This is a fun camera! The Leica SOFORT 2 is a 4.9-megapixel digital camera with a built-in printer. While not optimized for expert photographers, the SOFORT 2 is a crowd pleaser.

Overview
I took the sample Leica SOFORT 2 to a local Farmers’ Market and photographed about 15 people. 100% loved it at first sight and nearly all of them misidentified it as a Polaroid — understandable, since Polaroid is synonymous with Instant Print Camera in most American minds. Everyone said they liked the print I handed them. Some even shook it like we used to in the old days, hoping to speed up the lethargic Polaroid development process. One commented that on the back of the print it reads, “Don’t put in mouth.”

As a 4.92 (1920 x 2560 pixels) digital camera, the Leica SOFORT 2 is a fun (but big) toy. Image quality doesn’t match a modern smartphone, and the prints are very small. But the large (4.8 inches across) red camera attracted positive attention and broke the ice with shy subjects.

I can easily imagine the Leica SOFORT 2 being the absolute life of any party, delivering on-the-spot prints and making even the most recalcitrant participants happy. As a serious, or even semiserious photographic tool, not so much. But then again, it’s designed to be a Vulcan mind meld between digital and instant, so it exceeds its marketing goal.

Key Features
4.9-megapixel sensor (1920 x 2560)
Leica Summar f/2 lens (28mm equivalent)
3-inch TFT LCD (460,000 dots)
1⁄4–1⁄8000s shutter speed range
ISO 100 to 1600
Close focus to about 4 inches (10cm)
10 “Lensstyles” (creative modes)
10 “Filmstyles” (creative print modes)
Saves images on internal memory or MicroSD card
Compatible with the Leica FOTOS app
Rechargeable, nonremovable battery
About 100 shots per charge
Dimensions: 3.4 x 4.8 x 1.7 inches (87 x 123 x 44 mm)
Weight: 11.3 ounces (320 g)
Size of image area on print: 2.4 x 1.8 inches (62 x 46 mm)
YouTube video here

Operation
Simple and easy to use. Control layout is designed for vertical (portrait) orientation.

Frame the subject on the 3-inch LCD and press the button. Images are stored digitally. Printing is optional. To print, operate the lever that’s located on the back near the top — exactly where one expects to find a film advance lever on a 35mm camera. A few seconds later a print emerges.

There are 10 creative modes (Leica calls them “Lensstyles”) that produce popular special effects: Vignette, Soft Focus, Blur, Fisheye, Color Shift, Light Leak, Mirror, Double Exposure, Half-Frame and of course Normal.

Similarly, there are 10 “Filmstyles,” namely: Normal, Vivid, Pale, Canvas, Monochrome, Sepia, Yellow, Red, Blue and Retro.

Users can transfer and print images via the Leica FOTOS App Gallery, even those captured with a different compatible Leica camera.

Image Quality
The digital images get an enthusiastic “not bad” from me, compared to other 5-megapixel cameras. The sample I borrowed for this review overexposed nearly every shot by about 1/3 of a stop. Fortunately, the camera allows manual over/under exposure bias adjustment.

The majority of the digital images were overly contrasty, with blown highlights and blocked shadows. The printed images, of course, were also. The low-resolution print engine didn’t help matters much. Output (print) resolution is 1600 x 600 pixels (800 x 600 pixels for output via the Leica FOTOS app). Overall, print quality is on par with similar instant cameras.

Conclusion
Instant print cameras are popular with certain demographics and it’s easy to see why. Sharing hardcopy prints with your friends is a blast — provided you have the do-re-mi to pay for minimal-quality prints that run you roughly $1.50 each.

Birthday party? Family reunion? The Leica SOFORT 2 will be a smash hit. But the high cost of the consumables may limit its appeal.

Price & Availability
The Leica SOFORT 2 costs $389 and is available in black, white or red. Camera, film packs and accessories can be ordered directly from Leica or purchased from a Leica Store or  Authorized Leica Dealer.

Scorecard

Pros
• Fun to use
• Reasonably good digital image quality
• Instant, on-demand printing
• Well made and thoughtfully designed
• Leica brand name panache

Cons
• Limited dynamic range
• Minimal exposure control
• High cost per print

—Jon Sienkiewicz

One big challenge for all of us who shoot landscapes is creating order out of expansive, chaotic scenes, and that’s why good composition skills are so important for this genre of photography. And one of the first framing techniques we all learn from the get-go is the familiar Rule of Thirds.

