ceflynn Posted September 10, 2009 Share #1 Posted September 10, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Since the Leica X1 was announced, I have wondered just what the world looks like through an f 2.8 lens with a 35 mm effective field of view. I found my Olympus XA 35 mm rangefinder in the back of a drawer. The lens reads: Olympus F-Zuiko 1:2.8 f=35 mm. The viewfinder is accurately matched to the lens. I see no reason why looking through the XA would not give a good idea of how a scene would appear in the X1. The view is a familiar and pleasing one, and I do not see how a better choice could have been made by Leica for their new camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 Hi ceflynn, Take a look here New Use for Olympus XA?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
biglouis Posted September 10, 2009 Share #2 Posted September 10, 2009 Yeah but it is a damn shame that 20 years ago you could get a capsule rangefinder with an absolutely superb lens on it for the equivalent of a quarter of the price but today you have to put up with no viewfinder. I would also imagine that the cost of assembling an intricate mechanical device was considerably greater in real terms than a digicam. That said, I still find the X1 an attractive idea - I'm just not under any illusions that Leica is going to extract as much consumer surplus as it can from its fan base. LouisB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucklik Posted September 14, 2009 Share #3 Posted September 14, 2009 Yeah but it is a damn shame that 20 years ago you could get a capsule rangefinder with an absolutely superb lens on it for the equivalent of a quarter of the price LouisB I bought a Minolta Hi-Matic E for 5€ and I found out I can work very fast with it. It is as fast as my M6 or M7. This is due to the good automatic exposure (also on M7) but the big factor is setting the distance which I set before taking the picture and looking in the viewfinder. This is why I find being able to put the distance in meters on the X1 so important. In street photography it is the difference between being fast enough or not being fast enough. The reason why I put the Minolta into my closet is because its 40mm lens is too long for me. A 35mm like on the X1 is perfect fo me. Take a look at my blog for pictures taking with the Minolta all showing the complete negative. Een Minolta HI-MATIC E voor 2 capuccino’s Fotogordon’s Weblog Een wandeling door de Gentse Rabot wijk Fotogordon’s Weblog Surrealistisch Doel Fotogordon’s Weblog Sorry they are in dutch After D1, D2, K10D and others I'm back to film. I shoot 90% M6 and M7. A M8 or M9 is out of reach. A X1 with a presetting manual focus might bring me enough to shoot digital again when I need fast results. AF of focussing on a LCD is just not fast enough for my way of shooting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapp Posted September 16, 2009 Share #4 Posted September 16, 2009 Yeah but it is a damn shame that 20 years ago you could get a capsule rangefinder with an absolutely superb lens on it for the equivalent of a quarter of the price but today you have to put up with no viewfinder. I would also imagine that the cost of assembling an intricate mechanical device was considerably greater in real terms than a digicam. That said, I still find the X1 an attractive idea - I'm just not under any illusions that Leica is going to extract as much consumer surplus as it can from its fan base. LouisB But 20 years ago the Olympus XA was not a Leica design, so your price comparison is slightly off. The XA required film, now you have a digital sensor build into the camera and a decent lens for digital sensors requires a lot more effort than a film camera lens. You can still buy an Olympus camera for little money. In short, the X1 costs a lot of money. If it delivers what many expect, it will be great. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted September 16, 2009 Share #5 Posted September 16, 2009 The last time I used my XA was last Christmas, I was really surprised how large the vignetting was compared to my mental image of past results. Maybe I should sell it to someone that will actually use it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglouis Posted September 17, 2009 Share #6 Posted September 17, 2009 But 20 years ago the Olympus XA was not a Leica design, so your price comparison is slightly off. The XA required film, now you have a digital sensor build into the camera and a decent lens for digital sensors requires a lot more effort than a film camera lens. You can still buy an Olympus camera for little money. In short, the X1 costs a lot of money. If it delivers what many expect, it will be great. With respect, I'm not entirely convinced that the X1 is a 'Leica' design. The XA was and remains for me the absolute zenith of capsule camera design. Leica will be doing good if it comes close to the XA for portability, ergonomics and results. LouisB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhabedi Posted September 17, 2009 Share #7 Posted September 17, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) With respect, I'm not entirely convinced that the X1 is a 'Leica' design. Why? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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