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Author Topic: Leica S2 30mm  (Read 33156 times)

Nick Rains

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Leica S2 30mm
« on: November 02, 2011, 06:39:48 am »

Looks like the 30mm is finally on it's way. The lens was announced on DP review today with availability next month. I expect to get one in my hands as soon as one arrives in Australia.

The 35mm is an awesome lens but is just that little bit too restricted for my own tastes. The 30mm is the equivalent of a 24mm and is thus quite a bit wider than the 28mm equiv. coverage of the S2 35mm.

Can't wait to see it...
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Nick Rains
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paulmoorestudio

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2011, 01:30:47 pm »

I was able to handle and shoot some with it last week in nyc.
Very nice.. meaning that it appears to me like a good rectilinear lens, straight lines and no
discernable barrel distortion.. focus to about .7 meter.
I didnt come away with any of the images I shot ( was not my memory card ) but it looked
really good.. viewed a cs120 macro...nice one.
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ndevlin

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #2 on: November 02, 2011, 11:02:28 pm »


Nick,

It's a big piece of glass, focuses very close, gives a really interesting feel wide-open -- who ever heard of good bohek on a 24mm equivalent, eh? I'm sure it will be a smashing lens for the S2 crowd.

- N.
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Nick Devlin   @onelittlecamera        ww

abiggs

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2011, 09:54:06 pm »

I also saw it in NYC last week, and when I grabbed it I was thinking it was the 35mm. So it is a similar look and feel. I didn't get a chance to shoot with it, though. Based on the 30mm being an option, I would most definitely prefer the 30mm over the 35mm, based on what I shoot (landscapes).
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DaveCurtis

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2011, 12:29:00 am »

Any chance in doing a review for Lula Nick ?
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Nick Rains

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2011, 05:58:49 am »

Any chance in doing a review for Lula Nick ?
Certainly will - but I don't know when we will get them down under. I know the Leica agent has them on order but all Leica stuff is in short supply.

I'll keep you posted...
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Nick Rains
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dfarkas

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #6 on: November 07, 2011, 09:52:42 am »

I did get a chance to do some test shooting at Photo Plus with the 30mm and compare it to the 35mm. Here are my thoughts and a couple of comparison images with 100% crops:

A Quick test: Leica Elmarit-S 30mm f/2.8 ASPH vs. Summarit-S 35mm f/2.5 ASPH

David
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David Farkas
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #7 on: November 07, 2011, 05:37:14 pm »

Did I read the price correctly: 7,500 US$?  I am not doubting the excellence of the 30mm Leica, but I just don't get the excitement considering the price point.

You can get 3 copies of the truly excellent Nikkor 24mm opening at f1.4 for the price of the Leica 30mm f2.5 lens alone, not to mention the new Zeiss 25mm f2.0. Both of these lenses will enable you to get less DoF when needed or more DoF when needed. They are really amazingly good lenses with a great rendering and the odds that the Leica is significantly better in real world applications are... low.

In case you don't need 3 or 4 copies of a lens... you could also decide to use that cash to buy one or two cameras. :)

Does it make sense to let MF camera manufacturers keep passing down their internal inefficiencies to photographers with such crazily inflated prices?

Cheers,
Bernard

telyt

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #8 on: November 07, 2011, 09:47:08 pm »

You can get 3 copies of the truly excellent Nikkor 24mm opening at f1.4 for the price of the Leica 30mm f2.5 lens alone, not to mention the new Zeiss 25mm f2.0...

 ::)

Nobody's forcing you to buy, Bernard.
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #9 on: November 08, 2011, 06:32:58 pm »

Nobody's forcing you to buy, Bernard.

Indeed. Nobody is forcing to buy this lens, but I am saddened by the growing impossibility for most photographers to invest into MF because of the price inflation accross the board.

In essence this is turning into a luxury niche. Perhaps has it been the main positioning of Leica for a long time, but it is in fact in my view hurting photography as a whole more with the S2 range that I, somewhat naively, believed Leica intended to be used by more than a few millionaires.

I just hope that the good folks of Pentax understand that reason and real world constraints must drive their pricing instead of benchmarking themselves against diamond cut luxury toys. :-)

Cheers,
Bernard

paulmoorestudio

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #10 on: November 08, 2011, 06:53:19 pm »

do I want to pop 7500 bucks for a lens? no.. I don't, but that doesn't mean it is not worth it..
I don't want to buy a 70,000 alexa camera body either..but that doesn't mean there are not
professionals out there that can and do buy such things... cause..they make money from them!
I think a successful photographer doing well at his craft and business makes around 300,000 a year.. after
expenses..and yes that includes depreciation on such things as 30mm leica lenses...so lets say you need to bill 600g
to 800g to do this.. is 7500 dollars for a lens out of the question?  and if you take home 300,000 are you just
another rich millionaire?  I don't think so.
More time and effort needs to be spent by us photographers on how to maintain our fees and rights so buying
the top end equipment is not just wishful thinking. until then.. there is sigma for the average joe.
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #11 on: November 08, 2011, 09:57:32 pm »

do I want to pop 7500 bucks for a lens? no.. I don't, but that doesn't mean it is not worth it..
I don't want to buy a 70,000 alexa camera body either..but that doesn't mean there are not
professionals out there that can and do buy such things... cause..they make money from them!
I think a successful photographer doing well at his craft and business makes around 300,000 a year.. after
expenses..and yes that includes depreciation on such things as 30mm leica lenses...so lets say you need to bill 600g
to 800g to do this.. is 7500 dollars for a lens out of the question?  and if you take home 300,000 are you just
another rich millionaire?  I don't think so.
More time and effort needs to be spent by us photographers on how to maintain our fees and rights so buying
the top end equipment is not just wishful thinking. until then.. there is sigma for the average joe.

