Today’s Post by Joe Farace
Like Rodney Dangerfield, this is the only Leica that seems to get “no respect”—Anatomy Films
A few years, when the weather was more seasonal than the 100+ degree days we’ve been dealing with this summer, I photographed a Cars & Coffee event at the Vehicle Vault using my limited edition Jaguar-themed Leica Z2X that was loaded with my favorite Kodak Gold 200 film.
A Jaguar Camera at Cars & Coffee
Even on the best weather days, the lighting conditions at the Vehicle Vault during these car shows are challenging and you typically have to deal with contrasty light. On this particular day, it was hazy with partially cloudy skies producing streaky uneven lighting during the entire time I was at the show. Mostly the lighting was flat and boring and so the images you see here were slightly enhanced in Photoshop using the Tonal Contrast filter from Color Efex.
The most important thing I learned was that after sitting unused and unloved since 1999, is that, after installing a new CR123A battery, the Leica Z2X worked, up to a point. It’s been called “The Most Hated Leica”. Why? I dunno. This is only the second time I’ve used it in twenty years; I bought it during my Jaguar collection years I now know why. For starters, I find it difficult to place my eye in a comfortable place in the viewfinder to achieve any kind of precise image framing. The photo you see above was slightly cropped to match my original intentions. PS: Why a Beetle? I photographed several different marques at the show but there were no Jaguar cars there at the show and I love the look of Classic VWs.
The Z2X’s is unlike any Leica that I’ve ever used; the.shutter release is somewhat stiff and more pressure is required that I would prefer. You might think all Leica point-and-shoots are like this but users of the Leica Minilux all seem to love their camera. The Casual Photophile said this, “I can’t recommend the Minilux enough. It’s an incredibly well-built camera that’s super fun to use. It’s gorgeous, compact, and feels like quality in the hands.” Maybe that why a used Minilux costs three to four times more than what a Z2X sells for.
Not all of the images I made were not perfectly sharp, although many were. Here’s my thoughts on why that happened:
- It might be camera movement and maybe that’s on me. I’ll take some responsibility here at my my, perhaps unsuccessful, attempts at getting a smooth, shake-free experience. I could test this theory further by shooting the Z2X on a tripod, but to be honest, I think the whole experience tells me why I haven’t shot this camera in 20 years.
- It’s always possible that after all these years the camera’s auto focusing isn’t working as well as it could. One of my photographer friends says that all old cameras always need a CLA to get them working properly but after my (bad) experience with my Seagull TLR repairs, I’m not willing to throw hundreds of dollars at this particular problem with this particular camera.
- It might be the scan but I don;t think so. I once had a small problem with scans from The Darkroom but they were minor and they immediately remade them, so this seems unlikely.
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