Leica X1 - Premium Compact Digital Camera With APS-C Sensor • Camera News and Reviews

Leica X1 – Premium Compact Digital Camera With APS-C Sensor

There was a surprise announcement at the Leica Day last week – Leica’s answer to the new Micro Four Thirds cameras from Panasonic and Olympus – the cool, compact Leica X1. A quick glance and I thought they’d shrunk the M series. Though smaller than the new M9, the X1 has a large, APS-C CMOS sensor – the same size used in most mid-range DSLR cameras. The X1 captures a 12.2-megapixel image file in DNG (RAW) + fine JPEG or DNG+ superfine JPEG, as well as two additional JPEG-only settings. It has a fixed, Leica Elmarit 24mm f/2.8 (35mm equivalent) auto focus lens.

Similar to the M series, the X1 has manual control dials. The aperture dial on the 24mm lens has an automatic setting or can be manually adjusted from f/2.8 up to f/16. The shutter dial also has an auto setting as well as manually selectable shutter speeds from 30 seconds up to 1/2000th second. Sensitivity ranges from ISO 100 to 3200. The X1 can be used completely automatic or all manual with the ability to select Apertu1re or Shutter priority. The top of the camera has a unique round clickable pop-out flash, which offers slow sync and red-eye reduction. There is also a hot shoe for an external flash as well as the optional optical viewfinder. The back of the camera has a 2.7-inch LCD display with a menu display controlled by a scroll-wheel and buttons similar to those on the M8 and M9 rangefinders.

Key Leica X1 features and specs:

12.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
Leica Elmarit 24mm f/2.8 lens ( equivalent 35mm)
DNG RAW + JPG
ISO 100 to 3200
Auto and manual exposure controls
Flash and accessory hot shoe
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software available upon registering

The X1′s small curvy design could fit in your coat pocket but I wouldn’t because at 2.34″ high x 4.28″ wide x 1.07 and weighing over a pound it’s still too much junk in my trunk. It’s expected to be released in December and although the price wasn’t listed in the press release, I hear it will priced around $2000. Compared to other premium compact digital the X1 is obviously priced to appeal to the Leica clientele.

Sure, I would like to own the Leica X1. It’s light and the APS-C sensor means it should have much better image quality than other compact cameras. The only limitation is the fixed 24mm lens. It’s non-interchangeable so you are restricted to that focal length. Personally, I am not bothered by the fixed lens because the Leica optical quality ultimately separates this camera from anything in it’s class.

Leica X1 Digital Camera Press Release

Photos from the event are ©Bob Scott. Bob Scott is a Manhattan commercial photographer and a Leica M8 owner, which qualified him to attend the Leica M9 / X1 intro event. You can see his work at bobscottnyc.com

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Photo-John says:

September 16, 2009 at 1:17 pm

Thanks for the article, Bob. How does the size of the X1 compare to the Canon G-Series cameras or the Olympus E-P1? I wish it had a zoom lens. But if the size is right it will be a competitor for the Micro Four Thirds cameras and the Canon G11. For people with the money, anyway.