BBW
Legend
- Location
- betwixt and between
- Name
- BB
Having spent perhaps way too much time in the past 7 months reading about all sorts of digital cameras, I've found myself thinking about camera love. Just earlier today I was reading threads here and there about someone trying to decide which camera would be right for them. Suddenly, I felt I heard strains of Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias singing "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" and I started to laugh out loud thinking of this memorable rendition should you care to watch it via YouTube: Julio Iglesias & "Willie Nelson" AKA Johnny Carson Sing.
Honestly, as a woman, that song was never one of my favorites, but it obviously stuck in my head. So what has all this got to do with my deciding to buy the Leica X1 and why should you care? Well, you might care if you're interested in the camera, so I thought I'd add in my thoughts here on SC by starting separate thread from Kathy's thoughtful "Why I Like My X1".
Let's start with a quick background story to set the scene. I attended Ohio University, in Athens, Ohio and graduated with a BFA in Photography in 1978 and specialized in color printing. My camera for most of my time there was an Olympus OM-1, which I still have.😍 I also still have my senior year's portfolio in two "archival" grey boxes with requisite metal corners, straps and buckles (true!) and although I haven't looked at them in some time, they still mean a great deal to me. I think any of us knows what it is like to fall in love with one's own photographs and how just looking at them can bring back a flood of memories. I was never into street photography, but tended to use my OM-1 carefully, composing each shot as though I were (in my mind) using a view camera. Unlike many, I didn't shoot rolls and rolls and rolls of film. I spent hours in my darkroom (converted a bathroom once and a room in a friend's basement another time), and would emerge after being in there for hours and feel great. The good old days.
Next stop, the rest of my life with all of its busyness and the onset of presbyopia and other vision issues - manual focus isn't cutting it for me anymore. I'll spare you the interim details. Just this past spring I started hearing about the Olympus PEN cameras...found my way to mu-43.com where I met some very kind and helpful people such as Amin Sabet, Streetshooter and Brian Mosely among many others who eased my way back into photography by explaining digital to me. Bought myself the E-P2, sold its body, bought the E-PL1 and have two lenses (20mm and the 9-18mm) and the EVF. Great camera - love it!
But then my eye started to wander when I read about the Leica X1. I knew about Leica - how could I not? I have friends that have had Leica film cameras forever. I never really bothered to think about an M8 or M9 but then I caught sight of the X1 and started reading about it. Thanks to soundimageplus's great thread here where he thoughtfully offered us some X1 RAW files, I was able to see what the X1 could do. I guess you could say that soundimageplus AKA David, introduced me to the X1.
After this RAW introduction, I began to want to learn more and pretty much peppered kathyh, christilou, burro39 and David with questions - ad nauseum, I'm sure. You know how it is with infatuation.
On July 27th, I clicked the "order" button on the B&H Photo site and received the camera within a few days determined to take advantage of their excellent returns policy. I took quite a few photographs - not of anything particularly remarkable but to try the camera out because this X1 is so different from my PEN E-PL1. Did I really like the camera, would I be happy with this camera, could I see with this camera...and so on.
That first evening when I downloaded my few shots to Aperture, I have to say it felt like magic. I have not seen anything like the RAW image quality before. What can I say, I don't have vast years of experience with digital, I'm not a technophile but I think I've fallen in love. Only time will tell, of course, it's very early yet and I do still feel that I need and want my PEN and its two beautiful lenses. I am not sure what the photographic future holds for me and these two cameras... I've always been monogamous before so it feels a little strange.
So that's my story, thus far. We're still in the very early stages of this romance but it feels pretty good so far. I have a lot to learn about this small jewel and I hope I can do its IQ justice.
I'll post a few photographs, but remember it's early days yet so please don't burst my cloud nine bubble.😉
X1 f/11 @1/160th ISO 100
X1 f/8 @ 1/30th ISO 125
Honestly, as a woman, that song was never one of my favorites, but it obviously stuck in my head. So what has all this got to do with my deciding to buy the Leica X1 and why should you care? Well, you might care if you're interested in the camera, so I thought I'd add in my thoughts here on SC by starting separate thread from Kathy's thoughtful "Why I Like My X1".
Let's start with a quick background story to set the scene. I attended Ohio University, in Athens, Ohio and graduated with a BFA in Photography in 1978 and specialized in color printing. My camera for most of my time there was an Olympus OM-1, which I still have.😍 I also still have my senior year's portfolio in two "archival" grey boxes with requisite metal corners, straps and buckles (true!) and although I haven't looked at them in some time, they still mean a great deal to me. I think any of us knows what it is like to fall in love with one's own photographs and how just looking at them can bring back a flood of memories. I was never into street photography, but tended to use my OM-1 carefully, composing each shot as though I were (in my mind) using a view camera. Unlike many, I didn't shoot rolls and rolls and rolls of film. I spent hours in my darkroom (converted a bathroom once and a room in a friend's basement another time), and would emerge after being in there for hours and feel great. The good old days.
Next stop, the rest of my life with all of its busyness and the onset of presbyopia and other vision issues - manual focus isn't cutting it for me anymore. I'll spare you the interim details. Just this past spring I started hearing about the Olympus PEN cameras...found my way to mu-43.com where I met some very kind and helpful people such as Amin Sabet, Streetshooter and Brian Mosely among many others who eased my way back into photography by explaining digital to me. Bought myself the E-P2, sold its body, bought the E-PL1 and have two lenses (20mm and the 9-18mm) and the EVF. Great camera - love it!
But then my eye started to wander when I read about the Leica X1. I knew about Leica - how could I not? I have friends that have had Leica film cameras forever. I never really bothered to think about an M8 or M9 but then I caught sight of the X1 and started reading about it. Thanks to soundimageplus's great thread here where he thoughtfully offered us some X1 RAW files, I was able to see what the X1 could do. I guess you could say that soundimageplus AKA David, introduced me to the X1.
After this RAW introduction, I began to want to learn more and pretty much peppered kathyh, christilou, burro39 and David with questions - ad nauseum, I'm sure. You know how it is with infatuation.
On July 27th, I clicked the "order" button on the B&H Photo site and received the camera within a few days determined to take advantage of their excellent returns policy. I took quite a few photographs - not of anything particularly remarkable but to try the camera out because this X1 is so different from my PEN E-PL1. Did I really like the camera, would I be happy with this camera, could I see with this camera...and so on.
That first evening when I downloaded my few shots to Aperture, I have to say it felt like magic. I have not seen anything like the RAW image quality before. What can I say, I don't have vast years of experience with digital, I'm not a technophile but I think I've fallen in love. Only time will tell, of course, it's very early yet and I do still feel that I need and want my PEN and its two beautiful lenses. I am not sure what the photographic future holds for me and these two cameras... I've always been monogamous before so it feels a little strange.
So that's my story, thus far. We're still in the very early stages of this romance but it feels pretty good so far. I have a lot to learn about this small jewel and I hope I can do its IQ justice.
I'll post a few photographs, but remember it's early days yet so please don't burst my cloud nine bubble.😉
X1 f/11 @1/160th ISO 100
X1 f/8 @ 1/30th ISO 125