Leica Minilux 35mm Camera

Other point and shoot cameras might look sleeker at first. They have more buttons you can press, and might have some special function that makes them especially desirable. (Rarely the ability to take great pictures though, it seems) The minilux follows a simple philosophy: create a camera does not look intrusive and takes the best pictures possible. Leicas have been the favorites of photographers worldwide, since Oskar Barnack decided that maybe taking pictures on 35mm film would make photography more portable and more spontaneous, thus inventing, the ur-leitz-camera, lei-ca. Documentary-style photography was born. Take a look at books with photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson or Alfred Eisenstaedt. The most important part of ANY camera is the lens. The Leica Summarit 2.4/40 lens on the minilux is excellent. It is very fast (bright) 2.4(!) so you will find yourself taking more natural looking pictures without a flash more often. (Also remember: zoom lenses can never be as bright and as sharp as this lens.) The camera has a light meter built in, so before you shoot, you can find out what might be the appropriate settings for the particular light environment. It is up to you to decide if you would like to overwrite these settings by changing the aperture. (From 2.4! to 16) Measure again, and you will know if your new aperture setting makes sense. If it is too dark, the camera will automatically turn on the back lighting on the display and charge the flash for you. Just in case you would like to take a picture right away. The camera is full of great, very positive surprises. Even the holding strap has the perfect length, so you can shoot spontaneous, yet perfectly sharp snapshots right out of the palm of your hand. The active auto-focus works great under any light conditions. If you do not want to use the auto-focus, you can always overwrite it. The camera just takes great pictures.This camera is a perfect gift, for yourself or for somebody you care about. It might change the way you see things. It might make you appreciate every day a little more. It worked for me. Really.

Initially there was a problem with the on/off switch which caused the shutter release to operate inconsistently. After repair by Leica the camera operates superbly. Lens is super sharp.

I own a Nikon SLR as my primary camera. After having traveled with it around the world, I realized I wanted a smaller point and shoot for those times when I wanted to travel light or when it wasn't practical or convenient to lug around my big Nikon with its heavy lenses. But I also didn't want to sacrifice picture quality--my primary focus was lens and photo quality and not gimmicks, zoom range, camera body design, or consumer convenience features like APS.The Leica fits the bill. The look and feel of the camera is old school, with a heavy, titanium, tank-like body. While I really don't care what my cameras look like, I find the classic look of the camera to be a refreshing change from the high tech polished metal look of most point and shoots on the market. No zoom lens--just a high quality, super fast f2.4 40mm Summarit lens. No frills, but all the essential, basic features are there: aperture priority, auto or manual focus, flash, red eye, timer. My first several batches of shots have turned out fabulous.Yes, you will have to move your feet to frame shots correctly and you'll miss out on some shots that only a zoom lens can get you, but the shots you do get will be top notch. This is not the camera for you if you like to stand in one place, use your zoom lens to frame shots, and count on all the automatic settings to pick everything for you. The camera allows you to set it for autofocus and autoexposure, but photographers who like to go manual will have a lot more fun with it.I ding the product one star for a few minor reasons. It is indeed heavy and somewhat bulky, so it won't fit in just any pocket. Second, the red eye feature confuses just about everybody--there's a long delay between the first and second flash, and I've found that no matter how much you warn your subjects, they'll still assume the first flash is the one and start moving. I don't shoot that many straight on portraits in dark lighting, but when I have I've lost a few shots to this. Third, it's not always clear that a shot has been taken, and when I loan the camera to folks to take a shot for me I often get two or three shots back because they held the shutter release down too long. Lastly, the camera is fairly pricey for a point and shoot.But quality costs. And if you know what you're doing with a camera, want to learn what to do with a camera, and/or demand top-notch optics in a point and shoot, this is your baby.

I bought this camera for my wife because her arthritis was making her Canon EOS feel increasingly heavy and clumsy, and she was on the verge of giving up photography. The first roll of pictures came back from a trip to Venice, and I noticed with envy that her pictures were better than mine taken with a new model Canon EOS--better exposure, better focus, and clearer. After a lot of A/B testing, I concluded this first impression was correct. How can this be? "It's the lens, stupid" as they used to say about politics and economics. Buying the Minilux was not what I had set out to do (I thought of a Canon Elph), but the salesman convinced me that if I was serious about the quality of my transparencies (still use slide film)I had to pick either the Leica or the Contax. And he STRONGLY recommended the fixed lens over the zoom. I took him at his word and haven't regretted it for an instant. My wife had to get used to walking a few feet to change the image in her viewfinder, but the results have really been worth it, and it's given her real pleasure in taking trips. This camera is not about prestige, or impressing your friends with a brand name; it's about the quality of the protographic image. It is also beautifully constructed, the flash works perfectly for seamless exposure control, and the titanium case feels good in the hand. Frankly, after looking at the results from the next trip to Vienna, Prague and Budapest, I'm thinking of junking my filters, interchangeable lenses, macro attachments, etc. and getting a Minilux for myself.