Leica X1 Pocket Digital Camera

The Ultimate Compact Point And Shoot Camera From Photography Icon

Oct 20, 2009

Leica built their reputation on film cameras combining outstanding image quality with compact size making them favorites of photojournalists and street photographers.

The Leica X1 is a small fixed lens pocket digital camera with a large sensor continuing the companies design tradition by offering quality in a compact camera.

The X1 still has the usual automatic metering and focusing expected in this class of camera but has the bonus of manual exposure control options.

Large DSLR sensor

The 12.2 megapixel sensor in the Leica X1 is larger than any other compact digital camera and is more at home in DSLRs. The large size offers the advantages of better image quality and lower digitals noise due to the extra light gathers by the larger pixels. Other point and shoot digicams may have the same or more megapixels but their image quality is handicapped by their small sensors. With an ISO range from 100-3200, the Leica X1 promises effective performance even under low light conditions.

Shooting speed

The specifications for the Leica X1 claim a shooting speed of 3 frames per second, the fastest in its class. Initial impressions of pre-production samples suggesting this is a compact digital camera with impressive shooting speed.

Leica Lens

The X1 comes with a fixed prime lens with focal length of 24mm. Taking the 1.5 crop factor into account then this gives it the view of a 36mm lens in 35mm film terms. This makes it a moderate wide angle lens, good for scenery and group shots, yet it is still useful for candid portraits.

“The LEICA ELMARIT 1:2.8/24 ASPH is a true Leica lens with terrific optical performance. Its moderate wide-angle character creates sufficient distance when needed, but still allows photographers to get in close to pick out the details,” said Peter Kruschewski, Product Manager for Digital Compact Cameras at Leica Camera AG.

In a compact camera such as the Leica X1, the compromise between size and image quality meant a zoom lens could not provide the desired results. Zoom lenses of this optical quality tend to be large and heavy and this would defeat the purpose of designing a compact digital camera with outstanding image quality.

No Optical Viewfinder

It seems cramming in the large sensors and still keeping the body compact meant there is no room for an optical viewfinder in the Leica X1. Photographers have to rely on Live View and the large rear LCD screen for composing. Point and Shoot photographers may not miss this feature, as this is common in basic digital cameras. Experienced photographers will find it an awkward experience not being able to hold the camera properly to minimize blur caused by camera shake.

Leica realize this and offer a clip-on optical viewfinder that also saves on powers as the LCD screen is not required. This does spoil the smooth lines of the X1 and makes storage less convenient.

Autofocus

The Leica X1 relies on its autofocus system with up to eleven reference points and includes face detection. Although there is some scope to manually set the plane of focus.

Build Quality

The Leica X1 brings the retro look and feel to compact cameras with an air of ruggedness and durability with its aluminium top and bottom plates, magnesium body and aluminium dials.

Pricing and Availability

The Leica X1 is due in shops in January 2010 and the price is expected to be just under $US2,000.00.

The copyright of the article Leica X1 Pocket Digital Camera in Photography is owned by Philip Northeast. Permission to republish Leica X1 Pocket Digital Camera in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.