X Vario first impression

[cpclee]

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- almost same size as M

- more solid and heftier than most/all APS-C mirrorless cameras out there. Though I wouldn't call the build M-like by any stretch

- focus and aperture rings better damped than most consumer cameras but not comparable in smoothness to M / R lenses. Similar to Digilux 2 if I remember correctly

- faster AF than X1, but by no means FAST. Slower than D-lux panaleicas for example

- quiet shutter with no noticeable lag

- intuitive controls

- nice LCD. EVF gives a jaggedy image with desaturated colors

 

Overall I feel the X vario could be someone's last camera if only the EVF was better. That EVF will seem pathetic in 3 years. The lens is slow but I think of it as a digital CM / Minilux Zoom which had similarly slow lenses too. (Or the Contax TVS cameras.) The X1 / 2 is more my taste

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[Ruhayat]

Overall I feel the X vario could be someone's last camera if only the EVF was better. That EVF will seem pathetic in 3 years.

 

But that's exactly the advantage of an external viewfinder: you can upgrade it when a better one comes along. Otherwise, thanks for the observations, they are quite helpful to me.

[TW528]

But that's exactly the advantage of an external viewfinder: you can upgrade it when a better one comes along. Otherwise, thanks for the observations, they are quite helpful to me.

 

When has that been the case with EVFs?

[CaptZoom]

When has that been the case with EVFs?

 

Olympus is on their third external EVF; I think Sony's had two.

[CaptZoom]

But that's exactly the advantage of an external viewfinder: you can upgrade it when a better one comes along. Otherwise, thanks for the observations, they are quite helpful to me.

 

I agree, but with a caveat: either new EVF's have to be retroactively compatible (with older camera bodies) or manufactures have to issue firmware updates to make new EVFs compatible with older bodies. Some manufacturers are notoriously slow with FW updates, and others (Fuji) as expedient with them.

[Torquinian]

- almost same size as M

- more solid and heftier than most/all APS-C mirrorless cameras out there. Though I wouldn't call the build M-like by any stretch

- focus and aperture rings better damped than most consumer cameras but not comparable in smoothness to M / R lenses. Similar to Digilux 2 if I remember correctly

- faster AF than X1, but by no means FAST. Slower than D-lux panaleicas for example

- quiet shutter with no noticeable lag

- intuitive controls

- nice LCD. EVF gives a jaggedy image with desaturated colors

 

Overall I feel the X vario could be someone's last camera if only the EVF was better. That EVF will seem pathetic in 3 years. The lens is slow but I think of it as a digital CM / Minilux Zoom which had similarly slow lenses too. (Or the Contax TVS cameras.) The X1 / 2 is more my taste

 

It looks big . What does it weigh?

[colonel]

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- almost same size as M

- more solid and heftier than most/all APS-C mirrorless cameras out there. Though I wouldn't call the build M-like by any stretch

 

that's very interesting

 

many people have said the build is a selling point but you would appear to be adverse to this