Files are amazing, though ISO 640 it starts to deteriorate!!!
Yes. It's quite soft and noisy at 640, even at 320. Any advantage the larger sensor and MP count might have over the current range of 21-24mp DLSR's appears to be lost by 320 ISO.
Just for fun I took their ISO 1250 shot and ran it through my usual NR & sharpening process for high ISO shots. It's resized for web (at a pretty big size mind you) but the images from this camera taken at high ISO will likely be of a particular style that doesn't require 37.5Mp of true detail. Where this camera will shine is in controlled environments (studio) or tripod environments (landscape). Oh I applied a little curves to give it some punch, lost a bit of dark detail as a result, but I prefer the look.
Ahh... I lost considerable detail in the horizontal patterns of the grill and wall in the out of focus areas... might have to fiddle with my PP technique some more.
One has to keep in mind that no matter how large the sensor is on these medium format cameras, they are still dinosaurs compared to the sensors of 35mm DSLR. Canon, Sony and others have manufactured and sold millions of cameras and all this experience has lead to substantial improvements and developments in the technology. Unfortunately this does not apply for MF sensor manufacturers so their development is quite slower.
I'm not so sure they're amazing. Some of them are very good, including this one, but I'm not sure I'd choose this system over certain other MF systems. For that matter, considering the price for the body and one lens with leaf shutter (which is one of the big selling points), I'm not so sure I'd choose it over whatever Canon does with their 1Ds4 plus a dozen good Canon lenses.
Images look fine, as expected. If they are world class? Hard to say.
The optics seem first rate and the sensor/camera seems fine too.
Worth the extortionistic price tag? I can't see that any camera would be worth that much.
I would not mind working with the S2 but for the asking price I would have to be plain stupid not to consider the alternatives first. Even IF I had the money.
kosmoskatten wrote:
Greg; the one you linked to looks great.
Images look fine, as expected. If they are world class? Hard to say.
The optics seem first rate and the sensor/camera seems fine too.
Worth the extortionistic price tag? I can't see that any camera would be worth that much.
I would not mind working with the S2 but for the asking price I would have to be plain stupid not to consider the alternatives first. Even IF I had the money.
The alternatives cost similar amounts to the S2. Its pricetag is similar to a P45+/645DF combo or H3DII-39. The high-end PhaseOne or Hasselblad stuff is quite noticeably more expensive at the $40k mark, but delivers resolution that is absolutely unbelievable.
I've handled the S2, it's very very nice. I do wish Leica had put the Maestro processor in the M9, it's very quick. The viewfinder is HUGE and clean, just a crosshair in the middle for AF, oh and the AF is very quick (but a bit noisy) and accurate.
kosmoskatten wrote:
Greg; the one you linked to looks great.
Images look fine, as expected. If they are world class? Hard to say.
The optics seem first rate and the sensor/camera seems fine too.
Worth the extortionistic price tag? I can't see that any camera would be worth that much.
I would not mind working with the S2 but for the asking price I would have to be plain stupid not to consider the alternatives first. Even IF I had the money.
No doubt the images are excellent but I'm starting to wonder about the wisdom of Leica? Few photographers need a 37 megapixel camera. Unless Leica planned for a low volume of sales for this system, I don't see success down the road for the company. I'm baffled as to why they canned the R10 for this?
The fact that I can't even think about purchasing this elite camera system because of the cost does not irk me at all. It actually makes me feel even better about the Canon 5D II with Leica and Zeiss primes.
Wilfredo wrote:
No doubt the images are excellent but I'm starting to wonder about the wisdom of Leica? Few photographers need a 37 megapixel camera. Unless Leica planned for a low volume of sales for this system, I don't see success down the road for the company. I'm baffled as to why they canned the R10 for this?
The fact that I can't even think about purchasing this elite camera system because of the cost does not irk me at all. It actually makes me feel even better about the Canon 5D II with Leica and Zeiss primes.
I suspect because an R10 would be a specialist manual focus camera competing in an AF world against the likes of Canon & Nikon (& Sony). With the S2 Leica can reposition themselves into a niche area with other specialist players, competing for buyers willing to and expecting to pay a significant premium, where they might have a better chance of standing out since all of the systems are similarly priced. Yet here they are offering something that is a bit more dynamic in its operability compared to the other more traditionally designed MF systems, which wouldn't likely have been the case for the R10 vs. the Canon & Nikon systems. Either way Leica would have invested a lot of development money. With the S2 they get a fresh start rather than having to continue to support a legacy system, that while technically excellent, was operationally obsolete for most working photographers in the 35mm DSLR market.
