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Stepping Up

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L1000212L (Leica X1)

Not long ago I sold my old Minolta Dynax/ Maxxum 5 which was claimed to be the lightest electronic SLR ever built. Before selling it, I tested it a bit to be sure and was thrilled to find how the AF was as fast as accurate. Once at the price range of intermediate cameras which was about the asking price for a higher end P&Ss these days, the Dynax 5 exceeds, as far as my experience goes, the 600D in handling and is on a par of the A77 in AF speed. It has only one wheel but with the toggle button nicely placed to the left of the lens mount position, the shift between aperture and shutter speed controls is speedy. That this design is not seen in the present-day DSLRs is probably more because of the internal construction than a matter of inattention. But the package overall is now seen only at the higher-end models. Of course, the DSLR can be said to be more a black box. 

While technology has been stepped up greatly, the preponderance of technology over traditional wisdom may have as well caused us to throw away the baby with the water.

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