Photography News

Have you won the lottery or did your rich uncle leave you everything? If so then here is something that will put a dent in that wad; the Leica S2.

This camera is one worth noting whether it ever becomes a success or not. For one it is a Leica, probably one of the most highly rated camera and optical manufacturers in the world. But this is their first step into the medium format world.

For those who do not know what is meant by “medium format”: The term goes back to film size. Medium format was a term used for 120 and 220mm film. A film size over double the size of 35mm, which was the standard for SLR cameras.

Medium format film cameras were much larger then SLRs due to this much larger film size. Traditionally medium format cameras lacked the bells and whistles of SLR cameras. Most of these cameras only had manual exposure and focusing, most didn’t even have a built-in light meter.

At first glance the Leica S2 looks like a slightly larger then average DSLR, though about the same size, if not smaller then professional DSLRs such as the Nikon D3 or Canon EOS1. Unlike other medium format digital cameras, it looks more like a DSLR. But the comparison stops there.

In medium format tradition, the body of the camera looks clean and clutter free. It lacks much of the knobs, buttons and lights that can be found on even the most basic entry level DSLR. Even when getting into the menus and settings, there is no sign of idiot modes such as subject programs. The one dial is on the top plate and it is a simple shutter speed dial. The other main button is the thumb wheel on the back of the camera. This controls and selects most of the menu functions.

Exposure functions include Manual, Aperture Priority, Shuter Priority and Program. ISO goes from 160 to 1250 but only in full stops. Metering options are Multi-point, Centre Weighted and Spot. Flash options include 1st and 2nd curtain sync.However flash sync is a sluggish 1/125 sec. A faster shutter speed can be obtained using lenses with a leaf shutter. Unlike all other DSLR cameras, there is only one focusing point for the autofocusing system.

This camera isn’t about automated marvels, it is a photographers camera that oozes build quality and delivers amazing quality images through the highest quality lenses money can buy and a 37.5 megapixel sensor. Yes that’s right…37.5 megapixels. That means images of 4992 x 7512 pixels delivering a 73 mb RAW file. There is no denying image sharpness is impeccable, even up to A1 size prints. The secret to these superb images is also in the lens quality. However the range of lenses at the moment for this camera are limited to just three; 38mm, 70mm, 180mm. The 70mm is the standard lens. However more lenses are on the way, one rumoured to be a zoom lens.

Images are taken in RAW format but there is an option to shoot in jpeg, for use as proofs. RAw images are saved to a Compact Flash card while the jpegs are sent to an SD card. Of course another option of saving images, which would be commonly used by photographers who would use this camera, straight to a computer.

It seems there is a downside to every camera. Some of the features could have been improved without any real sacrifice. However one important flaw is the way images are transfered off the camera. The industry standard is Firewire but Leica have chosen USB, which is about 20% slower. This can be a strain during a professional shoot, slowing down the shoot.

There is no doubt this is a professional camera. The features are aimed specifically at the professional ignoring the budding amateur and so is the pricetag. At a price of $23,000 body only, it is quite a bit more expensive then rival digital medium format cameras, not to mention many cars! But this is the price for sheer quality.

Want to learn how to use this camera, take a School of Photography.com course.