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Leica's announcement of the X1 in early September 2009 took the market by surprise. Given the company's liaison with Panasonic, many analysts expected to see a version of the Panasonic GF1. But the X1 is quite different. A fixed-lens camera with an APS-C sized sensor in a compact body, it provides only P, A, S and M shooting modes, doesn't support video and lacks an optical viewfinder (one is available as an optional accessory).

When the review camera arrived we were stunned by the amount of packaging associated with it, which appears to contravene the European Union's Packaging & Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC). This legislation is concerned with minimising the creation of packaging waste material and promotes energy recovery, re-use and recycling of packaging. 

First, there was an outside beige cardboard box carrying two barcodes and measuring 165 x 220 x 215 mm. Inside that was a second cardboard box with a shiny silver finish that opened flat to reveal a semi-matte black cardboard ‘cabinet'.

The camera lay in state in a gunmetal-grey box under the lift-up lid of this elaborate construction. With it was a booklet labelled ‘Your benefits as a Leica customer', which has a ‘TAN' number printed on the back page. This number is required to download the software that is offered with the camera (see below).

Below the camera box were two ‘drawers' with bungy-cord handles and fold-down lids. The only item in the top ‘drawer' was a booklet labelled ‘warranty card' with warranty details in several languages plus contact information for distributors worldwide. We assume the printed instruction manual - which should be supplied - belongs in here as well. The lower ‘drawer' contained the battery, charger, several international plug connectors and cables.

 
Environmentally-conscious consumers will be less than impressed by the excessive packaging associated with the Leica X1.

In all, there was 976 grams of packaging - and that doesn't include essential items like the battery charger, connectors and cables; nor printed documents that owners would normally keep. The camera itself weighs less than 350 grams with battery, card and neck strap fitted, which means the packaging (which is usually discarded) is almost three times the weight of the camera itself.

You have to register as a Leica customer to access the software -and also the user manual (if you don't receive one). We submitted a request for a user manual via the Owners' section of Leica's website (https://owners.leica-camera.com/en/login) and received an electronic copy within 24 hours which, considering the difference in time zones, we consider prompt service.

The X1 enters a rapidly growing sector of the camera market: compact cameras with large image sensors. Its main competitors are the Olympus Pen, Panasonic G, Ricoh GXR/A and Sigma DP series models, with the Samsung NX10 and Sony's promised (but unnamed) models lurking in the wings. Most competing cameras are significantly lower-priced. The table below compares the X1 with the Panasonic GH1 and Ricoh's GXR/A12 model .

Undoubtedly, a sizeable percentage of the price tag of the X1 can be accounted for by the Elmarit lens. (Incidentally, the lens on the Panasonic GH1 sells separately for $1799, which is almost three fifths of the total price listed in the table above.)

Long considered a benchmark for excellent optical performance, Elmarit lenses are characterised by f/2.8 maximum apertures. They're not the fastest lenses Leica makes; the Noctilux (f/0.95-f/1.2), Summilux (f/1.4) and Summicron (f/2) lenses are faster. But they're faster than the Elmar lenses, which have maximum apertures of f/3.5-f/4.

The Elmarit 24 mm f/2.8 ASPH. lens on the X1 body is not the same as the interchangeable 24mm Elmarit-M f/2.8 ASPH. for the Leica M series bodies (which sells for almost $6000). However, it claims to be a true Leica lens and contains eight elements in six groups with one aspherical element. It provides a focal length equivalent to 35mm in 35mm camera format.

Build and Ergonomics
Unlike the C-Lux and D-Lux models, which were essentially re-badged Panasonic cameras, the X1 looks and feels like a genuine Leica and claims to originate from the factory in Solms. The camera has an aluminium alloy chassis with a 45mm-wide, textured, dark grey leatherette strip around the middle.

The front panel is devoid of ornamentation, save for the prominent red dot trademark just below the power/drive switch. Aside from the lens, there's only a small AF-assist light. The lens retracts partially into the camera body when power is switched off, extending to roughly double its length.

