brainiac wrote:
Another interesting tidbit from the blog is that the S2 has a single AF point. Still no information about how or whether they managed to squeeze a bright 30x45mm prism into a camera the size of a D700. Is this going to be an AF-only camera? If not, what will manual focus ring action be like? It gets more and more intriguing.
the OM-1 has a much bigger finder than the D700, and yet has a much smaller body with a much less prominent prism bump. not much bigger than a plastic rebel 2000 and certainly smaller than a 50D or D90. so it's not at all shocking that they can put a finder suitable for a 45x30 image sensor into a body not much bigger than a 5D.
It would be shocking if they pulled off a really decent magnification(.70 or greater) and 100% view with a sensor which is 50% larger than 35mm in the rather small S2 body. I bet it's actually not physically even possible without some major concessions which could include low magnification of say 50%. Also remember the OM1 did not have to deal with all the AF stuff like a secondary mirror. The viewfinder details are still unknown with regard to the S2 and I'm surprised we have not heard any details about it yet. I think it is going to be important because MF SLR users expect a big, beautiful view. It's one of the main feature draws for some MF shooters.
Cheers wrote:
the OM-1 has a much bigger finder than the D700, and yet has a much smaller body with a much less prominent prism bump. not much bigger than a plastic rebel 2000 and certainly smaller than a 50D or D90. so it's not at all shocking that they can put a finder suitable for a 45x30 image sensor into a body not much bigger than a 5D.
Richard, is this an example of your objectivity toward Leica? You haven't even peeped its pixels yet and you come up with this.
brainiac wrote:
By the way, I think Farkas' blog could do with a Google translation, although Google doesn't seem to offer translation from panting infatuese into basic English.
So here goes:
= R system investors have every right to be angry at the glacial pace of DMR development and the absence of full frame digital for their lenses.
= they don't have the techonology to compete with CaNikon either in AF or in sensors, so they must try to invent a new class of camera in the hope that those manufacturers will leave them alone in their corner where comparison is futile.
= since Leica can't compete in these areas that are clearly important to a large number of photographers, these photographers must be childish artless fools who want their cameras to do unreasonable things and are only interested in bragging about specs.
= by inventing a format of its own, people can go on saying that no other camera competes until 2016 when the S3 will once again be the best and only camera in the class.
Seriously, the way to deal with the problems of the R system isn't to let it lie fallow for another year. Farkas' blog is a prime example of the cringing apologism which enables Leica to continue squeezing every last drop of other people's hard-earned cash out of its deservedly famous brand without actually solving the problems of producing competitive products. Let's hope the S2 changes all that. It will need to be affordable, capable in low light and autofocus, and offer image quality that no cheaper camera can. I look forward to it with a certain jaded skepticism....Show more →
Actually, is seems fairly objective to me. He is making a critical assessment of strategy and marketing for this new camera. It has nothing to do with pixel peeping as it does not address image quality at all (I think we all assume that it will be excellent). This is all about the business case for the S2 and whether it might see a bright future. All but the most ardent Leica fan-boys and apologist must have some questions about this market strategy and whether it will succeed. Richard's comments appear to me to be both reasonable and balanced.
telyt wrote:
Richard, is this an example of your objectivity toward Leica? You haven't even peeped its pixels yet and you come up with this.
Richard's comments appear to me to be both reasonable and balanced.
I know I'm an interloper and an outsider to the alt group but I have followed the M*, R* and now S* threads for year(s), am a member of the Leica user group and remember very well the exodus of some of the Leicaphiles a few years ago. (Was it that long ago?) Although I agree with Lotus' assessment of Brainiac's analysis, I do see a veiled attack at Leica and it's users in many of his posts. He does it intelligently and in a mild manner but they are attacks nonetheless. Just my humble opinion and I have never owned a Leica.
Having said that, I do feel for the many anguished souls who have been sold a bill of goods with the M and R systems and who have invested time and a significant amount of money for seemingly trouble filled photography. Yes, the captures of some Leica cameras do inspire awe but I see that as a product of the photographer and the post-processor more than from the camera/lenses.
Now, my solution? Brainiac will have to go to time out for awhile. Tariq, you should also take a breather. Everybody else, carry on. Oh, and I hope Leica can continue to exist if only to inspire it's users to continue to take great photographs.
Sarsfield wrote:
Now, my solution? Brainiac will have to go to time out for awhile. Tariq, you should also take a breather. Everybody else, carry on. Oh, and I hope Leica can continue to exist if only to inspire it's users to continue to take great photographs.
Have a good day.
Oh, I'm sorry. I did not realize you were the moderator here! I have questions and I have every right to ask them. I have not read everything about the S2 on the web and its just possible that someone might read one of my questions and have the answer. I guess you don't.
Knowing Leica, its going to become a toy camera for the rich and famous, and priced beyond what normal working pros can afford. Leica has become the maker for the Hollywierd elites, and other people who have money to burn. Regrettable in that Leica was the leading camera mfg in the past, who was the one to emulate. Its really a pity that they have become a bespoke company.
... and that is all due to having their own lens mount. If they could sell lenses in other popular mounts (35mm or medium format), and those lenses were best in class, then even if it were expensive, people could add that one special lens to their system, e.g. an 80mm f1.4 which was sharp wide open with a typical Leica bokeh.
As it is, you need to buy the entire Leica system and their bodies are holding them back. I guess the S2 was released to solve this problem.
Great point Graham. Zeiss has accepted that it must do business by making lenses in a range of mounts. That would seem to me to be a viable course for Leica too. They should have started doing this years ago. Some of their lenses are very good, and most of them have a style that appeals to certain photographers. I don't know why they haven't done this yet, but it seems to me that for a long time Leica's business model has been to charge considerably more than the market rate for their products, and rely on the history and aura of the brand to make up the difference. I suspect also that some of their manufacturing methods are an anachronism, and make it harder for them to partner with progressive Japanese lens makers, who can see that technology is generating enormous savings in lens production. There are currently a great many newly designed CaNikon lenses which match or surpass Leica lenses in the same focal length, but they are built much more cheaply. Leica will only make profits selling independent lenses if it can match the quality and efficiencies of CaNikon. When you look at lenses like the EF-S 70-200 f4 L IS, and the Nikkor 14-24, it by no means seems certain that Leica can continue to produce class-leading lenses.
Geert Koning wrote:
The alliance with Phase One could mean that Leica is going to develop lenses for the Phase One MF camera.
The announcement of the alliance with Phase One was Leica most interesting announcement. If Leica is going to design and/or produce lenses for Phase One it suggests the P1 is trying to differentiate themselves from the Mamiya base of their camera and produce a higher level product (one they would have had a few years ago, if their board was more forward thinking and approved the deal for the Contax 645, and, presumably, Zeiss.
Interestingly, Zeiss is the only major medium format lens designer left without a MFsystem they supply. One wonders if this will persist.
