It used to be said that if a Rolls Royce had the audacity to break down, the factory would rush out a covered truck and spirit the vehicle away, far from the eyes of the motoring public. So reader Kevin Armstrong couldn’t resist getting a snap of this mature but exceedingly shiny Roller as it was de-trailered in London’s New Bond Street of all places.
Clearly this pristine model hadn’t broken down — it was probably too valuable to drive through London. The pantechnicon was parked a hop skip and a jump from Bonham’s auction house, so that probably explains why this shiny monster was being treated with the kiddest of kid gloves.
Kevin, who is a keen amateur photographer and a civil engineer by calling, just happened to have his little Leica X1 in his hand and, as usual, the camera rose manfully to the occasion. I couldn’t resist publishing the result.
Kevin’s main Leica is an X Vario and it’s interesting that both the X V and X1 are rapidly becoming cult cameras for their great image quality (in the case of the X1 despite its age) and great convenience.
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Well done Kevin and thank you Mike for publishing such a good opportunistic shot. I doubt that the doubters will ever accept the true virtues of the excellent X1. No camera is perfect, but the neat compactness and performance vindicate Leica’s initiative.
So Mike do you miss selling yours? Thank you Mr. Armstrong for validating my x’s as does Mr. Shingleton with his excellent pictures.
Well, I might do. If it doesn’t sell soon I will grab it back again…..
Priceless (the picture, I mean) – well seen, Kevin.
Nice picture but I would suggest that the X1 is benefitting from the ‘CCD effect’ Michael.
I would be willing to bet that all of Leica’s sensors have improved since the X1, but the output from the X1 (as with other CCD cameras) can look really good straight out of the camera (as they say).
Yes a great camera that will outlast the Japanese contemporaries but nevertheless all of those cameras are crippled by the lack of a viewfinder, the X1 also has an inny-outy which I am not too keen on.
StephenJ
Stephen , the inny-outy ( retractable lens) was nearly a show stopper for me when I first saw the X1 but I put aside my reservations and bought it and have never regretted it. Indeed I often wonder why I subsequently bought an XVario and then a Q. The X1 is still my camera of choice and I worry that one day it will break and I will not be able to replace it. I have owned it for 8 years and it has taken thousands of photos and I have never pampered it. No fancy Billingham bag for me.