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Zeiss ZX1 vs Leica Q


ajayk

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The Epson R-D1 was the first digital rangefinder, and it accepted Leica M mount lenses natively. Does anybody know if they had to pay licensing fees to Leica? I suspect not, given that the Leica M mount was introduced in 1954, so its patent should have expired in 2004.

 

If Leica has a patent on the 6 bit code reader, that would be a different story. It would mean that any new third party rangefinder manufacturer would be able to offer an M mount camera without license fees, but would not be able to offer a 6 bit code reader. 

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I would prefer 35mm over 28mm, but we know so little about the ZX1. How’s the autofocus—and how manageable is the manual focus?? (The Q is great in both regards.) How are the ZX1’s sensor and haptics?? The Q is very good and great in those regards, respectively, and much lighter than the ZX1. It’ll be interesting to see ...

Edited by ramosa
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The curious thing about the ZX1 is the marketing tagline: "Shoot. Edit. Share." Presumably the "share" means social media. Why on earth would you need 37 MP for that? 

Erm.....share it with a friend who appreciates hi res images?

But I guess the point of built-in LR CC is so that you can share a low res version if you so choose, and add the 37MP version to LR CC for later uploading. I do this already (shoot with my CL, transfer selected images to LR CC on my phone, and email lo-res versions to others on the fly) with the Leica Fotos app with LR CC on the phone. It's not the fastest process, but you can use a camera with your preferred lens and controls rather than swapping out to a smartphone with limited camera capabilities.

 

I think this is an interesting development, though so much depends on the speed of the wifi connection. Taking your photos, uploading them seamlessly to the cloud by wifi, then finding them on your desktop, laptop and phone - this is coming, and Zeiss are laying down a marker. You can do it with a smartphone, obviously, so why can't it be done with a decent camera? Whether it works well or not in this Zeiss is another matter entirely. As I commented in a previous post, it will be interesting to see if you have to use a smartphone and app as intermediary, or can directly connect to a local wireless network.

 

As for editing, I already edit images on my (smallish screen) smartphone before sharing them: straightening, cropping, auto brightness etc etc. This isn't pixel level editing or Photoshop mask adjustment, but that doesn't mean it's not useful.

Edited by LocalHero1953
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Must admit that the idea of having LR CC directly on the cam is an interesting concept....Of course, it can never replace working on a calibrated large screen (or 2...) for top-notch editing, but for some on-the-fly editing it might be an alternative worthwhile testing. Used already LR CC on my i-pad after importing from the Q (see examples from Amsterdam or Milan, all editing happened on the iPad with CC) when traveling light, and the ZX1 concept is taking this a only a step further. 

 

Assuming (tbc) that the ZX1 will be counted by Adobe as a "mobile device" it would not add any extra cost to the existing CC lease, either...

 

The LR CC cloud-based concepts would allow seamlessly continuing working on desktop and no double work. Thus the 37MP makes a lot of sense since workflow does not stop after first publishing on social media.

 

I am much interested to learn more about the optical performance etc of the ZX1 (and the price)...and what Leica's answer (Q2) will be...

 

Interesting and promising times for photogs.

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I've just looked at the Zeiss website. It answers my questions:

- Direct uploading to the cloud by wifi without the need for a smartphone/app

- Direct sharing from the camera: email, dropbox are the examples they show, but I'm sure there are others.

- Built in 512Gb SSD

- USB-C port for fast downloading.

- LR CC looks like an adapted version, from what appears on my phone, but editing would be familiar to anyone used to simple icon and slide bar editing on a phone.

 

I can see why this is a chunky and heavy camera - it's basically a small computer.

I look forward to seeing the price.

I suspect this will be too big to appeal much to smartphone users, even with the resolution, Zeiss optics and IQ.

I like the idea very much; all Leica needs to do is put it in a TL3, without increase in size, and I'm sold.

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From a Leica shooter's perspective: The fact that the aperture ring is not only in the wrong place, but also spins in the wrong direction, p*sses me right off. 

 

And I share the same sentiments with the others -  Lightroom on a small screen seems a little frivolous, especially when you can transfer the file to your phone in a few seconds and perform the same function. 

 

But those aperture and focus rings...Switching from Leica to Zeiss repeatedly would be a frustrating nightmare. 

 

Switching from the M to Q, however, is as seamless as can be. Bring on the Q2...

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I own both a M and a Q, but I find this Zeiss concept attractive. Size is bigger cos of built in 512GB SSD. 35mm is certainly welcome! 37MP sounds good. Price is expected to be in $2000 range. I think it would become a serious competition. On other hand now Zenit is there with its M mount body with a 35mm at $5500. Both to Ben launches in early 2019. Cant wait to see the test results of actual production copies...

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From a Leica shooter's perspective: The fact that the aperture ring is not only in the wrong place, but also spins in the wrong direction, p*sses me right off. 

 

And I share the same sentiments with the others -  Lightroom on a small screen seems a little frivolous, especially when you can transfer the file to your phone in a few seconds and perform the same function. 

 

But those aperture and focus rings...Switching from Leica to Zeiss repeatedly would be a frustrating nightmare. 

 

Switching from the M to Q, however, is as seamless as can be. Bring on the Q2...

The Leica Fotos app takes a noticeably long time to download individual images. And while using the app, you can't use wifi on your phone.

The speed of direct upload from the Zeiss to the internet will be the critical factor.

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