The lens barrel appears to be mostly polycarbonate and there's a removable threaded ring around it but we're not sure what it's for.  The push-on lens cap must be removed before the camera is switched on or the lens won't extend. No tether is provided for securing the cap.

Front view of the Leica X1. (Source: Leica.)

Roughly half of the rear panel is covered by a 2.7-inch, 230,000-dot LCD screen, which is used for both composing shots and viewing menus. (If you want an optical viewfinder it's an optional extra that clips onto the hot shoe.) It's a pity Leica fitted such a cheap monitor onto this camera when there's no shortage of higher-resolution LCD panels. Canon and Panasonic have provided 460,000-dot monitors on their high-end compact cameras since September 2008 and Ricoh and Sony have since upped the ante to 920,000-dot monitors on certain models. At $2794 for the X1, Leica customers deserve better.

Rear panel of the Leica X1. (Source: Leica.)

Ranged down the left side of the monitor are five buttons that access the Play, Delete/Focus, White Balance, ISO and Info settings. Right of the monitor is an arrow pad with a central Menu/Set button and radial buttons that access the self-timer, exposure compensation, flash and AF/MF controls. A surrounding control wheel is used to change settings and magnify the image in playback mode.

Above the monitor and right of the hot-shoe lies an LED focus confirmation light for users who fit the optional viewfinder and switch the monitor off. It glows green when the lens is focused on the subject. Above the arrow pad is a control wheel that is used for manual focusing. A distance scale is displayed on the screen in metres and feet to assist focusing. The centre of the screen can also be magnified.  This wheel also scrolls through images in playback mode.

Key camera controls are located on the top panel, which has two dials; one for aperture settings and the other for shutter speeds. Each has an A position that enables auto exposure in the P, A, S and M shooting modes. There's no mode dial; AE shooting modes are accessed by selecting one or both of these dials. It's actually a nice way to ‘drive' the camera as both dials are sensibly located and respond positively to changing settings, making it easy to swap between full auto and aperture- or shutter-priority - or even manual exposure.

Top panel of the Leica X1. (Source: Leica.)

Aperture settings range from f/2.8 to f/16 in full f-stop increments, although there are click stops at 1/3 and 2/3 EV intervals between each f-stop setting. Shutter speed settings range from one to 1/2000 second. If you want longer shutter speeds, set the top dial to 1+ and rotate the dial surrounding the arrow pad to reach long exposure settings up to 30 seconds.

The lever surrounding the shutter button has four settings: Off, single, continuous and self-timer, covering the various drive modes. This is another very convenient design initiative that makes the camera quick and intuitive to operate. Careless handling can knock any of the three dials off the set position - but no Leica owner should be guilty of such a fault.

The shutter is one of the quietest we've encountered to date. Being electronically-controlled it's sound is also adjustable. Leica provides three level settings: low, high and off. With the latter, the camera is actually silent, a great advantage for photographers who shoot in places where noise is banned, such as court rooms, museums and libraries. Wedding photographers who also shoot video would also find this feature handy.

Left of the shutter speed dial is the flash hot-shoe (which accepts other accessories like the optical viewfinder). Further left lies a larger, circular button that pops the built-in flash up and down. The built-in flash is very cute and it's powerful enough for fill-in use, although falls short when you expect to cover large, dimly-lit areas.

Right of the shutter speed dial are three tiny holes, which represent outlets for the camera's speaker system. They may make the camera vulnerable to dust and moisture if it's used in challenging environments. As Leica makes no claims about weather resistance, it's probably best to keep this camera for fine weather shooting.

The battery and memory card slot share a compartment on the base panel, accessed via a single cover. The camera accepts SD and SDHC cards but no mention is made in the specifications of SDXC card compatibility. The battery/card compartment cover is disappointingly flimsy and at odds with the quality of the rest of the camera body, which is generally solid and refined.

