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Jan Moeckel.

21 June 2026

The CCD look of the Olympus XZ-1 — what other photographers say

After recently singing the praises of my XZ-1, I wanted to know more: am I imagining the special "CCD look", or do other photographers feel the same way? I've worked my way through reviews, forums and blogs from Germany, the USA and Japan — here's what I found.

A brief history of the camera

The XZ-1 appeared in early 2011 and was the first compact camera to receive Olympus's prestigious Zuiko label, previously reserved for DSLR lenses. It launched at around €479 and positioned itself firmly in the premium segment — competing with cameras such as the Canon PowerShot G12, Panasonic LX5, Nikon Coolpix P7000, Fujifilm X100 and even the Leica X1.

A large sensor for its class

With its 1/1.63″ CCD, the XZ-1 was among the compact cameras with the largest sensor in its class in 2011 — only the Panasonic LX5 played in the same league, while the Canon G12, Nikon P7000 and Ricoh GRD III had to make do with smaller 1/1.7″ sensors. There is a persistent rumour in Japanese user forums that the CCD was actually made by Panasonic — this has never been officially confirmed, and I'd treat it as an insider anecdote rather than established fact.

What exactly is the "CCD look"?

This is where it gets interesting, because opinions diverge. Several German and Swiss sources describe CCD images as softer and more organic compared to the often "clinical" look of modern CMOS sensors. A current English-language photo blog confirms this impression: rich, organic colours, especially in skin tones and greens — with the caveat that modern CMOS sensors are objectively superior in every measurable respect.

Not everyone is so romantic about it. One technically minded commentator disagrees strongly: CCD and CMOS share the same underlying physics, and visible differences are almost always due to image processing — tone mapping and noise reduction — rather than the sensor itself. He categorises the current CCD hype as a fashion phenomenon among young people, comparable to the VHS aesthetic. A Japanese blog reaches a very similar sober conclusion.

Voices about the XZ-1 specifically

Reviewers from then and now broadly agree: at low ISO values the XZ-1 delivers very good image quality — sufficient for prints up to about 28 × 43 cm. The Phoblographer even described the camera's RAW files as the most versatile of any compact camera tested, with the best colour depth and dynamic range in the test. DPReview praised the crisp "Natural" mode with reliable exposure and white balance. And well-known Olympus blogger Robin Wong described the colours in 2022 as beautiful and vibrant, almost oversaturated — but never artificial-looking.

Who actually shoots with the XZ-1?

An honest answer upfront: world-famous names like Steve McCurry or Annie Leibovitz don't appear here — the XZ-1 was positioned in 2011 as a professional second camera or ambitious amateur camera, not as a "signature" camera like the Leica M. There are, however, a few names with genuine industry connections: Jeff Schewe, who contributed to Adobe Camera Raw workflows, reviewed the camera in 2011 for Luminous Landscape. And travel photographer Ibraar Hussain used the XZ-1, according to a report on Steve Huff Photo, as his main camera on expeditions through the Hindu Kush and Punjab — small and light enough to always carry, while his Contax G2 and Fuji GA645 stayed in his bag.

The retro hype: Japan and the West

In Japan particularly, a real trend for old compact digital cameras has developed since around 2022. On social media they are seen as compact and cute, the photos taken with them as "emoi" — emotional, nostalgic — a little like the Lomo or Holga trend of the early 2000s. Prices for used CCD cameras have risen noticeably as a result. In the West the trend is so far smaller and largely confined to a collector and enthusiast scene, but it exists here too.

My conclusion

After all this reading, the positive perception of the CCD look seems to me genuinely shared — but also subjective. Whether it really comes down to the sensor or more to the image processing of that era and a little nostalgia: the XZ-1 remains for me one of the most fascinating compact cameras of its generation. And that's precisely why I'm still happy to take it out with me.

21 June 2026

My Olympus XZ-1 — compact, bright, full of character

If you know me, you'll know that photography has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started out entirely analogue — black-and-white film, home development, hours spent in the darkroom. That time shaped the way I see, and perhaps it explains why cameras with CCD sensors still appeal to me more than the newer CMOS models.

My current companion is the Olympus XZ-1, a small premium compact from 2011. Olympus gave it the prestigious Zuiko label for the first time on a compact lens — rightly so, because with maximum apertures of f/1.8 to f/2.5, it was the brightest lens ever fitted to a compact camera at launch. That shows in low light: the camera manages with lower ISO values, which suits the CCD sensor, since it reaches its limits at high sensitivity sooner than modern sensors.

Speaking of the sensor: the 1/1.63″ CCD with 10 megapixels is tiny and not particularly high-resolution by today's standards. Yet — or perhaps because of that — I love the results. CCD sensors have a character all their own for me: rich colours, a pleasing tonality and a certain "filmic" quality that I've valued since my analogue beginnings. The built-in Sensor-Shift image stabilisation compensates for minor camera shake, so handheld shots in low light still come out well.

In the gallery above you'll find a few first shots taken with the XZ-1. More to follow once I'm out again.