XVario still makes sense

[onceuponatime]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

With the releasse of A7/r, RX10 with 24-200 constant f2.8 Zeiss, it may appear XVario is already long in the tooth.

Well XVario is unique in being currently the only apsc with fixed zoom which gives the classic simple analog style handling.

 

For those who like the DR of apsc over 1" and m43 and classic handling and dont want to keep changing lenses

or dont want to carry four primes 28, 35, 50, 75 Xvario still makes sense.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Ecaton]

With the releasse of A7/r, RX10 with 24-200 constant f2.8 Zeiss, it may appear XVario is already long in the tooth.

Well XVario is unique in being currently the only apsc with fixed zoom which gives the classic simple analog style handling.

 

For those who like the DR of apsc over 1" and m43 and classic handling and dont want to keep changing lenses

or dont want to carry four primes 28, 35, 50, 75 Xvario still makes sense.

 

Nah, the A7 with 28-70mm zoom is priced at USD 2000. 24MP FF sony sensor versus 16MP aps-c Sony sensor, integrated EVF4 with 2.4 dot resolution versus inferior external EVF2, 1/8000 versus 1/2000 max shutter speed, 28-70mm FF zoom with OSS, 28-70mm equivalent crop sensor zoom, phase detection AF, weather sealing, tilt screen. Oh, and it can take M-lenses. With specs light years apart and a sensor so superior, no idea why anybody would choose a XV over the A7, even when ignoring the much lower price of the vastly better product.

[vcs700s]

Nah, the A7 with 28-70mm zoom is priced at USD 2000. 24MP FF sony sensor versus 16MP aps-c Sony sensor, integrated EVF4 with 2.4 dot resolution versus inferior external EVF2, 1/8000 versus 1/2000 max shutter speed, 28-70mm FF zoom with OSS, 28-70mm equivalent crop sensor zoom, phase detection AF, weather sealing, tilt screen. Oh, and it can take M-lenses. With specs light years apart and a sensor so superior, no idea why anybody would choose a XV over the A7, even when ignoring the much lower price of the vastly better product.

 

With technology today there are new cameras being announced all the time. For me, I have arrived at the place in my life that I am very content with my X Vario. Photography is about capturing light and the images the camera produces. Leica in general and the X Vario specifically do a great job at both. I have no desire to move to another brand or buy another camera at this time.

 

Probably any product on the planet will find people who love it or hate it. My feeling is to each his own. Buy and shoot whichever camera you want. If it costs $100 great. If it costs $10,000 great. As long as you are happy with it, that is all that really matters.

[barjohn]

Vic,

 

In theory your statement sounds fine if you don't delve any deeper than the here and now at the superficial level. The problem is that in the real world, if the company cannot make a cometitive product that sells in sufficient quantities to keep a company in business, the product, the company or both will dissapear. A high tech product with no support soon loses its value and desirability.

[vcs700s]

Vic,

 

In theory your statement sounds fine if you don't delve any deeper than the here and now at the superficial level. The problem is that in the real world, if the company cannot make a cometitive product that sells in sufficient quantities to keep a company in business, the product, the company or both will dissapear. A high tech product with no support soon loses its value and desirability.

 

Wow, I didn't realize I was being superficial!

 

It seems to me that you were a fan of the X Vario but because a company that has been around for 100 years didn't update it fast enough for you then you sell it and move on. A week or two ago you were volunteering to be a beta tester.

 

If memory serves it has been on the market for about four months. I am sure it takes time to program a firmware update and in good time they will make one available for the X Vario.

 

I hope you enjoy the Sony. Don't try any discreet, close up, street photos as the shutter is louder than my DSLR.

[barjohn]

I'm still an X Vario fan and I really like the camera for its feel and image quality when it focuses correctly. But unreliable AF needs to be fixed and I am not very patient when I have thousands of dollars in equipment that is not performing as it should.

 

I was the architect and manager of a team that developed a large enterprise system for the U.S. Navy that is now deployed on every surface ship, most of the submarines and most of the Navy calibration laboratories. The system must operate 24/7 and when any problem arises it must be fixed immediately. We typically diagnose and send out a patch to repair a software problem in 24 hours or less. The team that programmed and supports this system that handles millions of items, manages workload and automates calibration of tens of thousands of items per year..approximately 10 highly skilled programmers. If any location were to go down they could have 100 people standing around unable to do their work. If we can do that with 10 people so should Leica with their resources.

