Leica New Leica Mini M

[carlb]

Here is how this camera could make Leica money:

1. Exceptionally sharp, at any aperture
2. Exceptional color and contrast, jpeg or raw
3. Leica "3D pop" (I'm agnostic toward this effect - i.e., only Leica does this? Or, Leica really does this?)
4. Great low-noise and dynamic range.
5. UI controls and feel in the hand that leave anything else in the dust.

If the Vario X can do the above there will be a desire for this camera, regardless of its superficial specs. A camera can be very much more (or less) than its expected performance based upon specs.

What the Vario X left out was exceptional bokeh opportunities ... That must have been to keep the lens size reasonable while maintaining required qualities in other areas.

We'll see. My guess is it won't be a huge flop. Won't be the home-run Leica are hoping for either ...

 

[Biro]

Here is how this camera could make Leica money:

1. Exceptionally sharp, at any aperture
2. Exceptional color and contrast, jpeg or raw
3. Leica "3D pop" (I'm agnostic toward this effect - i.e., only Leica does this? Or, Leica really does this?)
4. Great low-noise and dynamic range.
5. UI controls and feel in the hand that leave anything else in the dust.

If the Vario X can do the above there will be a desire for this camera, regardless of its superficial specs. A camera can be very much more (or less) than its expected performance based upon specs.

What the Vario X left out was exceptional bokeh opportunities ... That must have been to keep the lens size reasonable while maintaining required qualities in other areas.

We'll see. My guess is it won't be a huge flop. Won't be the home-run Leica are hoping for either ...

This is an excellent, well-balanced take on this. And, for emphasis, I'll repeat what you wrote and say that this camera will need to the tick all of the boxes you listed in order to make it.

 

[Armanius]

So happy I won't be tempted to buy one!!!

Looks like a Canon G1X with a slower lens for about 4-5 times the price. I'm not interested in the G1X at $600, as nice a camera as it turned out to be. I'm overwhelmingly not interested in this one...

I think the only way I'll ever own a Lecia is if I win a lottery and then go for an M9 or Monochrome or the new M-240 and 2-3 NICE lenses. Short of that I don't see any appeal. At that point, I see the appeal, but not at the price. If the price somehow ceased to matter (hence the lottery), I'd love to have the high-end stuff. But I'll never buy a D-Lux 6 instead of an LX7 just to have the red dot...

Edit - Just read Sean Reid's review. Sounds like the lens is slow but excellent. The controls also look really good, with an aperture ring, shutter speed dial, I THINK an exposure comp dial, and a manual focus ring that has end stops, a distance and DOF scale, and, if you turn it past infinity to "A", kicks into auto focus - cool approach. The thing I don't get is how the DOF scale on the lens barrel can work with more than one focal length in the zoom. I'm not sure I read the review carefully enough to say he didn't address that, but I missed it if he did. More appealing than my initial reaction, but nothing I'd spend the money for...

-Ray

 

[Ray Sachs]

So happy I won't be tempted to buy one!!!

With the money you save on this, Armando, you can go out and buy that RX1 you've been yearning for!

-Ray

 

[Ray Sachs]

The controls also look really good, with an aperture ring, shutter speed dial, I THINK an exposure comp dial, and a manual focus ring that has end stops, a distance and DOF scale, and, if you turn it past infinity to "A", kicks into auto focus - cool approach.

Correction - no aperture ring on the lens - the lens is taken up with a zoom ring and a focus ring that also contains the AF switch. There's a separate dial on top for setting the aperture about where an exposure comp dial would go. So there's no dedicated external EV Comp control.... BOOOOO!

-Ray

 

[entropic remnants]

I think we're taking this all to personal. As Christina stated Leica takes a helluva long time to get anything out (probably a union thing). This has probably been in design, testing, redesign forever ... back to a time when this may have been more palatable. As such Leica probably have many discussions about bringing out a camera which will be distasteful to "photographers" yet swallowed by the well-heeled non-photographic crowd ... or do we just eat all that R&D monies we spent? So it seems that Leica went for getting a return on their investment and probably fired the engineer/manager in charge of the project.

When Nikon produced a lesser camera for the masses, the Nikkormat, at least they called it something different than Nikon. Maybe Leica will use a pink dot.

Gary

Difference here is that I LIKED the Nikkormat -- the FTn to be specific.

 

[serhan]

With samples:
Hands on: Leica X Vario review | Compact cameras Reviews | TechRadar

Leica knows how to make cameras that feel good in the hand, and the Leica X Vario is no exception. It feels superbly made and built to last.

Having only had a very brief period in which to shoot a few images from within an office, we don't want to jump to conclusions about the Leica X Vario. However, early indications for image quality are very positive.

We are a little concerned about the speed of the autofocusing system, which lags behind that of some (more affordable) compact system cameras such as the Panasonic G6, Sony NEX-6 and Olympus E-PL5.

