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| Leica X2: Front View |
My SLR , Canon 450D, has become old. For 5 years it has serviced me really good. It still
functions well so no replacement was needed.
I wanted a general purpose camera to go along with SLR. Light weight with a small
form-factor. For me image quality is really important. I brought few point-and-shoot
cameras and was very disappointed with them. So I was searching for bit
higher end mirror-less cameras. After months of research I finalized on Leica X2 - a hand “Made
in Germany” mirror-less camera.
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| Leica X2: Without Cap |
If one word to describe this camera it would be “Beautiful”. It is mostly used for street photography as the
lens is fixed to 24mm. People don't get intimidated like they do for SLR
Link to official website:
After using the camera for 3 months here is the review:
There are so many disturbing features:
1
Price: $2000. In this price you can get a medium
format Canon or Nikon SLR body
2.
Fixed 24mm prime lens – But this is what you get
for entry level Leica and this is not M9 ( Body itself will set you back by $4500. Lenses can cost you up to $9000)
3.
Multi-point focus does not always work properly.
At times the object you focus (auto) will be out of focus! This is a big flaw!
4.
Simple thing like zooming on an existing photo
during playback is not available! You have to remove the lens-cap to see the photos! How dumb!
5.
At higher ISO ( anything above 6400) the noise
is too much to bear!
6.
Low light performance is just “OK” for the price
you pay.
7.
JPEG picture quality is miserable (as bad as any
point and shoot)
8.
Leica is offering you just 16MP (but consider
this M9 is just 18MP)
9.
The Leica EVF V2 viewfinder ( bought separately) costs $500 ( more than most point and shoot
cameras)
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| Leica X2: Rear View |
You can live with those flaws if you see the pros:
1.
RAW Picture quality exceeds medium format camera
( compared it with Canon 5D). No doubt. For a camera this size it is really
astonishing.
The APSC sensor is really good in this.
2.
It is light weight but feels sturdy. It comes in
two colors silver and black. Silver gives it that classic look. It does not
feel cheap like other “rival mirror less” cameras like Fuji X100 ( though Fuji it costs $1000)
3.
A full charge will allow you around 400 RAW
photos – But that is very common these days.
4.
Leica Glass: Elmarit 24 mm f/2.8 ASPH – the most
prized thing – is no doubt one of the best I had. Extremely sharp pictures and
vibrant colors. I feel saturation is bit bumped in X2.
5.
View Finder function is not available on any
other camera (AFAIK) . If you have time
to focus this is the best way to focus on still objects.
6.
Can control Aperture, Exposure mode and shutter
speeds just like M settings of SLR.
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| Leica RAW |
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| Canon RAW |
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| Leica JPEG |
Is it value for money? Answer is NO. You pay for the red dot!
Anyways value is what you perceive it is. Getting a Leica was a dream for me
and it did meet my expectation.
I will rate it 4/5 just for image quality.
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