The tripod socket on the base panel isn't on the lens axis, which limits the camera's potential for shooting panoramas with the camera tripod-mounted. The right side panel (as you're holding the camera) carries the connector ports, which reside beneath a lift-up panel. Two connectors are provided: a USB port for connecting the camera to a computer and an HDMI for connecting it to an HDTV set. You'll need to purchase the HDMI cable separately.

Aside from the lens cap, supplied accessories include a leather neck strap, BP-DC 8 battery pack and charger plus interchangeable plugs for six different mains AC sockets and a USB cable. Optional accessories include the Bright line Finder 36mm optical viewfinder, a hand grip that attaches to the camera via the tripod socket, the SF 24D and SF 58 flash units and three types of cases.

Shooting Controls
Pressing the buttons left of the LCD monitor calls up half-screen sub-menus covering the related function. They provide a quick and easy way to select AF modes and adjust the white balance and ISO  settings, as shown in the screen grabs below.


AF point selections.

White balance adjustments.

Sensitivity is adjustable in one-stop increments.

The X1's menu has only four pages, reflecting the simple structure of the control system. Unfortunately, you can't jump from page to page as you can with some cameras. Instead, you have to scroll through the 34 items to find the function you want and shooting, editing and playback functions are all lumped in together.

The vertical buttons on the arrow pad are used to scroll through menu items, while the right button it used to select them. The menu is clear and easy to read in normal lighting and despite its sparse array of shooting modes, photographers can be kept reasonably well-informed about camera settings.

Eight flash modes are available: Auto, Auto+Red-eye reduction, Forced on, Forced on+Red-eye, Slow Sync., Slow Sync.+Red-eye reduction, Studio first curtain, Studio second curtain. The two Studio modes let you trigger external flash units with the built-in flash.

There's a menu setting for image stabilisation, but it's electronic only - and only works with JPEG files. No mechanism for shifting the sensor or lens elements is included.  Instead it's a form of electronic stabilisation that combines colour information from a correct exposure with luminance data from a second, shorter exposure to produce the final image. It's not particularly effective and only works with stationary subjects providing, at best, about one f-stop of shutter speed advantage.

The X1 provides five ‘Preset Film' modes: Standard (the default), Vivid, Natural, B&W Natural and B&W High Contrast. There are also five levels for each of the three parameter adjustments covering Sharpening, Saturation and Contrast. Flash synch can be set for the start or end of an exposure and monitor brightness is adjustable through three levels. You can switch the shutter sound off if you require silent operation or set it to Low or High levels.

Regardless of which mode the camera is set to, half-pressing the shutter button returns it immediately to shooting mode. Users can choose from three information display settings. The basic display shows shutter speed and aperture settings plus exposure and flash compensation. The second option displays a ‘rule-of-thirds' grid but not the exposure and flash compensation. A live histogram is also available.

The third option is a detailed display containing shutter speed and aperture, focusing and metering modes, battery status and the number of frames remaining. The ISO setting is displayed if manual ISO is selected - but not in Auto ISO mode. In addition, pressing the white balance, ISO, flash or self-timer buttons overlays the matching menu on half of the monitor, enabling you to change settings with the arrow pad buttons.

Pressing the bottom button on the arrow pad lets you select the focusing mode. Three settings are provided: AF, AF-Macro and Manual. AF-Macro is pretty limited as the lens can't focus closer than 30 cm and it's easy to take out-of-focus shots because the shutter isn't linked to the AF system.

In manual mode, focus is adjusted with the control wheel - but the 30 cm limit remains. A focus scale is displayed and you can opt to magnify the centre of the frame. AF pattern selection is via the Delete/Focus button left of the monitor, which accesses five modes: single centre point, 11-point, spot focus, face detection and manually adjusted spot.

Six pre-set white balance modes are provided: auto, halogen, daylight, flash, cloudy and shadow. There are also two manual modes and white balance adjustment across two axes. Changes to white balance are reflected on the monitor screen. ISO adjustments range from 100 to 3200 in 1EV steps. An auto ISO setting is also provided and you can limit the maximum ISO and slowest shutter speed.

