Leica S2 and Hasselblad 110/2 Lens

[KurtKamka]

I just thought that I'd post a link to some shots that I've taken as I'm testing out the S2 this week.

One of the major reasons that I have an interest in the S2 is for the combination of ergonomic design provided by the camera combined with its large sensor. I'm a photographer that likes to make large prints and still wants to pursue hand-held photography and natural lighting as much as possible.

Quite simply, I've been looking for a medium format size sensor in a camera that I can carry around with me most of the time. I want to be able to utilize such a camera in situations where I would have previously taken the M9 or a DSLR. I like the image characteristics a larger sensor provides with a narrower depth of field especially with faster lenses.

Until last summer, I owned a P45+ Phase back and Phase One medium format camera that I had for about 18 months.

While shooting with the P45+ back, I was able to utilize a Hasselblad Zeiss 110mm f2 lens via a third party adapter. It is a lens that I absolutely adore (some would call it the Noctilux of medium format). So when I found out that a third party Hasselblad to S2 adapter was available and that my Leica crack dealer, David, at Dale Photo and Video, just happened to have one (and was willing to lend it to me during my S2 test drive), I was elated.

An f2 lens, the Zeiss 110/2 lens is wonderful for available light photography. It is a relatively small lens (manual focus lens design) when compared to the larger AF lenses in the S2 line-up, making it easily hand-holdable on the S2.

The Zeiss 110/2 has a distinctive lens signature that provides rich, high-contrast images and smooth bokeh. It is a match well-made for larger medium format digital sensors including the S2's.

I was delighted to discover that the S2's large viewfinder makes manually focusing the 110/2 no more difficult than manually focusing any other fast lens on an M body.

My conclusion ... I'm having a blast. The gallery I've linked includes shots I've taken with the 110/2 and S2. Many were taken at the Wisconsin State Fair over the weekend. I walked around the fair for a little over three hours on Saturday with just the S2, the single lens and a hand strap.

There are a few more lenses that are "available" for use with the S2 than you might realize. It's another reason to consider using the S2, especially if you have a few manual focus medium format lenses gathering dust.

Here's the gallery ...

http://www.kurtkamka.com/galleries/s2/


Kurt

 

[KETCH ROSSI]

Especially lovely is the craze Glass Art piece shot, would have been nicer with a miniskirt cleaning it

Wil be testing the S2 shortly as well, together with the Aptus II 10 and P65+ with DF bodies, as well as the H4D.

The Hassy 100 2.2 is a beauty of a lens, and the Autofocus very fast.

Interesting in off, I also had right away chosen the S2 for its form factor, but now really looking on getting the best system to print the largest Prints, so the S2 could be out, however since I shoot and like the crop of the 3:2 not sure what will loose on the 4:2 sensor image once cropped to 3:2, so will have to test.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[KurtKamka]

Ketch, I'm probably a little different from some as camera usability and form factor is really important to me ... although the 100/2.2 in autofocus with Hasselblad's recompose would be very cool to have ... so many decisions and so few dollars to get it right.

 

[David K]

So when I found out that a third party Hasselblad to S2 adapter was available and that my Leica crack dealer, David, at Dale Photo and Video, just happened to have one (and was willing to lend it to me during my S2 test drive), I was elated.
Here's the gallery ...

http://www.kurtkamka.com/galleries/s2/


Kurt

Hey Kurt, he's not just your Leica crack dealer... he's gotten a bunch of us hooked You've got some beautiful shots in your gallery and it's not just the gear that's responsible. Nice work.

 

[KurtKamka]

Thanks for the compliment, David.

 

[Mark Gowin]

Good job Kurt. You managed to get a very impressive set of photos over a weekend. You should be very happy with your results. I would love to see some of your photos large in order to get a better feeling of how the 110 renders. I was one of Davids first S2 victims so I know the S2 well, but it is really interesting to see alternative lenses being used.

Two questions. 1) What are your thoughts on the image quality and S2 usability? 2) How did you set-up the camera with a hand strap? I have been looking into options for a hand strap and I'm curious.

Mark

 

[KurtKamka]

Thanks for the compliment, Mark. I was familiar with using the 110/2 after using it on the P45+ via an adapter, so getting re-aquainted was easy. (Plus, I have a long history of using alternative lenses on different bodies going back to the days when I was one of the first to slice my 1DS mirror to mount R lenses via adapter.)

First, I have to say that I really liked the P45+ back that I had. The sensor delivers some gorgeous images. If I was a landscape shooter, that might be the only back I'd need for a very long time. I shoot some landscapes, but they are small amount of what I like to shoot.

