Forum Replies Created
David,
Beautiful conversion of the lens. It would be an easy way for Leica to provide manual focus long glass in a short time, just convert the focus modules like you have. Aside from the fact that the 1x tube is too short, the 1.4x increases the image circle as well, yes?Craig,
Your portfolio of work is very nice, the images of the ESP were very well composed and processed. Your style of shooting could lend itself to all of the platforms that you are looking at. Now comes the hard part, choosing the system for you. It looks like you shoot on a tripod for a lot of the images, so even an older Hasselblad H3D 39 or H3DII 39 could fill the requirements. I mention this due to the cost of the system currently, as most digital users tend to gravitate to the latest and greatest platform, the older but still usable systems reduce greatly in price. H3D 39s can be had for sub $7K leaving a lot of room for lenses. At that price you could keep the Nikon system for the times you need the high ISO and speed. Hasselblad does have a refurb program that sells used systems that carry a warranty at attractive prices.Now if you want to, and have the money to spend on the Leica by all means, it will provide a high level of image quality. It really depends on you and your wallet that should determine what makes business sense in the end.
Craig,
Welcome to the forum! As Pete mentioned, what kind of images do you take? That is really important in deciding on the platform that you will end up with. You say that you are shooting Canon currently, what do you want to gain in the upgrade?If you are shooting studio, then all of the platforms you mentioned will work. Action, sports, then stick with Canon. With any medium format digital platform, the capture rate is around 1 image per second and compared to 35 digital capture, it is slow. All of the platforms you mentioned have only a central AF sensor compared to the multiple sensor arrays on 35.
That out of the way, why I chose the S2 over the others. The platforms that I looked at were the Hasselblad H3DII 39 then the H4D 40 – I really looked at that platform through a generation of change! I had a CFV for my V system and looked at the H as a logical upgrade path. I also looked at the Mamiya/Phase system, the Pentax was not considered. As with everything in life, personal preferences play a big role in decisions. My goal was to reduce the amount of platforms in my possession, I had a Nikon system and a Hasselblad CFV system. I wanted the MFD quality and the handling of a 35 system, the only one that was available was the S2. The H4D 40 was a nice platform, support from the manufacturer very good and lenses and accessories plentiful. The size was the limiting factor, but the technology behind “true focus” was amazing, remember you only have a central AF point. The Mamiya/PhaseOne was nixed after I handled the camera and tried to tweak the focus – I could not. The lens was gear driven and I had to disengage the motor focus and reengage – won't put up with that in any modern AF design. Pentax, having seen the Mamiya ZD come and go so quickly kept me away.
Pluses and minuses for the Leica S2, plus goes to handling and size, about the same size as a Canon/Nikon. Minus goes to the price of entry, it is about 30% more expensive than the H4D 40 with standard lens and the Leica lenses are about 40% more as well. Some would say that the number of choices that you have with Leica is limiting but take a look at the images that you have in your library and I will bet that most of the keeper images have been made by the equivalent focal lengths that are currently in the catalog.
Plus – you can mount Hasselblad V, Pentax 6×7 and Mamiya lenses on the S2. That was a big plus that tipped the scale for me. For the occasional use lens like a 350, I don't want to spend tens of thousands of dollars for a Leica copy when a Hasselblad will do the trick. Some call it heresy to buy a high resolution camera and put an “inferior” lens on, well I would much rather get the shot than wishing I got the shot. In all fairness, Leica lenses are superior to the Hasselblad V lenses that I had/have, but only if you display the identical subject side by side will you see a difference. I do like to kid around that my Hasselblad V lens costs about the same as a S2 lens hood and it is true. Minus – the availability of Leica lenses, this will probably level out much faster than the M lens supply. There is a smaller pool of S2 customers to fill orders for.
Getting into a little more detail on Hasselblad, they do have a great software package dedicated to their proprietary format, Phocus. I have used it extensively and found that it far exceeds the capabilities of Adobe or Phase One in bringing out the best in the file. The software is also FREE, with upgrades for life at the same price, FREE. Hasselblad also has excellent customer service, repairs are coordinated through their website, technical support via email or phone. If a repair is needed after contacting customer support, an RMA tracking number is issued and you can follow that throughout the repair process. They send you a message that the repair is being shipped from Denmark and repairs usually take three to four weeks including shipping to and from your door. Never had a complaint about the service received from them. Some people have beaten up Hasselblad for the “closed” platform I am not one of them. The fact is that by maintaining control over the tolerance, they can insure that the image quality will be at its' best. Digital has a very low tolerance for film plane error much different than film.
