No zoom as an asset, rather than the lack of one.

[ChiILX1]

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So I've read some words here and there about how the X1 not having zoom is actually an asset, but I haven't seen much expansion on it.

 

I'm still waiting on my X1 to arrive, but in the meantime I've captured some cool shots around Chicago often times using the zoom on my girlfriend's C-Lux 3.

 

What is it that not having zoom enables / facilitates / forces you to do that is a quality? I've heard people say it gets back to 35mm fundamentals, that you get to learn the camera better, you learn to involve yourself in the scene more since you have to use your own feet as the zoom lens etc. But I actually wanted to open up a discussion about not having Zoom and what it's done for you, so that I will be tuned into it by the time mine arrives.

 

You can share a story about what it did, you can get philosophical, you can speculate, whatever. I ride a single speed bicycle and use a Chemex to make my coffee - so stripped-down manual operation really intrigues me, and always seems to lead me to a better user experience (at least in coffee and transportation).

[piersgibbon]

no zoom was weird at first

 

but I guess I am enjoying the sensation of learning a craft and learning a camera..it sort of fits in with the whole stripped down menus and options thing (which I love btw, have never got the hang of my many menu-layered LX3)

 

I'm lucky in that I am using an X1 as a loan from Leica UK because I'll be using in a documentary n Papua New Guinea...

 

I suppose I might feel differently if I'd bought and paid for it..but so far it is working very well for taking photos of people who are quite near..which is what I mostly need to take photos of

 

(I'm finding the slow AF and lack of macro a bit more of a challenge, but again..not insurmountable)

[huzel]

no zoom was weird at first

 

but I guess I am enjoying the sensation of learning a craft and learning a camera..it sort of fits in with the whole stripped down menus and options thing (which I love btw, have never got the hang of my many menu-layered LX3)

 

I'm lucky in that I am using an X1 as a loan from Leica UK because I'll be using in a documentary n Papua New Guinea...

 

I suppose I might feel differently if I'd bought and paid for it..but so far it is working very well for taking photos of people who are quite near..which is what I mostly need to take photos of

 

(I'm finding the slow AF and lack of macro a bit more of a challenge, but again..not insurmountable)

 

Correct... It is more joy to use it without zoom. I hate zoom lenses.

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[huzel]

Correct... It is more joy to use it without zoom. I hate zoom lenses.

 

 

My photo is from my latest trip to South East Turkey. A Kurdish boy. X1 jpeg super fine. No cropping, no adjustments at all.

[caugustin]

I don't have a Leica X1 (yet, as it looks at the moment), but I can tell what fixed focal length lenses gave me compared to zoom lenses:

 

1. far better image quality

2. more distinct composition

 

It is far easier to "compose in the head" with a fixed focal length. After a while, you "know" your lenses, and you have to explicitely decide which lens to use (no "fiddling" with different zoom settings, and changing lenses to and fro is too time consuming and annoying). I find zoom lenses really distracting.

 

I can't put it exactly. But I'm sorting my old color slides at the moment, and those I've made with a zoom lens (I once had one with an EOS 50E and another with an Olympus OM10/40) are mostly of bad composition and/or image quality. I started to make much better images (and much more of them) with a CRF camera (first a Voigtländer Bessa R, then a Leica M6) and fixed lenses.

 

With the X1, you don't have to decide which lens or focal length to use: There is only one. So you concentrate more on the composition of the image with the means you have at hand instead of trying all your possibilities. I would say that this will give you some compensation for the slower AF

 

What I would like to see is not an X2 with zoom, but rather a "dual focal length" camera providing explicit 24 and 48 mm (there were some dual focal length compact cameras in the past, I bought a Ricoh for my mother in the '80s with 35 and 70 mm). With two distinct focal lengths it is rather easy to decide which one to use, and 48 mm would be better suited for portrait than the wide angle 24 mm.

 

But I was a fixed focal length guy from the beginning, as far as I can remember, so I'm biased ...

[nippa]

You just have to make the most of what Leica gives.

Personally , I've never liked or seen the world through 35mm so it's hardly surprising that I'm not gushing about the extra effort required to use the camera to its best ability.

It's all very well moving around to achieve the composition you want , but when accompanied by non-photographers there isn't the time to flounce around looking for the ideal frame.

 

I see young photographers (ie reviewer dpreview.com ) describing a fixed lens as liberating ; I think we said the same thing when good zooms became available .

[piersgibbon]

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I've been thinking..my own camera - the LX3 - has a zoom but I have got out of the habit of using it..

