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Played with the new X1 and S2 today

atanabe

Member
Justin Staley from Leica NJ is in town for the LHSA convention here in Seattle and he was demoing the X1 and S2 at Glazers Camera.

My first impressions of the S2 was WOW! It is about the size of the R9 and had great ergonomics, the hand grip had a rubber finish that formed nicely to my hands, controls minimal and well placed. Weight of the camera was about the Nikon D1X range, heavy, but well balanced. The viewfinder was bright and clear, the diopter adjustment ring LARGE and easy to see. The mounted lens, 70 mm f2.5 Summarit had very fast autofocus and focused down to a 4"x6" area.

The shutter was quiet, and the mirror very well damped for such a large mirror surface. I could not feel any recoil from the shutter or mirror "slap" if you can even call it that. The shutter cocking was whisper quiet as well. I can easily see hand holding this camera with no worries of camera vibration induced motion. A lot of thought went into the design of this camera, down to the little things such as battery release is two part, actuate the lever once and the battery drops down actuate again for it to drop out. Important as there is no door to the battery compartment. The buttons for control of the camera were very sparse, just four on the back and a control dial near the right thumb. You select the function with one of the four buttons and then use the thumb wheel to select the option, easy. Such a welcome change from the rest of the herd with a bazilliion buttons all over the place. I am anxious to see how well this camera performs shooting outside of the studio.

Okay now for the bad part, kidneys only go for $10,000 US and that would not be enough for half an S2 body.

The X1 was also there and not to be foreshadowed by it's bigger brother. The X1 has a clean design reminiscent of the original Leica and the latter O camera. It felt sturdy in my hands and the only gripe that I had was the need to have my arms out to frame and focus the darned thing. This camera will really need to have the optional optical finder for my use.

I could envision a great kit, the S2 with 35, 70 and 180 and the X1, should handle most needs and also drain the budget of a small city :talk028:.

Cheers,

Al
 

stevem8

New member
Thanks for the report. I am interested in the X1 - I feel an M9 for me and X1 for the wife would make a perfect pair :) S2 is WAYYYYY out of my range and not needed for what I do, but no doubt a killer camera.

Steve
 
Al, your impression of the S2 sounds like my own. I knew from the moment I held it that I wanted one badly. Unfortunately, I am struggling with the reality of the cost. I am pretty good at justifying what I want, but this is a tough one. It would be easier to justify if the 30-90 zoom was available at launch or soon there after.

I am anxious to get a hands on with the X1 as it is very close to what I have been wanting for a long time although a built-in finder would make it an easier choice for me. I will reserve judgement until I get to see it in person at PhotoPlus in a couple weeks.

I agree with you that the S2 and X1 would make a great combination.

Mark
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
Justin Staley from Leica NJ is in town for the LHSA convention here in Seattle and he was demoing the X1 and S2 at Glazers Camera.

My first impressions of the S2 was WOW! It is about the size of the R9 and had great ergonomics, the hand grip had a rubber finish that formed nicely to my hands, controls minimal and well placed. Weight of the camera was about the Nikon D1X range, heavy, but well balanced. The viewfinder was bright and clear, the diopter adjustment ring LARGE and easy to see. The mounted lens, 70 mm f2.5 Summarit had very fast autofocus and focused down to a 4"x6" area.

The shutter was quiet, and the mirror very well damped for such a large mirror surface. I could not feel any recoil from the shutter or mirror "slap" if you can even call it that. The shutter cocking was whisper quiet as well. I can easily see hand holding this camera with no worries of camera vibration induced motion. A lot of thought went into the design of this camera, down to the little things such as battery release is two part, actuate the lever once and the battery drops down actuate again for it to drop out. Important as there is no door to the battery compartment. The buttons for control of the camera were very sparse, just four on the back and a control dial near the right thumb. You select the function with one of the four buttons and then use the thumb wheel to select the option, easy. Such a welcome change from the rest of the herd with a bazilliion buttons all over the place. I am anxious to see how well this camera performs shooting outside of the studio.

Okay now for the bad part, kidneys only go for $10,000 US and that would not be enough for half an S2 body.

The X1 was also there and not to be foreshadowed by it's bigger brother. The X1 has a clean design reminiscent of the original Leica and the latter O camera. It felt sturdy in my hands and the only gripe that I had was the need to have my arms out to frame and focus the darned thing. This camera will really need to have the optional optical finder for my use.

I could envision a great kit, the S2 with 35, 70 and 180 and the X1, should handle most needs and also drain the budget of a small city :talk028:.

Cheers,

Al
AL

You want that S2! :ROTFL:

I saw it in NYC at the 09 event....its a special camera .
 

atanabe

Member
Al, your impression of the S2 sounds like my own. I knew from the moment I held it that I wanted one badly. Unfortunately, I am struggling with the reality of the cost. I am pretty good at justifying what I want, but this is a tough one. It would be easier to justify if the 30-90 zoom was available at launch or soon there after.

I am anxious to get a hands on with the X1 as it is very close to what I have been wanting for a long time although a built-in finder would make it an easier choice for me. I will reserve judgement until I get to see it in person at PhotoPlus in a couple weeks.

I agree with you that the S2 and X1 would make a great combination.

Mark
Mark,
If you handled the Olympus EP1, you will get the same impression with the X1. You need an external finder if only to help steady the camera against your face, outstretched arms are not the best camera stability platforms. The controls are straight old school, shutter speed and aperture . . . no more mystery dials.

Al
 
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