AP magazine's X Vario test report ?

[dkCambridgeshire]

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Has anyone read AP magazine's X Vario test report published this week? I have not seen it yet but subscribers and Londoners usually have their copies earlier than the usual Tuesday publication day. It'll be interesting to read the reviewer's opinion of the camera's 'imaging' and lens specification - especially the latter bearing in mind all the previous criticism of same from the naysayers on this forum.

 

dunk

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[Guest]

Has anyone read AP magazine's X Vario test report published this week? I have not seen it yet but subscribers and Londoners usually have their copies earlier than the usual Tuesday publication day. It'll be interesting to read the reviewer's opinion of the camera's 'imaging' and lens specification - especially the latter bearing in mind all the previous criticism of same from the naysayers on this forum.

 

dunk

 

AP = amateur photographer? see the link to > "sean raid" leica tests <. SR is one of the X-Vario reviewer.

 

br kmhb

[dkCambridgeshire]

AP = amateur photographer? see the link to > "sean raid" leica tests <. SR is one of the X-Vario reviewer.

 

br kmhb

 

Yes ... AP is 'Amateur Photographer' . The Sean Reid reviews have been mentioned in previous forum posts. The AP reviews of Leica products are usually ... 'interesting' .. say no more

 

dunk

[wda]

Yes, mine arrived yesterday Dunk. I thought Ian Farrell produced a well-balanced report, speaking as a non-owner at present. Some of the illustrations were not too well reproduced and, considering it is a camera review, I would expect at least one larger size picture taken with the review camera. So my judgment is on text and data alone.

[dkCambridgeshire]

Yes, mine arrived yesterday Dunk. I thought Ian Farrell produced a well-balanced report, speaking as a non-owner at present. Some of the illustrations were not too well reproduced and, considering it is a camera review, I would expect at least one larger size picture taken with the review camera. So my judgment is on text and data alone.

 

 

Thank you David ... and sounds like you might be considering buying one? Look forward to reading the review on Tuesday when copies are available here.

 

dunk

[dkCambridgeshire]

Just bought AP magazine; the test report is very favourable and of particular note the reviewer states:

 

"JPEGS are some of the best we've seen straight from the camera"

 

" ... zoom lens ... an excellent performer. At whatever aperture or zoom setting images are sharp from edge to edge ..."

 

" ... performs well at higher ISOs ..."

 

The camera's autofocus was found to struggle in some situations but manual focus was "very usable and offers a real alternative to working with AF"

 

All in all a very fair 6 page review and the magazine is well worth buying just for this test report especially if you are contemplating investing in the camera.

 

The review certainly shows that most of the naysayers' negative comments were and are wishful bunkum ... those naysayers failed to foresee the fact that quality images are the norm at every combination of zoom, ISO (up to and even beyond 3200) and aperture settings.

 

Best wishes

 

dunk

[miatadan]

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Not sure why AP magazine's state: polycarbonate, except for an aluminium top plate, when on Leica site I read

"For instance, the top plate is machined from solid aluminum in the same process as that used for the Leica M. The magnesium and aluminum body feels comfortably solid in the hand. At the same time, soft leather trim lends the Leica X Vario reassuring grip characteristics."

 

Dan

[dkCambridgeshire]

Not sure why AP magazine's state: polycarbonate, except for an aluminium top plate, when on Leica site I read

"For instance, the top plate is machined from solid aluminum in the same process as that used for the Leica M. The magnesium and aluminum body feels comfortably solid in the hand. At the same time, soft leather trim lends the Leica X Vario reassuring grip characteristics."

 

Dan

 

AP reviewer is also wrong about the X1 camera allegedly having a 28mm lens ... see page 45

 

dunk

[dhsimmonds]

AP reviewer is also wrong about the X1 camera allegedly having a 28mm lens ... see page 45

 

dunk

 

My view of the AP reviews went down the toilet after a very poor verdict on the Leica R9/DMR review some years ago. The review was conducted and written by Damian Demolder I seem to remember.

 

Damian is now the editor of AP!

[dkCambridgeshire]

My view of the AP reviews went down the toilet after a very poor verdict on the Leica R9/DMR review some years ago. The review was conducted and written by Damian Demolder I seem to remember.

 

Damian is now the editor of AP!

 

Yes I remember that review and the comments it provoked. We tend to refer to magazines' reviews as 'AP's review' or 'BJP's review' but at the end of the day it's the actual reviewer's opinion which is published. Those opinions can be biased, full of unnecessary preamble/waffle and they can convey more about the reviewer than the camera. The preamble can be a total waste of valuable page space and just an excuse for the the reviewer to wax lyrical about irrelevancies.

 

Why can't reviewers get into the nitty gritty of a camera's or lens' attributes and performance a bit quicker without the unnecessary journalese full of the same predictably overused phraseology used in their previous reviews?

 

Thankfully, Ian Farrell's X Vario review in this week's magazine is a breath of fresh air and a very much more readable, objective and comprehensive report than some of AP's previous assessments - and I doubt if it required much 'editing'

 

Best wishes

 

dunk

[stuny]

Dunk -

 

Some periodicals pay the writers by the word, much as Dickens experienced. Perhaps that has soemthing to do with your observation.

[dkCambridgeshire]

Dunk -

 

Some periodicals pay the writers by the word, much as Dickens experienced. Perhaps that has soemthing to do with your observation.

 

Yes ... there is more to magazine articles than meets the eye. I live in Peterborough where one of the main industries is magazine publishing. It's a fascinating business and what ends up on the printed page is a product which not only has to inform readers but also has to earn the journalists their bread and butter.

 

I have attended presentations and lectures by Peterborough based magazine editors and journalists who enlightened the audiences about how articles are actually written and published - so I bear in mind some of those 'secrets' whenever I read an article.

 

However, I was impressed by Ian Farrell's X Vario article (apart from the mistake about the X2 camera's focal length) because of its candour and impartiality and the way it informs readers without bias and unnecessary embroidery. The latter can be so evident in other magazines' reviews.

 

dunk

[mjh]

Some periodicals pay the writers by the word, much as Dickens experienced. Perhaps that has soemthing to do with your observation.

In my experience (not with AP or BJP though) you get paid for what gets published, not for what you have written. Editors can be quite merciless in cutting from your copy when it doesn’t fit the available space. I never had any difficulty filling that space; usually I was fighting to cram in everything I deemed essential in what little space I was given.

[stuny]

Michael -

 

That's my experience, too, and I should have said, "paid by the published and edited word."