Leica First Impressions of LEICA S2, a.k.a. OMG, I touched a $30,000 camera!!!

Armanius

Bring Jack back!
Location
Houston, Texas
Name
Jack
I was at the local camera shop, and my sale's guy Andy says, "wait here, I want to show you something." My heart skipped a beat thinking that he had a Fuji X100. As it turned out, he hands me a Leica S2-P!!! My heart ends up skipping a whole lot than just a beat!

Imagine handling a $30,000 camera with a 37.5 megapixel resolution! It also had a lens on it, and I'm not even sure how much the lens must cost. Probably at least another $6,000! The thing was big. If people think the Oly E5 is a tank. The S2 is an aircraft carrier! Very big and sturdy feeling. But not as heavy as I thought. It has only four buttons on the back, and I had the hardest time figuring out how to change the settings on the camera. Nevertheless, it felt so ... empowering ... to hold that S2 in my hands. That is until I dropped it!!!! NOOOOO!

......

Just kidding about the dropping part. Andy hands me a SD card so that I can take a few photos with it. As it turned out, each RAW file is about 75-80 MB!!! The card already had photos in it, so I took only two more photos and filled up the 4 GB card. The OVF is big, bright, and easy to see. Shutter sound was pleasant. The S2 sports the fastest AF system ever in any Leica's. In case you didn't pick it up, the last statement was suposed to be sarcastic given that most Leica's are MF cameras. The AF was actually decent though.

So, needless to say, I'm totally tempted to buy one.

NOT!!!

I'd have to sell the car first. And then at least one kidney and a cornea!
 
Now you kinda know how I felt when I went out with the M9 and a Leica lens (I picked one of the least expensive) -- I had constant fear of tripping!

It turned out fine, though.
 
As it turned out, each RAW file is about 75-80 MB!!! The card already had photos in it, so I took only two more photos and filled up the 4 GB card.

That is so huge I can't even comprehend it. I've seen photos from the S2 on Flickr but it's strange to my understanding that people are using it like it's their regular carry-around camera when it's this behemoth physically, financially, and file size.

The S2 sports the fastest AF system ever in any Leica's. In case you didn't pick it up, the last statement was suposed to be sarcastic given that most Leica's are MF cameras. The AF was actually decent though.

haha I didn't get that at first.

Now you kinda know how I felt when I went out with the M9 and a Leica lens (I picked one of the least expensive) -- I had constant fear of tripping!

Did you get an M9 or was this a test run at a store?
 
I just went over to have a look at your link, enjoyed reading your report. It would be a bitter-sweet experience to go but I'm impressed that Leica would organise something like this. I guess they're a smaller company with almost a niche product.
 
They do them seasonally and anyone can sign up. They give the cost of the workshop as a gift certificate good for a serial-numbered Leica product, so I still have something else to look forward to buying. :)

It is cool, though, because many of the people are experienced Leica shooters trying out a new product; almost half were people who already had Leica cameras, mostly film. A few were upgrading from M8 to M9, though.
 
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