John Shingleton in Australia drew this cornucopia of photographer’s delight to my attention. Who needs a Leica, a Sony, a Nikon or a Fuji when you can have a full set of tools like this in your pocket?
It’s to the photographer what the Swiss Army knife is to the boy scout. For $316 on Amazon.com you get a sturdy case with physical shutter button, two grips (the Canon utility model and the Hasselblad chip off the old block), a rather nice fetching wrist strap and, wait for it, SIX interchangeable lenses, fisheye to telephoto. What’s not to like about this? It might even help you take good photos, thanks to the iPhone which you have to provide yourself. There’s even a screwdriver if my eyes serve me correctly.
By all accounts this impressive piece of kit emanates from Hong Kong and I found a version which looks identical but refers only to “lenses” not “six lenses” on Amazon UK for a mere £119.99 plus £4.59 to bring it from the Far East. I’m not sure if it is exactly the same as the one on Amazon.com but it is the same brand, so caveat emptor. I’m tempted, just for the novelty of it all. I wouldn’t mind betting Ivor Cooper, who has an iPhone case for every occasion, orders one….
Find the kit as shown at Amazon.com
Or something similar here at Amazon.co.uk
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Well John Shingleton has certainly influenced me Mike (you too)… But not in this way, I wouldn’t give that sort of multifunctionality house/pocket room… the camera phone concept is OK at a pinch, I suppose, as Annie Liebovitch suggested, but a real camera is much better.
No, Mr. Shingleton along with your good self have influenced me to make a quick, almost impulsive purchase… I saw a Leica X-E, completely new and sealed in its box for sale at Aperture UK for a pretty good price, and I swooped…
On the way from the station, I looked into various different Leica outlets and noted that prices for this somewhat underrated camera, are still quite high… I compared it with the significantly larger and more multifunctional new X cameras, and the Fuji offerings with their "optical viewfinders", and I wasn’t convinced.
I finally arrived at Aperture… bought my little box of tricks along with a gorgeous old E.Leitz 35mm finder, discovered when I got home that I was indeed the first registered owner… Oh gawd, I am now a Lightroom user toboot.
OK, so it isn’t an X1, but it is as near as dammit, and it is new, and current.
Six interchangeable lenses… Pah!
You have been busy and I commend your choice. I was in Aperture on Wednesday chatting to Will and looking in his Leica cabinet. I didn’t see this. TheX-E is a good choice. As you say, it isn’t an X-1 but it is an X2 which, if you can live with the little bump under the hotshoe, is going to be a better bet. The autofocus is faster although I have forgotten whether or not it has the same green focus light below, left of the finder. If so, this is a good indication of when focus locks. I use it all the time on the X1 to good effect.
The X1, X2, X-E are in reality the digital Barnack Leicas. With a 35mm viewfinder (also a good buy that) you have the equivalent of a Model I!
This will increase your street cred and I am sure lead to yet more excellent photographs.
Yes Mike, the little green light is there, but somewhat academic when one has one’s eye at the OVF, the little beep is helpful though.
I am still waiting for my proper ‘M’ though!
I had a vague idea they had moved the little green light on the X2 to make way for the viewfinder connector port. Certainly on the X1 you can see it out of the corner of your eye when looking through the viewfinder and I rely on it all the time. I did have an X2 for a time when it first came out and I remember something about this but can’t be certain. If you can’t see the light flashing when you are squinting through the viewfinder then it is different from the X1.
If you remember Mike, the X2/X-E has a little hump for the (unwanted) EVF, so that is maybe what causes the lack of ability to see the little green light blinking… It’s definitely there. As I said though, there is a little beep when focus locks anyway.
Yes, this makes sense. It’s so long since I had the X2 that I can’t remember exactly. Despite this, I’m sure you are going to enjoy this camera. As I said in a post some months ago, it is a classic in the making. And as for John Shingleton’s view, you don’t need me to tell you what wonderful results he gets from this camera. Unfortunately too many people these days are obsesses with specification–the latest micro second shaved off auto focus or the wonderful scene modes, even the number of pixels. For most people though, this is purely academic stuff. The X2 (and X1, XE) is really all the camera you need if you are happy with a 35mm focal length. I prefer the old X1 to the modern X100T, for instance. It’s just so much simpler and easy to understand.