Leica X1 gets hands-on preview

Leica X1 gets hands-on preview

Our favourite photography site DPreview has posted an early hands-on preview of Leica’s new ‘entry level’ compact camera.

Of course, Leica’s notion of  ‘entry level’ equates to most people’s idea of ‘ruddy expensive,’ (we’re talking £1,320 here) but there’s no denying the seductive lines of the new camera, or the drooling brought on by that little red logo.

Leica X1 gets hands-on previewJust like one of our favourite digital compacts, the Ricoh GR, the X1 comes with a fixed, non-zoom  24mm F2.8 lens ( equivalent to 35mm lens on full frame), and there’s Program, Shutter priority, Aperture priority and Manual exposure modes on offer.

Where it knocks the Ricoh into a cocked has is the build – just look at that luscious metal top plate, with old-school rotary controls for aperture and shutter speed settings. Very nice!

Lurking inside the Leica is 12.2 Mp APS-C CMOS sensor, with sensitivity running from ISO 100-3200 with DNG raw format recording.

Leica X1 gets hands-on preview

As keen photographers, we can’t help but be induced into involuntary spasms of ‘want’ when faced with a Leica product, but we have to say that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 looks a far more practical purchase.

Offering the same kind of pro-based features with – crucially – interchangeable lenses, the GF1 camera plus 40mm f1.7 lens kit can be picked up for under half the price of the Leica – and you’ll get video recording thrown in for free too.

DPReview X1 Hands-on preview

Video look and specs

Here’s a brief video look at the X1 if you want to torment yourself with gadget lust:



Specifications

Image Sensor 12.2 million pixels, APS-C CMOS sensor
Lens LEICA ELMARIT 1:2.8/24 ASPH.
8 elements in 6 groups, 1 aspherical lens
Optical Zoom n/a
Image Stabilizer n/a
RAW Yes (DNG)
Storage Media Built-in memory (approx. 50 MB), SD memory card, SDHC memory card.
Viewfinder Optional Optical Viewfinder
Aperture F2.8 – F16.0 (1/3EV steps)
Shutter Speed 30 – 1/2000 sec
Burst Shooting Mode 3 fps/2 fps. Max. pictures in JPEG fine+DNG: 6 pictures.
Ezposure Program automatic / Aperture priority automatic / Shutter priority automatic / Manual
Light Metering Intelligent Multiple / Center weighted / Spot
ISO sensitivity Auto / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200
Autofocus Contrast Detect
White Balance Auto / Halogen / Daylight / Flash / Cloudy / Shadow/ Manual 1 / Manual 2
White Balance Adjustment (2 axis)
LCD Monitor 2.7″ LCD (230K Pixels) TFT. Field of view: 100%.
Movie n/a
Dimensions (W x H x D) 124 x 59.5 x 32 mm
Weight Approx. 286 g

Leica official site

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