I mentioned my frustration with Mamiya/Phase earlier with the AF technology. Their bodies are based on ten year old technology and is in need of a major refresh.
Backups, a hotly debated subject on some forums and for good reason. If you are a pro and saying that you will image with a MFD as that is what sets you apart from Joe down the street, then by all means you need to have a MFD as a backup. True, mechanical failures are more likely than a digital capture but they still do happen. A $20K investment in a backup system is cheap when you have a client who books 30% of your business per year on the hook. Used to be a lot easier in the film days, a Nikon FM could substitute for the F2 that went south. But a Nikon D700 is a poor substitute for a Leica S2. But you don't have to own a backup, you can rent one for jobs just in case. With a Mamiya/Phase, the cost of the camera and back would be about $30k for the IQ140 and you can buy a used body and P40+ as a backup for around $16K. The used kit can be depreciated and sold when you deem that the primary system is superseded by a newer system and relegated to backup status. A Hasselblad backup would be an older H3D 39 for under $9K, for the S2 well, used are hard to come by but can be found for in the $20K range.
What ever your decision, it is a costly one and best be made by handling each platform.
Roger,
I would set up the custom functions with the settings that you want to use, exposure compensation, drive and AE/AF lock for your normal lens and wide. Ten set up one of the four buttons to access the custom functions when you change lenses. Save those to a card so that when you finish at the end of the day can be reset to the normal settings that you use. I typically set up one for custom functions, ISO, exposure compensation and playback. I use the AE/AF lock button to focus but with action, you may want to revert to continuous focus and the AE/AF to lock exposure and focus.Good luck and don't get blown away!
-AlDavid,
Peter Karbe is truely a genius! His “affordable” Summarit line for the M series sparkle. It is interesting to note that there is a no compromise approach to design and execution of the S lenses. While Hasselblad is content to offer software corrections for their D series lenses, Leica refuses to do so and instead produce the best glass bar none.David,
Thank you for doing the test and damn you – now I lust for the 35 😡 Very impressive performance even without the corrections. Overall, the entire stable of S lenses have far exceeded my expectations.-Al
Nice capture, I do like the contrasty lighting on her face.
Agreed, the Lens Align is useful when you can make adjustments as with the M cameras but not useful at the price, with the S2. Also, the amount of correction +/- will vary by the distance from the subject as well.
Best to spend the money on Rogaine as you pulling your hair out in frustration. 🙂
With no ability to adjust the focus point on the S2 would this expense be fruitless? With Canon and Nikon the user can adjust the focus so the tool is useful. On the S2 if the lens is back/front focusing you have to send camera and lens in? So just a flat high contrast target would be the logical choice.
Just got my official warranty papers from Solms and it states:
“The extension of warranty belongs to the camera and will be transferred to the buyer in case of sale”So this means my warranty will expire in 10/2012, one year after the initial warranty expiration. I wonder if you can keep renewing?
I got a bunch of cigar boxes for “archives” I guess. If you get enough of them you can have a poker game, “I'll see your 4 gig and raise you 16 . . .”:cool:
No, they read David's post on use once – then discard.
Mark,
Looks like the auto focus picked the 8 as the area with the most contrast and thus looks like it is back focusing. Does this happen at close distances with a flat target? One way to do this is to get parallel with a flat target, let auto focus choose the focus point and then ever so slightly tweak the focus back and forward, each time taking a shot. If the flat target with auto focus is the sharpest then it is correctly working.Roger,
The warranty extension purchased through Solms will go by the EU rules as would an international warranty. It seems that the EU warrants the camera and not the owner of the camera. “The warranty is bound to the product and will be forward to the next customer if sold.” The details are laid out the in the PDF on their website http://support.leica-camera.com/fileadmin/user_upload/docs/Warranty_e_M9_conditions.pdfWhat is nice is that it also covers CLA – which is good to do before a sale to insure that it was working when it left your hands. It does include in the verbiage, “Sale of the warranty worldwide to end user, dealers and agencies.” which would imply that dealers such as David could buy this for their used stock as long as it meets Leica's qualification criteria.
Spoken like a true retailer 😮 Don't you just miss the days of film and processing revenue?
Not a bad analogy by the way. Instead I take the cost of film and processing and make up for the depreciation on my gear.
