Leica 18452 X2 16.5MP Compact Camera with 2.7-Inch TFT LCD (Silver)

by Leica

• New developed APS-C CMOS sensor with an effective resolution of 16.1 Megapixel.
• Leica Elmarit 1:2. 8/24mm ASPH equivalent to the classic 35mm.
• Fast, new autofocus feature enables extremely precise and virtually silent focusing.
• With a design reminiscent of the traditional Leica M, the Leica X2 expresses Leica's commitment to the essentials.
• Includes Adobe Photoshop Lightrrom, the comprehensive solution for modern digital photography.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 2 x 2.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0082ET0O8
• Item model number: 18452
• Batteries 1 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,561 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
  • #75 in Electronics > Camera & Photo > Digital Cameras > Compact System Cameras
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 11, 2012

Product Description

Color: Silver

Leica X2 Silver

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best portable compact available! June 25, 2012

By James Maier

Color Name:Black|Amazon Verified Purchase

UPDATE 12/11/2012:
It's now six months since I got the X2 and I'm still *loving* it! The photo quality rivals and, in some instances, exceeds that of my DSLRs. The vibrant color and sharpness of the images right out of the camera is uncanny. The RAW files just have a ton of dynamic range!
This has become my "walking around" camera and I always slip it in a coat pocket if I'm going out. This has also been a real winner on family trips and vacations - lugging a Canon 5D mkII and lenses across the Pacific was problematic due to its bulk and weight so it was a great relief to just take the X2 the second time around!

ORIGINAL REVIEW 6/25/2012:
The Leica X2 is a singular camera that fits a unique niche in the market. If you are a photographer looking for a fun, stylish and more portable alternative to lugging your DSLR around, without compromising optical quality, the X2 is the ticket. The superb optics of a fixed 35mm equivalent Leica lens combined with a large, high resolution sensor make this small camera hard to resist!

The quality of the photos I've captured with this little box is absolutely wonderful, especially when shot in RAW mode. The inclusion of the full version of Adobe's wonderful Lightroom software helps make this camera a compelling purchase and takes a bit of the sting out of the high sticker price. After shooting for a week with the X2, I noticed something really uncanny! Normally my shots require some modicum of post processing - color adjustment and sharpening at a bare minimum. But, other than conversion to JPG and sizing, the images are for the most part just perfect exactly as shot! The X2 is an astounding camera in this regard!

The lens is wonderfully sharp, even when shot wide open.... The colors have that signature three-dimensionality one associates with much more expensive Leica glass. Even though the lens isn't particularly fast at f/2.8, it still works well for separating the subject from the background. I'm loving the color, contrast and clarity of the X2's pictures. The 35mm (equivalent) field of view is the perfect "walking around" focal length - wide enough to take in landscapes but narrow enough for street photography or portraits.

If you want a camera that will take fast action shots, shoots HD movies and has an all-purpose zoom lens with a hundred in-camera "styles", the X2 is definitely not what you're looking for, but if you want absolutely stunning high-quality images in a small no-compromise package, this is it! Read more ›

51 of 62 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Already obsolete? September 9, 2012

By Rob S. VINE™ VOICE

Color Name:Black

Couldn't decide between the Leica X2 and the Fuji X100 so I ordered both :)

Bit of background - I've been shooting with D-SLRs since the Nikon D70. My current body is a D300 with the 70-200VR, 17-55DX and 12-24DX. When city touring, lugging all that gear is cumbersome not only when shooting but when traveling: getting it through security, worried about leaving it in your hotel room, etc. These new micro bodies with high quality sensors are right in my wheelhouse.

My girlfriend took the X100 and I took the Leica X2 out for an afternoon of shooting around San Francisco. At the end of the day, we got back and she conducted a blind test (yes, she is amazing :) and more often than not I preferred the look of the Fuji and for the shots with Velvia enabled, even more so.

Observations from a day of shooting:
- I'm unsure why I've read some call this "pocketable" because unless you're wearing cargo shorts, no way.
- The lack of integrated viewfinder turned out to be a dealbreaker for me, an SLR shooter at heart. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself it would be OK to shoot with the LCD back, I kept banging my nose into the back of the camera when I raised it to my eye to peek through a viewfinder that didn't exist. I realize the Oly VF is the same (and half the price) of the Leica VF. Still it's an extra $200+ and for me really buzzkills the sleek design of the Leica.
- Compared with the features of the X100's LCD while shooting, felt left out in the wind. The engineers at Leica couldn't think of anything useful to do with the LCD during live view?

