Leica
LEICA S2 is a digital single-lens reflex camera, made in Germany. Leica Camera was established in 1913 and I guess you could say that they are ‘the Apple of photography’. During the last century, the optics company became a worldwide renowned brand for high-end professional photography equipment.
Optics
But, to be honest, Leica is not necessarily the best camera manufacturer in the world. Their unique selling proposition is the quality of the lenses – as they’re an optical company and not a producer of all kinds of electronic equipment like Sony. Leica is highly respected because of their great optical performance.
S2
The best DSLR for professional photography that they offer is the LEICA S2, which was introduced in 2009. It combines modern technology and classic quality, something that is typical for the Leica S-System. And all this magic fits into a medium-size, beautiful and ergonomically designed camera body. So let’s have a close-up look!
Compact
The developers managed to redefine a whole genre of mid-size digital SLR cameras with the LEICA S2. This model offers a lot of performance power inside a compact, light and ergonomic body – from a sensitivity up to ISO 1250 to an image sensor of 45 x 30 mm combined with a 37.5 megapixel processor for a high resolution.
Solid
One of the challenges of professional photography is shooting under difficult circumstances, like in a warm and dry, cold or wet environment. Rest assured that the S2 will not let you down during a desert walk or boat trip. A bit of dust or splash of rain won’t hurt the solid camera body.
Functional
What I like about the LEICA S2 is that it’s very functional – the camera body just features a couple of buttons and wheels to access often-used settings and menus. All pre-sets can be handled from any laptop or computer with a USB 2.0 connection, through which you can import your photos with Leica’s Image Shuttle software.
Software
The S2 creates not only Adobe-compatible DNG files, but also more compact JPEG files, which can be stored on Secure Digital or Compact Flash memory cards. Leica’s S-System cameras comes with Adobe Lightroom software, which is a handy tool for photo management and image processing – that is, if you need any post-production.
Images
The quality of images that come straight from the LEICA S2 without any processing is absolutely stunning with full colors, fine details and perfect lightning. It’s this wow-factor that makes the S2 a meticulous masterpiece. Using this camera makes you feel like Michelangelo while he was decorating the Sistine Chapel.
Price
Yes, the LEICA S2 is an expensive camera: you can buy a new car instead! But my opinion is that quality has a price and there can be no great results without an investment. If you’re looking for more than taking nice pictures – create real art, using highly reliable tools – this is the best digital SLR camera for professional photography.
