iZuiko and XZ-1: First Impressions

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Off he went with my credit card

6mm (14mm equiv.), f/1.8, 1/50s, ISO200

I got a text message last Friday from my dealer, "your XZ-1 is here!"

I was on leave that day, and my daughter got a flu bug; thus, I didn't have the time to pick it up. And actually to go all the way to KL on a Friday is like suicide because of the traffic mayhem.

So, I only managed to get it yesterday. Yes, the ordeal of having to wait an extra day was a bit tough for me, but my family is always first!

A quick drive on the NPE on a Saturday, and I here I was at Leo's Ampang Park. The XZ-1 was there, waiting for its master to claim it!

After testing some shots and applying the screen protector, the deal was done. Yippeee...

I got the camera quite late in the day; only managed to snap a few shots. But my first impression was "just" excellent. I was expecting excellent, but... here's why!

• I am startled at how the lens cap is shoved off its position at startup (need to tie it up real quick, or you might lose it) :: 1- point
• The handling is excellent, as the camera and lens has the perfect balance (considering the lens is pretty huge!) :: 5+ points
• The tactile response is reminisce Canon S90, though the ring cannot do zooming :: 2- points
• The lens is awesome! :: 20+ points
• The Jpeg is awesome! :: 10+ points
• In-camera editing as in the E-5 :: 10+ points
• There's no AEL/AFL button, but not a big deal to me considering I am super casual with a compact camera :: 5- points
• The Auto ISO tend to stick to ISO200, even when the shutter is below the typical human freezing motion speed of 1/30s; this is super unacceptable for a compact camera!!! :: 20- points
• There's a menu function to attach the TCON-17; half-yippeeee, because I only have the WCON-07!! (Aaaarrrrggghhh.. just checked my adapter won't fit the XZ-1 thread!!) 2- points
• Well, the rest are as I expected coming from a compact camera

A few more shots that I managed to capture... more to come soon!

*** NOTE *** :: Lens equivalence is depicted in 4/3 format (in which I am very familiar with).

A 1cm macro shot of the typical TV remote

This is much better than the S90

Mind-boggling-sharpness low light shot at low ISO

6mm (14mm equiv.), f/1.8, 1/13s, ISO200

Notice the thin DoF,

even at wide open it can miss a few centimeters of pan-lock focus parallax error

12.9mm (25mm equiv.), f2.0, 1/13s, ISO200, -0.3ev