dkCambridgeshire Posted July 3, 2012 Share #1 Posted July 3, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) This week's Amateur Photographer magazine has a several pages long Leica X2 review ... I did not buy it but had a quick browse ... from what I recall reading it was given a 'fairly average' rating ... RAW files OK but JPEGS not so OK ... higher ISO results could be better ... autofocus improved compared to the X1 ... and it's expensive. IIRC the magazine gave the X1 a fairly average rating too ... and it was critical of the DMR as well when reviewed. dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 3, 2012 Posted July 3, 2012 Hi dkCambridgeshire, Take a look here AP magazine's X2 review. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
wda Posted July 3, 2012 Share #2 Posted July 3, 2012 Dunk, par for the course. AP has traditionally been harsh scoring Leica cameras. Invariably high cost colours their judgement. I remember the venerable Digilux 2 suffering a similar fate with a poor recommendation. Yet, how many cameras of its time endure as workhorses today? Or are as revered? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecaton Posted July 4, 2012 Share #3 Posted July 4, 2012 I still appreciate my X1 but let's face it it's 2012 and the X2 is not setting any benchmarks whatsoever but a negative one on price for the body and accessories. So the review results do not come as a surprise. If I was in the market for a truly jacket pocket size aps-c sensor camera today, I might even choose the Samsung NX210 with the 30mm and 16mm pancakes over the X2. Can you imagine, a Samsung over a Leica:eek:. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share #4 Posted July 4, 2012 Dunk, par for the course. AP has traditionally been harsh scoring Leica cameras. Invariably high cost colours their judgement. I remember the venerable Digilux 2 suffering a similar fate with a poor recommendation. Yet, how many cameras of its time endure as workhorses today? Or are as revered? In 2011 I attended The Leica Society AGM weekend in High Wycombe where AP Editor Damien Demolder and his News Editor Chris Cheeseman were guests. On Sunday afternoon I was taking photographs of the raffle draw using my olive green Leica M8.2 ... Damien Demolder suddenly walked up to me with his eyes focused on my camera and started stroking it ... he then said, "I just wanted to stroke it!" I do not know if he was taking the p— or whether he was really impressed by it ... he then smiled and walked away. BTW ... I was not trying to impress anyone with my camera ... it does generate a few comments at Leica Society functions but so far DM is the only person who has actually wanted to stroke it ... and without my permission!! Cheeky so and so! ... but I seem to recall he has written about enjoying using Leica M lenses on a Panasonic M4/3 camera. dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share #5 Posted July 4, 2012 I still appreciate my X1 but let's face it it's 2012 and the X2 is not setting any benchmarks whatsoever but a negative one on price for the body and accessories. So the review results do not come as a surprise. If I was in the market for a truly jacket pocket size aps-c sensor camera today, I might even choose the Samsung NX210 with the 30mm and 16mm pancakes over the X2. Can you imagine, a Samsung over a Leica:eek:. Regarding the price of the X2 and the X1 ... given that the lens is a Leica lens and it is capable of producing images of equal quality to other Leica optics, then it is not quite so negative on price ... and also bear in mind that the camera is sold with two copies of Lightroom. Leica accessories have always been expensive but so are any low volume production items. There are ways around this expense e.g. acquiring Olympus and Panasonic finders which are just as capable as the Leica branded items. dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Muller Posted July 4, 2012 Share #6 Posted July 4, 2012 As an X1 user what really really is disappointing on the X1 (& 2?) is the following: No way to clean sensor - mine has a ton of dust LCD not good enough to view sharpness and more importantly to view manual focus sharpness No lens hood or filter protection over lens...only via 3rd party suppliers silly and poor poor quality flash - mine is broken So is the X2 really much better than 1 or is it only a 'mild facelift' with core flaws all still present? I couldn't justify the X1's price and still can't the X2's price.....even more so with cameras like the om-d, nex 7 etc etc around.... Only reason I bought one was because I got it really really cheap...I had to work hard to master it and its two redeeming features are great namely image quality and zone focus.... For now I am waiting to see what the canon & leica evil's will look like,,, knowing Canon it will probably(hopefully) be fairly integrated with the rest of their system ....and the x200 should have sorted the flaws... I have had a digital camera since 2004 and no camera has ever had anything break, but the flash on my X1 has. My 5d2 sensor is pristine...no dust no nothing the x1 is covered in dust and no way to clean it...except by sending it for cleaning to Solms,,,a 2month journey! and just remember a x1 costs as much as a 5d2 body! Leica really knows how to price a camera totally out of reach! ...and in my experience (x1) build quality is not anywhere close to a mass consumer camera like the ones from Japan.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted July 4, 2012 Share #7 Posted July 4, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've only handled an X1 briefly but it confirmed my view that Leica cameras are always a day late and a dollar short. Wild horses wouldn't make me do it and I remain to be convinced the X2 is any better. Unlike its optics where they are leading-edge, Leica seem to be in perpetual catch-up mode with their cameras. If there's a new camera at Photokina, I really hope Leica will push the boundaries in the way Nikon has with the D4 and D800(E). I'm not holding my breath though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted July 4, 2012 Share #8 Posted July 4, 2012 Handling an X1 'briefly' won't have much meaning for most people and even once owning one, it took me time to appreciate what this camera was all about. It can be criticized for this or that but at the end of the day, I'm not sure what is out there that produces better pictures in this category at that size. I recently bought an X2 and while it's not a massive improvement to many people as the X1 is capable of taking as good pictures, the very noticeably better build quality, flash no longer popping up unasked, better screen, much better focusing and the wonderful EVF that tilts 90 degrees has made this camera just a joy to use. I've never had dust on the sensor of my X1, that would drive me crazy. Admittedly the X2, with the EVF is expensive but that's no real surprise. I find myself taking pictures I might not be taking with my M9 or even X1...but that's for another post. Obviously I am a big fan of the X2, it's better than I had hoped. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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