Sell the sizzle not the sausage...

[bill]

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The title of this thread may be lost on those who are not up on their Pratchett, so let me explain.

 

The X1 has been around for a while now, and the initial euphoria has died down. I have looked at one a couple of times and I just can't warm to it. My question is to those who have bought one.

 

Have you bought the sizzle or the sausage? Did you buy (into) the concept, or the end result?

 

Discuss.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[h00ligan]

end result - but not fully yet.

[Klassika]

Well Bill, you can look again and again, but you have to work with the X1. You just can't compare it with other classes. Everyone tries to compare it with EP-2, G 11, NEX, D-Lux 4 etc. It's a standard of it's own. I like it very much, and yes it's slow, no problem for me.

The quality of it's pictures is outstanding. Therefore I hope there will be a firmware update soon so it will become a bit faster. Leica has done well with this camera and I don't think it's overpriced.

 

regards,

[jsrockit]

I am still happy with my purchase. Outside of the slow autofocus and the weird manual focus mode, it has lived up to my expectations. The IQ is great, it is light in weight, the menus are minimal and well designed, all necessary functions have a dedicated button, and the shutter speed and aperture knobs make you feel like you are using a camera and not a "swiss army knife" style japanese camera. I completely bought into the concept, but over time the end result has been great and it truly is my take anywhere / everywhere camera.

[andym911]

sold mine......just missed pressing that shutter release and manually focussing a lens...sizzle or sausage?...not sure

andy

[caimi]

It is a slow operating camera that produces consistently excellent images. Of course I wish the AF and processing time was faster but the images make it worthwhile.

[Ferry Zievinger]

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Well Bill, you can look again and again, but you have to work with the X1. You just can't compare it with other classes. Everyone tries to compare it with EP-2, G 11, NEX, D-Lux 4 etc. It's a standard of it's own. I like it very much, and yes it's slow, no problem for me.

The quality of it's pictures is outstanding. Therefore I hope there will be a firmware update soon so it will become a bit faster. Leica has done well with this camera and I don't think it's overpriced.

 

regards,

 

Bill,

I agree with Klassika, using the camera now for about a month it has given me excellent results.

[jmteno76]

Not sure about the metaphor, but it is great tool to have in my collection of cameras.

 

it is the camera that I carry with me everywhere. However, my style of photography fits very well with the well known limitations of of the X!

[ravinj]

When Mac OS X came out, Steve Jobs remarked that "One of the design goals [for the interface] was when you saw it you wanted to lick it."

 

My Leica X1 produces images so beautiful that you want to lick them. I have sold my DSLR kit. When I see people going around with a big DSLR hanging around their necks, I feel pity for them.

 

IQ is what matters and the X1 has delivered highest quality in the smallest package on the planet today. For me it was the concept [small package, high IQ] and the end result [high IQ].

 

Everything else is secondary, including sizzling sausages.

 

I would pay $3000 for an "X2" if Leica can come up with these features in same or smaller body: F2.0 lens, a 3x zoom and optical stabilization, a bit faster AF and a better LCD.

 

For now X1 rules.

[JanCderidder]

Any buyer having paid some attention to the Internet info sources would know exactly what he/she was getting into with the purchase of an X1, as did I. I bought the sausage, and the sausage looks exactly what expected the sausage to be .... a sausage, a very nice tasty sausage.

[stephen.w]

I've had mine since the beginning of March. I've thought about selling it and still might, but I have taken it on three holidays (just got back from the last today) and it is a great travel camera - small and light without compromising on image quality. I also like the discipline that shooting with a single focal length forces on me. However, the one thing I would dearly like in a firmware update is a better manual focusing scale.

[Guest badbob]

Steve Huff says he finally sold some stuff he didn't need and bought the X1. Now that's a recommendation if I ever heard one.

[jsrockit]

Steve Huff says he finally sold some stuff he didn't need and bought the X1. Now that's a recommendation if I ever heard one.

 

While I don't think he's special or anything, what is suprising is that he decided he wanted one after saying he didn't in his review.

[ChiILX1]

Steve Huff says he finally sold some stuff he didn't need and bought the X1. Now that's a recommendation if I ever heard one.

