Jump to content

Leica X Vario Report


jonoslack

Recommended Posts

Thank you for posting your review, balanced, well thought out.

 

I am somewhat baffled by the negativity surrounding the Leica Vario X : the price , the slow lens, the size, no viewfinder no ff ,etc .etc.

 

What should it have been ? does it matter ? it is what it is, to me it appears to be

a beautiful photographic instrument, an improvement of the excellent Leica X2, with a zoom lens, capable of making excellent photos.

 

The price that everyone is complaining about, what should it have been ? $2500?, $2200 ? or less than the price of the X2 ?

 

If the Leica appears to be a great luxury, than every camera is a luxury for those who don't make a living of photography, most have a cell phone.

 

After reading your excellent review, other reviews and watching Angela's video , I immediately ordered one from the Camera Store in Calgary, which should arrive tomorrow, yes, I can keep it for 2 weeks and send it back if I don't like it, I doubt very much that I'll be sending it back, for less than one of Leica's more expensive lenses,

it seems like a good deal.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I think a lot of the 'slagging off' has come because it was originally alleged it was an M Mini. If they had said the NEW X it would of been a bit better IMO.

 

Just guessing. I was never going to buy another M digital body regardless.

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

I held and tried the new X Vario today. Technically it is not a mini version of the M. But if you put the X Vario and an M with a normal lens on it side by side, it LOOKS like a mini version of the M. And it has much of the same quality build feeling as the M.

 

I think that is part of the value - if you have this camera hanging over your shoulder, you will LOOK like a real Leica (M) photographer, and get some of the M aura.

 

But you will achieve that for less than what a good lens costs for the M, without the hassle (but the option) of manual focus, and of changing lenses.

 

OK, so it is mainly a daylight camera. Not everybody have a hang-up on low-light max aperture photography. It even has a flash. And Leica M users of the old school may not have thought about the effect of a quality CMOS APC-C sensor - probably it is so good at higher ISO values that it will compensate for 2-3 (missing) stops of the lens, with more than decent quality.

 

All in all, I decent camera that fills a hole in Leica's product line-up. I really hope it will sell.

 

Personally, I will continue with MM and S2, two cameras that most X Vario users probably will find utterly ridiculous. I can live with that. But there is no reason we should ridicule the other way.

Edited by erlingmm
typo
Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest badbob
I think a lot of the 'slagging off' has come because it was originally alleged it was an M Mini. If they had said the NEW X it would of been a bit better IMO. Just guessing. I was never going to buy another M digital body regardless.

 

A "zoom X2" would have been pretty accurate, but the expectations would have to take into account the large size difference, not being a collapsible lens.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I wonder if one would be hard pressed when looking at prints....I have tossed prints in the trash that looked great on the screen, even at 100%:(

 

Jaapv.

 

Thats why I still shoot Transparances (slides), what you see is what you get.

 

When I was a young man starting in photography, I was told that,

 

Slides are for QUALITY, Print film( Negatives) are for Quantity.

 

So where does Digital (Electronic) imaging fit in.......is it Convenience.

 

Cheers.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I held and tried the new X Vario today. Technically it is not a mini version of the M. But if you put the X Vario and an M with a normal lens on it side by side, it LOOKS like a mini version of the M. And it has much of the same quality build feeling as the M.

 

I think that is part of the value - if you have this camera hanging over your shoulder, you will LOOK like a real Leica (M) photographer, and get some of the M aura.

 

But you will achieve that for less than what a good lens costs for the M, without the hassle (but the option) of manual focus, and of changing lenses.

 

OK, so it is mainly a daylight camera. Not everybody have a hang-up on low-light max aperture photography. It even has a flash. And Leica M users of the old school may not have thought about the effect of a quality CMOS APC-C sensor - probably it is so good at higher ISO values that it will compensate for 2-3 (missing) stops of the lens, with more than decent quality.

 

All in all, I decent camera that fills a hole in Leica's product line-up. I really hope it will sell.

 

Personally, I will continue with MM and S2, two cameras that most X Vario users probably will find utterly ridiculous. I can live with that. But there is no reason we should ridicule the other way.

