ראשי English Photokina 2012 Video Interview: Stephan Schulz – Head of Pro Imaging Leica

Photokina 2012 Video Interview: Stephan Schulz – Head of Pro Imaging Leica

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We are delighted to bring to you one of four interviews we recorded with representatives from Leica during photokina 2012 which ended recently. The current interview conducted with Mr. Stephan Schulz – Head of Professional Imaging at the company deals with the new S camera and the new lenses Leica announced for it.

During photokina 2012 we had a chance to conduct over a dozen interviews with top managers from all the major photography brands (all of them will be published on our dedicated photokina 2012 English page during the next few weeks after editing).

The new Leica S (Credit: Ofir Iluz/MegaPixel.co.il)

Leica new S photokina 2012 megapixel co il

We meet Mr. Stephan Schulz at the Leica booth (actually an entire Hall which was composed of a beautiful exhibition which included works from many well known photographers and a second section dedicated to Leica’s products). The talk with Mr. Schulz is relatively short and deals specifically with the new Leica S and lenses. It came after 3 other interviews we did with other managers at the company which dealt with other topics (including a 30 minutes interview we did with Mr. Stephan Daniel to be published soon).

New joystick on the new S (Credit: Ofir Iluz/MegaPixel.co.il)

leica s back

Interview with Stephan Schulz – Head of Pro Imaging Leica

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRu9Sk7UH3M[/youtube]

A few points from the interview:

  • The new S incorporates over 80 different changes and additions over the current S2.
  • The new S has a new and more robust sync cable connector.
  • The new S has an improved an viewfinder capable of displaying additional info.
  •  The new S has a display with double the resolution, improved brightness and color accuracy and it includes a scratch resistant glass.
  • The camera has a GPS which is incorporated in the upper part on a small protrusion to allow reception but at the same time not affect the body’s weather sealing.
  • The new 30-90mm zoom lens was specially designed to keep as small as possible while maintaining high quality.
  • The new Leica S adapter (announced back in May) is a smart unit which extends the capability of some of the older Hasselblad lenses (it also extend the lens line available for the S considerably, making it possibly the most versatile medium format camera currently on the market).

The new S key features and specifications

  • A new medium format (45x30mm) CCD sensor (same resolution as the S2 – 37.5 MP).
  • A new and faster image processor.
  • An improved faster focusing system.
  • 2GB buffer (double that of the S2) – up to 166 MB/s transfer rate for taking up to 32 consecutive RAW images (no limit on JPEGs) – 1.5 images per second (same as the S2)
  • Color depth – 16 bit.
  • Improved sensitivity – 1600 ISO (up from 1250 ISO in the S2).
  • Improved higher resolution 3 inch display (920k dots) with scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass.
  • Integrated GPS (a first for this type of camera) and dual-axis leveling on screen aid.
  • Improved menus (over the S2).
  • New tiny joystick for simpler navigation.
  • Storage: SD+CF (same as the S2 but with SDXC and UDMA7 for CF support).
  • Dust and splash proof metal construction.
  • Weight – 1260 grams.
  • Price and availability: 22,000 Euro starting December 2012.

We had a few minutes to play with the new S after the interview. The camera (just like the S2) is not much bigger than your average full body 35mm camera (although it does feel heavier especially with the lens attached). In this respect Leica was able to create a medium format camera system which isn’t very different (in terms of ergonomics and size) than your average pro camera. Incidentally we spent a few more days in Koln after photokina and happened to run into a photographer walking on the street with an S2 – this is defiantly a camera you can take with you almost anywhere (if you are O.K. with the weight and price tag of course).

Besides the new S, Leica also announced 3 new lenses for the S series which includes:

  • LEICA VARIO-ELMAR-S 30-90 mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPHThe first zoom lens for the S system similar to a 24-70mm on 35mm (actually 24-72mm). The lens is very compact (relatively speaking) and not longer than your average 24-70mm Canon/Nikon lens but it doesn’t have a fixed aperture – its actually f/3.5-f/5.6 (otherwise it would make it significantly larger), it is thicker and heavier though. The lens has a very unique construction which took about 3 years to develop and includes 14 elements in 11 groups with 9 (!) ED elements (Leica calls them anomalous partial dispersion elements), 3 fluoride elements (super high quality and very hard and expensive to manufacture) and two aspherical elements. The lens will be available starting November 2012 for a price of 9000 Euros.

The new 30-90mm zoom lens for the S (Credit: Ofir Iluz/MegaPixel.co.il)

leica lens30 90 s

  • Leica Super-Elmar-S 24 mm f/3.5 ASPH – an ultra wide angle lens for the S line with a 24mm focal length (19mm equivalent on 35mm). The lens has 12 elements arranged in 10 groups with 5 ED elements and two aspherical elements. The lens is Dust and splash proof  and will be available in November for 6000 Euros.

A video prepared by Leica and David Maurer on the new 24mm lens

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/49455394[/vimeo]

The new 24mm Leica (left) – ultra wide angle lens (Credit: Ofir Iluz/MegaPixel.co.il)

leica lenses 24mm 3090 s

 

  • Leica TS-APO-Elmar-S 120 mm f/5.6 ASPH – The first Tilt-Shift lens for the S line. The lens has a long focal length – 120mm (96mm on 35mm) and is very light for its size (1110 grams) and includes 4 degrees of control for tilting and shifting the lens. The lens will be available from January 2013 for 6000 Euros.

A video prepared by Leica and Bernd Ebsen on the new 120mm TS lens

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/49454643#at=133[/vimeo]

The MegaPixel.co.il team were the guests of Leica for photokina 2012

עידו גנוטעידו גנוט
עידו גנוט הוא עורך ומייסד אתר הצילום מגה פיקסל. הוא מסקר חדשות טכנולוגיה מאז סוף שנות ה-90 וכתב וערך עבור שורה של מגזינים בינלאומיים מובילים. הוא עוסק בתחום הצילום מאז שנת 2009. עידו הוא גם מייסד שותף בחברת ההפקה Shooteat.co.il העוסקת ביצירת תוכן ויזואלי עבור חברות מסחריות.
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