Especially if you do not need the "modularity" of todays MF systems with separate camera and back, which is in fact only mainly marketing, as all the cameras come with a dedicated back and is recommended to keep and use a specific bak only with the body you bought - at least this is true for Hasselblad and it might become very similar with Phase.
Was thinking why I need a tech camera if I can do stitching and panos also differently? Why not always use the best part of you lens - even better if a Leica S lens - and produce the stuff you want? And a TS lens will also be available for those who really need this.
End of the day the S System covers a nice area for many photographers, for some it might become even the "only one" system.
And finally I do not doubt that Leica will deliver WRT IQ and at least be on par or what I guess even much better than competition.
Throw in my 2c
Regarding Phase One dropping modularity: I sure hope not; there is no sign in either the history or present approach of the company to suggest this would change. The modularity is one of the strongest attributes of Phase's approach. As one example you can buy a P65+ Mamiya mount and use it with:
Cambo Wide Compact (travel camera - very very small - great lenses)
Cambo Wide RS (shift/tilt/swing/rise for PC or for stitching up to around 200mp within one continous image circle)
Cambo Ultima 2x3 (full sized view camera for still life etc)
Phase One DF (autofocus, autoexposure, leaf shutter lenses, focal plane lenses, pinhole, exotic macro)
Mamiya RZ Pro IID (large waist level viewfinder, old mechanical feel, traditional lens feel)
With all these ways to use your one digital back there are hundreds of lenses each with different looks/feels/lengths/attributes. Each body excels at some things and is weak in others - you can use the body appropriate for your application.
As regards pan-and-stitch versus shooting a tech camera and using it's large image circles to stitch-within-the-image-circle: they are different approaches each with advantages and disadvantages. One advantage of the pan-and-stitch is you can go as wide as you wish (even up to 360 degrees!). One advantage of stitch-within-the-image-circle is you don't lose any part of the frame due to the geometric distortions used to deform and combine the frames in a pan-and-stitch. It's also nice to see the final composition in-camera rather than simply shotgun a scene with a wider-than-needed pan-and-stitch and crop in post - however, that's definition an opinion/personal-decision.
Note however that with a technical camera you could also pan-and-stitch where it is the better option (e.g. for 180 degree images) whereas with an SLR you can
only pan-and-stitch.
I don't think anyone here doubts that the S-lenses will be very good; however, it's very unlikely that they will significantly out perform the Schneider/Rodenstock digitar/HR large format lenses in real-world results. There is simply too much of an advantage that Schneider/Rodenstock have in designing lenses with no autofocus, no restraint on rear-flange distance (so retro focus elements don't need to be included), no electrical contacts, and the ability to allow the lens to be a "slow" lens (e.g. f/4 or f/5.6). All lens design is a trade off and Schneider/Rodenstock have the blessing (based on purposeful market positioning) of being able to sacrifice almost everything in pursuit of the absolute best possible final image quality.
All cameras are just a set of priorities and compromises. The S2 looks like it will be a great way to carry very high quality in a easy to use weather sealed, modestly more compact, AF/AE body. However, it will have it's compromises as well (limited lens selection, very limited tilt-shift options etc).
Also a quick note that we have a Cambo Tilt-Swing 47mm XL here at the office (delivered in person by Renee from Cambo) and will be testing it this week. The ability to add precise tilt-swing as well as shift/rise/fall to almost every large format lens is a major major advantage of the tech cameras that support it (Cambo/Arca). Only the Schneider 24/35 and Rodenstock 23 will not be able to made in a tilt-swing variety and those lenses are so wide that tilt/swing is not really critical. Every other Digitar/HR lens can have tilt/swing/rise/fall with the Cambo system. My personal guess is that I will be using 1.5 degrees of tilt as my default for landscape from which I will decide if I want more or less tilt for a given scene.
Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
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