Leica X1

Posted by Esse-Jay | Tags: , , , | Posted On Friday, September 11, 2009 at 7:15 AM


Alongside the M9 Leica has also announced the X1, a compact camera with a large APS-C sensor and a fixed 35mm equivalent field-of-view F2.8 autofocus lens. Featuring a design reminiscent of M-series rangefinders, complete with analogue-style shutter speed and aperture dials, the camera offers a choice of fully automatic or manual control. A 2.7" LCD and 12Mp CMOS sensor with an ISO range of 100 to 3200 round off the specification. Registered owners will be able to download a copy of Adobe Lightroom to process the camera's DNG raw files. During our visit to Leica two weeks ago we were lucky enough to get our hands on a pre-production camera, click through for our initial impression and hands-on pictures.


It's hard to think of a recent product announcement less expected, yet in retrospect more logical than Leica's fixed lens, large sensor compact, the X1. With the company's long-standing cooperation with Panasonic, it seems everyone was expecting to see a Leica-branded version of the 'rangefinder-esque' GF1 Micro Four Thirds compact. But perhaps Leica felt that very design philosophy came too close to treading on the toes of its M series, and instead chose to pursue another of its historically strong product sectors with a fixed lens compact designed for the discerning photographer. The result is, therefore, not the 'digital CLE', but rather the 'digital CM', designed and built in Germany and sporting a non-interchangeable 35mm-equivalent F2.8 lens.

During our recent visit to the company's Solms Headquarters we were amongst the first group of people from outside the company to be introduced to the X1, and have to say it's a very attractive camera indeed. Shorn of the stylistically-challenged bolt-on grip that appeared on the inevitable internet-leaked picture, it resembles nothing so much as a miniaturized M with more curvaceous, even feminine styling (to the extent of sharing Leica's new 'steel gray' finish with the M9). It's an intriguing mix of the traditional and the modern; the top-plate plays host to analogue-style shutter speed and aperture dials, but at heart this is a bang up-to-date design that behaves much like a modern compact, just with a 12Mp APS-C sensor inside.


With the X1, Leica becomes the first company to challenge Sigma in the large-sensor, fixed lens compact market. Yet while the camera is similar in size to the DP1 and DP2 twins, the design concept couldn't be more different, with the curves and dials of the X1 in stark contrast to the DPs' boxy utilitarianism and button-driven interface. Here an accessory optical finder is fitted to the hot shoe.
 Here's the X1 showing off its distinct family resemblance to the M9. Everything's been slimmed down to minimize size, but the rounded sides, shutter speed dial, and top-plate power/drive mode switch that surrounds the shutter button are all present and correct.
 Finally here's the X1 nestling in between the M9 and the D-Lux 4. The X1's sensor is almost 10x the area of that in the D-Lux 4, so inevitably the camera is a bit larger. But while the smaller camera also finds space for a fast wideangle zoom lens, the X1 promises much better handling and image quality.


Pricing and availability     The LEICA X1 will be available in the UK from January 2010. Pricing will be available nearer to date of launch. For further details and a list of authorised dealers including the new Leica Store Mayfair, please visit www.leica-camera.co.uk.   
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