 

A good, reasonable post. I purchased the X Vario last night, and took a few shots as the sun was going down this evening. Light wasn't great, but the f/6.4 aperture wasn't bad (first two shot at ISO 800, last one is ISO 1600). I plan on shooting a lot with it this weekend, but so far, I like it. Build quality is great, and it's a lot of fun to shoot with.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited by Feudal1
  • Like 8
Link to post
Share on other sites

Beautiful pictures feudal , enjoy your new camera.

 

Thank you for the report Jonos, I enjoyed it.

 

What it might have been, should have been and how it should have been marketed is all quite irrelevant now that the camera is out. It is what it is, a variable zoom leica X body, with a decent size and well performing sensor, very usable iso range and nice wide to mid zoom range that has a very nice body and is made in Germany. It should fit the needs of many people and can produce great images.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi There - amongst all the lens size and speed arguments I thought this might seem relevant.

 

Here you have the XV with the lens fully extended (at 28mm it's longest), next to it is an Olympus OMD with the 12-35 f2.8 Panasonic lens fully extended. Remember also that the Olympus is µ43 and not APS-C.

 

To have made a fast lens for this camera it would clearly have needed to be a great deal bigger

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

  • Like 9
Link to post
Share on other sites

Here you have the XV with the lens fully extended (at 28mm it's longest), next to it is an Olympus OMD with the 12-35 f2.8 Panasonic lens fully extended. Remember also that the Olympus is µ43 and not APS-C.

 

To have made a fast lens for this camera it would clearly have needed to be a great deal bigger

 

 

Lens lengths

 

86mm 18-50 f2.8 Sigma

71mm 18-55 f2.8-4 Fuji X

85mm 18-46 F3.5-6.4 Xvario

 

OMD image stabilised & Fuji X 18-55 stabilised.

Xvario no stabilisation : f6.4 needs good light else high iso = digital noise.

Link to post
Share on other sites

On the other hand, there's no question that the speed of this lens could pose a problem for a serious photographer -- especially at the narrower end of the zoom's coverage. As I was working on this article I sent a draft to Michael Reichmann (my editor for this site of course) and he told me about an interesting little test he did. Today, apparently, the skies are overcast in Toronto, Ontario where he lives. He took a meter out and found that if he was working outdoors today at F/6.4 at 70 mm he'd need to be at ISO 1600 to get a shutter speed of at least 1/125. That, as he explained, is a higher ISO than he would really want to use under those circumstances.

In a nutshell, the X Vario's lens is so slow because if Leica made it faster it would either have had to be notably larger or lower in optical performance than they were willing to accept. As I understand it, the company didn't see either of those as viable options. Again: size, speed, optical quality across the image circle -- choose any two.

Sean Reid Waiting For Monroe
  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Lens lengths

 

86mm 18-50 f2.8 Sigma

71mm 18-55 f2.8-4 Fuji X

85mm 18-46 F3.5-6.4 Xvario

 

OMD image stabilised & Fuji X 18-55 stabilised.

Xvario no stabilisation : f6.4 needs good light else high iso = digital noise.

 

Fine - but you aren't talking fully extended lens length

the Fuji 18-55 is actually 104mm fully extended - don't know about the Sigma.

 

What you also aren't mentioning is the quality - which is surely relevant?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Lens lengths

 

86mm 18-50 f2.8 Sigma

71mm 18-55 f2.8-4 Fuji X

85mm 18-46 F3.5-6.4 Xvario

 

OMD image stabilised & Fuji X 18-55 stabilised.

Xvario no stabilisation : f6.4 needs good light else high iso = digital noise.

 

Hi There

Just like to correct / add to this:

 

 

86mm 18-50 f2.8 Sigma (sorry don't have one to measure)

71mm 18-55 f2.8-4 Fuji X - 110mm fully extended

60mm 18-46 F3.5-6.4 Xvario - 70mm fully extended

 

I know because I measured them today with a tape measure.

:D

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi There

Just like to correct / add to this:

 

 

86mm 18-50 f2.8 Sigma (sorry don't have one to measure)

71mm 18-55 f2.8-4 Fuji X - 110mm fully extended

60mm 18-46 F3.5-6.4 Xvario - 70mm fully extended

 

I know because I measured them today with a tape measure.

:D

 

Ah...in other words, it is a little shorter than my 90 Elmar on the M3....thanks, Jono!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...