Hi,
While most of the attention is focused on the X Pro 2, I though I'd start a thread to discuss the X70.
It's a very svelte fixed 28mm camera that is smaller than the XA/XM options, mostly by virtue of its fixed compact lens, most of which is inside the body.
I'm not sure who the X70 is aimed at with a 28mm lens. Street shooters seem to like the concept. If the reported weight of 113g is correct, which I doubt, I could also see the camera being great for hiking, climbing and cycling, or in a small neat waterproof housing for kayaking, snorkeling etc. But let's see the IQ first.
It has competition. Apart from the Ricoh GR and Coolpix A, high-end large-sensor compacts like the LX100 and the Canon G1X II are more versatile because they have a zoom and might just approach it in IQ for web and moderate print size uses. You can get an LX 100 for a lot less than an X70 + OVF and it comes with a built-in EVF and a similar control set. Here in Australia at launch, the X70 is exactly twice the price of an XA 2 with a 16-50 zoom. It's new and a different concept, I know, but one gets some sense of the relativities.
To me, the X70 loses marks for its add-on OVF. It's expensive (making the X70 USD $1K in total and AUD $1250 here at launch) and it seems to me to make the camera taller than it would have been if they'd simply increased the body size a little to build an EVF in. They can easily get lost or left at home and they block the flash shoe in use. And if you don't buy one, you finish up composing at arms length like a P&S. Bad idea.
I'll see what it's like on review. If the lens is a stunner, it might be interesting, and more so to me if someone offers a small waterproof housing like the polycarbonate ones for compacts. It might be a sealed APSC option that actually fits in a life jacket.
Cheers, Rod
While most of the attention is focused on the X Pro 2, I though I'd start a thread to discuss the X70.
It's a very svelte fixed 28mm camera that is smaller than the XA/XM options, mostly by virtue of its fixed compact lens, most of which is inside the body.
I'm not sure who the X70 is aimed at with a 28mm lens. Street shooters seem to like the concept. If the reported weight of 113g is correct, which I doubt, I could also see the camera being great for hiking, climbing and cycling, or in a small neat waterproof housing for kayaking, snorkeling etc. But let's see the IQ first.
It has competition. Apart from the Ricoh GR and Coolpix A, high-end large-sensor compacts like the LX100 and the Canon G1X II are more versatile because they have a zoom and might just approach it in IQ for web and moderate print size uses. You can get an LX 100 for a lot less than an X70 + OVF and it comes with a built-in EVF and a similar control set. Here in Australia at launch, the X70 is exactly twice the price of an XA 2 with a 16-50 zoom. It's new and a different concept, I know, but one gets some sense of the relativities.
To me, the X70 loses marks for its add-on OVF. It's expensive (making the X70 USD $1K in total and AUD $1250 here at launch) and it seems to me to make the camera taller than it would have been if they'd simply increased the body size a little to build an EVF in. They can easily get lost or left at home and they block the flash shoe in use. And if you don't buy one, you finish up composing at arms length like a P&S. Bad idea.
I'll see what it's like on review. If the lens is a stunner, it might be interesting, and more so to me if someone offers a small waterproof housing like the polycarbonate ones for compacts. It might be a sealed APSC option that actually fits in a life jacket.
Cheers, Rod
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