Users can also create and store up to three ‘User Profiles' containing any combination of all menu settings. This makes them easily accessible through the User Profile function in the menu, which is accessed by toggling up from the first page.

The stabilisation system in the X1 is also engaged via the menu - seven steps down from the Resolution setting. It works by recording two pictures in quick succession with different shutter speeds and is only applied to JPEG files. Data from both exposures is combined to produce an image with optimal sharpness. The system will only work for shots of static subjects and only with shutter speeds between 1/4 and 1/30 second and ISO sensitivities up to 1600.

Sensor & Image Processing
Leica doesn't reveal where the X1's sensor was sourced from. Some claim it's the same Sony sensor as in the Nikon D300S and Ricoh's GXR/A12 camera unit. Others say it's made by Kodak. Regardless, the image sizes differ in the three cameras and the X1 and D300s only offer a 3:2 aspect ratio. (The GXR/A12 supports four aspect ratios, with the 3:2 aspect being the only uncropped format.)

The camera supports both JPEG and the ‘universal' DNG.RAW file recording at all image sizes and compression ratios - but you can't set it to record only raw files. Only one raw file size is available: 4272 x 2856 pixels. The table below shows typical file sizes which, incidentally, are smaller than similar 3:2 aspect files from the GXR/A12 and the Nikon D300s.

Leica provides no information about the image processor used in the X1- which is disappointing. In fact, all the documentation we've been able to find about this camera is high on style but very low when it comes to genuinely useful content that might help photographers to make well-informed purchasing decisions.

Unlike most competing cameras, the X1 doesn't include video capture. But it does provide an HDMI output for viewing images directly on an HD TV set.

Playback
Options for reviewing recorded images are fairly limited, despite the prominence of the Play button on the rear panel. Pressing this button displays the last shot taken. You can also switch the camera directly to play/review mode by holding down the Play button while turning on the main switch. The camera prioritises playback in favour of images stored on a memory card so, if you have shots stored in the internal memory, you must remove the memory card before they can be viewed.

Rotating the manual focus dial lets you browse back and forth through recorded shots. The horizontal arrows on the arrow pad also support image browsing.  Turning the rotating command dial surrounding the arrow pad clockwise zooms in on the displayed shot, while turning it anti-clockwise displays a 4x4 thumbnail index.


Index playback.

Shots can be displayed with or without shooting information by toggling the Info button. A further press of this button lets you view a histogram. Exposure clipping can also be highlighted via the Play Histogram setting in the menu, which provides four options: standard (histogram) without clipping, standard with clipping, RGB (histogram) without clipping and RGB with clipping.


Playback with detailed information.

You can set the duration of the auto review to off, 0ne second, three seconds, five seconds or Hold and the auto power off to 2, 5 or 10 minutes. The auto LCD off can be set to 30 seconds or one minute. You can also copy images stored in the internal memory to a memory card and create new folders in either memory for storing images from different shoots.

Supplied software
As mentioned above, the X1 comes without a software disk. This isn't a problem since DNG.RAW files can be opened with most image editors that support raw file conversion. Users who register the camera with Leica can download a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.6.1. The local RRP for the latest version of Lightroom is $535.

Lightroom is much more powerful than the applications normally provided with digital cameras so its value should be taken into account when considering the price tag of the X1. A complete digital workflow tool, it's designed to enable photographers to import, process, manage, and showcase digital images, quickly and easily.

Performance
Although contrast-detect AF systems are noticeably slower than the phase-detection systems found in DSLR cameras, the system in the review camera was significantly slower than most. In fact, AF lag made the camera quite frustrating to use and we found many shots of moving subjects were out-of-focus because the subject moved in the time between when the lens focused and the shutter fired.

Imatest showed a large discrepancy between the resolution obtained from JPEG and DNG/RAW image files. JPEG resolution was well below expectations for a 12-megapixel camera, while the resolution of raw files was slightly above expectations. However, variation across the lens's aperture range was slight, except for some measurable edge softening at wide aperture settings. The graph below shows the results of our Imatest tests across the aperture range of the lens.

