Leica X2...

[jsrockit]

Leica X2:

• Probably with a new 16MP or 18MP sensor (I assume APS-C, not full frame).
• The new X2 is rumored to have a Summilux 35mm f/1.4 lens (the X1 had a 24mm Elmarit f/2.8 lens).
• The price is expected to be $1000 more than the current X1 (or around $3000).
• Update: the Leica X2 may have an optional EVF. Expected also: improved AF and better LCD screen.

Read more on LeicaRumors.com: http://leicarumors.com/#ixzz1uBW3AW9x

Can this camera succeed?

[dave lackey]

Originally Posted by jsrockit

Leica X2:

• Probably with a new 16MP or 18MP sensor (I assume APS-C, not full frame).
• The new X2 is rumored to have a Summilux 35mm f/1.4 lens (the X1 had a 24mm Elmarit f/2.8 lens).
• The price is expected to be $1000 more than the current X1 (or around $3000).
• Update: the Leica X2 may have an optional EVF. Expected also: improved AF and better LCD screen.

Read more on LeicaRumors.com: http://leicarumors.com/#ixzz1uBW3AW9x

Can this camera succeed?

Hi, John...

Can it succeed? I don't know but isn't there an announcement from Leica coming in three days?

I would prefer a simple MF lens. No AF. No interchangeable lens. Just a 50mm (effective) manual focus lens with that 1.4 capability. Or just a simple digital barnack...

Price? Makes no difference if it is $2k or $3k, I would have to wait a couple of years to get a used one anyway. Such is life at the bottom of the pond. LOL

[jippiejee]

I wouldn't be surprised if some details were lost in the whole rumor mill, and that the 35mm summilux will be the effective focal length of the fixed lens on aps-c. So same camera as the X1 with a much faster lens now at f/1.4. Always wondered why a top of the line camera would be released with only f/2.8. Still not sure if I'm interested though, especially if there's no built-in viewfinder.

[bwcolor]

This doesn't make sense, unless 35mm is the effective focal length, or the camera is FF, which is unlikely due to size.

[elmer3.5]

Hi, if that camera ever see the light i would like it to have a non extending lens...if so it will be the best!!!

[BobYIL]

Hard to believe:

- APS-C 35mm = FF 50mm, less popular FL for this camera category (remember the X100 and others too).

- OTOH, if it would be a FF sensor then will harm the sales of FF-rangefinder sales considerably. Leitz did something similar with the CL, however only to pull the hand-brake a couple of years later as it bombarded the sales of the M5.

- Optional EVF on top of $3000? I can imagine the cost of that EVF if the one by Sony costs $350...

- The same Summilux 35/1.4 Asph. as for the M-models???

(Actually I would love to have an X2 with FF sensor, fast & reliable AF, fixed 35 Summilux to compare to the existing one, all for $3000, however I do not expect it.)

[dogberryjr]

"Can this camera succeed?"

My reflexive answer, given a $3000 price tag is, "No way, no how." But not much of this stuff makes sense to me anymore, so who knows.

I think to myself $3000!?!?! And then I remind myself that that is less than half the cost of a new M9.

[jsrockit]

What gets me is that if the X2 is going to cost $3000, and Leica has said they are making an interchangable lens APS-C camera, what's the price of that going to be? $5,000?

So, in 3 days, we'll all see how it'll play out. One thing I'm discovering is that I'm not as enamored with Leica as I was one year ago. Constant huge price increases are getting to be too much.

[jsrockit]

Originally Posted by elmer3.5

Hi, if that camera ever see the light i would like it to have a non extending lens...if so it will be the best!!!

Yes, they have to get rid of that P&S style retracting lens. However, I believe they have to have a VF included internally to succeed.

[hipsterdufus]

It does precisely nothing for me. I bought a Samsung NX10 with a 30mm f2.0 lens for just over $300. There is nothing Leica could do to get me to pay 10x more for a mere stop of extra lens speed. I don't care about what lens magic they use or what black forest in Germany the camera was constructed in.

[dave lackey]

Originally Posted by jsrockit

What gets me is that if the X2 is going to cost $3000, and Leica has said they are making an interchangable lens APS-C camera, what's the price of that going to be? $5,000?

So, in 3 days, we'll all see how it'll play out. One thing I'm discovering is that I'm not as enamored with Leica as I was one year ago. Constant huge price increases are getting to be too much.

John, Welcome to the bottom of the pond!

I seem to have a lifestyle of buying older cars, cameras, bicycles, and numerous other items that are of high quality, great condition, beautiful and quite functional with a long life-span. I simply wait until they reach a price I can afford and buy the best one I can possibly find. I would prefer to have one really nice "camera/car/bicycle/fillintheblank" that is a few years old than to buy numerous "see above" items.

It ain't so bad. So what if all my images are obsolete?

Back OT, I agree with the internal VF. The original Barnack had an external VF and then look at my IIIF or the IIIG. An evolutionary style similar to that would be a killer.

BTW, didn't Ken Rockwell mention that the IIIF sold for $3500 equivalent in today's dollars?

[huntjump]

wont be buying this regardless of what the features are...though $3k seems tough to swallow...but maybe if its FF, OVF, and has a 35 lux on there.

