Leica X1: Spontaneous Combustion for the Conspicuous Consumer (condensed)

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Leica X1: Spontaneous Combustion for the Conspicuous Consumer (condensed)

 

 

Wherever you go, people notice it.

 

How else to explain a patron of Philadelphia's high-end grocery store DiBruno Brothers spontaneously remarking as I browsed the aisles of cheeses and fancy Italian sausages of the small silver and black camera hung around my neck, "Nice Leica."

 

The X1 looks and handles very much like the iconic M-series analog cameras of the past, only it's smaller in stature and lighter than the tank-like MP and M7 models. The reduced weight makes handling the X1 more like driving a sports car than a luxury sedan: you can easily one-hand it, with or without a hand-strap, for a quick snapshot. Two-handed holding of the camera is facilitated with classic M-technique: left index and thumb around the lens barrel and right index on the shutter release with the remaining fingers and thumb holding the X1 ready-steady for the exposure.

 

For me it's all about the pictures; about what comes out of the light-tight box at the end of the day. Color, focus, exposure and aperture must work in harmony to produce an appealing image—otherwise what's the point of taking photographs? And "about the pictures" is what Leica's diminutive M-like X1 digital camera is all about.

 

My user experience with the X1 began one day before the world's greatest auto race, the Indianapolis 500, when I unpacked the camera on my kitchen table from the elegant case in which it arrived. After mating the camera with an Artisan and Artists cordovan leather strap and charging the lithium-ion battery it was time to race over to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Public Drivers meeting and a huge 100th Anniversary autograph session.

 

There is never a shortage of interesting and highly photographable material around the race track. Within minutes I had my choice of fans dressed like carnival clowns, pitchmen and women for Hot Wheels, and classic cars on display around the Pagoda Plaza.

 

Race day arrived hot, hotter and hottest day in Indy so far this year—over 90 degrees Fahrenheit ambient outside and close to 140 degrees on the racing surface. The X1 took the heat in stride, delivering fabulous images from the pre-race grid. Back indoors the little camera worked just as hard, humming along in photojournalistic bliss as celebrities, politicians and idle racers came and went through the media center.

 

Post-processing of the RAW images in Photoshop CS3 was a snap. I never bothered to download the included version of Lightroom that comes with the camera. I preferred the look of the RAW files to the jpegs (with the vivid color mode engaged) and simply dosed the former with a hefty amount of sharpening to reach clarity suitable to put on the web for publication. The colors were accurate and bright, just as I remembered them, with natural-looking flesh tones on a variety of skin types.

 

In short, the images from the X1 were sympathetic to my photographic subjects; rendering them truthfully and humanely, avoiding the typical over-smoothed and plasticized flatness of digital.

 

It was on the trip home from the aforementioned gourmet grocery store that the spontaneity of the X1 came to the fore, when random strangers would catch a glimpse of the camera and ask to have their picture taken. The results were impressive and colorful, still in vivid mode. The images output straight from the camera were as captivating shooting quick and dirty jpegs as they were in careful manipulation of the RAW captures.

I found the auto-focus to be excellent on the X1, preferring the 1-spot setting to others. Images of moving objects came out sharply focused without any pre-meditated zone focusing of the camera.

Shutter lag, or "focus lag", was not an issue in the kind of reportage shooting that I do. Admittedly most of my picture-taking was in daylight, under sunny or cloudy conditions. Even the indoor photos I made were under considerable overhead illumination that provided less of a challenge than an interior household.

As expected, shooting RAW images in continuous exposure mode created a backlog of data writing for the camera. I updated the firmware to Leica's version 2.0 shortly after the camera arrived so I haven't a good sense of what the X1 focusing or continuous shooting is like with the older algorithms.

Similarly, the auto-exposure worked well, even in challenging situations. In spur of the moment situations the camera freed me to engage the most interesting people and to win their trust on the way to a satisfying picture.

Some users feel they must have a zoom lens on their digital camera or there is no point in trying to make photographs. Years of fixed focal-length shooting have convinced me that my feet are all the zoom I really need. Truth be told the consistent wider aperture of f2.8 of the X1 is more valuable to my way of creating images than a telescopic field of view would be.

At times the fixed focal length enforces an imperative for creativity that a zoom negates. For example, if the building is too big to capture in one image top to bottom then you have to figure out some clever means of anchoring the picture other than a boring sidewalk. The results are often stunning.

 

You can download the expanded full text review with the photo illustrations here:

Download PDF File

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[phancj]

Nice review.

 

The X1 is the first Leica I bought and having used it for a year and a half I am pretty sure I will end up with another leica down the road.

 

CJ

[andybarton]

My visit to the US is being made with one camera and one lens. Or rather, two cameras and two lenses MP/35 and D700/28

[phancj]

My recent trip to the US, all I had was the X1 on me. Will post photos once I have finished the pile of work left while I was away.

 

CJ

[ChiILX1]

I have a 50mm collapsible Summicron and a 90 collapsible elmar for my M2. I use the X1 as a 35mm so I don't have to change lenses. Works beautifully.

[wda]

Allan, an interesting and expert analysis of your experiences with the X1. I am so pleased it is a success for you. Very well expressed and illustrated with examples of your favourite genre.

 

Knowing your previous outstanding work with a Leica MP and anticipating the next logical step for you could be an M9 or successor, may I be forgiven for replaying one of my old records? When that time comes, continue to cherish your X1 and allow it to be part of your travel kit with a digital M. Mine works beautifully as a solo camera, but complements my digital rangefinder camera handsomely and sensibly when I favour an alternative focal length without losing time changing primes. It makes a compact travel set which can be augmented as influenced by your travel plans.

[abrewer]

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David, I am testing an M9 in a few weeks and will have a little review of it. The X1 went back. I have too much $$ in M lenses to let them linger on the shelf. I'll end up with an M-digital or continue to use film. Call me a luddite.

[abrewer]

David, I am testing an M9 in a few weeks and will have a little review of it. The X1 went back. I have too much $$ in M lenses to let them linger on the shelf. I'll end up with an M-digital or continue to use film. Call me a luddite.

[wda]

Allan, I understand your rationale completely. I just thought your enthusiasm for the X1 meant it was a 'keeper'. Ah well! I keep promising myself to reactivate my M3 and M6 bodies, but find the endless Photoshop opportunities and potential so absorbing and rewarding.

[wda]

Allan, I understand your rationale completely. I just thought your enthusiasm for the X1 meant it was a 'keeper'. Ah well! I keep promising myself to reactivate my M3 and M6 bodies, but find the endless Photoshop opportunities and potential so absorbing and rewarding.

[Safiraya]