S2 in the field: Jerusalem

[markowich]

we took the S2 with the three lenses to israel and did already a full day of shooting with it. yesterday we decided to leave the 70mm lens in the hotel....it was 34 centigrades in jerusalem.
we headed straight into the old city, which is not a generic MF territory: dark alleys, street photography type shooting, crowds of people etc. the S2 shooting experience was nevertheless reasonably good but certainly we would have been better off with the D3x (horses for courses). focus tracking a moving subject is close to impossible but if you happen to nail focus the result is really nice...see the attached pic and the 100% crop (courtesy andrea baczynski). 320iso is quite usable (some detail lost but still enough there), iso 640 is -for me- emergency only.
one minor issue: the camera strap provided by leica really rubs and hurts on the skin in hot weather. it is made of cheap material apparently.
the dilemma for travel photography is that if you take the S gear on a trip you will not have enogh room left to take the D3x/s gear too...
today off to the west bank with the S2...
all the gest, peter

 

[fotografz]

Looks like M9 territory to me.

-Marc

 

[peterv]

Thanks for sharing, Peter. Did you try to get the focus on this man's eye? If so, do you think the D3x would have done better with focus tracking, faster AF, smaller sensor and all?
Enjoy your trip and the S2.

 

[markowich]

Thanks for sharing, Peter. Did you try to get the focus on this man's eye? If so, do you think the D3x would have done better with focus tracking, faster AF, smaller sensor and all?
Enjoy your trip and the S2.

well, he was not really collaborating too well----))) nevertheless i am happy with this shot.
peter

 

[markowich]

Looks like M9 territory to me.

-Marc

yes, i was actually using the M9. also today, but the heat was not kind with it. 5 shots and battery out.....5 shots and battery out.....
the S2 heated up a lot today but only froze once and we took about 500 shots with it.
peter

 

[peterv]

nevertheless i am happy with this shot.
peter

I can imagine that.
It conveys some kind of serenity and the subtle colours in the background OOF area are beautiful.

 

[Mark Gowin]

When you get results like you just posted, it makes it worth shooting MF and risking a lower percentage of keepers.

 

[markowich]

dear friends,
thanks for your comments. attached you find a shot taken with the S2/180mm combo and a 100% crop. the exposure is somewhat off, but i just want to show the resolving power of the combo. the shot was taken handheld, f8, 1/350s. probably even more res is obtained using a tripod. for comparism i am also attaching s shot of the same motif, taken with the M9/90mmCron at the same time taken from the same spot. clearly the focal lengths do not correspond but i think it tells a story.
btw, what you see is the israeli built wall separating jerusalem from bethlehem. a sad sight.
peter

 

[yaya]

Forget the cameras Peter...how are you enjoying the city? Have you done the night walk on the city Walls yet?

 

[markowich]

yair,
the city is at the same time the most beautiful and the saddest city in the world. but i hope that its future and the future of the whole region will be bright.
we are enjoying it very much......wonderful people on both sides of the fence.
will do the night walk tomorrow.
all the best, peter

 

[markowich]

the holocaust memorial, S2, 70mm, f3.4, 1/500s, iso 320. some mild green fringing, easily eliminated in LR3.
peter

 

[fotografz]

the holocaust memorial, S2, 70mm, f3.4, 1/500s, iso 320. some mild green fringing, easily eliminated in LR3.
peter

Nice. Subtile rendering of light. :thumbup:

-Marc

 

[ptomsu]

Peter,

wonderful images and thanks for sharing!

Now with all your experiences WRT S2 and Nikon (D3X) -

1) would you say that you could have done all of these shoots satisfyingly also with the Nikon?

2) would the Nikon not have been more flexible (allow more successful shoots) because of the more flexible zooms etc?

Thanks

Peter

 

[cmb_]

the holocaust memorial, S2, 70mm, f3.4, 1/500s, iso 320. some mild green fringing, easily eliminated in LR3.
peter

Very nice.

 

[tjv]

He's pretty much already stated that in the original post. I think the point of this post to show what can be done if needed, not that the S2 is a better option than A or B? Certainly, people use Phase or H cameras for this type of work too.