 

I have heard the shutter on Steve Huff's site and on the Camera Store video and it didn't sound that bad to me.

[CalArts 99]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

If memory serves it has been on the market for about four months. I am sure it takes time to program a firmware update and in good time they will make one available for the X Vario.

 

I have the X2. Can you tell me which line to stand in for a firmware update?

 

I hope you enjoy the Sony. Don't try any discreet, close up, street photos as the shutter is louder than my DSLR.

 

I'm curious about the sound of the shutter, too. So are you saying you've had the Sony in your hands and have actually compared it to your DSLR? The only thing I've seen/heard is a YouTube video but that's testing the burst rate and so it's hard to really know what a single shutter release sounds like. It was kind of loud although not louder than a DSLR. But it's kind of hard to make an accurate judgement with those sorts of things since one doesn't know the audio levels and ambient sounds, etc., etc.. Where did you get your hands on one in order to make your comparison?

 

fwiw, here is what someone said who did have the actual camera in hand:

 

"One surprise for us was how loud the Sony A7R's shutter sound was. It's not quite in the same league with a mirror-flipping SLR, but it's quite a lot louder than the RX1's shutter. This is very likely because the RX1 almost certainly has a leaf shutter, whereas the Sony A7R has a focal-plane design. It's not obnoxious, and as full-frame interchangeable-lens cameras go, it's not bad at all. It's just that we mentally had the RX1 in mind when we first approached the A7R."

 

So I'm surprised that you say it's louder than your DSLR. Which DSLR are you talking about?

[euston]

With the releasse of A7/r, RX10 with 24-200 constant f2.8 Zeiss, it may appear XVario is already long in the tooth.

Well XVario is unique in being currently the only apsc with fixed zoom which gives the classic simple analog style handling.

 

For those who like the DR of apsc over 1" and m43 and classic handling and dont want to keep changing lenses

or dont want to carry four primes 28, 35, 50, 75 Xvario still makes sense.

 

I agree. My X Vario gives me all I need in a handy fixed lens package and I don’t find the AF faulty. I wouldn’t swap it for a Sony A7 but, if I were thinking of buying a Leica M 240, I might think twice. If the A7 lives up to the promise of its specification, if the adaptor for M lenses works well, and if you don’t mind the hideous styling, the hybrid Leica M 240 may have some serious competition. It goes to show the perils that lie in wait for Leica when they dip their toe into waters already populated by much bigger fish.

[Ecaton]

With technology today there are new cameras being announced all the time. ....

 

Exactly as the technology used for drawing with light will continue to develop. And mastering one core component of it, i.e. lenses, is not sufficient.

Try to imagine, the XV was announced by Sony or Fuji. Unthinkable.

[saibaiwei]

I agree. My X Vario gives me all I need in a handy fixed lens package and I don’t find the AF faulty. I wouldn’t swap it for a Sony A7 but, if I were thinking of buying a Leica M 240, I might think twice. If the A7 lives up to the promise of its specification, if the adaptor for M lenses works well, and if you don’t mind the hideous styling, the hybrid Leica M 240 may have some serious competition. It goes to show the perils that lie in wait for Leica when they dip their toe into waters already populated by much bigger fish.

 

Wow, you just mentioned all the points why I'll keep love using my X Vario. To this day, I still have not run into any AF problems whatsoever, must be the subject differences. And the styling differences between, the A7/RX10, and the X Vario, man, that really reminds me of the beauty and the beast.

[tompoes]

Wow, you just mentioned all the points why I'll keep love using my X Vario. To this day, I still have not run into any AF problems whatsoever, must be the subject differences. And the styling differences between, the A7/RX10, and the X Vario, man, that really reminds me of the beauty and the beast.

 

The X Vario is indeed a beauty, i owned one but sold it. Loved the simplicity of this camera and the build quality. The zoom lens is nothing special and many other and technical more versatile solutions exist. Take the superb Olympus E P5 and E M1 with the top quality 12-40 zoom.

Got better results out of this combo. In the IQ department the X Vario did disappoint me, loved the ISO performance but the file quality resulted that the camera started to gather dust.

I am a Leica fan and have a range of M lenses and an M9.