The differences between raw and JPEG files were also reflected in our Imatest tests at different sensitivity settings. These revealed only a slight loss of resolution as sensitivity was increased. The graph below shows the results of our Imatest tests.

Low-light performance was excellent at all ISO settings. Little noise was visible in shots taken at ISO 3200, regardless of whether they were long exposures or flash shots. However, JPEG shots were slightly softened at ISO 1600 and ISO 3200.

Raw files provided more scope for shooting subjects with a wide brightness range than JPEG shots and it was possible to record both highlight and shadow details in raw files with minimal shadow noise, even though the camera lacks any dynamic range expansion facilities.

Imatest showed colour accuracy to be very good in both JPEG and converted raw files and saturation was modest. Interestingly, we obtained very similar results from both file types. However, lateral chromatic aberration hovered around the boundary between ‘low' and ‘moderate' levels and we observed some coloured fringing in both JPEG and raw files for shots taken in bright, contrasty conditions.

Auto white balance performance was the best we've seen on any camera we've reviewed to date. The review camera came quite close to eliminating the orange cast of incandescent lighting and produced close-to-neutral results with fluorescent lighting. Both presets produced close-to-neutral colour reproduction and shots taken with manual measurement were essentially colour cast free.

The flash was only capable of illuminating an average-sized room at ISO 400 and above. However, flash exposures were well-balanced right up to ISO 3200.

Typical response times were also slower than almost all digicams we've reviewed recently. We measured an average capture lag of 0.8 seconds, which reduced to 0.2 seconds with pre-focusing. Shot-to-shot times averaged 2.7 seconds without flash and 3.5 seconds with. Image processing appears to be on-the-fly as it took 3.2 seconds, on average, to process each Super Fine JPEG file and 5.8 seconds for each RAW+JPEG pair.

The buffer memory can only accommodate six files at a time, regardless of the file format. With the High-speed continuous mode, a burst of six Super Fine JPEGs was recorded in 1.5 seconds, equating to a capture rate of four frames/second. It took 4.7 seconds to process this burst. Six RAW+JPEG pairs were recorded at the same speed but it took 22.2 seconds to process this burst.

Low-speed continuous shooting revealed inconsistent frame rates. Although the specified capture rate is one frame/second, we assume this figure is derived by averaging, The review camera sometimes recorded two shots within a half-second period then paused for up to five seconds before recording another two or three shots. It was impossible to calculate a reliable average processing time for these inconsistent bursts.

Conclusion
With its over-the-top pricing, Leica seems to want to cater for a very limited sector of the camera market; people who will pay top dollars for that conspicuous little red dot. This is a pity because there's a lot to like about the X1 if you're a keen photographer. The manual controls are a genuine pleasure to use and make it easy to set camera functions quickly and easily.

Were it not for slow overall response times, the X1 would be a great camera for  street photography and taking candid shots at parties, family events and on holidays. To compound matters, the low-resolution LCD screen is also unresponsive and it's difficult to track moving subjects when you're using the screen to compose shots. Add in very slow autofocusing, no out-of-focus shutter lock and sluggish image playback and you have second thoughts about using this camera for candids.

You must shoot raw files to obtain the best image quality from this camera. That means being prepared to process them afterwards with sophisticated software. When you work this way you are rewarded with very fine images that contain plenty of detail and accurate colours. JPEG quality was relatively poor - and not up to the standard of many cheaper, more versatile cameras.

More attention should have been paid to small details like the battery/card compartment cover, which is cheap and nasty when compared with the rest of the camera body. In addition, the amount of unnecessary packaging should be dramatically reduced in the interests of the environment.

Buy this camera if:
- You want a compact digital camera with a large sensor and a reasonably fast prime lens.
- You like P, A, S and M shooting modes.
- You want a camera that supports DNG raw file capture and are happy to shoot and process raw files.
- You like to take pictures indoors under artificial lighting.
- You MUST have a red Leica dot on the front or your camera.
Don't buy this camera if:
- You're a point-and-press photographer.
- You require fast autofocusing. (Long capture lag times and slow burst capture make shooting moving subjects tricky.)
- You're interested in close-up photography.
- You require high-quality JPEG shots.
- You want the benefits of interchangeable lenses.

