I gave it a shot

anjoca76 said:
My goal is not to replace my film cameras (...)
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The road to digital is paved with good intentions.


anjoca76 said:
Anyway, before I possibly return the camera and lens, I am interested to hear from others who have used the XE1/2, or the X100/s, or the XP1. What would you suggest for someone like me, who is, at heart, an M film shooter, used to small lenses and the balanced feel of Leicas? Should I pick up a used X100?
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Not sure what you expected. There is no substitute for a digital Leica M. The X-Pro 1 may come a little closer than the XE-1 but I never cared.

anjoca76 said:
Would one of the pancake lenses make a difference instead of the larger zoom lens? I could see my keeping the XE1 if I had a good pancake lens, but one of the focal lengths of the current ones are quite right. The 27 is close, but a 23 would be better.
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Nikon Coolpix A / Ricoh GR maybe?
 
Bille said:
Not sure what you expected. There is no substitute for a digital Leica M. The X-Pro 1 may come a little closer than the XE-1 but I never cared.
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Sure, if I had the money for an M9, I'd get an M9. But I don't, so I am exploring other options.
 
seems to me OPs concern was about 'balance' and not creating a digital m experience. his main OT comparison was between the xe1 and x100/S; the only comparison i saw with m cams was for 'feel and balance'. how about dealing with his issues, and put aside the tiresome and off topic 'nothing but an m will do' song and dance? in this case an m wont do. move on.

to OP: truth is balance is an issue with most if not all 'compact' mirrorless cams, and thats accentuated when you use a zoom. you probably will get better balance with smaller m lenses attached, but i personally found manual focusing on these to be cumbersome, and perhaps not in line with your intended use of 'easy' snapshooting. that goal, and wanting to achieve it with 'balance' and compactness militate in favor of the x100/S. doing so on a budget militates in favor of the x100 over the S.
 
to improve the feel of either the xe1 or the xp1 i suggest using a thumb thing and a comfortable grip.
i use 2 xe1 bodies and both have benefited from doing this.
i prefer the xe1 bodies as they offer me a viable alternative to the rf experience.
i use the larger 23 and 56 lenses and can shoot all day w/o any discomfort.
 
rbelyell said:
seems to me OPs concern was about 'balance' and not creating a digital m experience. his main OT comparison was between the xe1 and x100/S; the only comparison i saw with m cams was for 'feel and balance'. how about dealing with his issues, and put aside the tiresome and off topic 'nothing but an m will do' song and dance? in this case an m wont do. move on...
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I'll buy that for a dollar! Thanks.
 
anjoca76 said:
What would you suggest for someone like me, who is, at heart, an M film shooter, used to small lenses and the balanced feel of Leicas?
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Keep what you bought, you'll get used to it. It's just not what you're used to now. Use it enough and the Ms will feel wrong! ;-)
 
Interesting debate. I think for me Garrett got closest to my opinion. As a long-time Barnack & M user, I was a little wary of digital anything, and had several false starts with digital. The Nex 5n showed me that it is possible to like a less than full frame camera (and I still use this for video). Last year I bought a use XE-1 body and M adapter - wow! I love this with the CV 15 f4.5 and it is my go-to camera for most family events and around the streets. Maybe I should have gone for the XP1? Who knows, I may investigate that later.

It did, however, convince me that a digital RF is a serious camera - so much so that I now have a M9-P as well :eek: There is no real comparison between the two, other than they both produce excellent digital pictures. The rest is up to the user and, probably, where I fall down....
 
anjoca76 said:
So I bought the XE-1.

Then I mounted the 18-55 lens. Wow. The balance is all off. It feels like it wants to fall forward. It's tough to hold with one hand. The lens sticks out. I tried to picture myself walking around with that setup and couldn't. And then there is the EVF. It's better than I expected, but it's, well, different.
.
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Since I have been using both slr and rf cameras since the days of film... Psychologically, I have alway felt rf cameras and long lenses just did not mix... I always had no problem using zooms on other cameras including other mirrorless cameras I have owned, but the xp1/xe1 reminded me so much of an rf camera, I had a hard time w/ putting a zoom on the camera to start w/. About a year ago I finally got over it from a mind set perspective. I have never like the feel of nose heavy cameras as well which is why my xe1 tends to have the 27 semi-permanent attached and the xp1 usually ends up w/ the heavier longer lenses.

Anyway good luck
Gary
 
Wow, my experience is just the opposite. I've been an LTM and M user for 40 years. I have an older DSLR but hate to lug around that much weight. I got the X-E2 and just love it! It feels good in the hand without any grip accessories. Sure the zoom is a little heavy, but its quality makes up for that. Overall the package is very comfortable to work with. I put the 15 Heliar on it with an adapter and that is really fun because its so light. I like the wide perspective too. Great image quality especially in low light. I could go on and on (and have already!)

Mike
 
Mike-D said:
I got the X-E2 and just love it!
Mike
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This is about the XE1. It is a terribly slow camera with a horrible view finder, I assume the XE2 is much better. I loved 'using' the XE1 but it was a 'beta cam' in speed and accuracy of AF and it's RAW output is bad in LRoom. Hence the price of $300 (soon to be less) now ... Just my opinion of course ...
 
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