 

[Gary]

Difference here is that I LIKED the Nikkormat -- the FTn to be specific.

I liked the Nikkormat ... but would be caught dead with one ... lol

 

[CM_SK]

Correction - no aperture ring on the lens - the lens is taken up with a zoom ring and a focus ring that also contains the AF switch. There's a separate dial on top for setting the aperture about where an exposure comp dial would go. So there's no dedicated external EV Comp control.... BOOOOO!

-Ray

Ray, the new Leica is essentially the X2 with a zoom; hence the top plate is exactly like the X2 (and X1 for that matter) which uses the top knobs for aperture and shutter; EV Comp is the top button on the 4-way control on the back. I for one like the easy access to aperture and shutter in a single glance at the top; also the easy switch to manual control when needed. My take is that Leica is giving people more options to buy an X2; there were many who said the X2 should have had a zoom - now they have it. For me the zoom is just not long enough to justify both; I will continue to zoom with feet when I'm toting my X2, and I have a Pentax system when I want a real zoom.

 

[Andrewteee]

AND: he does say it "isn't for people on photography forums"... that's why we're underwhelmed.

The thing is, Leica provided the camera to several serious reviewers. I don't know if Leica thinks it's a camera for serious photographers or not, but by having the usual suspects test it and comment about it they presumably want to reach us. I doubt any non-serious photographer fashionista reads Sean Reid. BTW he has an article about it, but my subscription is up and I'm going to wait until he reviews cameras that interest me before I renew.

The fact is that just improving the maximum apertures (say, 2.8-4) would have been OK (disregarding the price). But the fact that it is such a slow lens just voids any consideration of it. That said, I think my Rich GXR A16 zoom is maximum f/5.6 at the long end!

 

[entropic remnants]

I liked the Nikkormat ... but would be caught dead with one ... lol

"wouldn't" be caught dead? Or would you just die if you had one? I don't think it's a camera to die for...

 

[Armanius]

Love your logic Ray! With the money I will be "saving" by not buying the Leica!

Now, onto getting the wife to buy into the logic!!

With the money you save on this, Armando, you can go out and buy that RX1 you've been yearning for!

-Ray

 

[Andrewteee]

I decided to renew my Reid Reviews subscriptions because there were other articles listed that interested me (largely the 4 B&W cameras article). I read the X Vario review and typically Sean Reid it is very informative - you get a real sense for what goes into camera design and how that impacts the handling and IQ. I won't divulge any secrets since he explicitly asks his subscribers to avoid that, but if you have a subscription I'd read it, and if not then it's up to you. But in summary he was impressed with the camera. He acknowledged the slow lens, but assumes it's a trade off against other goals. I was impressed with his sample images.

 

[entropic remnants]

I decided to renew my Reid Reviews subscriptions because there were other articles listed that interested me (largely the 4 B&W cameras article). I read the X Vario review and typically Sean Reid it is very informative - you get a real sense for what goes into camera design and how that impacts the handling and IQ. I won't divulge any secrets since he explicitly asks his subscribers to avoid that, but if you have a subscription I'd read it, and if not then it's up to you. But in summary he was impressed with the camera. He acknowledged the slow lens, but assumes it's a trade off against other goals. I was impressed with his sample images.

Is he buying one for himself?

 

[Andrewteee]

Is he buying one for himself?

I have no idea. I doubt it - it's not really in his wheelhouse. But who knows.

He's been using a beta X Vario since early this year.

 

[entropic remnants]

I have no idea. I doubt it - it's not really in his wheelhouse. But who knows.

He's been using a beta X Vario since early this year.

He is a great photographer though. I loved the shots he got with the camera but the "technical aspects" weren't extraordinary. I suspect he could have got those same shots with MANY cameras including ones about 1/5 the price of the Leica, lol.

 

[Ray Sachs]

I have no idea. I doubt it - it's not really in his wheelhouse. But who knows.

He's been using a beta X Vario since early this year.

It sounds like he played some role in developing the outline of the design for it, if you believe him on his connections. I wouldn't be surprised if he bought one... I really like the way the lens focus ring works with the distance scale and AF over at the end. I'd never spend more than a small sum on a zoom so this one's not for me, but I can see some appeal for those 2-3 Leica families that need one more to fill up the garage....

-Ray

 

[Ray Sachs]

Love your logic Ray! With the money I will be "saving" by not buying the Leica!

Now, onto getting the wife to buy into the logic!!

I thought she was trying to buy you an RX1 and you just wouldn't let her? You gotta get your story straight here man!

-Ray

 

[xdayv]

I think the F/6.4 max aperture is really the bad figure, aside from the price tag. Had it been 3.5-4.5, 2.8-4; just maybe...

 

[Gary]

Or just f/2 ... (they'd be selling like hotcakes).