Customer Reviews
Excellent value for money, if not quite a Leica 
2000-12-28
This is a great little everyday pocket camera. The quality of the pictures is great, and the camera has a nice no-nonsense feel to it. The plastic shell makes it feel as cheap as it is - and makes it obvious to anyone (including the user) that this is NOT a Leica as we know them.
The buttons and functions are a little weird, and getting the flash setting right for a quick shot can be awkward, but the zoom works very well. For some strange reason the film loads upside down, which is a pain in the neck when you're ordering reprints - but that's a minor nuisance that does not detract from the value of a great little camera at a great price.
Excellent quality 
2000-11-25
My dad bought this camera for family use about a year ago. I have used it several times and the pictures were of very high quality. Even though my friends took the same pictures on their cameras, the pictures I took with my camera turned out much better than theirs; they were much clearer. This camera is easy to use and the high quality compensates for its size (a little bigger than most other cameras). There is a new model supposedly smaller so you may want to check that out.
Leica Z2X Camera 2000-10-06
The Leica Z2X camera is possibly the best compact zoom camera currently on the market. The features are about equal to cameras of this kind but the overall quality of the workmanship is excellent. Everything works (functions) exactly like what is documented in the instructions. The quality of the photo's are excellent, most likely due the quality of the optics.
Draw backs: Plastic housing makes the camera feel cheap.
Performs like a premium slr 2006-05-09
I have owned slr cameras from the big three camera makers, so I was able to do shot-for-shot comparisons. I can tell you that the sum photographic quality produced by the Leica Z2-X camera is incredibly high. It's a lot better than 90% of the major camera manufacturer's lenses. I bought the Leica Z2-X solely for those spur-of-the-moment outdoor trips that might need a quick snapshot here and there, so this is the perfect backpacking and fishing camera. It's light and compact; the handling is pretty much like a standard point-and-shoot camera. The autoexposure and autofocusing is nearly flawless. For sample photos, go to flickr dot com.
Disappointed 
2002-01-30
Bought this camera in April 1999 having read several good reviews. Have to say I'm disappointed; the lens is undoubtedly sharp (though on normal size prints, the advantage is negligible) but the exposure/focus/flash system rarely gets it right. Exterior daylight shots, about one in four is OK. Inside or night, far less. Have tried different ISO rolls, different processors, variations on the manual settings as well as leaving it on fully auto, but no improvement. What is annoying is comparing with the shots taken under same conditions by friends with P+S Pentax etc. (Olympus seems expecially good). They paid half the price and get twice the result! Will not be buying another Leica compact again - have the impression I paid for the name and possibly the lens, but lost out on the rest.
Great Point and shoot. 2001-10-16
I love this camera. The lens is top notch ! Crisp and clear pictures are almost garenteed with this camera.
I carry mine in my pcoketbook for all those times I used to wish I had a cmera with me.
Leica Z2X - Light and fast. 2001-05-07
I own a Leica R7 SLR, but at times am reluctant to take it abroad because it would very expensive to replace if it were stolen. I bought this Leica P&S so that I could carry it in my jacket pocket or on my belt when travelling and get adequate results. It has been a good choice. It is far superior to most point and shoot compacts in that the lens is sharper. It is not an SLR however and enlargements or slides clearly show some limitations. But for most general applications, it is a fine camera.
Cheapest way to become a Leica owner! 2001-03-12
If you've always wanted to own a Leica but didn't want to spent thousands of dollars to do it, this camera is your chance. It's actually made in Singapore instead of Germany, if I remember right, but what the hell, you still get the Leica name and logo on your camera.
The camera is a little bulky compared to most of the other offerings out there, but it's okay. It has most of the features of a typical point and shoot, but the main thing here is the sharpness of the lens. The short zoom lens is very sharp and takes excellent photos.
Since we're on the subject of point and shoot cameras I wanted to make a little plug here for a great little APS point and shoot camera that isn't carried... This is the little Fuji Tiara APS. It's super tiny (the dimensions are less than a credit card) and although it is a fixed-focal length lens, it's very sharp. It's also wide-angle as the focal length of the lens would be equivalent to 29.2 degrees in 35mm format.
I've been using mine for over a year and have been very happy with it. I've had several of the photos I took with it blown up to 8 x 12 and hung on my office wall, and I've gotten lots of compliments on how sharp the photos are, especially given the smaller size of the APS negative.
There are two Tiara models, one in titanium for about...and the other with a plastic body for about... I have the plastic one and it easily fits in your shirt pocket. At 4.6 ounces you hardly know it is there. The camera got a great review in Popular Photography magazine a year ago from the reviewer. Can't recall the guy's name, but he's a famous camera expert and writer/reviewer and he basically loved it and he's not easily impressed usually.
One of the other nice features is that the Tiara supports mid-roll film change, which not all APS cameras offer. With this you remove the APS cassette, put in another one with a higher or lower ASA rating, for example, and when you're through, you put in the original roll of film and it spools back to where it left off originally.
This is another great little camera in case you don't want to spend the money for the Leica.
