People who love flowers will want to smell them when they see them, people who love books will want to buy them when they see them, and those who have used three or more cameras will want to take a look when they see a Leica.
Many people have long called for Leica to produce a full-frame autofocus camera, which resulted in the Leica Q and SL, both of which were wildly popular. In fact, Leica had already produced a full-frame autofocus camera in the era of film photography. They were called the PS pocket camera, including the Leica mini, minizoom, and so on. Although they were pocket-sized and manufactured by Japanese companies such as Minolta, Panasonic, and Fujifilm, the lens and design, such as the Verio-Elmar, were truly made in Germany.
The Leica Z2X is a small zoom pocket camera with a focal length range of 35mm to 70mm. The entire body design is streamlined like a car, and when held in the hand, it feels lightweight but surprisingly good. I was amazed that plastic could have such a tactile feel, as if holding a bar of soap, or tearing a loaf of bread. There was no sense of fatigue when hanging it around my neck with a thin string. The Leica Z2X has only four buttons, the power switch, zoom, shutter, mode, and self-timer buttons, making it incredibly simple to use. However, I think this camera is just charmingly simple to use. Pick it up and start shooting, with fully automatic focusing, metering, and film winding. The Leica Z2x focuses quickly and without hesitation, the sound of the shutter can be easily ignored, and the flash is also exceptionally powerful.
Where is the Leica spirit in the Leica Z2x?
- Fast start-up speed. The essence of Leica’s quick capture requires fast start-up speed.
- The lens does not retract when the camera is turned off. This is a very Leica-like design because it allows the camera to be quickly awakened for immediate capture. The Leica mini3 also has this feature.
- Flash can be turned off. In the case of not turning off the camera, press the mode button seven times to turn off the flash. When the camera is powered off and then turned back on, the flash will still be off. A friend of mine loves this design so much that he never turns off his Z2x. Since the camera automatically powers off and the lens does not retract, it can be quickly awakened for the next use.
The viewfinder of the Z2x is quite comfortable, of course it cannot be compared to the Leica M. There are no parameter displays inside, but for a pocket camera like this, it is very bright. I have no complaints.
The mystery of the Z2X’s birth
When Leica named the Z2X, it was very special. Because Leica already had the mini zoom series, only Z2X was a lonely child without siblings like Z1x or Z3x. This naming should mean “2x zoom”. It is said that this lens was a completely new design compared to the previous mini zoom series of Leica, and slightly expanding the aperture would become the famous lens of the later Minilux zoom.
How do I use the Leica Z2X?
I often load color film into this pocket camera, and usually put it in my bag. The Leica M is mostly loaded with black and white film and used as the main camera. The Leica Z2X plays the role of a seasoning, which is very good, completely different from the M, but complementary. Most importantly, this machine costs only around 1000, even less than 1000, which is worth it.
Brand Leica
Film Format Type 35mm
Exposure Control Type Manual, Automatic
Item Dimensions LxWxH 5 x 1.71 x 2.75 inches
Item Weight 1 Pounds
Stylish and fully automatic 35mm compact camera with date imprinting.
High-quality Leica Vario-Elmar 35-70mm zoom lens (f/4.0 to f/7.6).
Passive autofocus system with automatically activated flash.
Automatic exposure with center-weighted metering and manual shutter speeds of up to 99 seconds.
Bright real-image viewfinder allows for easy composition.
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