Camera Labs

4"x5" and larger film is collectively referred to as Large Format. LF is usually shot using big, bulky view cameras. One of the 'largest format' cameras, oddly enough a Polaroid instant camera, weighs a whopping 235 pounds (approx. 105 kg) Stick it up on a booster and pretty much you get a reconnaissance satellite.

_________________
"Shoot RAW, ask questions later"
My Flickr Photostream. C&C Welcome!
Nikon D80 | AF-S Nikkor DX 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6G ED | AF Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8D | AF Nikkor 70-210 mm f/4

The other thing about large format is it's one shot at a time - no roll of film.

Caleb, you'll have seen them before - they usually have sheets which the photographer gets under when composing -think Ansel Adams. The bigger cameras used plates up to 10x8in.

And yep, they are still used for some reconassiance - anyone see that episode of the BBC's Coast where they showed how the Ordnance Survey (UK mapping co) operates? I'm sure that was large format photography...

Not sure if there's an large format digital though as the sensor would cost a fortune and be almost impossible to manufacture. In fact medium format film covers formats up to 6x9cm and we're nowhere near that with digital yet.

So the interesting thing about some of the medium format systems with film or digital backs is the digital one normally has a sensor that's smaller than the film - so there's a crop factor again!

Gordon

37.5 Mpix on 30 x 45 mm
That means the same pixel-density as a the Sony A900 (=24MPix in FF) and probably the New Nikon D3x.
So this Leica will certainly not best the D3/D700 in low-light noiseless speed. It should be more directed to the studio and wedding guys.
Anybody has found out the frame rate already? My assumption: 3 fps.

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Less, probable 1-2 FPS. Medium Formats are not fast.

_________________
E-3!
12-60 2.8-4.0
12-60 2.8-40 [Also going]
40-150 3.5-4.5
70-300 4.0-5.6
Fl-48

Dear All,
isn't it time to have a dedicated LEICA
category(like Canon, Nikon etc etc)?
Obviously the main game for the next five years
has begun with the S2. Is this not obvious?
Leica has created a new Private Club...where if you have to ask "How Much"...you are automatically excluded...like the Augusta Golf
Elite...this is a club so exclusive, that in commencing a membership drive,
they first got rid of 160 members! No questions ya?
It's a camera for those among us, who already have an Italian Villa,
a Lamborghini, 6 Ferraris, 20 race horses 2 yachts and a movie Production Company.
The rest of us might just as well applaud politely
after picking up our tongues off the floor and pretend that we are not jealous...so if you are not Madonna, Tom Cruise, Will Smith,Bill Gates, David Beckam, the Sultan of Brunei or Steven Speilberg...or your first name is Sheik...the people who can afford this camera 100 times over regardless of price...
then forget the arithmetic on this camera and start working on your own
Multinational Corporation, or Pop Song...then secure your Villa in Monaco
and a Mooring...by then, your chauffeur will be ready to pick up
your LEICA S2 and you can have the Champaign bottle ready to
smash it over the camera chassis as he comes out of the shop with it.
If he takes too long you can use the second bottle on his head too...
Oh, don't forget the Titanium model S2t or the
custom-design-extras options S2e, which include diamond/ruby and gold inlays and also,
the "Signature" model, signed by Dr Kaufmann himself
who apparently survived the point-blank shot to the head my James Bond.
Perhaps that's why we now have the LEICA S2 and a new James Bond!
The consequences and "ripples" created by the S2 will reverberate on and on. But one thing is for sure...the GAME HAS CHANGED!
How to buy a LEICA S2?
Simple.
Just factor it in when you buy a house as an "Option" together with the dish, the 120" Plasma and the Porsche...it should come naturally.
I anticipate dear Gordon having a mental breakdown, after testing this camera only to have to give it back...
But hang in there Gordon, Nikon, Canon Sony and Mamiya
will have similar models within weeks of the
LEICA S2 hit-the-shelves day...and the party goes on!!!
One of my race horses might have to go!
Bye for now, or buy later! Wieder sehn!
Warm regards,
Otto

_________________
Noise to one is music to another...

Oh, I think it'll be MUCH cheaper than a Porsche

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Exactly...no problems at all
but will the glove box be adequate?
O.

_________________
Noise to one is music to another...

Hi Otto, I don't there'd be sufficient traffic for a seperate Leica forum right now, but we'll keep an eye on it and if there end up being lots of Leica threads in this section we'll break out.

Just wondering if the folks at Leica are still
wedded to the folks at Panasonic.
If so, perhaps that's where the next S2 clone-copy will be coming from...
and at half the price...
However Leica might be sick of this marriage
and start going for other potential partners...
if so, who might that be?
Otto

_________________
Noise to one is music to another...

Even at $20,000 it's not too expensive for the average person. You just have to want it more than a fancy car or house.

Hi Gordon,

There are actually larger digital imaging sensors than medium format, for instance, see this link from dalsa

http://www.dalsa.com/news/news.asp?itemID=252 which is a 100 MP 4inX4in sensor.

As for large format photography, check out some of the Ultra Large format camera's out there (e.g. Wisner cameras), these can be as large as 20 by 24 inches sheets of film. Polaroid actually has a 20x24in "instant" camera, its quite large, and supposedly there's also a Polaroid 70 in camera.

I think the new LEICA S system will be destined to still be there in 25 years and still post a podium finish regardless of what camera you compare it to at that time.
These are going to be like Mercedes Benzes....built to last provided you keep them serviced properly.
The price of ownership spread over that time frame, makes it
a true bargain, because when all about you has fallen to bits
this classic will still be there performing flawlessly.
Of course this is a wild guess because it might be the case that the owner
does not live to see this result in 25 years!
Otto

_________________
Noise to one is music to another...

Give me a M8 with a full frame 35mm sensor for under £2,000 and i'll go away happy.

_________________
Canon EOS 5DmkII + BG-E6 + Canon EOS 40D + BG-E2N + Canon EOS 33
Canon 17-40 F/4L USM + Canon 24-70 F/2.8L USM + Canon 28mm F/1.8 USM + Canon 70-200 F/2.8L USM IS + Canon 85mm F/1.8 USM
Canon Speedlite 580EX II + Canon Speedlite 540EZ + 2 x Nikon SB-80DX
Cactus V2s Wireless Trigger - 5 x Cactus V2s Wireless Reciever

MY FLICKR!

To Otto

Did you mention the Sultan of Brunei ?

Perhaps he own one of it but ask his professional photographer to shoot if there was a royal function. I realized one of the Bruneian photography enthusiast would like to spend a Medium format about 37Mp & can you guess the cost of it ?

_________________
Soon.....

Hi folks,

I was doing a spot of window shopping at the Leica site this evening looking at those nice M8,2 rangefinders (always nice to know how the other half live even if there's no way I would buy one) and I noticed a short video interview with fashion photographer Robert Grischek praising the new S2. OK, this is on the Leica site so it's not going to be critical but for those interested here it is.

That web page has been available for many months, unlike the camera. But there was an update from Adorama a few months ago suggesting that the camera will go on sale "this summer with a price that will be comparable with other medium-format systems." Summer is almost with us but still nobody appears to be taking pre-orders which leaves me wondering just when the S2 might arrive and who is likely to buy it as opposed to a Mamiya or a Hasselblad. Its a shame for Leica that the camera announcement came at such a bad time in the economic cycle.

Bob.

_________________
OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.