Panasonic LF1: New Leica?

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According to the 43 rumors site, Panasonic will be announcing a new high end compact in late April. It will have a fixed mount zoom lens. No word on sensor size or viewfinder. The name alone makes me wonder if this is the long awaited follow-on of the L1 and, thus, if a Leica version is also forthcoming. Something to bridge the gap betwixt the D-Lux 6 and the X2 perhaps?

 

Alan.

[Lee Martin]

This is one to watch . It would be worth considering if it's got a fast enough lens and large sized sensor, with a reasonable degree of portability .

[jjb]

Yes, lets watch this one closely.

 

My wishlist includes the RX100 1" sensor, 28mm wide end and 70mm+ zoom end, integrated hi-res EVF, f2.0, and full manual controls incl manual focus ring, w/peaking. In other words, an updated and refined Digilux 2.

 

Is such a spec list feasible given the laws of physics (would it be too big)? Also, does it fit logically within Panny's (and Leica's) product lineups (make good business sense)? Eg, not sure it fits well for Leica if X2 sits above it at $2K.

 

Oh well, just dreaming again, I guess.

[Guest]

LF1 = lumix future one / leica future one ???

 

new rumor information 1" sensor, no. // 2/3 sensor, no. // 1/1,7 sensor, perhaps

 

leica-lens 28mm (KB) aperture 1,4 ? wait and see

 

wbg klaus-michael

[Lee Martin]

It will be interesting to see where/if Leica decide to fit a clone of it Into the range. The sensor will have to be larger than the D Lux6 , but presumably not as big as to effect sales of the X2 with the APSC sensor. But at the same time be able to sell for a competative price, and with the lens being fast enough compared to the DLux which is now impressive enough for a compact. The obvious comparison is the Sony RX100 which has a host of features selling already for about £200 below the D Lux 6 price . I'll be watching with interest as the concept sounds like a good and useful one.

[Lee Martin]

Amazon.com selling the Panasonic LX7 for $289. That's nearly free. Making space for he LF 1 then ??

[mjh]

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Now that the LF1 has been officially announced, it doesn’t look like a replacement for the LX7 – it is more like a sibling.

[vikasmg]

Now that the LF1 has been officially announced, it doesn’t look like a replacement for the LX7 – it is more like a sibling.

The maximum aperture goes from f2 to f5.9. I thought f5.9 was somewhat disappointing but I it will be interesting to see how the change in aperture is stepped down as the focal length increases.

 

- Vikas

[bill]

No viewfinder = toy.

 

No thanks.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

Sent from another Galaxy

[mjh]

No viewfinder = toy.

Having a viewfinder is part of what differentiates the LF1 from the LX7, which has none – except as an optional accessory. It is a 200,000 pixel electronic viewfinder, but better than nothing. Having said that, apart from the added viewfinder and the increased zoom range, the LX7 is the more capable camera.

[Lee Martin]

It was suggested prior to release that this was going to be a " high end" compact, well it's not . I was quite excited by the concept or a modified Leica clone, but I'm not interested having seen it. The Sony RX100 is already better and cheaper

[Guest badbob]

I remember the original announcement, looked at the zoom range out to 200mm, the built-in viewfinder, the very slim body even with such a long zoom, and I thought -- how does Panasonic manage to beat the LX7 so handily on weight, size (especially thickness), zoom range (200mm to LX7's 90mm), and still include a viewfinder, and not have cut some drastic corners in quality?