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S2 Impressions: A year later.

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Final conclusion:

It's a keeper! :salute:

Completed my testing yesterday and it is a go. S2P, 35mm, 70mm, 180mm, spare battery, SF58 flash and electronic release are all part of my gear vault now.

I've wanted a focal plane kit to supplement the H system for some time now, and used the Sony A900 as a stop-gap. However, I am not a fan of CMOS sensors and AA filtration even when done as well as the Sony does it.

I like the 35mm DSLR like handling of the S2, and the lenses are without question superb. It all fits my shift in type of work quite nicely. I am very pleasantly surprised by the ISO 1250 performance ... both in lower light, and for use in raising the shutter speed when using the longer lens in medium light. No question that this is not a 35mm DSLR in terms of speed, but plenty fast for what I do ... and the same care in handling that is required of a MFD is also a must do. But, realistically, I expected no less or no more.

How Leica handled the issues I've reported was a big part of this decision, and they passed that test with flying colors ... which went a long way in restoring at least part of the lost trust.:)

The H system is slated to be elevated upwards with a H4D/60 for more demanding MFD work ... and my excellent H4D/40 will be sold.

Thanks to each of you for the very civil comments and feedback both pro and con, publicly and privately ... all very helpful in making this decision. :thumbup:

Special thanks to Jack and Guy not only for the best forum ever, but also for their personal insights and thoughts via PMs. Much appreciated :thumbs:

-Marc
More than welcome and glad we could help in any way we can. Good luck with it. Guy
 

D&A

Well-known member
Marc,

Appreciate all the documentation of your S2 journey, the pluses and minuses and what expectations were finally met with your latest body. Although specifically related to the S2 system, quite a bit could be extrapolated for both use and comparison to other MFD systems. Now I sure comes the fun part, your actually use of the camera for work and pleasure :)

Dave (D&A)
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Are you able to share any insights as to what/how it got fixed?
Well, the first S2P I sent back was older stock or something ... it had a cracked sensor cover ... which may have happened when it was shipped to me in the cold weather ... who knows. That was a Kodak flaw, not Leica ... and wouldn't have necessarily showed up during Quality Control. Same thing happened with some early M9s. Kodak has since fixed that issue.

The second body that replaced that one had something wrong with the shutter release mechanism ... so it would lock up in below freezing temps. Leica USA confirmed the issue, and speculated it was possibly something to do with lubricants but they weren't sure until it went back to Germany. That was a "one of" issue and has not been reported by anyone else. Just my bad luck.

It seems for me ... third time is a charm. ;)

-Marc
 

David K

Workshop Member
Congrats Marc... I was hoping this kit would work as it should for you. Hope it helps with cultivating that high end market you were aiming at but, in any event, I am quite sure you will get a lot of enjoyment out of it.
 

jonoslack

Active member
It seems for me ... third time is a charm. ;)

-Marc
HI Marc - contratulations . . . last time I looked you seemed to have given up.

I hope this is the start of a long and happy relationship between you and the camera . . . me? next year maybe!
:ROTFL:
 
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