Question:
The maximum apertures of the Z2X and Minilux Zoom may be slightly different (the emphasis is on "slightly"), but if you look at the actual optical diagrams of the two, they are virtually the same, c.f. Leica’s official brochure. The shutter speed range of the Z2X is 1/4 to 1/300 while the Minilux Zoom’s is 1 to 1/250. (Both have B settings.) Also the latter has active infrared autofocusing as opposed to the former’s passive sensors, which you’d be thankful for when shooting through glass. I have both the Z2X and Contax T2 (2.8/38 Sonnar) and can say with confidence that both perform equally well. That’s considerable because one is a zoom and the other is not. My only qualm with the Z2X is the lack of exposure compensation control except for a single setting at +2EV. Andrew
Response:
The Lexio 70 is very slow, I tried it to photo kids and missed a lot…
I like the Lexio 70 a lot! It caused me to stop using my Yashica T4 Super because although the Lexio lens isn’t as good as a "quality Zeiss optic" (cough) the flexibility of having 28-70 far outweighs what I could do with the T4 Super. For example, I got acceptable pictures of a bear wandering across the river from camp one night. The 28mm wide angle view is often very useful in tight spots. The Lexio is slow, but shutter lag is about 1/2 to 2/3 of the ultra-slow T4 Super, I believe. Although the Lexio lacks continuous shooting mode, I pulled off an entire roll of 36 shots in under 50 seconds. Downsides are noticeable pincushion distortion at 28 and 35mm, slight color change across the zoom range, and hazy flare when shooting directly into the sun. However many $100 SLR zoom lenses have similar defects. Upsides are close focus, relatively fast lens, small size, and a good user interface. — Boycott talking smegheads, get your daily spin from http://bartcop.com !
Response:
Dear all, I am in th emarket for a good mid-price p&s. I narrow down to these two models. Could anyone give me any comments about their lems quality, build and operating? Also, which responds faster after you click? I missed so many shots for my kids with the slow Yashica T5. Thanks. Wang
Response:
The Lexio 70 is very slow, I tried it to photo kids and missed a lot…
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Dear all, I am in th emarket for a good mid-price p&s. I narrow down to these two models. Could anyone give me any comments about their lems quality, build and operating? Also, which responds faster after you click? I missed so many shots for my kids with the slow Yashica T5. Thanks. Wang
Response:
Wang, Leica’s Z2X lens quality rivals that of Yashica’s T5 Carl Zeiss Tessar. It’s simply the best lens on P&S camera. I heard that it’s the same lens which was used on Leica Minilux Zoom. –Yuri. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Dear all, I am in th emarket for a good mid-price p&s. I narrow down to these two models. Could anyone give me any comments about their lems quality, build and operating? Also, which responds faster after you click? I missed so many shots for my kids with the slow Yashica T5. Thanks. Wang
Response:
Leica’s Z2X lens quality rivals that of Yashica’s T5 Carl Zeiss Tessar. It’s simply the best lens on P&S camera. I heard that it’s the same lens which was used on Leica Minilux Zoom.
Much as I’d like to believe that the Z2X has the same lens as the much more expensive Minilux Zoom – I don’t think this is the case: Here are the actual Leica specs from their own site: LEICA Z2X 35-70 mm f/4-7.6 LEICA VARIO-ELMAR zoom lens (7 elements in 6 groups). http://www.leica-camera.com/produkte/compact/z2x/tecdat/index_e.html LEICA minilux zoom 35-70 mm f/3.5-6.5 LEICA VARIO-ELMAR zoom lens (7 elements in 6 groups). http://www.leica-camera.com/produkte/compact/miniluxzoom/tecdat/index… Yes, the lenses do have the same name and number of elements and groups – but different max apertures. It has been said the Z2X lensmay be same lens as used on the older Leica Mini Zoom. The other major difference is that the Z2X has a a focussing system which uses just 35 zones vs. the Minilux Zoom’s 160. The Z2X uses passive AF which is fine, except it will have difficulties on plain or low contrast/detail surfaces. Back to the Konica Lexio – It is currently my favorite 35mm p&s – I think there are at least 2 other well-respected posters here who also think highly of it. The lens is very good (IMHO outstanding) – the range of 28-70 is great because of the wide 28mm, and the max aperture of f/3.4-7.9 is pretty wide/bright for a very compact p&s (Konica claims it is the smallest 35mm p&s with zoom – in terms of volume it is as small if not samller than the Olympus Stylus Epic (non-zoom)) It has a nice touch of a metal fronted body with sliding cover. However even when I pre-focus and wait and shoot – there is still a noticable ahutter lag – this may be a decisiding factor if it is critical. I shoot a lot of action/moving musicians on stage – and although I do notice the lag on occassions, it doesn’t bother me majorly – but as always YMMV. Bookmark this great web page on 35mm p&s cameras: http://www.geocities.com/jpmccormac/pscam.html — Vincent
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