I've actually acquired quite a lot of items for film development (bigger bottles, clips, hangers, a new thermometer - as well as something really interesting I'll post about once I've had an opportunity to test it), but they don't make for a very good shot - though it might be fun to just heap everything up and take a picture, but I'm in no mood for that kind of trouble (I'd have to put everything away again afterwards), so here's this instead:
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I've so far considered the Sofort the "better" Classic Neo 90. It's the same camera at its core, but Leica decided to completely redesign the shell as well as one major element when it comes to user experience: The almost useless "menu" dial around the lens of the Fujifilm camera was transformed into a quick way of changing focus. Getting to infinity focus on the Classic Neo 90 requires several key presses and/or fiddling with the "menu" dial (which, infuriatingly, not even activates the menu on its own - you have to press the button on the back first). On the Sofort, you just click to the right for standard (0.6-3m, the default on switch-on) or "infinity" (3m-infinity) - simple, and eminently useful because it's important to get the focus right with these otherwise extremely simple cameras.
The landscape orientation enabled Leica to model the shell after a rangefinder camera - the "selfie" mirror sits in the place of the rangefinder. It's a bit gimmicky - but it looks surprisingly nice; they could have left out the completely redundant (and certainly non-functional) "focus tab" - that's just bling, and it actually makes for a slightly *worse* handling experience (because you'll feel it under your middle finger when holding the camera - it's not comfortable, full stop). On the whole, I actually prefer the portrait orientation of the Classic Neo 90 in the hand, but the Sofort handles well enough, and its display is more to my taste, as well as the button layout. To be fair, neither camera is great in the hand anyway. The only "real" downgrade: Leica decided to actually take away one of the exposure compensation options of the Classic Neo 90, so it's a bit harder to work contre-jour - beats me why they did this (the Fujifilm Instax films don't take well to overexposure anyway, though). Otherwise, the cameras feel much more similar than their appearance would suggest, in spite of the redesign.
So, is the Leica Sofort the "better" Classic Neo 90? For me it is - because of its focus dial; all else being equal, that alone transforms the shooting experience for me, and it single-handedly solves the only real worry the Classic Neo 90 ever caused for me (unsharp images are very expensive and really irritating). I'll now shoot the two side by side to find out if there's any tangible difference in image quality (I doubt it). And then I'll give the Classic Neo 90 away - I know just the right recipient ...
M.