absolute Camera Porn! new leica S2!

[vash]

holy crap...digital, mediium format, crammed in a slightly larger than regular format body...i bet this thing is $40 grand.



i wonder what the going rate for a soul is? hahhahah.

[jyl]

Wow, Leica developed their own image chip!? That is pretty incredible for a company that size and that was recently so close to BK. I think this is brilliant.

[Steve Carlton]

Souls go for $22,500, which should get you an S2. Not much to be gained with this except to a pro. ISO sample images at 320 and above deteriorate.

[Oracle]

At $22,500 they'll sell just a handful and Leica will still go BK. Products like that in such economy and with weak balance sheet is a good recipe for going belly up.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by Oracle

At $22,500 they'll sell just a handful and Leica will still go BK. Products like that in such economy and with weak balance sheet is a good recipe for going belly up.

Silly people, the economy around the rest of the world is not in that bad of shape, and Germany is doing pretty well. Only here in "Obama land of change world" are things still in the dumps.

Care to make a bet on Leica going bankrupt ?

I am actually thinking of buying one of the new S2's. After years of owning various Leica Digilux (have two right now) this would be a major step forwards.

[nota]

Originally Posted by jyl

Wow, Leica developed their own image chip!? That is pretty incredible for a company that size and that was recently so close to BK. I think this is brilliant.

A 37.5 Megapixel Kodak CCD sensor measuring 30X45mm.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by nota

A 37.5 Megapixel Kodak CCD sensor measuring 30X45mm.

Watch the video here: YouTube - Leica S2 Prototype

Look about 2/3rds in and shows the chip. Compares it to a 35mm slide and its very impressive. For that matter, entire package is impressive.

[Dottore]

Way too much camera for me—but brilliant!

[Oracle]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Silly people, the economy around the rest of the world is not in that bad of shape, and Germany is doing pretty well. Only here in "Obama land of change world" are things still in the dumps.

Care to make a bet on Leica going bankrupt ?

I am actually thinking of buying one of the new S2's. After years of owning various Leica Digilux (have two right now) this would be a major step forwards.

What?? You're kidding right? Germany has a unemployment rate of ~8% and a bailout of 675 billion and a GDP (2009) of 0.2%
In the US is probably the economy that is suffering the most but that doesn't mean that other countries are doing well. In this globalization economies basically everyone is in the shtihole.

I won't bet a dime cause there are always buyers (or rich Arab investors) for those things, besides we need people like you to move the economy up, it's a win-win. If you like it go for it.

[nostatic]

The problem with Leica is that they make awesome glass - better than anyone else. But as a computer software/hardware company...well, they make great glass. Digital cameras aren't analog - the modern "film" is a big part of the equation and Leica has issues there. Witness the X1 - the first copies came out and got fairly panned. Leica has since retrenched and now will release them "in a few months." Their version of "image stabilization" was a totally lame software trick good for jpgs only. And not a very effective trick at that.

I don't think Leica will die soon as they have a lot of users who will pay the red dot tax, and their glass is sublime enough that some people will put up with the idiosyncrasies of the bodies to use them. Plus they have a design aesthetic that is sorely lacking in most companies. But they'd be way ahead of the game if they had some more robust strategic partnerships.

[Oracle]

They're in partnership with Panasonic. I have a Lumix w/Leica lens. For that particular model Panasonic put all the electronics and for the Leica re-branded Lumix they customized the software. According to the reviews it was just a small tweak and not worth the ~$700 difference.
I agree Leica=probably the best lens for film.
for the other stuff there are better IMO

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Oracle

They're in partnership with Panasonic. I have a Lumix w/Leica lens. For that particular model Panasonic put all the electronics and for the Leica re-branded Lumix they customized the software. According to the reviews it was just a small tweak and not worth the ~$700 difference.
I agree Leica=probably the best lens for film.
for the other stuff there are better IMO

The X1 is not a Panasonic partnership. The last Panaleica camera was the DLux4/LX3. Not clear how that will move forward. They did collaborate on a u4/3 lens (50mm macro that is "Leica"), but it doesn't look like Leica will do any u4/3 or 4/3 bodies either alone or partnered with Panny.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by Oracle

They're in partnership with Panasonic. I have a Lumix w/Leica lens. For that particular model Panasonic put all the electronics and for the Leica re-branded Lumix they customized the software. According to the reviews it was just a small tweak and not worth the ~$700 difference.
I agree Leica=probably the best lens for film.
for the other stuff there are better IMO

You have not tried one of their recent digital camera's I guess? The digital versions are head and shoulders better than other makers as well. Leica makes good glass, period and its not just on their film cameras.

I have both a Panasonic and Leica digitals of about the same era. Blow the Panasonic images up and they are fine. The Leica versions are just a bit clearer and you can see it.

I lived in Germany for over 10 years and have a lot of friends and family there. Their economy is doing a hell of a lot better than ours is and they are clearly moving ahead compared to the US. Trust me, the camera will sell when its released.

[Randy W]

The problem with the S2 is that it competes directly against the new Hasselblad - and that's a fantastic camera with a loyal following. Leica also has a long history of bringing cameras to market too late yet before they are really ready: original Leicaflex, R3, R4, M5, M8. They have also made the R lenses essentially obsolete. These practices do not build brand loyalty. I don't think this camera will sell any better than their other SLRs unfortunately - doctor's, lawyers and the wealthy will buy it though. I love their lenses and still have a few, but professionals today need a proven product that has continuity and is reasonably priced.