Leica X1, has anyone bought one yet?

Benjamin

Benjamin

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Surely someone here must have one by now.

How are you finding it?










Bash away if you must, by all means.
 
I'm waiting for mine patiently... any day now. Grrrr. They have arrived in a few countries, so there should be someone here with one.
 
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it's small, quiet, great lens and really good at 3200:
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3200:
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This is a great little bird... :D

Is the autofocus works as it should? I don't expect a nikon, but for a quiet and candid shoot, how would you rate it?

And indeed, for 3200 iso, this is quite impressive...
 
Went to Warsaw, Poland with a Panasonic GF1 and came back with an X1 (last few from London)

Very impressed with file quality and handling. Yes - it is a little slow, but not a problem for me at all.

All raw, processed in Lightroom 3 Beta - some are cropped - mostly only very minor levels adjustments [since discovered LR2 currently better quality)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17684878@N06/sets/72157623527901986/

My instincts are that the file quality much better with X1 than GF1 (mine has the 20mm 1.7). Always felt a little noise present in GF1 even at low iso's. Not happy with GF1 after 400/800.

X1 really is DSLR quality - fine up to 1600...3200 under bad lighting is ok as well.

X1 lens is lovely, esp with wide aperture closeups.

The GF1 feels bulikier, is much heavier (and feels more solid as well)

X1 is much easier to carry around due to shape / size / weight - fits really well in hand, but feels flimsier than GF1

X1's handling much better (because only a fraction of GF1 menus and options to wade through)

X1 almost silent (a slight click can just be heard in a silent environment) - you can be invisible when taking pics - GF1 clacks loudly, giving game away.

"Loosness" of dials a non issue for me - firmer than on my old CM.

X1 is a picture taking delight - it feels like a camera rather than a computer.

Only thing I'd want addressed in firmware is proper focusing scale on LCD. Not sure what Leica were thinking....
Otherwise manual focus works well.
 
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The APS-C sized sensor has a real advantage over 4/3's where noise is concerned. It's looks like a good size and the images look great. I wouldn't drop $2,000 on a fixed lens digital camera, but for those who can live with the single focal length, it looks like a fun camera and easy to carry.
 
It is a little slow, but if you aren't chasing moving subjects it is fine. Its similarities to the screwmount leicas is just a bonus.
 
anyone have feedback on manual focus capabilities?

edit: saw the post re: firmware update. care to expand on the manual focus experience under the current firmware?
 
Well said, Katrak.

Well said, Katrak.

"X1 is a picture taking delight - it feels like a camera rather than a computer."


That is probably the best single line description of the X1 written anywhere.
 
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jpmac55 said:
"X1 is a picture taking delight - it feels like a camera rather than a computer."


That is probably the best single line description of the X1 written anywhere.
Click to expand...

It may feel like a camera but if it is slow to focus then whats the point?
 
Could...not...resist.

Mine is on the way, should be here Tuesday. I need it like a hole in the head but the thought of having a "Digital CM" was too fun to pass up. I'll let you know my thoughts when it arrives.

Kent
 
jbf said:
It may feel like a camera but if it is slow to focus then whats the point?
Click to expand...


I don't follow you. I think "the point" is defined by the photographer/consumer. It depends on their definition of slow and how important that may or may not be. My need to have the fastest camera in the west might be different than yours. Btw, if you want to witness slow, pose while I focus my M8. :rolleyes:

Most of us are intelligent enough to know what we like about the X1 and what we may not like about the X1. You can replace the X1 with any camera model, couldn't you? Is there a perfect two thousand dollar camera we all agree on?

The thing I don't understand is why so many folks dog X1 threads here and on other forums and have no intention of buying a X1. Same question, what's the point of that?
 
I think people just get upset that it costs $2000 and think of what other cameras they can get for $2000. However, to many of us, it is the digital compact we have been waiting for, so we will deal with the price and the slow AF because it meets everything else we wanted in a small digital camera.
 
Yeah. $2 grand is chump change for folks on RFF. We are a wealthy demographic, so the cost of the objects of our desire is not relevant. The sooner poor folks understand that we are loaded, the sooner they will leave us to enjoy our toys in peace.
 
Looks very interesting as an easy-carry companion for an M8. :) And 24mm is "perfect" IMO as a generally useful lens for an APS size sensor. I would want the 36mm finder... or maybe a 35mm finder would do... a round chrome CV finder? :D
 
Looks nice, i'd probably buy it if :

a) I didn't already have an M8
b) The lens was a summicron. Any iso advantage the bigger sensor provides over the m4/3 cameras is matched by the ep1's camera stabilization and the gf1's lens is.
 
Pickett Wilson said:
Yeah. $2 grand is chump change for folks on RFF. We are a wealthy demographic, so the cost of the objects of our desire is not relevant. The sooner poor folks understand that we are loaded, the sooner they will leave us to enjoy our toys in peace.
Click to expand...

I hope this wasn't directed at me. I am certainly not rich. I do not own a car or a house, so I spend a little on cameras. My point is that the camera is worth it to some of us, since it is what we have been waiting for, despite its shortcomings. However, not everyone is going to like paying $2000 for a camera of this nature when you can buy a Panasonic GF1 for $1000 or a nice DSLR for $2000. That was my point.

Personally, I like the old school controls and simple menu. I cannot stand the way most digital cameras are set-up with convoluted menu systems and such. I like my cameras set-up with simple shutter speed and aperture dials. Cameras these days just don't seem to be designed with simplicity in mind (or manual settings in general).
 
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