With this kind of thinking you are nearly asking the manufacturers of some key equipments with a sufficient entry barrier to raise their prices significantly...

The 30mm will be just as good and just as needed for some applications if it costs 10.000 US$. That will still be small money for some of the tens of photograpers WW making 300.000 US$, so why not make this lens 15.000 US$ in fact?...

Cheers,
Bernard

bcooter

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #12 on: November 09, 2011, 02:36:18 am »

Did I read the price correctly: ////////snip


Bernard,

Have you shot Leica glass?  . . . cause Leica makes some fascinating lenses and there is a "look" to them that you can see.

Now, I know on some of their lenses, like my M series 90 the quality control is kinda messy, but $7,500 in the world of a really good lens is not that much.

An Angeneiux optimo zoom is 20 grand (U.S)  and that's not over the top, a series of ghetto priced Zeiss Mini primes is $24,000 without breathing hard and those are not considered to be in the league of Cooke or many others.

Don't get me wrong, Nikon makes some very good glass, some not as good, but I know from experience some Nikon glass doesn't get close to some cine lenses and I doubt if anyone thinks a Nikon lens is the equal of a Leica.

IMO

BC
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #13 on: November 09, 2011, 06:18:57 am »

Have you shot Leica glass?  . . . cause Leica makes some fascinating lenses and there is a "look" to them that you can see.

Now, I know on some of their lenses, like my M series 90 the quality control is kinda messy, but $7,500 in the world of a really good lens is not that much.

An Angeneiux optimo zoom is 20 grand (U.S)  and that's not over the top, a series of ghetto priced Zeiss Mini primes is $24,000 without breathing hard and those are not considered to be in the league of Cooke or many others.

Don't get me wrong, Nikon makes some very good glass, some not as good, but I know from experience some Nikon glass doesn't get close to some cine lenses and I doubt if anyone thinks a Nikon lens is the equal of a Leica.

Hi BC,

Don't get me wrong, I am not questioning the least bit the quality of the Leica 30mm.

I have not used Leica lenses. I have used lenses from Schneider and Zeiss on various formats, but never a Leica lens for some strange reason. Let me return you the questiont though, have you used the Nikkor 24mm f1.4? It is truly a fabulous lens that is bound to enter the pantheon of 35mm lenses in terms of technical measurement, but above all in terms of look.

I am also aware that specility lenses produced in very small series for movie are very pricey. But that is the nature of B2B very small series and is probably unavoidable considering the target of these lenses.

MF is not intrinsically condemned to this niche status. It is being pushed there by very high prices and that is not a good thing for photographers in my view. That is what I am reacting against. Heck, I found the Phaseone 28mm f4.5 (I used to own one) and the Pentax 25mm f4 to be very expensive already, but at 5.000 US$ they almost looks like bargains although they go significantly wider and cover a much larger area than the Leica (full 645). And that is taking into account a historically strong yen, they should be at 4.000 US$. :)

Cheers,
Bernard

ixania2

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #14 on: November 10, 2011, 06:17:10 am »

Indeed. Nobody is forcing to buy this lens, but I am saddened by the growing impossibility for most photographers to invest into MF because of the price inflation accross the board.


it's only market price. if they wouldn't sell, you would get them for $49.90
i am saddened by the price of bugatti veyron as well, which makes it more and more impossible for me to buy one. same for the estate at fisher-island and picassos.
sad, sad, sad. ;D
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telyt

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #15 on: November 10, 2011, 07:50:32 am »

... I found the Phaseone 28mm f4.5 (I used to own one) and the Pentax 25mm f4 to be very expensive already, but at 5.000 US$ they almost looks like bargains although they go significantly wider and cover a much larger area than the Leica (full 645). And that is taking into account a historically strong yen, they should be at 4.000 US$. :)

The Leica 30mm Summarit-S is an f/2.8 lens, not f/4 or f/4.5.  By your reasoning the Canon 50mm L (f/1.2) shouldn't be priced much more than the Canon Nifty Fifty (f/1.8).
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #16 on: November 10, 2011, 08:50:47 am »

The Leica 30mm Summarit-S is an f/2.8 lens, not f/4 or f/4.5.  By your reasoning the Canon 50mm L (f/1.2) shouldn't be priced much more than the Canon Nifty Fifty (f/1.8).

I guess that the comparison of the maximum apertures would be relevant if the S2 were a real MF FF camera instead of being a mere APS version of MF. :)

Cheers,
Bernard

BernardLanguillier

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #17 on: November 10, 2011, 08:55:39 am »

it's only market price. if they wouldn't sell, you would get them for $49.90
i am saddened by the price of bugatti veyron as well, which makes it more and more impossible for me to buy one. same for the estate at fisher-island and picassos.

Right... except that Bugattis have always been a luxury product while MF cameras and their lenses used not to.

But anyway, the impact is limited for me, I just wouldn't want to be a pro photographer whose work relies on the look of MF these days. I have rarely seen professional rejoy about the growing inflation of the cost of the equipment they need, but I guess that the power of the brand is strong in these parts. ;D

Cheers,
Bernard

telyt

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #18 on: November 10, 2011, 09:01:30 am »

I guess that the comparison of the maximum apertures would be relevant if the S2 were a real MF FF camera instead of being a mere APS version of MF. :)

http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31316
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Leica S2 30mm
« Reply #19 on: November 10, 2011, 09:17:14 am »

http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31316

Yes, but I am not discussing the quality of the lens, system,... that I know is excellent.

As far as the pictures linked to, I don't doubt that the full size images tell a different story, but at that size just about any decent APS camera would be able to do just as well with the right lights. Heck, I suspect that even a Canon S100 would be able to produce these images.

Cheers,
Bernard
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