X Vario Users....

[colonel]

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....are you happy with your purchase? I'm seriously considering taking the plunge and would like to know if this camera is what you hoped it would be.

 

The picture quality won't disappoint. Actually it surprised me. Very sharp, great colours.

[barjohn]

Despite many of the negative issues, overall, this is a really excellent camera. Many of the issues can be fixed with a firmware upgrade. Hopefully Leica is working on them.

[Guest badbob]

For urban shooting, even in the daytime, I'd recommend having a tripod or other support handy, because there are many situations where you would point the XV down a dark alley (made dark by tall buildings etc.), or into a store or other indoor space, and there would be insufficient light for handheld shots, even in bursts.

[vcs700s]

For urban shooting, even in the daytime, I'd recommend having a tripod or other support handy, because there are many situations where you would point the XV down a dark alley (made dark by tall buildings etc.), or into a store or other indoor space, and there would be insufficient light for handheld shots, even in bursts.

 

This is not accurate. I just spent a Leica Akademie weekend shooting all hours in plenty of shade and in a dark restaurant with no problems. I shot at 6400 routinely with great results. Always handheld and the pics came out great. And I never use the image stabilization. A steady hand and soft press on the shutter are all you need.

[Guest badbob]

This is not accurate. I just spent a Leica Akademie weekend shooting all hours in plenty of shade and in a dark restaurant with no problems. I shot at 6400 routinely with great results. Always handheld and the pics came out great. And I never use the image stabilization. A steady hand and soft press on the shutter are all you need.

 

Well, yes it is accurate for the ISOs I shoot. You may find 6400 acceptable for a wide variety of photos, but I haven't found it to be useful in more than 1 in 50. But, for someone who is willing to commit long hours to PP and noise reduction, and who accepts grainy/noisy images in most cases, I suppose it would work. The XV is capable of some of the best images this side of medium format, but if its purpose is simply to produce less noise than a Nikon or Fuji at 6400, that's what I think of as very specialized use, not mainstream.

[vcs700s]

Well, yes it is accurate for the ISOs I shoot. You may find 6400 acceptable for a wide variety of photos, but I haven't found it to be useful in more than 1 in 50. But, for someone who is willing to commit long hours to PP and noise reduction, and who accepts grainy/noisy images in most cases, I suppose it would work. The XV is capable of some of the best images this side of medium format, but if its purpose is simply to produce less noise than a Nikon or Fuji at 6400, that's what I think of as very specialized use, not mainstream.

 

My point is you don't need a tripod to shoot higher ISO's. But you must know how to shoot with a steady hand and how to softly press the shutter. I have attached a pic to show how much color and how the grain is very slight.

 

I don't own Photoshop. Processed this in LR5 in less than 60 seconds.

 

This pic was shot in the dark corner of a bar. The X Vario is a fantastic camera that is capable of higher ISO, great color, no tripod and little grain. Proof is in the pudding.

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[Guest badbob]

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My point is you don't need a tripod to shoot higher ISO's. But you must know how to shoot with a steady hand and how to softly press the shutter. I have attached a pic to show how much color and how the grain is very slight. I don't own Photoshop. Processed this in LR5 in less than 60 seconds. This pic was shot in the dark corner of a bar. The X Vario is a fantastic camera that is capable of higher ISO, great color, no tripod and little grain. Proof is in the pudding.

 

Thanks for clarifying that. Given that X Vario buyers can get Lightroom with their purchase, it would seem that's the ideal solution. I'd like to read more similar success stories. BTW, I bought a MM and Noctilux after getting the X Vario, and shot with it for 2 weeks. Then I took the X Vario off the shelf and went out with it once again, and my impressions were much different from the first time using it. This time, compared to the MM/Noctilux, the X Vario felt very light, but still like a very high quality camera. And the new images were about as good as the bigger camera (in b&w), even though it's possible to do better with a MM in b&w. The X Vario will surprise people if they use it to its best advantage, so for the very experienced technically who can get excellent results at ISO 6400, good to hear and good luck.

 

But don't forget - when a customer or other person views prints in person made at ISO 6400, those prints are not likely to be labeled "....ISO 6400" - and so what that person sees is a photo that will not look as good as if it were taken at ISO 400 or less, and they may expect that that photo represents the best that the X Vario can do. I hope there aren't too many potential buyers who see something like that and form an erroneous impression.

