Jon Sienkiewicz

Sharpen your shooting skills by giving yourself an “assignment.”

After one of their most dramatic marketing build-ups in recent times, Leica unveiled the X Vario camera on June 11. I was fortunate to get a working sample—for just a few days—and put it through its paces. Here are my impressions.

The only thing better than owning a high-end compact camera is owning two of the same model. At the risk of sounding extravagant or greedy, let me explain.

It’s a good thing that early photographers didn’t have to pass through airport security with their flash equipment. The pyrotechnics they used to light a scene would surely have merited more than a pat down. Many years ago, long before the flash tube or flashbulb, a century or so before the Flashcube, cameramen used a flash powder called thermite.