Hi,
I have picked up a Leica S, too, but I what not impressed at all. It was a bit like my 2008 vintage Alpha 900, but with noisy focusing. But, I cannot judge a camera by picking it up. Need to use it as tool for shooting.
With the Sony there are a lot of viewfinder options, including clean screen. Personally I use the horizon indicator all the time. If you are shooting in dark places an electronic viewfinder can be quite useful. You can cycle between a number of different viewfinder setups using the disp button.
I don't think that Leica S is a direct competitor to the X1D, it is not mirrorless, it is quite heavy and lenses are both heavy and expensive.
Hasselblad's lenses are compact design, giving up on maximum aperture. But there are only two of them right now, with a third coming in September.
If you want a mirrorless camera, there are Leica M9/M (240), Sony A7xx, Leica SL and Hasselblad X1D if we skip over APS-C and 4/3.
EVF -> Sony A7xx, Leica SL, X1D
AF -> Sony A7xx, Leica SL, X1D
> 24 MP -> Sony A7r/A7rII, X1D
> 37 MP -> Sony A7RII, X1D
Why would you buy a mirrorless camera?
- Size (but lenses can be large)
- Silent shooting
- Accurate AF (they use contrast detection)
- Flexible AF (you can put focus point where you need it)
- You can put any lens on it, on this point the X1D lacks flexibility
Best regards
Erik
Erik, I don't own a Leica but what I noticed about them over the Sony is when you pick it up you can use it, the Sony I thought was such a hopless design as a photographic tool it didn't matter what sensor it had I wouldn't want one.
I had two guys on a trade stand trying to show me how you turn off the horizon level thing in the viewfinder, they both failed saying it's possible to set it off as a default.
FFS I just want to take a picture not deliver a bomb down a chimney from a low flying fast jet, for that you don't need all the rubbish Sony seam to think you do in the viewfinder.
Picking up the Leica S was like a breath of fresh air, I think Lerica know the difference between a guy that wants to make pictures and someone that likes to press buttons thinking they are making some creative input. I could find a use for all the products Leica make I would hate to think my camera bag was full of Sony cameras no matter how wonderous the sensor.