Leica Leica X-E first pics

[Jip]

The E in the name stands for 'Entry' or 'Economy':

Leica releases the new Leica X (Typ 113) which has a hefty price tag, but Leica wants to be able to have people buy a new Leica for a smaller price so get them into the brand their tactic is as follows: Use the exact same parts as in the Leica X2 and sell it as an X-E for a reduced price, especially compared to the X (Typ 113).

They have done the same with the Leica M-E, the M-E was released at the same time as the Leica M (Typ 240) but is basically an exact copy of the Leica M9, except that they left the frame line preview lever away (economical reasons) and the USB port is removed (a feature not many M users used anyway).

The same have they done with the Leica S-E (which I own) The Leica S-E is an exact copy of the S (Typ 006) still selling beside the S (Typ 007), the S-E differs from the S (Typ 006) in the following ways: The warranty is less generous, they don't suply an USB cable with the camera, the colour of the body is different.

 

[dalethorn]

My hometown at dusk, 30 August 2016, Akron Ohio, Main street. f5.6, 1/160, ISO 200. It's amazing that with a 33 percent reduction in population since 1980, and 66 percent reduction in income, that they are able to keep the city clean. I suppose the feds prop it up.

 

[dalethorn]

Three for today:
1) New art gallery. This was a huge headache, having taken it through the front window, and terrible glare on the floor and cabinets. My fixes were a bit crude.
2) College campus with historic structures.
3) Walkway over beaver marsh in Akron Ohio.

Leica X-E, f5.6, 1/25 sec. handheld (braced), ISO 200.

Leica X-E, f5.6, 1/80 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

Leica X-E, f5.6, 1/400 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

 

[dalethorn]

Leica X2: Two very large and significant buildings in Northern Ohio, Akron and Alliance:

1) Glamorgan Castle, built by immigrants in the mid-1800s and donated to the city's board of education in the 1950s - it's a real castle by construction and furnishing standards, made for one non-royal family. It was here circa 1999 that I fired the board members as a gag (bit of a story to that).

2) The Goodyear Airdock, for more than 50 years the largest building of its type in the world. My grandfathers helped build the largest airships ever made in the U.S., inside this building. Now owned by Lockheed I think. The low flat foreground building, built in the 1970s, masks the size of the hangar visually, which had an astounding presence prior to the new building being there. I observed the same effect when the CN tower was erected in Toronto in the mid 1970s - when surrounding buildings were added later, the dizzying effect of seeing the tower from across the street no longer had that effect.

Leica X-E, f5.6, 1/640 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

Leica X-E, f8.0, 1/800 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

 

[dalethorn]

Glamorgan Castle, right side.

View attachment 28379

 

[dalethorn]

Two more from the Leica X2 Paul Smith edition. The famous Glamorgan Castle from the left corner, and a large artificial flower in a public park.

Leica X2, f5.6, 1/640 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

Leica X2, f5.6, 1/50 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

 

[dalethorn]

Historic Circular Church and portion of cemetery, Charleston SC.

Leica X2, f5.6, 1/60 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

 

[dalethorn]

A visit with Charleston's finest. No significant processing here, just a slight crop and removal of a few small digital artefacts.

Leica X2, f5.6, 1/200 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

 

[dalethorn]

(Note: I haven't finished the fake sky yet.)
I tried shooting this from every angle, making the subject turn 360 degrees in the process, to no avail. Lacking any HDR or pseudo-HDR capability on the primitive X2, I just did the best I could and blew the sky. I thought the X2 peformed very well, although I did have a small perspective change due to shooting close with the 35 mm equivalent fixed lens.

Leica X2, f5.6, 1/360 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

 

[dalethorn]

From a 'Mini' car club meet today - note the customizations on the car.

Leica X2, f5.6, 1/320 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

 

[dalethorn]

One of my favorite diners to photograph. The photographer is in the mirror.

 

[dalethorn]

The 'Pipes' band played a nice selection of Irish and Scottish music. The lighting seemed to favor a little too much blue, or maybe that impression is driven by the costumes. --- I've tried the photo of the church from the lot 2 blocks away many times, and never kept any, due to the clutter in the parking lot. This time I cropped more of the irrelevant stuff from the bottom, and I think it looks a little weird, but I really wanted to have this view, so I'll see how I like it down the road.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f5.6, 1/320 handheld, ISO 200.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f5.6, 1/1600 handheld, ISO 200.

 

[dalethorn]

Three views through the windscreen while cruising through Virginia USA on I-77.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f5.6, 1/1000 handheld, ISO 200.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f8.0, 1/1000 handheld, ISO 200.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f2.8, 1/2000 handheld, ISO 200.

 

[dalethorn]

No. 1 my favorite art gallery, having watched the master (Reinert) work his way from very good ca. 2010 to master craftsman today. No. 2, a self confident cat guarding an elegant estate in the historic district. This was a heavy crop, from 16 to ~2.5 mp.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f5.6, 1/25 sec. handheld, ISO 400.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f5.6, 1/80 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

 

[dalethorn]

Hurricane evacuation from Charleston SC - this image was taken through a hotel window in Greensboro NC, 300 miles distant. It was grey, very wet, and the image quality suffered from the combination of effects.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f5.6, 1/4 sec. braced against window, ISO 200.

 

[dalethorn]

Normally I would never consider shooting the X2 at 1/5 second handheld, given that the X2 does not have a true optical VR/IS. But when I'm in a hurry and snapping more-or-less spontaneously, I sometimes do that and just accept that I might lose the images to blur, if it's not critically important to get the shot. This image was selected from 2 bursts of 8 each - 16 total, and it was the sharpest, plus I helped it along a little in post processing.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f5.6, 1/5 sec. handheld, ISO 400.

 

[dalethorn]

I had a unique experience with Mahmood of the Charleston Center for Photography, in that he took my photo with a medium format film camera using a Polaroid back, with very old B&W film donated by an industry insider. So I snapped this one. The Leica X2 sensor must be a very old generation, as the noise and image quality at ISO 800 are much worse than what I'd expect for an APS-C sensor and a great lens.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f2.8, 1/200 sec. handheld, ISO 800.

 

[dalethorn]

Amazing how noise eats into moderate low-light shots that could probably be done just as well with an iPhone. And this camera's sensor is an APS-C.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f2.8, 1/40 sec. handheld, ISO 800.

 

[Luke]

I had forgotten that ISO800 was an issue back in 2012.....I don't even set an upper limit anymore

 

[dalethorn]

A couple of street scenes, one a drawing on the side of an alley next to a door, easy to miss, looks like Val Kilmer (not sure). The actors were working on a commercial of some kind, moving down the street pretty quickly.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f8.0, 1/60 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f5.6, 1/1000 handheld, ISO 200.