2nd thoughts about buying the x1

[prk60091]

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so when the x1 was announced- i wanted the camera so bad I could taste it.....then as time went by i felt that my current gear was good enough and that the x1 wasnt that big a leap for the money... then as delivery dates were announced i started to get reinvigorated with the thought of getting the x1 (a near m quality prime lens w/equivalent body) and what i could do with it.... now that x1's are few and far between and i have had some time to think about it.......

 

i have looked at virtually every online photo allegedly taken by an x1 and i dont see that "leica look" in any of them....is it me? or is it missing?

 

i am not concerned about the $2000 price- if the photos have that "look"

 

Yes i know i can get a used m8 for about 2500 but when you add a lens then the price is just beyond my wife's tolerance level (and you know what they say- "happy wife- happy life")

 

can the x1 be my "poor man's m?"

[jsrockit]

I'd say no, it is not a poor man's M8. Anyone who tells you it is probably hasn't used an M8. However, if I could not afford (or didn't want to afford) an M8, the X1 is very good. However, the fact that you can get a very good film M and a Panasonic GF1 for the same money should give you something to think about. The X1 is not a value camera... it is a camera that you splurge on.

[Guest stnami]

The so called Leica look is a bit of a myth these days, maybe it always was and is more about wishful thinking than reality. But as they say it is a gift to be fanatical believer both in religion and leicas, the old it sorta makes life easier for those, keep the blinkers on and push ahead despite all new changes caper

 

The old playing field of lens/film is gone replaced by sensor technology dominating over lens and we tend to view most images on the screen and at 72dpi. Sure the leica lenses and other top brand quality lenses add to the creation a crisp detailed high image quality, but computer based technology is what dominates digital cameras.

 

I had a play with one the other day, image quality is superb but so are other camera image results but not in a compact form as with the X1. Sure buy the camera if you own other cameras as this camera is restricted in the types of images one will be able to obtain. Will it be a waste?........ only if you expect it to be a complete all rounder type of camera. For those that are cashed up none of this matters

 

For me there is no need at the moment unless a substantial firmware upgrade comes along...... got other stuff to do http://www.iamparanoid.net/

[Ecaton]

A moving subject shot with a compact camera with large sensor. Guess which one.

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[eduardoho]

Go for it...X1 is a good camera, you won't be disappointed. But don't compare X1 to the M9 series, they are of altogether different breed, they are both purebreds nevertheless, each one got a relevancy for its own existence.... I have no regrets for I now enjoy happy life with a happy wife....

[jsrockit]

Go for it...X1 is a good camera, you won't be disappointed.

 

Watch your tongue Eduard! You can get yourself in trouble with words like these.

[pappde]

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A moving subject shot with a compact camera with large sensor. Guess which one.

 

Canon Powershot??

[Krauthead]

Never one single regret about buying the X1 here. Pictures are incredible with lovely color saturation. Leica look can be judged in black and white.

 

Long time film Leica freak here.

I don't lust for the M9. I have the X1.

[eduardoho]

Watch your tongue Eduard! You can get yourself in trouble with words like these.

I just don't get the gist of all this......I have my X1 and I love it. There is always a risk in any kind of purchases- it is a crap shoot...may I am retarded.

[Northern Qtr]

Got fed up of waiting for the Leica X1 so got a Panasonic GF1 instead and so glad I did as after testing the Leica demo in my local shop I found it to be slow on everything focus, write speed, review time, and battery life, power on/off also the leather was peeling off the demo camera and the dials felt slack too.

The only thing I found better on the Leica was Hi ISO and the silent shutter.

[jsrockit]

I just don't get the gist of all this......I have my X1 and I love it. There is always a risk in any kind of purchases- it is a crap shoot...may I am retarded.

 

You said he won't be disappointed... and from what I can tell by many posts here, there is the possibility that he could be disappointed. That's all.

[Mark2]

Got fed up of waiting for the Leica X1 so got a Panasonic GF1 instead and so glad I did as after testing the Leica demo in my local shop I found it to be slow on everything focus, write speed, review time, and battery life, power on/off also the leather was peeling off the demo camera and the dials felt slack too.

The only thing I found better on the Leica was Hi ISO and the silent shutter.

