Leica mini I-II

[Avotius]

I have been offered a Leica Mini I for about 60 dollars and a Mini II for about 100 and I am wondering if they are worth it. They sure are ugly but I can swallow that pill of the lens is decent.

They have a 35mm f3.5 lens, which seems pretty slow, but were these actually Leica lenses or just re badged something else? If I had one of these I would probably just use black and white film in it, would I get that "leica feel"?

He also had a Yashica T5 in very new condition but wanted 200 bucks for it which seems a little steep.

 

[btgc]

I've read that Mini's were rebadged Panasonics..or Minoltas...which can be good, as we know. But I will not give a hand if this is true.

Don't you see there Fuji Silvi (aka Zoom Date F2.8) flying around? Konica Lexio 70 is cheaper alternative to Silvi, specs and controls are not up to the level, but price justifies. Beware, this are zoom P&S's. Ones I really like.

 

[furcafe]

I have an original Leica Mini. I have no idea if the lens is really "Leica-like," but it is definitely a good performer (hard to go wrong w/a 35/3.5). I think they were made by Minolta for Leica & were comparable to all the other higher-end point & shoots of that era, though probably 25-50% overpriced (just like the Digilux v. Lumix today).

Mine was the 2nd camera I ever bought & pushing it to its limits eventually led me to pursuing photography more seriously (back then I only took photos on vacation). I've kept it for mostly sentimental reasons, but the funny thing is that a few years ago, while putting a roll of film through it for old times' sake, I took 1 of the most popular photos I've ever taken (as a technical matter, I can tell you that you can easily get a good 16x20 print out of its Elmar w/a ISO 100 film):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/furcafe/125542769/


I think it does fine w/B&W:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/furcafe/37826232/

However, $60 sounds like a lot for a camera from the early 1990s, unless it's in mint shape w/box, etc. If you do buy it, I will warn you that the weak link is the battery cover: the latch on mine got very loose after a few years of hard use so I now use a piece of scotch tape to secure it.

 

[Ben Blacket]

Someone here has said before, the Panasonic C-625AF is similar, if not the same internally, as the Leica Mini.
I have a Minolta Freedon Escort which is said to be the same as the Panasonic, & my Olympus Trip AF Mini looks almost the same as well.
So I'm tipping it won't have a Leica feel.
I've got various other quality point & shoots if you're interested in any.

 

[camera.bear]

Here is the information that I have gathered on these cameras.

http://www.wayneyoungphoto.com/freedomescortqd.html

I have some additional info in my flickr set.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerabear/sets/72157616886834810/