[boomguy57]

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I know quite a few people who are growing weary of Leica's brand-whoring. Constant price increases (and not incremental ones, either) are hurting people's interest. Also, Fuji is coming out with legitimate alternatives: why would you get this X2 if you can get yourself an X100, which offers more IMO, and Fuji is on top of the software/firmware upgrades?

I was lusting after an M9 only a few short months ago. Now, even if the prices keep falling, I'm really not interested anymore. Unless it's competitively priced with what Fuji (and some others) are offering, I can't justify it. For most of us, budget constraints are real.

Originally Posted by jsrockit

What gets me is that if the X2 is going to cost $3000, and Leica has said they are making an interchangable lens APS-C camera, what's the price of that going to be? $5,000?

So, in 3 days, we'll all see how it'll play out. One thing I'm discovering is that I'm not as enamored with Leica as I was one year ago. Constant huge price increases are getting to be too much.

[dave lackey]

Originally Posted by boomguy57

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I know quite a few people who are growing weary of Leica's brand-whoring. Constant price increases (and not incremental ones, either) are hurting people's interest. Also, Fuji is coming out with legitimate alternatives: why would you get this X2 if you can get yourself an X100, which offers more IMO, and Fuji is on top of the software/firmware upgrades?

I was lusting after an M9 only a few short months ago. Now, even if the prices keep falling, I'm really not interested anymore. Unless it's competitively priced with what Fuji (and some others) are offering, I can't justify it. For most of us, budget constraints are real.

Budget constraints? I have no budget. There is zero budget for photography, I just have to eat a lot of ramen noodles and pbj sandwiches to save up for used gear and dveloping my film.

Leica doesn't make a dime off me, unfortunately. But, then, I am not their target market as they have done quite well in figuring out who and what in recent years. The price of an M9 is prohibitive for me for quite some time I am sure. An M8, possibly in the next year? I dunno. That's an awful lot of ramen noodles!

So, I wait a bit. No worries.

[kbg32]

Why bemoan? In a couple of days the truth will be told.

[tom.w.bn]

If this is true then I hope this is not the only new thing on the 10th. Not interested in that.

[jsrockit]

Originally Posted by dave lackey

BTW, didn't Ken Rockwell mention that the IIIF sold for $3500 equivalent in today's dollars?

That's probably the right equiv price. Oh how I wish Leica would sell a true digital barnack with interchangable lenses and similar aesthetics.

[jippiejee]

The truth will probably be that Leica has left my planet. When I bought my X1, there was no alternative really. It was a beautiful compact camera with a aps-c sensor and a sharp lens and though not cheap, I bought it used within the first weeks after launch and the costs could be justified since this would be such a great camera for travel and there was hardly anything else offering dslr quality in such a small package. But now? If it comes with an aps-c sensor again, how much better than a Samsung NX or Sony Nex will it really be? It should be full-frame with a fast lens to be relevant at that price point. And even then, it's still a point and shoot. For us$3000...

[jarski]

hmmh fixed prime X2, hope not.. trademark Leica price tag or not, things have changed since X1, when large sensor compacts were rarer.

[Nikon Bob]

Like most others on this thread, I'll just shake my head and walk away at that price. Just not interested at all. I would sooner take the Fuji X100.

Bob

[bwcolor]

Originally Posted by tom.w.bn

If this is true then I hope this is not the only new thing on the 10th. Not interested in that.

No, the other side of the rumor is a B&W Full Frame Rangefinder at $9K. It should be $10K based on the date.

[tom.w.bn]

Originally Posted by bwcolor

No, the other side of the rumor is a B&W Full Frame Rangefinder at $9K. It should be $10K based on the date.

Oh man. A fixed lens compact for 3000 and a b&w rangefinder. If true, then I'm sure they had an internal contest. "Find the smallest market niche you can imagine and we will build products for it."

[dave lackey]

Originally Posted by jsrockit

That's probably the right equiv price. Oh how I wish Leica would sell a true digital barnack with interchangable lenses and similar aesthetics.

Yeah! I could do with a single kidney, I think....

[robert blu]

Originally Posted by boomguy57

... Constant price increases (and not incremental ones, either) are hurting people's interest. ... For most of us, budget constraints are real.

I'm reasonably satisfied from my x1 and the external VF. The cost was high. The quality good. But even if 70% of my shots (on film) are with the 35mm lens sometimes using the x1 I miss for the other 30% of shots a longer lens (face portraits etc). Thinking of this IMO 3.000 are too much for a fix lens camera (35 or 50 does not matter).

Anyway I'm curious to know what we'll happen in a few days (announcement and following comments!).

robert, still loving the x1 ...

[jsrockit]

Originally Posted by jippiejee

The truth will probably be that Leica has left my planet. When I bought my X1, there was no alternative really. It was a beautiful compact camera with a aps-c sensor and a sharp lens and though not cheap, I bought it used within the first weeks after launch and the costs could be justified since this would be such a great camera for travel and there was hardly anything else offering dslr quality in such a small package. But now? If it comes with an aps-c sensor again, how much better than a Samsung NX or Sony Nex will it really be? It should be full-frame with a fast lens to be relevant at that price point. And even then, it's still a point and shoot. For us$3000...

While I believe it is more than just a P&S, I have to agree with the rest of this. It was exactly why I bought the X1 when it came out. Now the X2 doesn't seem to offer me much.