sohcsleeper Posted March 2, 2012 Share #1  Posted March 2, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Just 2 days ago I was able to acquire a used Leica X1 and I must say I am very impressed with this camera. My experience with digital cameras and photography is not vast by any means and it was only recently that photography came back to me due to the emergence of the mirrorless cameras notably the olympus Pen series. The ability to obtain stunning pictures with a compact and light camera has really got me fired up again.  The biggest complaint and what made me hesitant to purchase was the "slow" AF and indeed it is a turtle compared to my E-P3 (olympus claimed worlds fast AF), however over the past day of test shooting the Leica has made me become a better photographer. It has forced me to slow down and think about what I am shooting and how I can capture that shot.  My analogy that I feels best describes my experience so far is I would equate using the E-P3 like shooting a machine gun. Its so fast that it just hits everything, however I find myself deleting a lot of pictures. Its not that the pictures are blurry, but I find myself over shooting just because I can and the majority of my pictures are meaningless. Versus the X1 is like a sniper rifle, calm, composed, silent and deadly accurate. One shot one kill. Although I may be trigger happy, I really can't be, so my pictures have to be more thought out and this has resulted in more meaningful pictures.  So even when comparing something like battery life. E-P3 I generally blow through ~300 shots (one battery cycle) only to keep maybe 50-75 of those versus the X1 which has a battery life of ~200, but I feel that I could make 150 of 200 count.  I know what you're thinking now, why don't you slow down with the E-P3 and shoot the E-P3 like you're shooting the X1. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say, but this brings up my other point, the X1 IQ. color, metering accuracy is absolutely phenomenal and now I can see the Leica mystique. The pictures have an aura of their own, something I have never seen and this is why over just 1 day have fallen for my Leica X1.  Thanks for reading and I really like the forum.  Tony  Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 2, 2012 Posted March 2, 2012 Hi sohcsleeper, Take a look here New X1 user just saying hi!. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jamesmd Posted March 2, 2012 Share #2 Â Posted March 2, 2012 Hi , welcome ;-) Â Yes I agree with all you say , I have the camera for a little time , months , and really love it . Â enjoy sir Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted March 2, 2012 Share #3 Â Posted March 2, 2012 Tony, welcome to the forum and X1 ownership! Â Your machine gun analogy is a good one. Leica photography does encourage a photographer to hone his skills and rewards regular practice. I like your dog picture. A patient pooch! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted March 2, 2012 Share #4 Â Posted March 2, 2012 Welcome and enjoy the camera! I have one and love it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sohcsleeper Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share #5  Posted March 3, 2012 Tony, welcome to the forum and X1 ownership! Your machine gun analogy is a good one. Leica photography does encourage a photographer to hone his skills and rewards regular practice. I like your dog picture. A patient pooch!  He actually likes taking pictures and stays still when he sees the AF assist light  I really like the raw files, but since we're obligated to also have Jpeg....what settings are everyone using? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickma Posted March 3, 2012 Share #6 Â Posted March 3, 2012 I am on medium low Sharpening, and have moved to Vivid film setting because I found the standard film jpeg to be flat and greyish. I'll see how this works out before seeing if it needs higher than standard saturation and/ or contrast. Â I too would welcome hearing other people's in-camera jpeg setting preferences, and views on whether they can get closer to RAW quality than I have managed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert blu Posted March 3, 2012 Share #7 Â Posted March 3, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Welcome to the forum, with a beautiful photo (excellent model!) robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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