Now that photokina is done I can write this review/preview.
A few weeks before photokina I have been betatesting the new Leaf AFi-II system, I have been testing with the Leaf AFi-II 7 and on the photokina Leaf booth I have been demoing the AFi-10.
Let's first make somethings clear.
The version I got for betatesting still had some options not working and I played with those functions very briefly on the photokina, still I do want to write down what I think about the system.
The AFi system itselfOne can argue about taste but often not about ergonimics.
As I already mentioned in my review for the Leaf AFi-I system I absolutly love the way the system feels and handles.
Often when you need a manual something is wrong and with the AFi system (both I and II) I never felt the need for a manual (except some of the specific things).
In a time were DSLRs are adding up the MP count and were some MF manufactors go to closed systems and alliances with other companies I think we as photographers and customers are living in an interesting age for medium format photography.
Leaf has opted to bring on the market an semi open system, consisting of a camera and lens system and a digital back.
The digital backs can also be used on other cameras like the RZ67ProII and 645AFD/III from Mamiya, in my review of the system I have tested the back also on the RZ and 645AFD/III for comparision.
By choosing this method Leaf leaves the option open to photographers to rent backs when they need more resolution or simply shoot film or with several backs on the same body.
This will also make the downtime in case of a problem go down, because instead of changing the whole camera system you can now simply switch backs.
But there is more.
The Leaf AFi system is compatible with the Rollei lenses, this means that although you are best of by buying the new digital lenses, one could start out with the camera + back and the old lenses bought on e-bay or from an old setup, this can for some photographers make the step up to the AFi system a bit more easy and they can grow into the system.
I always like the fact that one can start out with older (read cheaper) lenses.
One must realise however that the optimal quality will be achieved with the new lenses, but again it's a good thing there is at least an option to start out "cheap".
AFi-II, why upgrade ??When I tested the Leaf AFi-I system I had some thoughts about the way the rotating of the back worked, on the AFi-I system you have to remove the back and turn it and reconnect it again.
Try that on a beach with some wind and you will have an instant grainy picture.... but not the way you want.
In the AFi-II system Leaf solved this by a very simply mechanism, by simply turning a tumbwheel you can rotate the sensor inside the back.
Meaning you can switch from landscape to portrait in a second or two WITHOUT ever removing the back from the camera.
This was one of the big problems I had with the AFi-I solution.
But there is more.....
With the AFi-II you also get a much better screen.
I have to admit that it still does not beat my Canon DSLR screen (except in size) but it's a huge improvement to the older screens.
It's much brighter and better viewable outside.
The screen can also be tilted upwards so you can see the pictures from the WLF position without the need to turn the camera, a really nice addition.
Now on shooting with the system....
In the studio I always shoot tethered to a MAC, with the AFi-I and Aptus series I have to look at my monitor to see the picture appearing, the back stays dark.
With the AFi-II Leaf has changed this and the picture will show up on the back also, so it will be shown on the back and on the Mac at the same time, this is especially handy when you're shooting with your back to the screen or if you don't want your model to look at the screen but do want to see the preview itself.
One of the most eye catching things was however the iPhone/Ipod preview (yes you read this correctly).
With the AFi-II system it's possible to also see a preview coming up on an iPhone or Ipod.
This is not a small jpeg but you can really zoom in on the preview, think about the possibilities this opens.......
You can give your client or AD an iphone and still keep complete control on the mac/pc for your assistant to check focus or composition (the things that matter for the photographer), the client can watch on the iphone and zoom in on what he/she thinks is important.
Image quality and 3/2I already liked the image quality of the AFi-I system and Aptus series.
As you can see in the review on the AFi system ISO800 is usable and the image quality of the files is very very good.
I choose the Aptus series because in my small tests the Leaf won on skincolor under strobes and the definition in small details was much cleaner than the competition, also the Dalsa sensor has some features and image quality characteristics that I really like, this can be seen especially in darker areas where the competition often shows blue artifacts and the Dalsa chip is very clean.
Leaf also doesn't sharpen too much in the camera, which I really like.
I hate the files that are already sharpened too high before they can be worked on, I can always add artificial sharpness but I cannot take it away, so a company that delivers the files as clean as possible gets a big plus in my book.