[Ozkar]

Vic,

 

In theory your statement sounds fine if you don't delve any deeper than the here and now at the superficial level. The problem is that in the real world, if the company cannot make a cometitive product that sells in sufficient quantities to keep a company in business, the product, the company or both will dissapear. A high tech product with no support soon loses its value and desirability.

 

Leica will do just fine … they will always be supported by the "true believers"

[papimuzo]

[.............]

 

I was the architect and manager of a team that developed a large enterprise system for the U.S. Navy that is now deployed on every surface ship, most of the submarines and most of the Navy calibration laboratories. The system must operate 24/7 [....................].

 

Why not propose your expertise to Leica?

[barjohn]

Because I don't speak German and I'm not ready to relocate from sunny California!

[Guytou]

John, I do not understand you very well !

 

You bought and used several cameras lately. It seems to me that you do not keep them very a long time and that you must be impatient !

In bottom of your messages you permanently recall to go to see your photographs. But why one does not see recent photographs, those of your site go back to 2007…

 

Guy

[barjohn]

It varies with the camera as to how long I keep it. The ones I really like usually last about a year or a bit more, the others don't make it to 30 days. The reason is simple, I am a technologist and in a year, technology makes significant advances. I like to stay on the cutting edge of technology. I'm not the best photographer, just like I'm not the best mechanic but I still want the best tools I can afford. The more the tool gets out of my way and makes the job easier the better I like it.

 

You are right in that I had not updated my web site in some time. I just never seemed to get around to it because it is such a pain to load images into it. As a result, I have long ago switched to DropBox to share images. So I have changed my signature page to provide a link to a DropBox folder where I can quickly and easily upload photos and I have updated it with some Leica XV photos. Finally, you are right, I am terribly impatient when it comes to things that I believe should happen more quickly. While I wouldn't move to Germany, I would certainly be willing to put together a top notch team of 5 programmers that could crank out fixes and enhancements in a lot less time than Leica takes. Give the team the development tool set (in English) and 3 months to learn the existing code and tools and by month 4 we would have the first upgrade. I might be able to do it with even fewer programmers (3-4). If we couldn't deliver they could fire the entire team.

[Guytou]

OK John, thank you for your answer.

I understand a little better now...

 

Guy

[onceuponatime]

When I look at my photos only a handful are shallow dof.

Most are f4/5.6-f11.

I like simple analog style handling.

I dont want to carry around a bunch of primes.

I dont want to miss a moment changing lenses.

I want one lens of real quality from wide to portrait with decent manual focus.

I want larger than m4/3 for DR.

I want a compact enough body.

 

XV ticks all these boxes.

 

However I also like built in EVF.

Lets see if XVario 2 has tilt EVF built in.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[Guytou]

I also share this opinion.

 

Guy

[symmetron]

I'm not so sure after owning two X Varios.

 

My first X Vario was returned to Leica for focusing and WB issues. Leica graciously replaced the camera since the issues presented themselves after only a few hundred shots.

 

The second X Vario is marginally better but still continues to have periodic and unpredictable focusing issues. Obviously there is something wrong with the design/firmware, and it's unclear if and when Leica will address the issues.

 

I generally shoot my XV in tandem with my X1. Of course the X1 is a challenge as far as focusing but that has been addressed in other posts. However, if you can get the X1 to focus, the results can be stunning.

 

Unfortunately, the XV focusing issues are different. It appears that when using either the rear LCD or the EVF, the image appears to be in focus (green light, beep, looks in focus, etc.), but the results sometimes, but regularly, are not in focus. Very frustrating. Ironically, when the XV does "nail" the focus, the results are stunning also, BUT producing an in-focused image is "hit or miss" in my experience. This has happened on multiple occasions in situations where there was little or no opportunity to repeat the shot.

 

I would have to advise any potential owner of the XV to either pass or wait until Leica addresses the issue(s). In fact, I am sorry to say that I regret having bought the XV at this point.

 

As a final thought,there's always much discussion concerning Panny-Leicas and their differences, if any. The one observation that I can make having owned a D2 and DL4 is that the Panasonic-Leicas seem to never have any auto-focusing issues, while the Made in Germany Leicas (X1,X2, XV) all seem to have auto-focusing issues. Perhaps Leica should just let Panasonic develop and provide the focusing and Leica provide the glass. My D2 and DL4 focus much better than either my X1 or XV. Just a thought.