friend and fellow Leica user just picked up the OM-D and one of his pet peeves is the sheer number of buttons and menus in order to use the camera, so much so that the on/off switch gets lost in the confusion.
On a recent trip to Maui, I took just my X1 and really had a blast, the size of the camera lends itself to being taken everywhere and the image quality is good enough for me not wanting a larger camera for my vacations. The X2 would just improve the experience with the new features.
Got to handle the X2 today and the improvements over the X1 are apparent. Faster AF, control dials tighter, higher ISO are all positive improvements. The chrome finish really is nice and the new leatherette cover a lot grippier. With all of the new cameras on the market competing for your hard earned money, I would still have to say that the X2 should receive some serious consideration. Compared to say the newly released Olympus OM-D, the simplicity of the X2 design trumps all of the whiz bang of the OM-D. My X1, which I have been very pleased with, is only improved upon with the X2 design.
If you want a camera that will produce great images with little thought, the X series is, in my opinion, the one to consider.
Mark,
Beautiful stomping grounds! The second shot looks great, love the color and framing.-Al
Mark,
Yes, the screen surrounding the micro prism and split circle appears to be the same as the standard screen. The split screen really does come in handy for focus confirmation at infinity though. Helps with focus confirmation with the wides at infinity as well. Although AF does work, it is not perfect all of the time. Also it is great for use with manual focus glass.-Al
Tom L. L.,
The S2 is a large camera, made larger when you add a lens and the wides 30, 35, can be intimidating on the street. The size comparison of the 30 or 35 is a champagne bottle to the point where the foil is on the neck and about the same diameter. The old 19 R Elmarit was tiny compared to these lenses, that is why I felt that a 24 would not be conducive for street work. I tend to like my subjects' head size to be prominent in the frame and to do this with a 24 would mean getting really close to the subject with a large camera. Kinda tough for candid work as you are intruding into the “personal space” to get this done. Some people have a talent for getting into a persons' space without any problems, it is a real talent, a gift, hard to learn and master.-Al
I wonder what Ralph Gibson would do? He made a career of shooting fine art nudes with TriX and Ms.
Kurt,
The 100 is a nice compact size and a favorite focal length for shooting, it may be a consideration for me. The ability to use a 300 AF is a real plus and used pricing is “affordable” cough cough. Would be nice to see the Leica plans for that lens, price and roll out. The 50 II from what I have read is a great lens but the size is about the same as the S lenses, again, time frame will temper my decision here.It does open up a whole range of options though!
-Al
David,
With the new H lens adapter, I guess there are a lot of new “S/H” lenses. The CS lenses in October now??? I would like to hear what you think of the H lens AF and handling on the S in the coming weeks.-Al
jto555;2267 wrote: Hi Al, I understand what you are saying. I spent the first part of my career shooting B/W but I think you are missing my point which is that for shooting B/W the M9 is, I believe, more convenient as the image is more open to interpretation after the event.
With the M9M, I will need a bag of filters for each size lens filter mount. Also, the idea of putting a $100 filter in front of a $7000 lens does nor appeal.One has to spent more money for less convenience.
John
John,
The M9M is not for everyone and a very bold statement for Leica in that it is a no compromise, high resolution, monochrome camera. Yes, it is not as convenient as a one camera solution but for those individuals who are dedicated to capturing their images in B&W this is an ideal solution. I too recall the days of carrying two Ms, one black loaded with TriX and a chrome one loaded with Kodachrome and having to switch back and forth. Now in post processing I can get both out of the same dng, sadly it has made me lazier and not pre visualizing in B&W as often.So for a user like yourself, this may be a no go, but for others who shoot only B&W this is golden. The gray scale latitude would not be possible in a bayer array capture and those dedicated to high quality B&W film will be satisfied. For now enjoy the M9, it is a great camera that will be hard to improve on.
-Al
rudlinfineart;2261 wrote: As I understand the H literature, the H digital lenses are purposely designed NOT to
be optically correct, but require correction in software. It would seem that this limits
the true usability and desirability of these lenses on the S system (unless of course
you just happen to already have the lenses). Why would I want a lens that is not
optically correct? I am not convinced that software correction of an incorrectly captured
image will equate to an image captured “correctly” in the first place.I recognize that this expands the available focal lengths for the S system, and this is
obviously desirable. But, does this also alleviate the “pressure” on Leica to develop and
release a wider range of focal lengths of S-lenses? That would not be good.Yes, some Hasselblad lenses have to be corrected in particular the 28. The distortion and the drop off is corrected via Phocus and now in Lightroom 4. Even with the superb optics in the S line up, there are distortion corrections being made on the 30 using LR4.
The new lens options opens up a new set of “brushes” to paint the image onto the S2 sensor. Lenses have unique finger prints and looks that are hard to duplicate without tons of time in post processing. I for one enjoy using older lenses that have spherical faults that enhance the mood of the image. There is more to an image than the pixel peeping sharpness that many associate with a great image.
-Al