I desperately wanted the Leica to be my favourite.... It's a beautiful and sturdy piece of equipment garnering more queries and positive comments during one day of street shooting than nearly 10 years of the D70, D200 an D300 combined. Unfortunately technology has caught up with the Leica brand name / price differential. $1000 more for the Leica red dot over the X100 was a no-brainer for me.

If you're just hell-bent on the Leica name and the look of the body, please rent one before buying.

Sad to return it. I'll check out the X3 though :)

Summary:
- In a blind test, preferred the Fuji shots.
- No integrated VF was clunky. Kudos to those of you who can get along without one.
- Extraordinarily low tech for the price. You'll feel like you're using a digital camera from the 90s.
- Extraordinarily little for the price.

UPDATE 11/23/2012 - Took the X100 to Europe and couldn't have been happier. Love the shots we got and not having to lug around my DSLR gear (yes I realize no DSLR gear for the Leica, just referring to cementing my decision). Also, the D600 is out now and for $1995. THAT'S what you should expect for $2k :) Read more ›

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Optics August 18, 2012

By GSK

Color Name:Black|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is my first time to take photograph using Leica lens. Leica X2 is a very good alternative equipment for street photography or whenever some bulky equipments are not suitable. The photographs are sharp and lively. The image quality is outstanding and the lens characteristics are exceptional. For me, I use Leica X2 as a primary equipment although I have a DSLR with Carl Zeiss 25mm ZF.

Apart from the image quality, ease of control is also critical for a camera. I generally satisfy with Leica X2 in this area. However, the 2 control dials (i.e. shutter speed and aperture) are not smooth and big enough. Besides, the shutter speed dial adjusts exposure with an interval of 1 stop. The interval is large and not suitable in most circumstances.

All in all, I have no regret to buy this camera so far.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Shooters Camera December 20, 2012

By Chris Huffman

Color Name:Silver

I've owned too many digicams to count since the 90's. Many will point out that the X1 or X2 lags in technology features. I agree many other cameras over the past few years have more bells + whistles but IMO those features hinder my picture taking.

SIMPLICITY EXAMPLE; my wife had a Panasonic P&S and I had the older Leica C-Lux 3 P&S (which were sister cameras). The Panny had 'a lot' of features but while in the moment I always had trouble remember where the settings were at on her camera to get the shot while the Leica had less buttons and options. Think = turn on, zoom, compose take the picture with the Leica while the Panny was = Turn on, zoom, compose (then get distracted with 'maybe I should change a setting before taking the shot' and if I decided to then I normally missed the shot. Needless to say it got tiresome trying to figure out why one option wouldnt work or where to find it in the pages of menus if another conflicting option was set (again another lost shot)

CONTROL EXAMPLE; I have 2 Sony's an RX-100 and a Nex7. Both of the these camera's have so many features they seem more like a computer that happens to have a camera on them whereas I was just looking for a camera that I could easilly set the most common controls and take over manually as needed which is where the X2 fit perfectly.

QUALITY EXAMPLE; Don't get me started on 'Leica Look' flame wars as I've owned more non-Leica digicams than actual Leica's. Blind viewing with my family and friends of the same shot nearly 95% of the time folks would choose the Leica shot over the RX-100 or Nex7. Leica Look is kinda hard to explain; it's somewhere between the tonal curve, color balance and gradations (especially in BW) not to mention the sweet bokeh their lenses produce.... I compared many of the same shots of the Nex7 vs the X2 side by side. At a pixel peeping level the X2 is slightly lower resolution due to it's 16Mp vs the Nex7 but the Nex7 failed miserabely in it's natural color balance (too blueish/digital looking) and it's grain in low light was overly smoothed or looked grainy digital where the X2 had more of a film look out of the camera the corner sharpness and chromatic aberation is nearly non-existant and grain at 1600-3200 ISO is beautiful (many think my 18x24 enlargements are made from film. Of course it does has a shortfall for sports/action shooting (you can do it though with oratice) but when it shoots it's never missed focus.

COST EXAMPLE; Finally cost...the Nex7 has the same sensor size as the X2 but to get 'near' optical quality of the X2 you'll want the 24mm Zeiss prime from sony. If you buy the Nex7 + the 24mm from Amazon you're talking $2,200, still won't get the Leica look, and be troubled by the look of your images looking 'very digital'...not to mention the Nex7 + 24mm combo will become 2X the weight of the Nex solution and MUCH less discrete. Also, please don't forget that the X1 comes with a full version of Adobe Lightroom. Therefore, take another $150 off the $1999 for a true Leica = $1,850 vs $2,200 for a Sony Nex7 or comparably priced Fuji and you'll quickly find an easy winner.

Just my 2c :) Read more ›