Build and handling
Leica X (Typ 113) Review – build and handling
The X has a large manual focus ring and top-plate dials for shutter speed and aperture
It’s a £1,500 camera that proudly proclaims it’s assembled in Germany, and this means we inevitably have high expectations of the Leica X’s build quality. Fortunately they are, to a great extent, met: the body feels solidly constructed thanks to its all-metal shell, and the various buttons operate with satisfyingly positive clicks. If I have a criticism, it’s that the click stops on the top-plate controls are insufficiently firm, so it’s a little too easy to knock the shutter speed or aperture dials, or inadvertently set the power/drive mode switch to continuous mode.
The body design is almost identical to the X-Vario APS-C zoom compact. Of course, the lens is different – it’s less bulky and doesn’t have a zoom ring – but aside from that the main physical change is the deletion of the X-Vario’s EVF port from beneath the hotshoe. At 133 x 73 x 78mm in size, and 486g in weight, the Leica X isn’t a small camera, and tellingly, it’s a bit more bulky than either of its most obvious competitors – the Fujifilm X100T and the full-frame Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R.
Shutter speed and aperture dials are mounted on the top plate. The shutter button is surrounded by a power/ drive mode switch, with ‘S’ for single can C’ for continuous. The small button with the red dot in its centre is for video recording.
With Leica’s signature rounded, rather than squared-off ends, the X fits nicely in your hand, and the textured finish means that it feels quite secure despite the absence of a handgrip. It sports small shutter speed and aperture dials on the top-plate, and exposure compensation is handled by an electronic dial just under your thumb, which also navigates menus and sets shutter speeds longer than 1sec. Other key settings – ISO, white balance and autofocus mode – have dedicated buttons on the back of the camera. Overall, it’s simple and it works pretty well – experienced photographers will find their way around in no time at all.
