fashion-paris
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Interview with Manuel Pandalis (LFI Magazine Issue 4/2010)
We're visiting Manuel Pandalis in his Hamburg studio loft. He has just completed a photo shoot for the Paris Fashion Week - shot for the first time using the Leica S2. We get straight to the point: So what is the S2? A DSLR with a super high resolution or a super handy medium format camera? He laughs. "I couldn't help but ask that question when I first held the camera in my hands. When I take pictures," the fashion, beauty and advertising photographer explains, "there is a lot of movement involved. I never use a tripod. My pictures are the direct result of my interaction with the models. They move, I move, everything moves in some way or other. My photographs are taken from the moment. That's why I generally work with the Canon 1Ds Mark III. It's the perfect tool for my purposes: fast, convenient, autofocus, super ISO performance, great resolution, robust, reliable. But more and more my customers are asking for a resolution greater than 30 megapixels. That is when I need to switch to medium format."
„...The S2 is the Mark III of the medium format world..."
Could the Leica S2 then be a viable solution? "This is not the point, the answer is pretty simple. The S2 is the Mark III of the medium format world. No other camera handles so smoothly, balances so well, slots into my workflow so effortlessly and, at the same time, delivers such incredible image quality. But the more exciting question is: What about all those jobs I would normally tackle with a Mark III? The S2 is brutally sharp. But that's not the biggest issue for me. As you can see in my pictures, I am not always that fussed about hitting the focus right. Of course the S2 is an expert at sharpness. The picture from the ‘Madame' set (see left page) speaks volumes. And yet - technically - the S2 clearly raises my photography to the next level in terms of dynamic range and detail. It boasts massive reserves that I am in no way exploiting to the full, as I often do in 35 mm format. I am not that bothered by the S2's weaker ISO performance - though Leica really should improve this - or that it is not quite as fast as the Mark III. The point is, I feel almost just as comfortable with it. The S2 feels great in my hands, all buttons are where they belong, the autofocus is surprisingly fast, the viewfinder is great, the results are stunning. If Leica would offer faster flash sync speeds and add a central lens shutter ..." Would Manuel Pandalis then consider putting the 1Ds Mark III aside? "Well, if I weigh up the pros and cons: yes - in theory." What would it take to get a practical ‘yes'? "As I said: The S2 raises my work to another level. The question is if you feel the urge to afford it. If customers are willing to play along - and some already do - then I would be more than happy to justify the camera."
We are just about to leave when Pandalis adds: "I recently rented a Leica S2 for a promotional shoot of a red product in front of a red dress and red background. When I looked at the results on the screen in CaptureOne, I was deeply irritated. They were not good at all. The dress lacked all structure, a nightmare. I then ordered a Hasselblad with PhaseOne back unit, which did the trick. So here's a tip for all S2 shooters: Never use CaptureOne with the S2. Convert the Raw files in Lightroom. Adobe's Raw converter handles them just right. And that is something I noticed much later: The few shots I had taken with the Leica S2 were, once converted in Lightroom, simply better than the PhaseOne results. Too bad - if only I had known earlier!"