The Leica X Vario

Not really interested in the camera, but...

From Leica's pov, they sold the popular (so I heard, and the 2nd hand market is good for them) 28-35-50 tri-elmar, which compared to other m mount lenses was big, slow, and expensive.
I don't see how this is different? Compared to other lenses its big, slow, and expensive.

IMHO, its the sort of camera I'd get if I was older, and coming back to photography after growing up using M's. Imagine you have been out of the loop for 20 years, start looking at cameras to get, you used to have a leica, ahh, there it is.. sold. All familiar, no crazy modes to get lost in etc... No comparisons to other brands required, because you used to shoot with a leica, but don't need/want to spend $10k now for an M. Its a good way to get these people who have money to spend again back into the Leica the brand, and then sell them an M is a few years.

Just my 2c.
I can see it doing as well, if not better than the X1/2 did/does.
Michael
 
michaelwj said:
Not really interested in the camera, but...

From Leica's pov, they sold the popular (so I heard, and the 2nd hand market is good for them) 28-35-50 tri-elmar, which compared to other m mount lenses was big, slow, and expensive.
I don't see how this is different? Compared to other lenses its big, slow, and expensive.

IMHO, its the sort of camera I'd get if I was older, and coming back to photography after growing up using M's. Imagine you have been out of the loop for 20 years, start looking at cameras to get, you used to have a leica, ahh, there it is.. sold. All familiar, no crazy modes to get lost in etc... No comparisons to other brands required, because you used to shoot with a leica, but don't need/want to spend $10k now for an M. Its a good way to get these people who have money to spend again back into the Leica the brand, and then sell them an M is a few years.

Just my 2c.
I can see it doing as well, if not better than the X1/2 did/does.
Michael
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Indeed, had they made it a 'Tri-Elmar' and not a 'zoom', they wouldn't have had the criticism they have had. It's a marketing issue, not really a technical one.
I can imagine they had this conversation within Leica, about restricting the zoom to 3 focal lengths, which would be foolish technically, but better from a marketing POV.
The more I think about this, I guess they only made the Tri-Elmar the way they did because the rangefinders framing system can't support any old focal length, like an SLR does.
 
mugent said:
Indeed, had they made it a 'Tri-Elmar' and not a 'zoom', they wouldn't have had the criticism they have had.
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While a Tri-Elmar would have been a pretty cool concept, one selling point in the X Vario marketing seems to be HD video. A fixed-lens consumer video camera (digital camera or camcorder) pretty much needs to have a zoom lens to be taken seriously. Certainly most people who like companies to come up with differentiated products would have welcomed it, but a zoom lens that is not really a fully functional zoom can easily get denounced as a gimmick. I therefore think a different lens concept with the same size and speed would only slightly have changed the tone of the criticism.
 
Dunn said:
I just don't get how they get anyone to buy something that is technically not as good as cheaper cameras out there. Even if I had 5 million dollars I would choose an x-pro1, rx1, nex 6/7 or even a small dslr over it. You can buy an X-pro1 with zoom for half of that and it has a built in hybrid viewfinder AND you can change the lens.
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Going by this argument, nobody in their right mind would buy a Leica. Of any model. Not even secondhand. And yet. :D
 
tarullifoto said:
I can understand that to some extent. I agree it's more powerful than the Digilux, but even it had an EVF, if I recall correctly.
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The Digilux 2 viewfinder is more like a mini lo-res video camera with a slow refresh rate that can even make you slightly ill if you pan too fast. I'd rather use the LCD. Although, that crappy VF is useful for framing in bright sunlight. I have one and used it exclusively for two years way back when. I love it to pieces (literally - it's all tattered now and the LCD went wonky long ago).

tarullifoto said:
I suppose there's no point griping about it; the thing is what it is. It's just disappointing that given two markets - serious photographers and luxury consumers - both willing to pay Leica's price for the model they want, Leica chose the latter. That likely would not have been the case at the height of the M series' popularity.

The company's responsibility is to its shareholders, though, and not to us, and serious photographers are probably both less profitable than, and outnumbered by, the luxury consumers.
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I agree for the most part. But, really, isn't what Leica is saying with the X Vario is, "If you consider yourself a serious photographer, we have another camera for you"? Nothing wrong with the X Vario being targeted at luxury customers - as long as it makes Leica money to stay afloat so that they can continue making the M series, I'm a happy Leica user.

I really like the X Vario. It's gorgeous. It makes gorgeous pictures. If you want Leica's "film", buying a Fuji or Sony won't give it to you, even if you used Leica lenses on them and PP every single RAW frame (you might get close to the Leica look, granted). It's about the same size as a film M - my biggest gripe with the digital M thus far, and the reason why I sold off an M8 and would never consider another digital M, is the fat body. And the X Vario zoom lens is faster and better than what most people imagine in their heads.

Perception, to me, is its biggest flaw.

See, I find some of its most hardcore critics are people who have never seen let alone held one. I held one and was immediately smitten. I shot a few frames and it made me want to buy one, too, but my Canon EOS-M already gives me all I need in a compact digital. I can see the X Vario appealing to the designer crowd, though. Will it sell better than the M system? Who knows. But any money going into Leica's pockets, as I said, is good news to me.
 
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The X-Vario is a wonderful camera, not perfect but I don't own a perfect camera. The XV has its place and It will be used quite often in my hands. Good Job Leica!!!

Jim
 
My dealer has the X Vario in stock now. All I can say is that it seems wonderful.. Looks, feels, works as I expect a Leica to work. It's a bit larger/heavier than the X2 and has that excellent precision feel like my M4-2.

Having spent a good bit of time over the years with a 35/3.5, 50/3.5, and 28/3.5, the lens doesn't seem all that slow to me. The 70 length is a little slow, but ...eh? Not a big deal. The EVF works great with it. The focusing and zoom feel are superb.

As I've said before, it's not a camera for me, but it seems a fine camera. I'm just not a zoom lover.

G
 
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