Peter,

wonderful images and thanks for sharing!

Now with all your experiences WRT S2 and Nikon (D3X) -

1) would you say that you could have done all of these shoots satisfyingly also with the Nikon?

2) would the Nikon not have been more flexible (allow more successful shoots) because of the more flexible zooms etc?

Thanks

Peter

 

[markowich]

Peter,

wonderful images and thanks for sharing!

Now with all your experiences WRT S2 and Nikon (D3X) -

1) would you say that you could have done all of these shoots satisfyingly also with the Nikon?

2) would the Nikon not have been more flexible (allow more successful shoots) because of the more flexible zooms etc?

Thanks

Peter

peter,
very difficult questions....but obviously the right ones. with andrea we talked about it at length over dinner. she is definitly a photographic hardliner, typically arguing that ALPA/P65+ would have gotten her the best shot which she could blow up to 2m length. so for her the keeper rate is not an issue, it is the ONE shot...anyway, she is not terribly impressed with the S2 (although in my humble view her production on this trip is very good). i think the issue is that it is easy to get fooled into believing that you are holding a nikon but the S2 AF is like H3D and dynamic range is certainly less than the D3x. all in all, i think that if you want consistently great shots, have moving targets, changing light and do not want to print larger than 1m lenght than the D3x is a no brainer. if you are after the ONE shot then MF is a contender and the S2 is certainly top in that spectrum. here i am talking about travel photography only, studio, architecture etc are different ball parks.
seems that it will be D3x for andrea next month on our trip to india and, of course, M9 for the less discerning family member---)))
peter

 

[ptomsu]

peter,
very difficult questions....but obviously the right ones. with andrea we talked about it at length over dinner. she is definitly a photographic hardliner, typically arguing that ALPA/P65+ would have gotten her the best shot which she could blow up to 2m length. so for her the keeper rate is not an issue, it is the ONE shot...anyway, she is not terribly impressed with the S2 (although in my humble view her production on this trip is very good). i think the issue is that it is easy to get fooled into believing that you are holding a nikon but the S2 AF is like H3D and dynamic range is certainly less than the D3x. all in all, i think that if you want consistently great shots, have moving targets, changing light and do not want to print larger than 1m lenght than the D3x is a no brainer. if you are after the ONE shot then MF is a contender and the S2 is certainly top in that spectrum. here i am talking about travel photography only, studio, architecture etc are different ball parks.
seems that it will be D3x for andrea next month on our trip to india and, of course, M9 for the less discerning family member---)))
peter

Peter,

thanks for your opinion! Interesting to see anyway how the S System really delivers in the field. Think it is not bad.

Also interesting will be, how close the next generation high end DSLRs will come to the S2 in terms of IQ and if the difference will almost disappear. If one takes price of equipment into account then this is already pretty obvious today - at least for me.

 

[ptomsu]

He's pretty much already stated that in the original post. I think the point of this post to show what can be done if needed, not that the S2 is a better option than A or B? Certainly, people use Phase or H cameras for this type of work too.

For me it is rather not the question how close the S2 is to top models of Phase and Hasselblad - because in my opinion IQ wise the S System has to improve to reach this quality (SW included of course), but more how close high end DSLRs are coming to the S2.

Interesting to see that Peter mentions a D3X already is same level if not printing larger than 1m. Now we can discuss about 0.8m or 1.2m, matter of fact is that I could upres successfully to almost double the size in PS without anybody noticing - maybe only in a direct comparison. So I expect the next generation of DSLRs - like a D4X - to be already same level as the S2 IQ wise, but given the huge sortiment of Nikkor lenses better AF and IS to just be the better solution.

CLear is also that if you really want THE SHOT, then nothing will top a tech cam and dedicated lenses (Schneider, Rodenstock) in combination with a high res digital back.

 

[fotografz]

"...and dynamic range is certainly less than the D3x."

Really?

 

[hcubell]

CLear is also that if you really want THE SHOT, then nothing will top a tech cam and dedicated lenses (Schneider, Rodenstock) in combination with a high res digital back.

True, unless you are working in the field and focusing your tech camera by guesstimate. Then, I would rather have a Phase or Hassy camera with accurate autofocus.