While this compositional technique may be great for those just starting out, there are other ways to set up a shot that often deliver interesting images that can be far more compelling—as you’ll see in this eye-opening tutorial from one of our favorite landscape photographers.

Mads Peter Iversen is a Dutch pro who regularly shares the secrets to his outstanding imagery. He kicks of today’s video with a statement that’s about as blunt as can be: “Stop using the Rules of Thirds.” He insists that you can elevate your photographic skills by going beyond this simplistic technique.

Iversen explains his aversion to the Rule of Thirds, including why this approach can easily “throw a photo out of balance.” He then demonstrates several framing methods he greatly prefers, one of which he refers to as the “Tool of Space.” Like his other suggestions, this one is easy to employ if you’re willing to look at things in a different way.

There are a few simple concepts to understand when taking this approach. One of the most important is this: If the scene includes a person, animal (or even inanimate objects like a boat), it’s imperative that the front of the subject points inward toward the center of the frame rather than outward toward one of the edges of the image. Otherwise, “it just looks weird.”

There’s another technique that is very effective when the opportunity arises. This one involves concentrating on repeating patterns when composing an image. Iversen explains why this method is so effective: “Generally we human beings can’t avoid seeing obvious patterns when we’re out in nature because we all love order.”

Thus, accentuating these patterns within the frame goes a long way to raising the esthetics of an image. In one of his examples he positions the roof of a small, colorful structure so that it mirrors the shape of the mountain in the background. The other photos you’ll see employ patterns in different and very effective ways.

These are just two of the seven techniques that Iversen demonstrates in this 13-minute episode, and they all have the power to significantly boost the impact of an image. So try a few of these compositional suggestions the next time you’re out in the field, and we think you’ll be very impressed with the results you achieve.

Iversen’s instructional YouTube channel contains a wealth of information for everyone who shoots in the great outdoors. So be sure to pay a visit and put his professional advice to work.

And speaking of nature photography, don’t miss the tutorial we featured with another accomplished pro who explains why and how you should try shooting telephoto landscapes instead of using the wide-angle lens you always reach for first.

Most experienced photographers turn up their noses at the Program exposure mode, preferring to shoot in Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual. But as you’ll see in this quick video from the Great Big Photography World channel, there are situations under which this “beginner” mode makes total sense—even if you have advanced skills.

Inexperienced shooters often choose Program because this setting transfers most exposure decisions to the camera, thereby enabling them to concentrate on other key considerations like composition. There is a bit of flexibility in this basic mode, because you’re still able to set ISO yourself, thereby maintaining a modicum of control, even if other exposure settings are calculated automatically.

Today’s unnamed instructor explains several reasons when Program mode makes sense, even for shooters who think, “I know what I’m doing.” So set aside your skepticism for just three minutes and you just may be convinced to give this convenient approach a try..

One example works well for outdoor photography when the light is changing rapidly, like on days when small clouds are flowing across the sky and the sun is momentarily blocked before popping out into the open. Under conditions like this letting the camera set aperture and shutter speed is particularly helpful so you don’t have to repeatedly change settings as the light changes.

When shooting in Program you’ll want to pay close attention to the shutter speed chosen, especially on windy days with subject movement so that your images are sharp. This is one reason that the ability to manipulate ISO can come to the rescue. Some cameras even have a Program Shift  feature that enables you quickly override the camera if need be—simply by rotating a Command dial.

Program mode can also be beneficial when capturing candid environmental portraits or wildlife photographs when subjects move in and out of shade, and you’re unsure if you can react fast enough to get the light exactly right.

The bottom line is this: We’re not trying to change your mind if you’re comfortable shooting in Manual or one of the semi-automatic exposure modes. Rather, we just don’t want you to ignore your camera’s Program setting on those occasions when it will help you nail a fleeting moment.

The Great Big Photography World YouTube channel is full of straightforward shooting and editing lessons like this one. So be sure to take a look and explore what’s available.

And if you’re interested in learning another unconventional technique, check out the recent tutorial we featured that explains why and how you should experiment with telephoto landscape photography instead of always reaching for a wide-angle lens.