Leica point and shoot
I know I said I wasn’t going to focus on the red dot too much, but to my mind this camera really lets it down! Hold it next to the or the Nikon AF3 or even Olympus Mju-ii and by comparison it feels extremely low end. It feels quite (a lot) plasticky, it creaks when you squeeze it, and the plastic has a very cheap feel and look to it. It does feel quite cheap though, especially considering the Leica branding on it. The viewfinder is pretty decent too, bright and clear, not massive but not tiny either, and doesn’t feel like you are looking through a keyhole like the Olympus Mju-ii and Pentax Espio mini do. It’s also well shaped for a reasonably comfortable grip and quite well designed with the lens far enough from the right hand (when holding it) side that the lens doesn’t interact with your fingers when using it.
It’s actually fairly comfortable to hold though too. It’s quite a small camera the Leica Mini… I suppose being called “mini”, you would hope so too really.
Yet, regardless of this, the used value of these cameras seems relatively high for what they appear to be. One way or another, whilst it might have a Leica “red dot” on it, it’s provenance appears a little questionable. I’ve read that the Leica Mini was made by Minolta, Panasonic and I’m pretty sure I’ve read of at least one other OEM mentioned too. I must admit I know very little about Leica compact cameras, and it would seem after reading a little bit on the Internet, nor do many other people.
Intrigue definitely got the better of me with the Leica Mini.