More Small Cameras: Leica X1 Field Report at Luminous Landscape
by Miserere
Michael Reichmann has today published his thoughts after 3 weeks of using the Leica X1. Read it over at Luminous Landscape.
For those of you not in the know, the Leica X1 is the company’s first foray into the compact large-sensor market. Featuring Sony’s excellent 12MP APS-C CMOS sensor, it boasts a fixed 36mm-equiv. f/2.8 lens. A Leica lens, of course. It has no viewfinder, but does have a hotshoe which allows the attachment of an optional optical VF (after you’ve handed over $350). Like its big sisters in the M line, all the main shooting parameters are controlled via wheel dials instead of menus. The price? Well, it is a Leica, so it needs its own paragraph for the pricing (please contact me if you know pricing in mainland Europe and Japan).
US: $2,000
UK: £1,320
EU: €????
Japan: ¥????
Related posts:
- Leica S2: The Naked Test
- Leica to Release an Affordable Camera?
- Leica to Branch Out into New Digital Venture
- Landscape Photo of the Day
- Nikon Instant Rebates on Cameras and Lenses
Tags: Cameras, Leica X1, Photography, Reviews
The Leica X1, owing to how easily the aperture and shutter speed dials get changed in handling, is effectively a manual-only camera, unless you make sure the settings are on Auto and then fire a bunch of shots before moving your hands from their position on the camera.
But the specialized nature of the camera, compact, expensive, large sensor, slow in performance – all of that adds up to manual control of everything else as well, if you want to get images that are a good return on your investment.
And then there’s the fixed wide focal length, for which case you may have to get used to walking up much closer to your subjects than you would with a more typical camera that has a zoom lens.
So is there a happy ending to the story? Yes, if you discard everything you learned with those other cameras and re-learn with the Leica X1. You may be surprised at how the extra attention will pay off in better photos. And just holding the X1 in one’s own hands is a real treat, unless you’re rich and accustomed to that sort of thing.