 

I have both cameras. In terms of picture quality GF1 is a lot grainier than the Leica X1. You should consider selling your GF1 and upgrading to a Leica. Its like a Ferrari and a Toyota. Although both will get you from point A to Point B, everything else is different

[peterb]

I have both cameras. In terms of picture quality GF1 is a lot grainier than the Leica X1. You should consider selling your GF1 and upgrading to a Leica. Its like a Ferrari and a Toyota. Although both will get you from point A to Point B, everything else is different

 

Grainier? At ISO 100 - 800? From what I heard I thought the two were par up to this point (maybe ISO 640 or so). And with the 20mm f1.7 lens on the GF1 at ISO 800 you have the equivalent of shooting f2.8 at ISO 3200. So the X1's lower noise at ISO 3200 makes it a wash. (Although I have to admit in BW the high ISO shots I've seen on the X1 do have that romantic fine grained Tri-X or T-Max look about them.)

 

That said, as far as the car comparison...from what I've been reading I doubt that anyone having experienced the AF of the X1 would consider it a Ferrari to the well-praised much speedier AF on the GF1 (and all the other Lumix mFT's). In fact quite the opposite. And manual focus? As the folks in Brooklyn, NY would say, "Fuggedaboutit." Again while I haven't personally handled it (and I know you have both cameras so I'm at a disadvantage from you for sure but please be honest), from all I've read so far your thumb gets quite a workout as you spin the focus wheel around and around and around and around.

 

And the battery? More like a golf cart than a Tesla. Again by many accounts I've read the X1's battery having to run an APS-C sized sensor as well as providing non-stop LCD power will not go the distance. And simply poops out after a scant 150-200 images. Not nearly in the upper ranges one would expect of a high performance camera.

 

Look, the X1's images are good and the potential with its sensor/lens combo is certainly there. But the camera ain't no Ferrari compared to the Lumix mFT's. More like a Rolls Royce and an Acura (with all the controversy surrounding Toyota lately I'm loathe to make the comparison to their Lexus but when conditions are good it would be very apt). Both are excellent for the most part. The Acura is a high tech marvel but there's just something about the lumbering, comforting ride in the Rolls Royce going from point A to point B you get that you may not always get from an Acura.

 

[jsrockit]

Someone who posts here made a comment at the RFF forum (can't remember the name) that the GF1 is based on a DSLR mentality and the X1 is based on Leica's rangefinder mentality. Not with regard to quality, but regarding the design layout / simplicity. I agree with that and feel it must be why I like the X1 and can't get into the GF1. The GF1 is clearly the better deal to my head, but my heart is with the X1.

[peterb]

JS,

 

As you've often noted and I fully agree, the simplicity of the controls for the X1 is not to be overlooked.

 

Two top dials, one for shutter the other for aperture (with detents for half stops no less I think), an almost too brilliant arrangement for deciding whether to go full Manual, Shutter priority, Aperture Priority (the setting I think I'd use given the lens on board) or full out program.

 

An almost spartan set of rear buttons that hardly appear cluttered.

 

All in a svelte, timeless body shape that has been hailed as classic in every respect.

 

Anyone who's remotely used or lusted for an M would hear the siren song of the X1 and would easily come a calling.

 

If it was a tad taller with room for an OVF a la the M's it emulates it would be poifick for me even with it's AF.

 

I don't blame you one iota.

[Northern Qtr]

Posted by Mark

 

"I have both cameras. In terms of picture quality GF1 is a lot grainier than the Leica X1. You should consider selling your GF1 and upgrading to a Leica. Its like a Ferrari and a Toyota. Although both will get you from point A to Point B, everything else is different"

 

Well as I said I now own the Panasonic GF1 and had a good play around with the demo Leica X1 and in all fairness the GF1 knocks the pants off the X1 except at hi iso settings and the nr silent shutter where the Leica wins.

 

 

I also think the GF1 is of a better build quality and at the moment comes with a 3 year warranty and is less than half the price of the Leica X1 (that's if you can get one this side of xmas 2010 lol)

 

I really wanted the X1 to be great, and bought a mint sbloo 35mm finder to go with it, but think I will have to hold onto the finder to see if Leica brings out an X2 sometime in the future. It might be like the M8 to M9 transition where they got it right second time around.

[jsrockit]

I also think the GF1 is of a better build quality...

 

Based on what?

[Northern Qtr]

Based on the demo camera I tried out in my local store, The dials seemed loose and the leather was peeling off.

[jsrockit]

The dials are loose when turning, but that doesn't make them cheap. The leather falling off seems to be an issue with the early serial numbers, but mine (later serial #) doesn't have that issue at all. Of course, the GF1 doesn't have leather. I find the X1 to be built better and was just curious.

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[Northern Qtr]

I never said they felt cheap, just loose and easy to accidentally be changed and as I would have been using the camera with the finder more of a problem.