Leica X2 / X-E Portraits.

(Note: I haven’t finished the fake sky yet.)
I tried shooting this from every angle, making the subject turn 360 degrees in the process, to no avail. Lacking any HDR or pseudo-HDR capability on the primitive X2, I just did the best I could and blew the sky. I thought the X2 peformed very well, although I did have a small perspective change due to shooting close with the 35 mm equivalent fixed lens.

Leica X2, f5.6, 1/360 sec. handheld, ISO 200.

Normally I would never consider shooting the X2 at 1/5 second handheld, given that the X2 does not have a true optical VR/IS. But when I’m in a hurry and snapping more-or-less spontaneously, I sometimes do that and just accept that I might lose the images to blur, if it’s not critically important to get the shot. This image was selected from 2 bursts of 8 each – 16 total, and it was the sharpest, plus I helped it along a little in post processing.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f5.6, 1/5 sec. handheld, ISO 400.

I had a unique experience with Mahmood of the Charleston Center for Photography, in that he took my photo with a medium format film camera using a Polaroid back, with very old B&W film donated by an industry insider. So I snapped this one. The Leica X2 sensor must be a very old generation, as the noise and image quality at ISO 800 are much worse than what I’d expect for an APS-C sensor and a great lens.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f2.8, 1/200 sec. handheld, ISO 800.

Amazing how noise eats into moderate low-light shots that could probably be done just as well with an iPhone. And this camera’s sensor is an APS-C.

Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, f2.8, 1/40 sec. handheld, ISO 800.