(Cologne, Germany – September 25, 2008) We spent a lot of time at the Leica booth today getting significant hands-on action with the 37.5-megapixel S2, the new DSLR/Medium-Format camera from Leica which has been the biggest news at photokina. Though the S2 we tried out was basically a pre-pre-production unit and the shooting time we had with it was extremely limited, the following are some of our first impressions of the camera that everyone has been talking about.

Design: Even after playing with the Leica S2 for just under an hour, we can say with some authority that it's one of the most beautifully designed cameras we've ever touched. And this is saying a lot for Leica which already has a storied reputation for creating simple, elegant, and highly functional camera bodies.

The S2 looks bigger in person than it does in press photos but it's not the behemoth we were expecting. There weren't any weight specs yet – and no scale handy at the Leica booth – but we estimated that the S2 weighs at least half a pound more than the Canon 1Ds Mark III, which pushes it to over three pounds for the body alone. Big.

But while this is definitely not the camera you would reach for to go out on a day of "light" shooting, the handling and balance of the S2 make it very comfortable to hold. In fact, thanks to an attractive, ergonomic rubber handgrip, the S2 begs to be held…touched…and even fondled. (Ok, maybe that's getting a bit creepy.) At any rate, pick this camera up once and you won't likely want to put it down. As a side note, we did hear from Leica's Christian Erhardt that the company was thinking of getting rid of the rubber handgrip in the final release of the camera. If Leica's looking for any outside opinions on this subject, we say keep it. It's comfortable and molds nicely to your hand so why change?

Construction: As expected from most Leica products, the S2 is bank-vault solid. Built almost entirely of metal – with some exterior rubber as mentioned before – the S2 feels like it could handle a couple of significant drops and keep on clicking. (Needless to say we didn't try that out!) More importantly, it's weather and dust-sealed making it feel much more like a rugged professional digital SLR than a dainty medium-format camera. It's worth noting that there is no built-in dust reduction system in the S2 like there are on competing DSLRs such as the Canon Mark III models and the Nikon D700. There's also no Live View or any movie mode though there is an HDMI port if you want to display your images directly on an HDTV.

Controls and Menus: Exterior controls on the camera are kept to a minimum, as is Leica's style. While this may suit its minimalist M-series rangefinder cameras, we felt this could be a liability with a digital SLR. Admittedly, we were a bit hamstrung in trying to figure out the S2 because the prototype model we were playing with had no markings on the rear buttons at all – this, we're told, will change in the final unit – a menu-based system can be frustrating for quick setting changes which defeats the purpose of a fast adapting DSLR. In our brief time with the S2's menus, we found them logical if a bit dull. Also, because there are so many pages of menus, you have to tap one of four buttons around the 2.7-inch LCD on back twice to get to the second page. After repeated use, this could either get easier or more frustrating as you try to speed through setting changes.

There is a command dial on top of the camera but it's very basic with just shutter speed settings and a choice of putting the camera in Auto or Bulb mode. A tiny OLED menu screen – we measured it at 1x.6-inch – on top provides data on your current settings. The only other switch on the camera is on the upper left near the viewfinder which turns the camera on or off and lets you choose between the Central Shutter (CS) focus and Focal Plane Shutter (FPS) focus. Simple but is it all too simple?

Speed: The camera is driven by a new dual-core image processor designed by Fujitsu called "Maestro." Leica is claiming that the overall speed of the S2 is twice as fast as other medium-format cameras though it has no comparison claims against DSLRs. (It's certainly a convenient thing to have a camera that is part DSLR and part medium-format since you can stack it up against the competition where it plays to your strengths – it's faster than medium-format cameras and has a sensor that's bigger than digital SLRs, not it's slower than digital SLRs and has a sensor that's smaller than medium-format cameras.) One immediate advantage we saw with the Maestro processor is that it allows the S2 to process RAW files right in the camera which will be a great time saver.

What was, perhaps, most disappointing about the S2 though is its frame speed. Leica is estimating that the camera will be able to shoot at 1.5 frames per second which is good when stacked up against most medium format models which measure frame speed in shots per minute – but deplorable when compared to "studio-worthy" full-frame digital SLRs such as the 1Ds Mark III which can shoot at five frames per second (at least until the buffer fills.) Leica's Erhardt noted to us that the 1.5 fps rating for the S2 was an early spec that could change in the final model. He did stress, however, that the S2 "is not intended for sports photography" and that "it's not about the speed, it's about image quality."

Image quality: Well, here's an area where we can't comment since the S2 we shot with is far from a final unit. We will say, however, that at least on paper, the 37.5MP, 30 x 45mm imaging sensor designed by Kodak for S2 is impressive and a very interesting move since this new "Pro Format" allows Leica to compete with the Canons and Nikons of the world along with the Phase Ones, Leafs, and Hasselblads. We're curious to see how this new in-between format handles noise in low light though along with sensor dust since there is no self-cleaning mode. The S2 has an ISO range of 100-1600 but, like a lot of things on this camera, that could change by the time of the final release, according to Erhardt.

We are also impressed at how quickly Leica is developing a lens line around the S2 including a 30mm tilt-shift lens, a 24mm f/2.8, 70mm f/2.5, 100mm f/2.5, 120mm f/2.5 Macro, 180mm telephoto, 350mm f/3.5, and a 30-90mm zoom though we'd like to see more zoom options for the future. This is a digital SLR after all or is it a medium-format camera?

Price: As we overheard one Leica rep say about the S2's price tag, "that's the million dollar question." (Hopefully, it will be less than a million though.) Though no price has been announced, Erhardt said that when the camera is released in summer 2009, the S2 would be priced to make it "competitive in the medium-format market."

That, of course, could mean a lot of things but given Leica's reputation for heart-stopping pricing in the past, we wouldn't be surprised if this camera is offered for anywhere between $20,000 and $25,000, or even higher. But stay tuned – like a lot of things with the Leica S2, details are still up in the air.