Jonathan Harrison hearts the Leica X Vario

There I was , full of excitement as a trip to Ripon races was on the cards for Bank Holiday Monday and with the Leica X-vario tucked neatly into my bag. I was ready…..until the Heavens opened and with the weather set in for the day that blew that idea straight out of the water.

£1499

So off to our friends for afternoon tea instead and with the rain still bucketing down the Leica’s fast zoom lens came into it’s own as I decided to experiment with the little bit of natural light that was available.

The Leica X-Vario lens is really great to use and accurate as well , this is because the zoom and focus barrel are very similar to the old 35mm system in that you turn them manually so you can be really precise. The LCD screen makes life easy too as it’s so bright and clear. Merlin ( the cat ) was a great subject to use and try out how quick the Leica can work as he was not feeling drowsy that afternoon and just would not keep still but the X-vario did manage to keep up with him...just!

So a quick few hours of low level light work and I have to say I’m impressed with the image quality and the way the camera handled, it’s definitely not an SLR in terms of speed of reaction but with a little time and effort ( which is the enjoyable part ) this Leica produces the most wonderful images and it’s easy to take with you. I can’t wait to take him back out for a full spin!