Leica X1 Hands-On

#1 iedge

If I had 8k (or 2k for that matter) and wanted a camera, these two would be pretty much at the bottom of my list. Lets see... for just over 2k I could get a 5D mkII, or for 8k I could get a 1Ds mk whatever and still have enough left over for a couple L series lenses. Both are full frame cameras, both are excellent and built like tanks, and both will probably see more use than any Leica ever will.

5:00 am - Thursday, March 18, 2010

#2 pledge

ledge, never will buy a mercedes will u?

7:52 am - Thursday, March 18, 2010

#3 fredrik

5D is for work, i wouldnt carry a full DSLR system to a simple bbq party

9:22 am - Thursday, March 18, 2010

#4 Artur0ide

Why...Why...Why no a internal Viewfinder??

9:42 am - Thursday, March 18, 2010

#5 stephen

that samsung is the ugliest camera i have ever seen! what market niche does it serve? at that size, one should just buy a entry level DSLR. Even though it might outperform similar mirrorless cameras, imho, its ergonomics miss the point.

11:17 am - Thursday, March 18, 2010

#6 joshua

it is wrong to compare a leica to the canon models. They are both built for totally different purposes. you can never do good street photography with a tank in front of your face. But on the other hand, sport photography is pretty hard using a leica.
the price is due to the production in germany, not like canon and the other do, in china or japan.
leica is sureley expensive when bough new, but there is a big market of used models. I got one myself and paid less than any canon user with a much higher quality.

3:06 pm - Thursday, March 18, 2010

#7 ashley larkman

Mmmmnn Legde I see your point but as someone who was considering the Canons and who recently tried one out on a job its true to say that its like wearing a tank around your neck and for those of us that prefer the simplicity so closely replicated to the layout,dials and handling of a manual camera the leica is perfect,m8,m9 and the X1.....Its like navigating the starship enterprise with those things and id rather continue with the layout of dials closer to my 1st flying saucer than the S.S.E.Quite a few of my friends that are fashion/advertising photographers use the canons in a studio and perfect sitting on a tripod or in hands for a few hours but around the neck.....noooooo thanx.....They feel too plasticy too and who needs all that techno gizmo-oligy for street and reportage!!!!!!

1:43 am - Friday, March 19, 2010

#8 Hans Benndorf

Performance wise the X1 is a dogs breakfast. Slow autofocus,
next to unusable manual focus, low light next to useless, third
rate monitor and judging by the samples I've seen so far there is
nothing that would get me excited. The Leica may look cool and
may feel good in Your hand but that's not good enough to pay
$US2000 for a bit of brand name fever. Not for me anyway!
Leica is now a boutique niche brand ( look at the ugly looking
Leica Hermes). Leica will have to lift it's game by quite a margin
if it wants to succeed in the digital environment.

4:53 am - Friday, March 19, 2010

#9 Eleanor Maw

Best compact camera has to be the Lumix LX3, always dose a great job and is never fussy, I have had great A3 size prints from this £350 little beauty. forget these other compacts, just a waist of money, buy a cheap Nikon SLR like a D3000 or D5000, they will out strip these overpriced compacts.

5:54 pm - Tuesday, March 23, 2010

#10 rob

I have always had reservations about Leica cameras (but certainly NOT lenses) - since the analog era. Now, in the digital era, I got even more reservations. I owned one Leica (Digilux 2). Gorgeous camera, designed like a conventional one, with excellent f/2.0 lens. Unfortunately, its usability was limited to ISO 100 and 200. Everything above that was just a hurt for eyes.

As much as I like the concept of small and ergonomic Leica bodies, as a whole, their cameras do not posses half of the functionality and performance of bigger dSLRs - for twice the price.

IMHO, Leicas are for collectors and for an extremely small niche of ultra-candid photography. Outside of that, there's plenty of better and cheaper choices. The image quality is paramount for anybody serious about photography, but there are other factors that are no less important.

12:03 am - Wednesday, March 24, 2010

#11 Kiwi Mac

Actually I am looking for a top notch compact (with a VF!) to take on a 3 week trip to India.

My normal gear setup (2 Nikon D3 bodies, a Nikkor 70-200VR, 17-36 2.8 and an 85 1.4) weighs so much that I simply cannot face carrying it (or insuring it!) but I want top quality images without taking out a second mortgage for an M9!

At the moment I am thinking Ricoh, Panasonic or Canon G10.

11:47 am - Saturday, June 5, 2010

#12 Edullinen Hampaiden Valkaisu

LOL, I can tell many of the responses here from people who are not even serious in photography.

Leica X1 might be slow but, the Elmarit lens is enough to justify its price.

8:30 pm - Saturday, November 13, 2010

#13 Samson

The X1 auto focus is ridiculously slow the manual focus is useless. It takes good day time street photography. Easy to use but very limited camera for the price. Disappointing over all.

3:32 am - Thursday, December 30, 2010

#14 Samson

I would also like to add that you have to take the lens cap off every time you want to view your pictures..frustrating.

3:34 am - Thursday, December 30, 2010