IMATEST GRAPHS
JPEG image files

Raw image files converted into 16-bit TIFF format with Photoshop Lightroom 2.6.

SAMPLE IMAGES

Auto white balance with incandescent lighting.

Auto white balance with fluorescent lighting.

Close-up:1/160 second at f/4.5; ISO 100.

ISO 100, 30-second exposure at f/6.3.

ISO 800, 8-second exposure at f/6.3.

ISO 3200, 4-second exposure at f/9.


Flash exposure at ISO 100, 1/30 second at f/2.8.

Flash exposure at ISO 800, 1/30 second at f/2.8.

Flash exposure at ISO 3200, 1/30 second at f/8.

Skin tones in mixed lighting; ISO 200, 1/80 second at f/2.8.

Converted DNG/RAW file; ISO 100, 1/80 second exposure at f/5.6.

100% enlargement of part of the above image to show coloured fringing and edge softening.

JPEG file taken at the same time as the raw file above; ISO 100, 1/80 second exposure at f/5.6.

100% enlargement of part of the above image to show coloured fringing.

ISO 100, 1/50 second exposure at f/8.

ISO 400, 1/30 second exposure at f/6.3.

ISO 100, 1/100 second exposure at f/7.1.

Image sensor: 23.6 x 15.7 mm CMOS sensor with 12.9 million photosites; 12.2 megapixels effective
A/D processing: 12-bit
Lens: Leica Elmarit 24 mm f/2.8 ASPH. (35mm equivalent in 35mm format),
Optical zoom: 1x
Digital zoom: no
Image formats: DNG.RAW+JPEG, JPEG (Exif 2.21), super fine & fine compression
Image Sizes: 4272 x 2856, 3264 x 2160, 2144 x 1424, 1632 x 1080 pixels
Image Stabilisation: Electronic (JPEG files only)
Shutter speed range: 30 to 1/2000 seconds
Exposure Compensation: +/- 3EV in 1/3EV steps
Exposure bracketing: 1/3 to 3EV steps, 3 frames
Self-timer: 2 and 12 seconds delay
Focus system: Contrast-detection AF; range 60 cm to infinity; macro/manual to 30 cm
Focus modes: 1-point, 1-point high speed, 11-point, 11-point high speed, spot, face detection
Exposure metering: Intelligent multiple, centre-weighted, spot
Shooting modes: Program AE, aperture priority AE, shutter priority AE, manual
Film mode settings: Standard, vivid, natural, BW natural, BW high contrast
Colour space options: sRGB, Adobe RGB
ISO range: Auto, ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
White balance: Auto, halogen, daylight, flash, cloudy, shadow, manual 1, manual 2; Kelvin colour temperature, White balance adjustment (yellow/blue, magenta/green).
Flash: Auto, Auto+Red-eye reduction, Forced on, Forced on+Red-eye, Slow Sync., Slow Sync.+Red-eye reduction; Studio first curtain, Second curtain can be set.
Flash exposure adjustment: Only via normal exposure compensation
Sequence shooting: 3 frames/second for up to 6 frames RAW+JPEG
Storage Media: Approx. 50MB internal memory plus SD/SDCH card slot
Viewfinder:  Optional optical finder; attaches to hot-shoe
LCD monitor: 2.7-inch TFT LCD with 230,000 pixels; 100% field of view
Video Capture: No
Data LCD:  No
Playback functions: 16-thumbnail display, zoomed playback (16x Max.), image rotation, protection
Interface terminals: HDMI output, USB 2.0 High Speed
Power supply: BP-DC8 Li-ion battery pack; CIPA rated for approx. 260 shots/charge
Dimensions (wxhxd): 124 x 32 x 59.5 mm
Weight: 286 g (without battery and card)