Camera Labs

.
Even though I'm a Leica fan and at the risk of being a little controversial, as this is a Leica thread...

................................Width....................Height....................Depth....................Weight....................SRP

Leica X1.................124mm................59.5mm...................32mm...............286gm + battery..........$2000

Olympus E-P1......120.5mm.................70mm................57mm with lens......406gm with lens...........$900 with the 71gm 17mm f/2.8 lens

If a built-in flash, easy pocketability and/or weight is key then the E-P1 fails the test but the E-P1 does have interchangeable lenses and image stabilisation built in. Just a thought...

Oh, and it's already available.

Bob.

_________________
OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

I had another look at the X1 earlier, and I still don't get it - at least not at Leica prices.

Wouldn't the Panasonic GF1 be a slightly closer match to the X1? There you trade the sensor stabilisation of the E-P1 for a built in flash. Also the Pana pancake has a more decent aperture size too.

_________________
Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Hi popo,

You're right. I should have included the DMC-GF1 with the 20mm f/1.7 pancake in my little table but I'll plead the fact that it doesn't look at all pretty to my eyes so I tend to forget it exists (a terrible reason, I know) plus the fact I couldn't work out what the overall depth of camera plus lens is.

Having read and watched a lot about what makes the M9 rangefinder so unique I can understand why it will sell. The price is probably fair given that they only make around 12,000 M bodies (film and digital) a year and they may well sell less than 30,000 before the M10 arrives. And if you need a full-frame digital rangefondler (sic) then the M9 is the only game in town.

As for the X1, well I'm sure that Leica will sell all the cameras they care to make, if for no other reason than the for the Leica badge. But I think the price reflects their need to recoup development costs on what will be, by the standards of the big players, a tiny production run rather than reflecting any commensurate increase in technical superiority. Maybe I'll be proved wrong by the reviews but that's my gut feeling at the moment. Sorry.

Update: According to this post Leica are now making 120 M9 cameras a day. No source given for that figure but the implication is clear that if Leica can maintain that production then they'll be producing nearer 30,000 M9 cameras a year. Given their previous rate (12,000) my guess is that they've ramped up initial production to try and meet the huge demand. Long may it continue as I'd hate to see Leica do anything but succeed.
Bob.

_________________
OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

is leica x1 operation behave more like compact camera or slr?

if the operation (shutter lags, af speed) is as good as DSLR then it is good, if not, then it is not good

_________________
RadiantLite - Cameras and Lenses Comparison Reviews, buying guide, photo taking techniques and other tips
My Portfolio - Some photos from my work

.
I don't think anyone outside Leica knows yet, or if they do they aren't telling. If I were to guess then, unless it's faster than the reported start-up time of the M9, the X1 won't be that quick.

Bob.

_________________
OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

There are some Leica X1 samples up on the net right now, won't link to them but if anybody has seen them, what do you think?

Given that it's FF, I don't find them particularly impressive especially with the huge price premium of similar "crossover" cameras, not bad just nothing great. Purists might disagree but I was hoping that this might be Leica for the mainstream but with the price and the current performance, I guess not.

EDIT: I take back everything I said about the performance. Still, the price is less than impressive but acceptable once you take the Leica tax into account.

_________________
Graham
Flickr

Hi Graham,

Would they be a bit more impressive from a 1.5x crop factor APS-C sensor such as is found in the X1?

But thanks for the heads up and for not linking to a site which actively blocks its forum members from linking back to us.

Bob.

_________________
OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

In my defence, I was just reading the M9 thread and it is really, really hot in Melbourne right now.

_________________
Graham
Flickr