Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/11/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On 15-11-1998 09:20 Nathan Wajsman wrote: >As for the Minilux placing well behind the GR1 in a review of compacts, I >am not the least surprised. When I did my own comparison recently, I concluded >that the only thing the Minilux had over the Ricoh was the red dot. All the things >that actually matter were better on the GR1 Nathan: Like you I have also been testing the Minilux (not the Zoom) for a couple of months. I have run only print film through it (Fuji Reala 100 ASA and Fuji NPH Professional 400 ASA). My feelings about the camera are mixed as I have told already a while ago: - - the finish is superb and very stylish. Also the motorised film transport is very nice to hear, almost silky. The boxed shaped is easy to hold. And it has the red dot. - - the handling is easy as long as you don't need special settings. Otherwise you'll have to plough through many different manipulations (like the flash setting modes you have eloquently described in another posting). - - there are a couple of major design flaws: - -- not a single piece of information in the viewfinder. I would at least like to see the shutter speed at which I am working (it is only indicated on the top panel LCD display - not very useful in practice when taking pictures because you can hardly pull your camera away from your eye to check the speed for every picture) - -- it's too easy to inadvertently switch from AF to manual focus, there is no safety button. I have met at least two people during the LeicaCard meeting who had experienced this problem themselves, of course, with unsharp images as a result. Leica must have realized this was a problem because there is now a safety button on the Minilux Zoom. - - as for the image quality: it is good on average. But obviously not as excellent as a Summilux-M or R 50/1.4 IMO (and I have used two different Miniluxes). The lens is IMO very average wide open. I would dare to say that the 2.4 max lens opening will not give you impressing results. Moreover if you use the camera wide open in low light, with a slow shutter speed, the risk of shaking the camera is great (it's far easier to have shaken images with a small camera like this one than with an M6 or R8. This is aggravated by the fact that you don't see in the viewfinder at what speed you make pictures). I also own a Nikon 35 Ti since the beginning of 1994. Now the inescapable question: which one is the better camera? Difficult to say. I only note that the Nikon has some exceptional features (like the excellent fill-in flash system and exposure with an identical Nikon's 3D matrix metering as the F90x) and often outstanding results. I have made several enlargements (20x30 cm) from exposures taken on Fuji Reala that can stand comparison to the Leica M or R. The Nikon has a tendency to overexpose slide films a bit, however. This is quite obvious if you mix slides taken with the 35 Ti and the R8. And its results wide open (2.8) are not too impressive either. The curse of compact cameras somehow... ;-) Maybe I should testdrive the Minilux with good slidefilm to be sure where it stands in comparison:-) Just my (interim) opinion. Pascal - -------------------------------------------------------- See my photo pages at http://members.xoom.com/cyberplace/ - -------------------------------------------------------- <<< PGP public key available on request >>>