I wasn't very fond of the Phase One camera I was using, however. I know that improvements have been made to the latest version of the camera, but I'm different in that I like to push the whole carry it around with me factor to another level. For what I like to shoot, the S2 offers a hand-holdable usability that works very well for me.

On the image quality issue, I can't quantify it yet as I'm still processing images that I've been shooting for less than a week. It takes time to learn the nuances of the images you are trying to process ... but, on first blush, the images through Lightroom are looking better than they were several months ago.

Kurt

 

[xpixel]

So when I found out that a third party Hasselblad to S2 adapter was available and that my Leica crack dealer, David, at Dale Photo and Video, just happened to have one (and was willing to lend it to me during my S2 test drive), I was elated.

Is this adapter for the S2 already buyable...?

 

[dfarkas]

Is this adapter for the S2 already buyable...?

Yes.

 

[xpixel]

Yes.

Cool and where..? And is it for V or H lenses?

 

[dfarkas]

Cool and where..? And is it for V or H lenses?

Send me an email. The adapter works for V lenses (either CF or FE), but not H lenses. H lenses have electronically controlled focus and aperture so will not work on a mechanical adapter.

David

 

[doug]

Send me an email. The adapter works for V lenses (either CF or FE), but not H lenses. H lenses have electronically controlled focus and aperture so will not work on a mechanical adapter.

David

I have to wonder if someone is working on translating the S2 electronic signals to H signals. That would be a nifty adapter.

 

[dougpeterson]

I have to wonder if someone is working on translating the S2 electronic signals to H signals. That would be a nifty adapter.

Highly unlikely

 

[markowich]

i find the bokeh on your second shot (girl with dog in the foreground, foliage in the background) less than pleasing. much too busy and rough. is it the same in the DNG or JPG artifacts?
peter

 

[fotografz]

Kurt, thanks for the images and your first impressions.

A couple of observations based on the shots ... nice set BTW! These comments are more technical, and have nothing to do with the great casual captures you got.

The Sunflower shots are excellent, and I love the use of the OOF areas ... were those the 110/2?

I noticed a tendency toward a pink cast in a fair amount of shots ... or reddish skin tones (which happens a lot with the M9 in mixed light also if you do not manually WB). Did you Manually WB any of these shots?

Over-all, a fair amount of shots have a bit of a flat feel to them ... which I've seen in other S2 shots. Perhaps the ambient lighting since some other shots pop! But it is a tendency that I see in a fair amount of S2 works. Actually, I still haven't decided if I like that or not. There is merit in a more natural capture. It just depends on style and taste ... and wether you can alter the look without sacrificing something else in IQ.

Again, thanks,

-Marc

 

[fotografz]

Good job Kurt. You managed to get a very impressive set of photos over a weekend. You should be very happy with your results. I would love to see some of your photos large in order to get a better feeling of how the 110 renders. I was one of Davids first S2 victims so I know the S2 well, but it is really interesting to see alternative lenses being used.

Two questions. 1) What are your thoughts on the image quality and S2 usability? 2) How did you set-up the camera with a hand strap? I have been looking into options for a hand strap and I'm curious.

Mark

Mark, I mentioned this on another thread here ... take a look at Camadapter Hand Straps using the dual lug Arca type QR plate. The Hand strap connects on one side and the shoulder strap on the other side. I use these on my Hasselblad H4D and Sony DSLRs.

http://www.camdapter.com/product_plus_arca.html

http://www.camdapter.com/products-straps_prostrap_topgrain.html

-Marc

 

[KurtKamka]

Peter, I'm surprised you didn't mention your Nikon in your post. Maybe it's just me, but it seems there is a high correlation between your S2 posts and the love of your Nikon. Why do you torture yourself with the S2, a camera that you clearly aren't sold on? Anyway, you are right. The bokeh is a little bit busy in that shot ... but it is not something that bothers me. It was mostly a grab shot that I was happy with as I was testing whether I was able to isolate the dog in the foreground at f2 with the S2's bright viewfinder. And, that's something I was very concerned with as I tend to be an atypical shooter in 35mm and medium format as I tend toward faster shooting. Also, it's at a medium distance, versus close-up, which tends to produce harsher bokeh with foliage ... an issue that I've seen with all of the fast glass that I've used in the past.

Kurt

 

[KurtKamka]

Kurt, thanks for the images and your first impressions.

A couple of observations based on the shots ... nice set BTW! These comments are more technical, and have nothing to do with the great casual captures you got.

