+1 (hint, I'm a fast driver)
Well the moment of truth had arrived. I went to case out the joint just prior to the planned heist. There she was (why are cameras always a "she"?...LOL). Must admit, she was svelt, sexy, easy to handle. I couldn't keep my hands off of her. Yes, Joe was right, it's an instant case of the goose bumps. I even walked her outside....just the two of us "alone", taking a stroll, on this blazingly bright sunny day. There was my chance, to make a break for it, with her of course cradled securely in my arms. I looked to my left and then to my right, no one in sight....but wait! Where was Erik, my sidekick who I was to hand her off to? A "no show"? That's fine, I'll do it myself and jump into Dan's car....cause he can drive fast and make a quick get away. I looked but he too was a no show. Whats going on? Was I set up? If caught, was I to be one less man on the wait list in case if I was ever interested in her? Stay tuned.
In any case, although many others have spent some time with her and gave their impressions, these were my initial observations:
1. It took approx. 8 seconds till she was ready to go from the moment I powered her up each time. I'm not sure if a faster card would have had much effect on on this, but didn't have time to investigate (although no card inserted elicited the same result). This means on a stroll, I would need to keep her active...um I mean powered up all day long for fear of missing a shot.
2. From previous suiters, I heard it took almost an entire day to charge her battery.
3. First let me say I am not a fan of EVFs. The view from her own eyes (her EVF) was a bit disappointing. Leica SL has class leading EVF (240 fps refresh rate?) Sony and Fuji APS mirrorless are very good but a step down (120 fps refresh rate?). Have no idea of specs but the X1D appeared to be slower (60 fps/refresh rate?) than all of the above and although better than the EVF1 used on the Leica M240 or its Olympus equivalent, not sure if it was significantly better except for larger size of viewfinder.r
4. Shutter when fired sounded like a farily audiable tap of a metal spoon on a metal lens hood. A "clang" is the way I would describe the sound. I kept looking around to see "what" might be striking "what". Something I didn't expect but these type of surprises happens when meeting someone new
.
5. Rear LCD was good and fairly responsive as was the sensitivity to touch. It took a while to learn to navigate to various settings but this was well done for the most part.
6. Tactile feel of each button and control was superb. Solid but with the right degree of dampening.
7. She's been working out. Body felt like it was carved from a solid block of metal, yet unbelievably light and small with lens attached. A hikers dream.
8. Ergonomic grip was just right in the hands as was the grip material.
9. Blackout of EVF after the shot was OK....sort of in the middle of the pack of mirrorless cameras.
10. In extremely bright glaring sunlight, the metering accuracy in handling this difficult lighting scenario was good although like any sophisticated metering system, exposure comp was needed, maybe more so than I am used to,. Same indoors without flash.
11. I won't have time to download the shots I took with her till much later, but all were taken in the worst possible outdoor lighting. It was very bright overhead sunlight on a cloudless day with shiny cars reflecting sunlight in parking lot and an all white building to boot on the other side sort of acting as a beauty dish...I mean reflector
. Took some basic indoor shots too. Will return for a second date with her when conditions are more appropriate. You know what they say about 2nd dates...LOL! I was going to hang around for the end of day light and some additional shots taken with her, but she was exhausted from all the excitement and handling and as a result, her battery was completely depleated of energy. Did I push her too much and too far?
In all seriousness, this was simply a first impression. We all know beauty is only skin deep and it's her files that are going to be the telltale sign just how desirable she is, especially her "RAW" (file) side in my opinion. Aside from that, there are many things to like but I can see where things could be improved on a camera at this level. I'd start with a better grade and higher refresh rate for the EVF. Smearing was readily evident. I'd also speed up a bit, the overall responsiveness of the camera. Size and weight is incomparable for this class of camera and solidness of the package is exemplary. Finally the piece de resistance was her anodized aluminum cinnamon color shutter button. Very classy but what else would one expect. When all was said and done, it shows above all else, that she has understated elegance and doesn't have to be flashy with lots of external bells and whistles and a myriad of buttons to show off.
Some might say she's a bit of a diamond in the rough. I'd say she's far better than that but future attention to improving certain characteristics and attributes, would definitely increase her appeal.
Would I desire to take her out on a 2nd date? Absolutely. Would I introduce her to the parents for a perminant commitment (at least until the next siren comes along?....LOL). The jury is out on that one for the monent. I would need to spend more time with her
. I have my current "squeeze", so that has to be taken into consideration as I'm quite loyal you know.
Of course the few hastily taken " blown out" cell phone pics of her below, doesn't do her justice. She deserves better, especially as she's far more deminutive in size than she appears. Yep it's those wide angle cell phone lenses that do it every time.
Dave (D&A)
