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it will be super interesting to see Nikon D800 VS Leica S2

m21apsh

Member
it will be super interesting to see Nikon D800 VS Leica S2

Nikon only cost 1/10 price 36MP vs 37.5MP

Even more fun, Leica R vs Leica S lens
if use lens adapter to use Leica R lens on D800 vs Leica S2:poke:
 

kit laughlin

Subscriber Member
Still, the S2 sensor is quite a lot bigger, physically, so there's that "MF" look to images that the D800 will not be able to meet—but I think the Leica R lenses on this camera will produce very fine images, to be sure.
 

Christopher

Active member
Still, the S2 sensor is quite a lot bigger, physically, so there's that "MF" look to images that the D800 will not be able to meet—but I think the Leica R lenses on this camera will produce very fine images, to be sure.
Well, yes and no. If u spent 20-30k on an S2 it will always be a lot better and a small camera like the D800 can never be close to MF.

However, I'm once again pretty sure that on most printed images 90% of all viewers could not tell a difference between a 3000 and 20000 camera. Ouch
 

Paratom

Well-known member
it will be super interesting to see Nikon D800 VS Leica S2

Nikon only cost 1/10 price 36MP vs 37.5MP

Even more fun, Leica R vs Leica S lens
if use lens adapter to use Leica R lens on D800 vs Leica S2:poke:
I bet it would be hard to manually focus a Leica lens accurate enough on a D800 to take advantage of the high resolution.
Allready on the S2, with a bigger viewfinder and an auto f-stop (which opens during focusing which the one of the R lens on the Nikon would not do) than the D800, the AF is more accurate than my eyes sometimes.

Anyways I bet the difference in IQ will melt away a little bit further. Besides resolution I am very much wondering how much Nikon has improved color, specially skin color.
In the end I can not believe that the IQ will really come close. But thats just my personal guess.
 

Christopher

Active member
One again it depends. On a tripod with LV you can focus much better on any CMOS camera compared to a S2 or anyother camera without it.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
One again it depends. On a tripod with LV you can focus much better on any CMOS camera compared to a S2 or anyother camera without it.
Live view might have some advantages, I wouldnt call it MUCH better though. So far I havent run into problems to focus the S2 when using it on a tripod.

I have-however -run into small focus inaccurancies when I was using a R100Macro-Elmarit with a Leitax adapter on my D700. What looked sharp in the viewfinder didnt look sharp in the final images when it was magnified. Of course I wouldnt mind to have life view in the S2 ;)

If someone is shooting mainly tripod work of landscapes and static subjects its not an issue for sure. Personally I have allways prefered to shoot AF lenses on the Nikon, its even the main reason why I sometimes use and still keep the Nikon. I think personally I would rather see which of the newer Nikon lenses are up to the task than using Leica glass if I was going to get a D800.
 

Paul Spinnler

Well-known member
Take a look at the samples on the official nikon page. Is it just me? I am a little underwhelmed regarding image quality at display ...
 

Chris Giles

New member
Same here, not impressed. The 1DX high res stuff is up now too, that's impressive although, secretely I was expecting more lol.
 

Anders_HK

Member
you guys must be joking right?
Take a look at S2's raw files:

LEICA Camera AG - S2 RAW

and maybe some photos from its users:

Church of the Good Sheperd

or:

Omo valley - ethiopia

:eek: D800E can match that how?
+1

It remains amazing, interesting and frustrating that so many seem to believe that it is only about pixels or any sharp glass. Surely the camera industry and all media have long sold us on more pixels, but come on guys!

There is more than pixels. The S2 is well spoken of for its high preciseness and sharp images, will Nikon be able to match that on a manufacturing line that spits NNN cameras out a day and with N minutes to adjust and calibrate the camera? Never mind that, surely... the sensors and all image path must have differing purposes and aims for design? The D800E is a handle all camera... bright light, low light, high ISO, and broadcast quality video even...

Though I agree that in the end the image is what counts, these tools are different.

;)
 

jonoslack

Active member
it will be super interesting to see Nikon D800 VS Leica S2

Nikon only cost 1/10 price 36MP vs 37.5MP

Even more fun, Leica R vs Leica S lens
if use lens adapter to use Leica R lens on D800 vs Leica S2:poke:
But it's the lenses . . . I take your point on the R lenses, but with an OVF the focusing is a real pain (not to mention stop down metering).
What'll be much more interesting in that context is using R lenses on the Sony A99 (or whatever the camera which uses this sensor). With focus peaking they should be rather splendid.

in the final analysis though I'm sure the S2 images are going to be a step up (and no, I don't have one :) )
 
V

Vivek

Guest
But it's the lenses . . .

in the final analysis though I'm sure the S2 images are going to be a step up (and no, I don't have one :) )
Yes. Though I have not even seen one of the lenses in real, what they seem capable of projecting is simply amazing! :)

I also think they are way better than the R lenses.
 

coz

New member
But it's the lenses . . . I take your point on the R lenses, but with an OVF the focusing is a real pain (not to mention stop down metering).
What'll be much more interesting in that context is using R lenses on the Sony A99 (or whatever the camera which uses this sensor). With focus peaking they should be rather splendid.

in the final analysis though I'm sure the S2 images are going to be a step up (and no, I don't have one :) )


I agree a step up but at almost 10X the price it's making me reconsider the S2!
 

SergeiR

New member
Take a look at the samples on the official nikon page. Is it just me? I am a little underwhelmed regarding image quality at display ...

Well from experience with D700 i must say - i wouldnt judge new box by that. D700 examples were beyound terrible and actual live testing i done ( after much doubting that i will ever want touch this camera) did bear quite different results. Not super-uber amazing, but they were much more to me liking.
 

jonoslack

Active member
Yes. Though I have not even seen one of the lenses in real, what they seem capable of projecting is simply amazing! :)

I also think they are way better than the R lenses.
Yes - I also think that they are way better . . . . . what might be more interesting to compare is a 36mp M camera

Maybe one day.
 

dfarkas

Workshop Member
Take a look at the samples on the official nikon page. Is it just me? I am a little underwhelmed regarding image quality at display ...
It's not just you. I just downloaded all the D800 sample images from the Nikon website. Based on what I see here, these don't look anything like what I get with my S2. They have the look of a D300 with a lot more pixels. Missing is the per-pixel sharpness, microcontrast and texture. In fact, nothing in these images is actually sharp. I'll reserve final judgement until a controlled test can be done and we're not just looking at JPGs from CaptureNX.

David
 

KeithL

Well-known member
Take a look at the samples on the official nikon page. Is it just me? I am a little underwhelmed regarding image quality at display ...
I'm afraid this is par for the course.

For some reason only known to themselves camera manufacturers often release poor sample images.
 
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