LeicaZ2X

The Leica Z2X comes out of the last full decade of mass-market film, before APS and digital fought over the leftovers. Catalogued as a zoom compact, it pairs the Leica Vario-Elmar 35–70mm f/4–7.6 with a 35mm film path. A bit of background: successor to the Mini Zoom, lighter and with a more squared-off body.

Format

35mm

Year

1997

Lens

Leica Vario-Elmar 35–70mm f/4–7.6

Min. focus

0.6 m

Flash

Built-in multi-mode

Battery

1× CR123A

The Leica Vario-Elmar 35–70mm f/4–7.6 covers wide-to-short-tele in one barrel — one lens, no decisions, point and shoot. Film supply is a non-issue: any 35mm cassette from any lab works. A single CR123A lithium cell powers everything including the motor; still cheap and stocked at most camera shops. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 0.6 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. One thing worth knowing before you load a roll: one of the cheapest ways into a Leica-branded zoom on the used market. Built for family events, holidays and anything where you'd rather reframe than walk.

Zoom compacts are still the bargain corner of the film market — pick up the Leica Z2X cheap, run a roll through it and judge whether the convenience outweighs the slower aperture.

• §1Successor to the Mini Zoom, lighter and with a more squared-off body.
• §2One of the cheapest ways into a Leica-branded zoom on the used market.