I'm about to take the Leica plung but I'm not sure which one to buy. I've already got a Canon EOS SLR but I find that I miss shots getting the gear into action. So I want a point and shoot, but I still want manual override and quality results. I'm put off buying the ZX2 because of it's plastic build. So I'm left with the new C1, the minilux or the minilux zoom. I have heard that the minilux and miniliux zoom are extremely highly regarded. They're both costly, but it's my 30th birthday so I'm going to treat myself! I like the cropping ability of a zoom, but I wouldn't want a lower quality (and flatness) that zooms usually give. Is the minilux zoom just as sharp as the minilux? I'd really appreciate your advice!

-- Paul Stainforth (paul.stainforth@butterworths.co.uk), July 01, 2000

Answers

The Minilux zoom and Contax TVS series are probably the best (and most expensive) P&S cameras with a short zoom. You'll give up a small amount of optical quality, and a couple of f stops of aperture at the long end for the convenience of the zoom. You won't find the shots taken with the Minilux zoom looking flat like an inexpensive zoom P&S. If you haven't gotten your hands on one yet, however,do not purchase one mail order or through the web without playing with one in person. The camera is no pocket camera, at 5 inch by 3 inch by 1.7 inch, and nearly a pound of weight. I was surprised at the size after seeing it in pictures.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), July 02, 2000.

The minilux zoom is not as sharp as the minilux.

In addition, the fastest shutter speed of the minilux zoom is only at 1/250th second with the largest working aperture of 3.5 only.

However, the fastest shutter speed of the minilux is at 1/400th second with the largest working aperture of 2.4 !!

Leica is well-known for its optical quality, as such I would strongly recommend the Leica minilux.

-- Samuel Tan (samuel_tan@nstb.gov.sg), July 03, 2000.

I've just got myself the Minilux last week after a long and detail research. Took a roll of film over the weekend and developed. Wow! In short, I am convinced the pictures at least equal if not better than my Nikon SLR. It is easy to use and quiet.

There are two reasons I picked the Minilux instead of the zoom model: 1. Price, the 35mm-70mm cost a lot more just for a 2x zoom. 2. The Minilux has aperture control to control the depth of field.

So I will say minilux has better control, if needed, compare to the zoom version. I can't comment on the zoom's pictures because I don't have one, but it is usually true that fixed lens (less glass elements) gives better pictures.

Go for it, I am sure you won't be disappointed. Yes, it is a bit more compare to other P&S, but hey, it is titanium and it is Leica.

Hope this helps.

Godwin - A new happy Minilux owner

-- Godwin Lui (godwin@hotmail.com), July 04, 2000.

I vote for the "regular" Minilux, which I recently owned for a while. Although I'm sure the Minilux zoom also has an excellent lens, the short zoom range of the Minilux zoom is not, IMO, nearly as valuable as the aperture control and faster lens of the "regular" Minilux.

-- Chris Crevasse (ccrevasse@millermartin.com), July 05, 2000.

I have both, in fact I have three of the regular Minilux cameras and one Zoom.

The CF flash for the zoom is really nice. At my wedding I gave the Mini Zoom with the external CF flash to a friend to just take candid pictures of people during the reception. The pictures turned out very good, flash wasn't over-powering and no red eye in any pictures.

Having said that, I prefer the standard Minilux fixed-focal (40mm). I am always amazed at the results and they always seem tack-sharp. I have had almost no problems with the camera doing anything it shouldn't in the way of exposure, the spot-exposure works very well and I am so used to it now that I don't trust any other sort of exposure method.

If I could pick one major drawback, it would be that the viewfinder is tiny. REALLY small. Most APS cameras are mucb bigger. Second gripe would be the shutter speed - 1/400 is the fastest.

One poster said it well - this is not a tiny light camera like the Olympus Stylus or the link, it is solid. I have a black "user" one that looks terrible and when I travel people think it is a $20 cheap camera, a real plus in my book.

I took one all over the middle-east with me including some available- light pictures inside tombs at f/2.4. I have a few of them up at the Minilux Club (http://www.kikuyashoji.co.jp/miniluxclub/index_e.html), take a look and see what you think.

I've bought all of my Minilux cameras on eBay -- two from Doug at CameraLand in NYC, two from other folks. A regular non-zoom Minilux seems to be $400-$500 and most are absolutely mint in condition. The Zoom goes for $100+ more.

I'm a huge fan of the Minilux cameras (even though I have a nice M6 system too), if anyone has any questions I'd be glad to answer 'em if I can.

--Doug

-- Doug Mason (douglas@netcom.com), July 17, 2000.

Doug,

Re: "...the spot-exposure works very well."

What do you mean by "spot-exposure?" Is there spot metering on the Minilux or was this just a generic reference? Thanks.

-- John McCormack (jpmccormac@aol.com), August 01, 2000.

Sorry this is late, but if you haven't already made the purchase then I hope you might find my experiences of interest...I have both the Minilux and Minilux Zoom. I have had the Minilux Zoom for over a year and a half, and I can say that it has a superb lens - sharp and contrasty. I have taken some incredible shots and have been surprised by it's visual punchiness-especially on B&W; theres the spontaneity of a point and shoot which captures an image without too much engineering of the image and playing with dials etc. Don't get me wrong I have an M6 also and love the manualness of it, but there are times when its liberating to just go out and snap images freely. The zoom feature is great. You can crop at will, and there are times you cant get any closer to a subject, like a gate in the way. When you buy a P&S you are buying into the convinience factor, and being able to crop at a stationary point, sitting down on the sand while you cruise the visual field in front of you with your zoom IS convenient! The best feature of the zoom, is using it at 70mm -its kinda like a short tele, you get the shallow depth of field blur - nice, all in a compact unit. You can't get that with the 40/f2.4 cos its depth of field is greater etc.., I sometimes wonder the real benefit of the aperture priority setting used at 2.4 to get the creative effect, as with an 2.4 aperture you don't actually get that much blurring or bokeh. The reason I bought the standard minilux was to use it in low light conditions. Now on the issue of image quality, a purist/technician will say that the standard Minilux is sharper, probably true, but can the human eye detect the difference? the results from both my compacts show very little difference between them. I would make the point that 'sharpness' is not always the defining factor, sometimes lenses can be too sharp, and in IMHO the zoom will give you great images, quality will not be an issue. As to the speed of its shutter, I have had numerous occasions where its blinked at me cos of overexposure, but I still shoot the shot anyway, and have been wrapped with the results. I once loaded a roll of Fuji Neopan 1600 and took shots on a crystal bright day in Thailand on Koh Tao island and they still came out looking great! On the grips side, I do wish they had designed the Minilux Zoom with an auto lens cover like the one on the Minilux. There's no risk of losing the cap or wondering which pocket you've tucked it away. Also, they aren't that tiny, but hey, they feel robust and besides their chubiness helps to grip and take steadier pictures!

-- Sparkie (sparkie@mailcity.com), August 18, 2001.