Now on format.
When you look at the Aptus and AFi systems the format of the sensor is 4:3.
This is a format that I began to love more and more, even to a point that shooting with it became almost second nature and resulting that I more and more shoot landscape mode even in portraits.
With the addition of the AFi-II 10 Leaf has changed the format from 4:3 to 3:2 (35mm format).
This has caused some stirr on the net and to be honest I also wondered why for a while.
Now that I have shot with the system I'm more open to it and began to like the fact that you can have the option for both.
The AFi-10 has a whopping 56MP (I wonder if in 4 year I still call that whopping), meaning even if you have to crop to 4:3 you will have MORE than enough resolution left to make a BIG print.
However for landscapes and A formats the 3:2 format fits the page nicer than the 4:3 format.
In other words with the AFi-II 10 you can shoot more versatile thanks to it's large resolution.
NORMALLY I would not want to crop because of the sensor size.....
As many of you will probarbly know I'm a big fan of large sensors, the bigger the better. This is one of the reasons I switched to MF in the first place. I personally think the so called 3D effect is part debit to the larger sensors and this is also a reason I often still shoot 6x7 film on the RZ67ProII.
With the AFi-II 10 Leaf has opted for a sensor size of : 56x36mm
Compare this to the normal 48x36mm for the almost full size sensors and you can see that even when cropping you are NOT loosing resolution compared to the other versions.
This will be a very interesting sensor for me to use on the RZ67proII for example, and on the 645AFD/III it would be a full size sensor with a crop from the camera itself.
Indeed a very interesting sensor.
The file sizes can be frighting at first, at a heavy 112MB (and 78MB lossless compressed) you will need more drive space than with a DSLR but on the other hand prices of HDDs are coming down and sizes go up every month. However after opening the files all thoughts about the file size will melt away like snow in the sun, the files are simply stunning.
During photokina I tried to shoot alot of shots on f22 to see what diffraction does to the files, I compared as far as possible some of the f13 shots to the f22 shots and can say that the f22 shots are still razor sharp (one of the concerns I had seeing what happens with the 21MPs DSLRs which go noticably softer after f5.6-f8.0
To be honest I can't see much difference between the f13 shots and the f22 shots in detail so that's a big concern out the window.
Now what to do with so much resolution....
Do you really need it ?
Maybe I'm alone in this but I love to zoom in a picture and see the fine details a system can capture, we are not shooting MF systems for snapshots we want the absolute best quality, and although I agree that for 90% of the work you won't need anything higher than 22MPs there's always that sense of simply wanting it for yourself.
I love to shoot street scenes and I also very much like to shoot on locations with decay and small detail, I think the 56MP AFi-II 10 will give me a wonderful rendition of that small and fine detail and it will show up on A2 prints.
The shots I did on the Photokina with the system also show the wonderful low noise floor I'm used of my aptus 22, I shot most on ISO50 and that is as clean as one could possible want, even when working with fill light and exposure compensation you have to look very closely to see a degradation of the file.
Is it all positive ?Well actually yes, I'm sorry but I really can't find something negative to say about the system....
Maybe it's the pricing ?
But that is always a problem, we all want a 56MP full frame sensor for $1000.00 of course but that will take some time I'm afraid.
I have invested in my 645AFD/III and RZ67ProII setups and especially love my RZ67ProII there is something magical in the image quality of those lenses.
I compared the 180mm lens from the RZ67ProII to the Schneider lens from the AFi system with the same back and the RZ67ProII much to my surprise came out on top.
Sharpness and detail were slightly better on the AFi system but depth and the overal feel of the shot I prefered the RZ67ProII, so for me it would probarbly be only the back which I would love to use on a daily basis.
If I would have to start over however...... I think the AFi is not the cheapest solution but without a doubt in my mind at the moment the MF system to beat in handling, quality of the results and service/support.
The weeks I had with the AFi-I and II have been very educational and I fell from one WOW into the other, especially as the new features became more and more know.
For a complete rundown of the system see
www.leaf-photography.comFor people interested I have some files of the 7 and 10 available for preview.
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