Leica unwraps £16k, 32Mp camera
2000 pixels per Pound
Twelve megapixels is fine for your average Joe photographer, but if you’ve got £16,000 to burn then feast your eyes upon the Leica S2 – which boasts a whopping 32Mp sensor.
The S2 has the look and feel of a traditional 35mm SLR camera, but the camera’s internal signal processing can detect and eliminate annoying layered moiré effects to ensure you always take full advantage of the masses of megapixels available, according to Leica.
Leica's S2: pricy, but powerful
Inside the S2 lurks Leica Maestro image processing chip and an additional camera control processo. The combination delivers “exceptional processing power”.
For example, the camera has a top image capture speed of 1.5fps and the ability to simultaneously save RAW files onto a CompactFlash card and JPEGs to an SD – the S2 has slots for both memory card formats.
Transferring images off the S2 shouldn’t be a problem, because it also has USB 2.0 and HDMI ports.
Sapphire-coated display, anyone?
Images can be reviewed on the S2’s 3in display, which has been coated with an abrasion- and scratch-resistant coating. The camera’s entire 160 x 120 x 80mm body is constructed from robust magnesium, which Leica has covered with a leather-look finish that should help you hold onto the expensive camera.
The Leica S2 is available from October, priced at £15,996 ($26,283/€18,624). You can also opt to have the S2’s display decked out in “highly scratch-resistant… sapphire glass”, which will push the cost up to over £19,000 ($31,219/€22,121). ®
COMMENTS
Leica not that popular with pros
Actually the majority of people who own Leicas are either collectors or just rich people where it goes along with the expensive cars and fancy mansions.
In recent decades, Leica cameras have not been particularly practical as professional tools for a variety of reasons, although there are a small group of people that use them that way.
Looking at the specifications like frames-per-second, I would imagine that most professionals looking at that kind of price category would probably rather be using a Hasselblad, or Mamiya/Leaf. Or if you wanted something small and fast (3-4x the frame capture rate) a 24MP Nikon D3x - at less than half the price - would seem to be a more practical choice.
@JordanLeft
I would assume that this is aimed at professional photographers who make a rather large amount of money from their business. Leica has always been outrageously expensive.
As an aside, the photo of the menu in the article sugests that the camera is actually capable of 37.5 megapixels! A quick check on the website confirms this.
A bit overkill...
...for putting the picture of my cheese sarny I had at lunch on Facebook.