 

Yeah Steve Huff's analysis of the X1 is great and so are his follow up articles.

 

To answer the original post- I got the X1 for the sizzle (concept) thinking I would have to put up with and sacrifice a few things every day with the sausage (end product). Not the case. The negative are WAY overblown. The X1 is top tier and second to none for what it is. It really is in it's own class. To say what we already know, but for reconsideration- it's a DSLR sensor- in a compact camera's body - that feels like a Leica M with the simplicity of the interaction & build quality- and produces Leica M images.

 

In that sense, it's the most eclectic product I have ever owned. It has the best of everything.

 

Some say the AF is slow but I don't notice it when you set the right settings. It's a non-issue. Besides, if it could be faster but sacrifice image like other cameras I would prefer it the way it is. The images are STUNNING. These shots are from my first day with it and I'm just an amateur learning.

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[NZDavid]

I definitely haven't got taken in by the sizzle. Where's the pork? Good images, yes, as good as a DSLR. Nice compact size, nice simple controls are tasty, but it's not the fastest sausage on the barbie nor the easiest to grill, and it comes in only one flavor.

[prk60091]

. . . Some say the AF is slow but I don't notice it when you set the right settings. It's a non-issue. Besides, if it could be faster but sacrifice image like other cameras I would prefer it the way it is. The images are STUNNING. These shots are from my first day with it and I'm just an amateur learning.

 

the attached images are STUNNING.

 

what are the "right settings"?

 

 

my beautiful gorgeous wife gifted me an x1 yesterday....

[ChiILX1]

the attached images are STUNNING.

 

what are the "right settings"?

 

 

my beautiful gorgeous wife gifted me an x1 yesterday....

 

Thanks! And congratulations!

 

I use spot or 1 point H focus with a Voigtländer optical viewfinder and the screen turned off. I also have it on AF not AF + Macro to save time. Anything that requires faster focusing I just prefocus with af or manual focus.

 

My DSLR focuses faster but what's the point when it misses too? The X1 never misses.

 

I find the focus speed a non-issue and I have been shooting with it for 4 days on the fast streets of Chicago. Like I said I think the negativity on the X1 has been grossly overdone.

[prk60091]

Thanks! And congratulations!

 

I use spot or 1 point H focus with a Voigtländer optical viewfinder and the screen turned off. I also have it on AF not AF + Macro to save time. Anything that requires faster focusing I just prefocus with af or manual focus.

 

My DSLR focuses faster but what's the point when it misses too? The X1 never misses.

 

I find the focus speed a non-issue and I have been shooting with it for 4 days on the fast streets of Chicago. Like I said I think the negativity on the X1 has been grossly overdone.

 

thanks for the info i'll be looking for you on the "fast streets of Chicago"- I'm a northsider.

[F1Addict]

Thanks! And congratulations!

 

I use spot or 1 point H focus with a Voigtländer optical viewfinder and the screen turned off. I also have it on AF not AF + Macro to save time. Anything that requires faster focusing I just prefocus with af or manual focus.

 

My DSLR focuses faster but what's the point when it misses too? The X1 never misses.

 

I find the focus speed a non-issue and I have been shooting with it for 4 days on the fast streets of Chicago. Like I said I think the negativity on the X1 has been grossly overdone.

 

I use 1 point focusing also, but have been under the impression that it's more difficult with the viewfinder because the focusing point doesn't show up in the viewfinder. How are you finding it regarding this issue?

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[ChiILX1]

I use 1 point focusing also, but have been under the impression that it's more difficult with the viewfinder because the focusing point doesn't show up in the viewfinder. How are you finding it regarding this issue?

 

I have the Voigtländer brightline 35mm viewfinder. 9/10 times center is center and by now I think I've eliminated the 10th time as well. The 1point h is more forgiving than the spot focus for sure. Anyway- play with close up, mid distance, and far away shots and figure out where center is on your viewfinder as compared with your camera. Since the are centrally aligned it will be damn close. Essentially the only variable is your eye's angle looking into the viewfinder in landscape and portrait- so once you figure out the right way of looking into it, you will naturally pull the camera up to that position after a little repetition, and your framing and center focus will be accurate.