The Leica S2 is definitely the biggest surprise at Photokina so far, literally. French reporters got the chance to actually play with the exposed models.

The five Leica S2 available were clearly hand made a were finished just a few hours before Photokina opened.

They are far from being fully functional but they are much better than just a mockup. Their feeling… massive, just like the sensor!

As you can see in the photo above, the shutter release itself, which sits at an angle on the front of the body.

This used to be a fairly common position on older SLRs and is surprisingly comfortable. It also allows you to use your forefinger and thumb to set the shutter speed and your middle finger to fire off a shot.

Quite interesting design choice actually.

The camera is big, heavy and quite efficient for being just a prototype. The Leica engineer on stand let slipped that the final product should be ready for summer 2009.

No words on official pricing but rumors are already talking about $30,000 just for the body ah!

The S2 is clearly targetting the commercial segment like the wedding and fashion photographers who want the quality of medium format and the handling and flexibility of 35mm, not the amateur photographer.