Hi,
My point is that 37 MP is fine for say A1 size prints, and you can certainly print larger, but more pixels may be a good thing for large prints.
More to the issue, Leica said that the lenses are made for at least twice the resolution of the original S2. It may not make great sense to make lenses for say 75 MP (or more) when the sensor cannot handle more than 37 MP. What the sensor will do is to turn the excess resolution into artefacts, unless the photographer uses f/16 (or so) which blurs the image enough to eliminate the artefacts.
It is hard to utilize the full resolution of the lenses, so this may not matter in many cases, but why pay for expensive lenses if thet will not be utilised fully?
I don't think the difference between 50 MP and 37 MP is that great that matters.
But than you also need to consider the costs, say S (typ 007) + 45 + 120 mm lens -> 33k$US, Hasselblad X1D -> around 15k$US.
So the Hasselblad will give you:
- 4/3 crop (if that is an advantage is a question of taste/preferences)
- Less than half the price
- A bit more resolution
- A bit more accurate AF (CDAF is more accurate in general than PDAF)
- AF over most of the image are
- Less noise when shooting handheld
That doesn't make the Leica "worthless" or "unworthy" but it may be more attractive to the buyers whom it is intended for, buyers wanting a small and portable MFD system on a limited budget.
Best regards
Erik
IMO, the Leica S is a very capable camera. The sensor/lens combo is very hard to beat.
But, at 37MP, it is just too weak to consider as a pro system when 50-100MP can be had elsewhere. I don't know where the S fits anymore - it's in limbo where it doesn't cut it in a professional context and is way to expensive to compete with a dSLR.
The X1D is a much better alternative, is not even that much bigger than an M and looks like it has a decent and more certain future ahead of it - something that I think is questionable with the Leica and the S. I even wonder if the M's days are numbered.