22.02.10

Leica S2 Review

The prospect of a medium-format Leica literally makes me drool, as it does any photographer whose camera of choice is a Hasselblad or Rollei. 

So I was thrilled to be asked by Jon Sareen, Leica’s commercial manager, to test drive the Leica S2. I warned him that I’m not only a well-known technophobe and only shoot in available light, but that I was also shooting elsewhere the day he suggested we test the S2, and that I would only have 30 minutes to spare, late on in the day that was forecast to bring the worst gales of the year so far. There had been an invite put out to professional photographers to come along to an open day at the Leica HQ in Bruton Place, London and the likes of John Swannell had been given access to models, hair and make-up and plenty of flash, but this is not my bag. Testing it for half an hour in the worst possible light would be far more realistic to my photographic world.

It was my first visit to the new Leica HQ, and it felt more like paying a visit to a Milanese Prada store than your average high-street camera shop. But don’t be put off by the security and the showcased Leica beauties inside; the staff are charming and, unlike many of the big companies, don’t treat us technophobes as dunderheads. We were ushered up to their little studio, where we all agreed that the light, like the weather, was miserable. I was more concerned for my able assistant Matt, who had the last-minute task of shooting me shooting with the S2. Picking up my Canon 5D MkII, he set the ISO to 2500 and mumbled: “There’s not enough light...” I then picked up the beast that is the S2. Lordy lord, it’s lovely. Simple, heavy, solid and unlike any medium-format camera I’ve picked up before. Jon told me the camera I was holding was not only the only one in the UK, but it was also the prototype, and therefore only had a maximum ISO of 320. I was in trouble. I had hoped to take a portrait of a young, up-and-coming burlesque dancer called Nina, we had no time for hair and make-up and, as the camera was a prototype, we couldn’t risk marking it by popping it on a tripod, but we had no high ISO, and now no more than 15 minutes.

Now, I can’t write about the Leica without comparing it with the cameras that sit in my own camera bag. I hate my Hasselblad H2 at the moment. The lenses keep falling off because of the poor design of the release button. The eye piece cover falls off within days and, on intense shoots, actually makes my face bleed. The lenses and the bodies I have are in a constant rotation of expensive repair. However, I use it for three reasons: nostalgia for my 500, the Phase One P65+ back and the technical and psychological help of Steve Martin at Teamwork. His support alone would mean I keep the Phase One. The Hasselblad is hopeless in low light, so I was sad I couldn‘t stretch the ISO of the Leica, but you know what, it didn’t do badly.

The Leica S2 sits in your hand beautifully. So ergonomic in design, with no jagged edges (and no cuts to my face), its heaviness and shape reminded me of days shooting fashion with my Pentax 6x7s, and anyone who loved shooting on the Pentax will love this camera. I shot hand held, on a 70mm lens (wide open), at f2.5, and at speeds of between a quarter and a fifteenth of a second. The camera shot so smoothly, I had to keep checking that it was actually capturing. The screen is large, clear and simple to follow, almost like a back-to-basics Canon.

I only needed one shot, so I was aware that, although it was never going to be a portfolio piece, it had done a job. One that I knew would be beyond my Hasselblad. This year I’ve shot in some extraordinary places, from the Navajo Plains in Arizona to the South African townships, and I’ve struggled with my equipment. I shoot fast and furiously for up to 20 hours a day, every day of the year bar a few, and a Canon, though I love them, doesn’t satisfy me as much as the medium formats, and seems to have created a world of photographs that are unrecognisable as the work of one particular photographer, but instead of one particular camera.

I loved the S2 so much I bought one, so I’ll soon be the happy owner of a medium-format run-around Leica. First shoot: the Berber warriors of the Atlas Mountains. I can’t wait.
The Leica S2 body is priced at £16,740 including VAT

For more information visit www.leica.com

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