 

I just leave it on 16,9...this might explain why the lack of x1 zoom has not bothered me

 

I am paranoid about getting fingerprints on the lens though..wish it had a filter

[Chris Huck]

I was nervous too when I got my X1 as I've spent the past few years with a 17-40mm on my 5D. I used the zoom to "pre-crop" the image when I took it in order to frame the subject in the fashion I found most pleasing.

 

The X1 IQ is so good though there's no problem post-cropping as needed!

 

I don't miss the zoom OR carrying it!

[ChiILX1]

Awesome photo! This is great to hear your opinions.

[Guest badbob]

So I've read some words here and there about how the X1 not having zoom is actually an asset, but I haven't seen much expansion on it.

 

It's difficult to think of a hardware limitation as an asset, however, it will change the perspective of your photos, and give them a look that's distinct from most other cameras. It's sure worth a couple months of your time to try it out, if it's not too much trouble or expense.

[earleygallery]

I much prefer prime lenses, although I use zooms as well.

 

Primes are usually of better optical quality and faster, that's important to me. They're generally smaller and lighter too.

 

A zoom is convenient for sure, useful for 'walking around' on holiday when you might not be too popular constantly stopping to change lenses/viewpoints.

 

The downside is that - IMHO - a zoom lens makes one lazy, using the zoom to fit what you want into the frame and not considering the best viewpoint/angle or perspective. If you have to physically move for the shot you will tend to think more about the composition, or at least I do.

 

Again, in some cases the zoom can be a benefit or the only option, but for ultimate quality and a more disciplined approach you can't beat a prime lens.

[jaapv]

You just have to make the most of what Leica gives.

Personally , I've never liked or seen the world through 35mm so it's hardly surprising that I'm not gushing about the extra effort required to use the camera to its best ability.

It's all very well moving around to achieve the composition you want , but when accompanied by non-photographers there isn't the time to flounce around looking for the ideal frame.

 

I see young photographers (ie reviewer dpreview.com ) describing a fixed lens as liberating ; I think we said the same thing when good zooms became available .

Why on earth get a fixed-focal-length camera then? There are plenty of excellent zooming compacts around, there is nothing wrong with the DLux4 for instance, and there are dozens of other brands.

[huzel]

Zoom is NOT an asset, because:

 

1-Most zoom users are using their zoom lenses at their extremes, eg wide zoom at the widest, tele zoom at the maximum;

 

2-All M users are used to have fixed lenses, zoom is a hassle;

 

3-35mm lens has the best angle of view, best debth of control, best bokeh (look at the picture below);

 

4-Tele or wide is always used for different perspective rather than best composition. Adjusting the composition while taking the picture is a must;

 

5-Quality of a zoom is always inferior to fixed;

 

6-Non-zoom aides to consantrade on the picture to be taken.

 

I took nearly 1000 photos during my latest trip with the X1, ALL of my photos are NON-cropped.

[jsrockit]

You either like zooms or hate them... there is no right way.

[Guest badbob]

You either like zooms or hate them... there is no right way.

 

I love the zooms, but don't so much like the photos they make.

[nippa]

jaapv says

"Why on earth get a fixed-focal-length camera then?"

 

Because this is a special camera and oozes class with quality images

 

" There are plenty of excellent zooming compacts around, there is nothing wrong with the DLux4 for instance, and there are dozens of other brands."

 

Luckily I don't have to be limited to one camera.

I have a Dlux4 , a G1 , a GF-1 , a Sony DSLR plus older gear. Having to put up with a fixed lens not of my ideal is the price I happily accept for the World's smallest ,quietest , high quality image maker.

 

Had it been physically possible for Leica to give us a zoom I would have preferred that but then I would be moaning about the camera being too big:)

[RichardM8]

My photo is from my latest trip to South East Turkey. A Kurdish boy. X1 jpeg super fine. No cropping, no adjustments at all.

 

A small camera that turn out this, I'm prepared to forgive it an awful lot. Stunning portrait, Stunning IQ.

[h00ligan]

The problem is that in order to get that shot, which is excellent..you are going to have to crop or get very close to the subject..in this case it was a pose it seems..but maybe not good for candids to be printed large.

[leicashot]

Its not that people 'don't like options. It really comes down to quality and size. If they made a zoom lens the same size as the 35mm that was the exact quality, everyone would want it.

 

Me? I prefer a fixed 35mm lens cause it's my most versatile focal length for the way 'I' see things and it's o course smaller and lighter and better quality than any zoom could produce.

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[tbutt]

Correct... It is more joy to use it without zoom. I hate zoom lenses.

 

Me too...

 

Could you please share your camera settings for the JPGs? I mean contrast, colour etc...

 

thanks

Tom