Wow. I assumed that having the first Leica S2-P would attract some attention… but I did not expect it would attract this much. As such – I am going to put a link to an FAQ page here in front – to answer some of the frequently asked questions.
This website is dedicated to my own personal fine art projects. I am not a professional photographer. I certainly could pursue photography commercially but I think it would lose the magic that has captured my attention this long. I enjoy photography for the art of it – and the fact that my images make some money, is a bonus.
In my own personal work – I do almost exclusively location based shooting. I don’t have (or enjoy) the benefits of having a controlled studio environment. In fact – quite the opposite, as I tend to enjoy shooting in long since abandoned locations.
There are a few factors I take into consideration when picking out primary camera gear for any of my projects. The first is size. I had been shooting mostly professional Canon cameras – as their portability and durability on location could not be matched.
However – their flexibility was a trade off for limited resolution and dynamic range. I moved to digital medium format in 2007, working exclusively with a Mamiya 645AFDII + Leaf Aptus 75s digital back. The size of the MF kit was quite large and bulky to be comfortable in the urbex environment. Not to mention – shooting in very low light levels was NOT its strong suit.
Example image from an exploration using the Mamiya and Leaf Aptus 75s Back
The Leica S2 seems to be quite the happy medium.
Considering the fact that the Leica S2 houses a sensor 56% larger than the Canon 5dmkii, I find it surprising that the size of the cameras with comparable lenses (180mm on the Leica, 24-70 2.8L on the Canon) was almost identical.
Furthermore, the S2 is fully weather sealed. Leica claims that it actually exceeds the standards set by the Canon 1ds line. In a previous issue of LFI magazine, it was exclaimed that the S series lenses underwent a cycle in the dishwasher – in order to reinforce the idea that this camera is meant for the cleanest – and not so cleanest – conditions.
…
The camera arrives…