[dkCambridgeshire]

In my experience the XV's low light performance is good and its high ISO performance is exemplary. A tripod is no more 'essential' for the XV than for any other camera. I recently took a lot of photos in a dimly lit cathedral and all were fine - and shot without a tripod. When shooting long exposures with any camera a tripod is needed - regardless of their IS. And by the way, the XV's IS works fine too for the static subjects it was designed for and within its IS shutter speed parameters. And remember that the XV produces excellent results at any aperture - so shooting at maximum aperture and at a sufficiently high ISO to give a reasonably fast hand-holdable shutter speed is on par if not better than most other cameras.

 

I have also tried the XV in low light using the 'auto everything' approach ie auto shutter speed, auto aperture, auto ISO and auto white balance - and all exposures were fine.

 

With IS 'on' in low light and within the IS shutter speed parameters you need to be aware of the actual shutter speeds in use - and use them sensibly - i.e be aware that they will not freeze movement.

 

dunk

[colonel]

I can confirm that ISO 1600 and 3200 are good. 1600 with the right exposure can look pin sharp with very slight noise.

In very low light I use 28mm, ideal for inside, at f3.5 and ISO 3200 covers almost everything.

 

This is 3200 at 1/20

 

 

I have loads more, will try and upload later

Interestingly my impression has changed, I feel the X-Vario is actually pretty good for low light.

[BB W]

A beautiful woman with lovely lighting.

[Guest badbob]

A beautiful woman with lovely lighting.

 

She is very beautiful, and with a large central subject in the frame with relatively smooth features, 1600 to 3200 can look very good. But try landscapes at night or in very dim light where there's a lot of small detail - that's where 1600 and up usually looks bad compared to lower ISOs. There's no free lunch, and a f3.5 lens that jumps rapidly in aperture with just a little zoom increase is a limitation that will be felt.

[ahkai]

I can confirm that ISO 1600 and 3200 are good. 1600 with the right exposure can look pin sharp with very slight noise.

In very low light I use 28mm, ideal for inside, at f3.5 and ISO 3200 covers almost everything.

 

This is 3200 at 1/20

 

 

I have loads more, will try and upload later

Interestingly my impression has changed, I feel the X-Vario is actually pretty good for low light.

 

 

This is very encouraging indeed. Thanks

[michaelbrenner]

Has any X Vario owners tried the Nikon SB-400 on the camera yet? I am just wondering if this works as the SB-400 is very portable and it also has a bounced option too. Not to mention, it;s very comfortable too. Thanks

 

I've had great success using a Nikon SB-600 with the X1. The only trouble I ran into is that sometimes the flash failed to fire... but for the most part the combo worked out really well.

[tom0511]

Hi,

I find to get pretty good along with the X-Vario for many things. I set it up to auto iso with max at iso 3200 and often set the shutter speed to the limit I need for the subject (1/125 or 1/250 often for my kids). I have not tried 6400 odten but maybe I should give it a try as well.

 

If it is very very dark I am also not afraid to add some flash. Since you can sync at short times like 1/250 it works fine.

 

Of course I would use a tripod if I wanted to shoot static subject or landscape at night and not just use ISO 6400. But in the end the x-vario is much less limiting in regards to lower light than I had expected before getting it.

I also own smaller and bigger cameras than the X-Vario and have to say the X-Vario is kind of my favorite size/weight for portable photography. The Leica M is not big either but not the lightest, a Nikon A is kind of smallish. The X-Vario is very close to my understanding of a portable camera (like the early Leicas screwmount)

[cjmani]

Greetings! I just found and joined the forum. I've had my XV for about a month now and could not be happier with the results. The lens is superb in every way, except max aperture. However, a faster lens means a much heavier and slower to AF lens. It is nevertheless only 1/2 stop slower than most f3.5-5.6 kit lenses sold with most DLSRs. I'm enjoying my XV so much that my Nikon D700 is jealously sitting on a shelf collecting dust these days.

 

Cheers,

 

Christian

[vcs700s]

Greetings! I just found and joined the forum. I've had my XV for about a month now and could not be happier with the results. The lens is superb in every way, except max aperture. However, a faster lens means a much heavier and slower to AF lens. It is nevertheless only 1/2 stop slower than most f3.5-5.6 kit lenses sold with most DLSRs. I'm enjoying my XV so much that my Nikon D700 is jealously sitting on a shelf collecting dust these days.

 

Cheers,

 

Christian

 

Same here. D700 is collecting dust except when I need a longer lens.

[wda]

Greetings! I just found and joined the forum. I've had my XV for about a month now and could not be happier with the results. The lens is superb in every way, except max aperture....

Cheers,

 

Christian

Welcome to the forum, Christian.

 

Modern Leica lenses are designed and made to be used at full aperture, so I am never afraid to do so when the situation demands. In some examples lens coverage improves slightly with stopping down, but it is not usually necessary to do so.