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S2--Wide angle options

GMB

Active member
In a month I will be going to Yellowstone, Grand Teaton, and Glacier, with the S2. I currently have the 35, 70, 120, and 180.

My questions:

1) Is the 35 (28 @ 35mm equivalent) wide enough?

2) If not, can one get around by stitching?

3) If not, what is the best option:

a) Getting the 30 for the S2 (24 @ 35 mm equivalent? Upside: Great lens (if you can find it). Downside: close to the 35, expensive, the S2 24 (if it ever sees the light of the day) would be a preferred choice (and there also might be the 30-90 zoom, again if it ever sees the light of day);

b) Use the M9 and the 24mm (which I have) for these shots. Upside: No costs and will take it anyway. Downside: its not the S2.

c) Get the S2 to H adapter and a H lens (which?). Upside: Can use wide angle on S2 and don't have to wait for Leica to get the lenses out (and then finding them). Downside: Adapter expensive if you don't have H lenses. I have no experience with H lenses and won't be able to test before trip.

d) Sell the S2 and get the D800. :scry: Just kidding :ROTFL::ROTFL:

Any thoughts appreciated.

:OT: My other problem is why the :cussing: do the Italians always beat the Germans :banghead::banghead: Anyway, 2104 is the next occasion and by then Leica may have even announced the 24 for the S2 :bugeyes:
 

da_eltsch

Well-known member
:OT: My other problem is why the :cussing: do the Italians always beat the Germans :banghead::bangheafd: Anyway, 2104 is the next occasion and by then Leica may have even announced the 24 for the S2 :bugeyes:
:cussing: ... the ball is round and we will see next time as though I fear 2104 is a little late for me :deadhorse:
Helge
 

Shashin

Well-known member
I am a Pentax 645D shooter. I am happy with the Pentax 35mm lens--my widest. I would imagine it would work well--I really am not an ultra-wide fan which might color my recommendation. If I need wider, I make a stitched pano series. My viewfinder has a gridded screen which makes handheld panos easy, but a tripod works too. I prefer a pano at that point as I usually need more on the sides of my frame then the top/bottom. I can also make a stitch of vertical frames which gets me even more.

I have never thought a 24mm close to a 28mm. To me it is quite a jump.

I think if you have the M9 with a 24mm and you are comfortable with your S2 setup, then I would go with the M9 if you absolutely need the 24mm FOV. Personally, I have never found a place to be for a particular focal length--I am more important than the lens.
 

MB100

New member
Personally I think that the subtle difference between 28mm and 24mm will be lost on anyone. The kit you have now covers the major focal lengths and I am not sure what can be gained by adding another lens to the kit especially considering the Leica S lenses size.

I received the 24mm Summilux as a gift, and of course it is an amazing lens, but personally I find it to be as wide as I would ever need. (I still own a Nikon 14-24mm but that rarely gets used). I can't imagine there being any upside to carrying a 30mm and a 35mm.

Stitching takes time and effort both when capturing images and when you are on the computer (of course) but I find going out planning on taking images for stitching interrupts the process for me and that it is better used as a spur of the moment type thing.
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
I did a trip similar to this thru Colorado last fall . Shot about 80 % landscape (not my typical work) and 20% street/people/travel shots . Used the same 4 lenses on the S2 . I have the 30 now and will probably use it this fall .

The MF landscape experts can chime in on favorite wide angle FOV . I was happy with the 35 (a 28mm equivalent FOV) but will switch to the 30 now that I have it.

But I didn t bring my M series and used the S2 on the street in Aspen during the fall film festival . I found the 70/2.5 was my favorite ..normally I shoot wider on the street but the S2 is pretty obvious ..so I tried to maintain a little more distance. You may not require the M if you goal is primarily landscape . The s2 has decent high ISO performance up to about 800 for critical IQ but you can use 1250 for street /travel etc.

My thought is generally ..where were you planning on leaving the S2 when shooting the M ..hopefully not in your car ?

Sounds like a really fun trip.
 

algrove

Well-known member
I regularly stitch (Photo Merge) my MF landscape shots. It's the cheapest way to shoot wide and wider without buying a wider lens. Just be prepared for 2+GB image files in PS and of course use .psb files.
 

GMB

Active member
Thanks for the responses. I am still undecided, which probably means I'll stick to my current set up.

@Roger: I will carry the M with a couple of lenses as a back up. Also, on longer hikes, the S2 (even with only 2 lenses) is quite a schlep, whereas the M9 with the MATE, 24, and 90 is easy to carry. The S2 might then stay in the hotel or hidden in the car (my camera insurance covers this).
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
Thanks for the responses. I am still undecided, which probably means I'll stick to my current set up.

@Roger: I will carry the M with a couple of lenses as a back up. Also, on longer hikes, the S2 (even with only 2 lenses) is quite a schlep, whereas the M9 with the MATE, 24, and 90 is easy to carry. The S2 might then stay in the hotel or hidden in the car (my camera insurance covers this).
Understand ..been down this path many times . Just was surprised when I committed to the S2 and a few lenses how well it performed . Sure in the city much preferred the M but when the split was 80/20 landscape/travel&street ..it worked well .

One thing I liked was the Think Tank 2 lens bag . This was perfect . I picked the two lenses I needed and carried the camera separately . Made the load balanced . Just put the lens bag in my checked luggage and they I had a day bag that was small and light when I arrived .
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Personally, I think you will be fine with just the 35mm. It is quite a wide focal length, in the grand scheme of things. And as you say, you have the 24mm for the M9 when you really need it, or you could just stich. Personally, I think that with a bit of compositional thought and planning, you can take pretty much any wide angle landscape shot that you could take with a 24mm equivalent with a 28mm equivalent. The difference in field of view is real, but not huge.
 

Arif

Member
Using the H-adapter and the HCD 35-90 has worked for me in getting the scene as well as leaving a couple of the lenses behind. It is a very decent lens which gives you the flexibility of doing a wide angle or a vertical stitch.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I have the same kit like you and I think in a long term I might want one wider lens than 35mm.
I don't know yet if it would be the 30 which could replace the 35 (but then I need 35mm much more often) or rather the future 21mm equivalent additional to the 35mm. But who wants to carry 5 S-lenses?
If I would own both the 30 and the 35 I would bring the 30 to Yellowstone.
But if I could only own one of them I would prefer to own the 35.

I just spent one week in the Black Forest with a x-pro 1 an 28/50/90 equivalent and while 28 mm for was fine there were some occasions where I would have preferred a wider lens.
 
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J

JackM

Guest
I use a 35mm and stitch. With CS6 one can realign the photo in landscapes and architecture very well. I frankly like the extra resolution I get from stitching, but then I print up to 10 feet. Often, I will use my 120 stitched to get to a wide but high resolution image.

If I need to shoot action wide, I go back to my M and use a 16mm lens.

Not sure if a 21 or 24mm came out I would get it as I am liking using just two lenses as my kit. All this will change if I am shooting people wide.

Jack
 
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