The Sunflower shots are excellent, and I love the use of the OOF areas ... were those the 110/2?

I noticed a tendency toward a pink cast in a fair amount of shots ... or reddish skin tones (which happens a lot with the M9 in mixed light also if you do not manually WB). Did you Manually WB any of these shots?

Over-all, a fair amount of shots have a bit of a flat feel to them ... which I've seen in other S2 shots. Perhaps the ambient lighting since some other shots pop! But it is a tendency that I see in a fair amount of S2 works. Actually, I still haven't decided if I like that or not. There is merit in a more natural capture. It just depends on style and taste ... and wether you can alter the look without sacrificing something else in IQ.

Again, thanks,

-Marc

Marc, thanks for your comments and your impressions.

The images of the sunflowers are with the 110mm. Everything that I have posted is with the 110mm except for the other gallery that is listed as and shows a few shots with the 180/3.5.

I've only been working with Lightroom for the past several days. Previously, I've been a C1 user for the past 5 years. So the images might be a little off and flat as I continue to tweak my workflow. When I tested an S2 several months ago, I tried both C1 and LR 2.5 and I just couldn't get the colors to look right no matter what I tried. I was discouraged as the reds, pinks, oranges and greens had a vibrancy to them that detracted from the overall image. I'm very, very encouraged by the latest iteration of Lightroom, however, and feel that I'm very close to what I'm looking to achieve.

I find that I have a more casual, found moments type of a style. What I've been trying to do is to determine whether or not I can continue that style in an evolution from the M9 to the S2. I like larger prints and the increased 3D possibilities I can get with a larger sensor ... but I want to continue with the style that feels right for me. Finding a look that is similar to using the noctilux and 75lux on the M8 and M9. That means shooting fast, providing a contextual but blurred (flat?) background and a highlighted subject that tends to stand out from that background. To find out if the S2 was going to provide that for me, I spent the first three days out of six with the 110/2 attached to the camera despite having Leica's latest 35, 70 and 180 optical darlings in the bag for the test run. I needed to determine whether I could spend hours on end with just the S2 and a fast manual focus lens in my hands. Once I determined that that felt good, it was time to give the AF lenses a workout.

What's very interesting to me is how much less of a flattening you get when you see images with Leica's S2 lenses. They tend to be so sharp (even wide open) that you get a greater depth of field. It's almost like you are shooting with a different cameras when you switch between the Zeiss and the Leica lenses. Everything I shot with the summarit lenses feels refined and perfected (I'm not certain how else to describe it). My opinion is that you have more opportunity to alter the look you can get with the Zeiss lenses compared with the look you get with the Leica lenses on the S2. But again, this is only after I've spent less than a week noodling around Lightroom. But it's also how I felt in comparing images on my P45+ back shot with Mamiya versus the Hasselblad lens via adapter.

Kurt

 

[NotXorc]

Kurt, thanks for sharing your tests of the Zeiss 110/2 lens on the S2. You have an impressive set of S2 glass, but how does the 110/2 compare to the Summarit-S 120/2.5? Since they are closest in focal length, and the MTF of the 120 is so impressive, I'd guess this could be an interesting comparison.

It could be apples to oranges, depending on what you *like* in the images.

 

[markowich]

Peter, I'm surprised you didn't mention your Nikon in your post. Maybe it's just me, but it seems there is a high correlation between your S2 posts and the love of your Nikon. Why do you torture yourself with the S2, a camera that you clearly aren't sold on? Anyway, you are right. The bokeh is a little bit busy in that shot ... but it is not something that bothers me. It was mostly a grab shot that I was happy with as I was testing whether I was able to isolate the dog in the foreground at f2 with the S2's bright viewfinder. And, that's something I was very concerned with as I tend to be an atypical shooter in 35mm and medium format as I tend toward faster shooting. Also, it's at a medium distance, versus close-up, which tends to produce harsher bokeh with foliage ... an issue that I've seen with all of the fast glass that I've used in the past.

Kurt

kurt,
my criticism (i repeat, only of an online jpg) was concerned with the bokeh of the lens, which has nothing to do with the S2.
and just for completeness sake, except the 200mm f2 nikon, i am not a fan of the bokeh produced by (most) nikkor lenses.
and i do like the bokeh of the S 180mm lens.
you are of course right, foliage in medium distance is critical for most lenses bokehwise.
and yes, i am not sold on the S2 but it grows on me. looking forward to the S 120mm Summarit, which according to leica, will start shipping in mid sept.
peter