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D-Lux type 109 or Panasonic LX100. Choice now more difficult


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When the two cameras were first announced the prices (UK) were:

D-Lux £825

LX100 £799

This small (surprisingly so) difference of £26 made the D-Lux a bargain.

However Panasonic have now reduced their price to £699.

 

So now it's £126 difference and I've got to decide all over again!

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I've sort of persuaded myself that in the future it's possible that the resale values will differ by a similar amount so the cost of ownership would end up being much the same (although I'm hoping the LX100/D Lux will end up being a real keeper like my LC1 in which case the cost of ownership could be spread over several years).

 

I've never owned a Leica camera (whether a rebranded Panasonic or the Leica own-designs) and this is probably as close as I'm ever likely to get - so unless the price difference gets even larger my pre-order is staying with the D Lux :) Besides, I do think it looks nicer (not that looks should be important)!

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Hello Jon,

Good to see you here on the Leica forum. I know you from your contributions to the Pentax and Olympus forums.

 

I should warn you that buying a Leica is the start of an expensive though very rewarding addiction. I got hooked back in the 1970s when I bought a second hand M2 which I used for over thirty years. Though I now have a M240 I must say that the new D-Lux looks very attractive as there are many occasion when a smaller lighter camera with zoom and AF would be useful. Like you I have put in a pre-order.

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Panasonic jpeg engine is terrible.

They've done to the LX100 jpeg what they do to their travel zoom 1/2.33

 

Hopefully Dlux Typ 109 has Leica jpeg rendering.

 

 

If Digilux 2 repair service is anything to go by then Leica will repair Dlux Typ 109 for almost ten years. This alone makes it worthwhile.

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I've sort of persuaded myself that in the future it's possible that the resale values will differ by a similar amount so the cost of ownership would end up being much the same (although I'm hoping the LX100/D Lux will end up being a real keeper like my LC1 in which case the cost of ownership could be spread over several years).

 

I've never owned a Leica camera (whether a rebranded Panasonic or the Leica own-designs) and this is probably as close as I'm ever likely to get - so unless the price difference gets even larger my pre-order is staying with the D Lux :) Besides, I do think it looks nicer (not that looks should be important)!

 

In my experience, the Leica variant always holds it's price much better than the Panny and it 'opens doors' when part exchanging too.

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Hello Archie - thanks for the welcome over here: it's a friendly place! I must admit that of all the FF systems, the Leica one makes the most sense to me because of its portability and fabulous compact lens system (compared to SLR) but I must stop thinking that! I've been playing with some of the images at Imaging Resource and, if you ignore the pixel peepers in the forums at DePressing Review, they look pretty good to me. I'm looking forward to November :D

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Thanks, Jon,

There do seem to be a lot of rather dismal comments about a camera none of us have had a chance to use yet. Sean Reid in his (paid for) review regarded it as a pretty decent lens though he did comment on some softness in the corners which he attributed to the effects of interpolation due to the software correction of distortions. This is now a widely used technique specially when a quart lens is being squeezed into a pint pot. I had a look at some raw files opened in RawTherapee which does not correct aberrations automatically and there is quite a lot of barrel distortion at the wide end. This does not bother me as in the sort of pictures I expect to take most of the action is in the centre of the frame. If I want to do pin sharp landscapes I will use my M240 with a good Leica prime lens stopped down and mounted on a tripod.

I think the D-Lux will be a great camera for family outings, social events and grandchildren's parties when you do not want the photography to get in the way of the fun. I may even be tempted to use the video on such occasions.

 

Now I am getting impatient waiting for the camera to arrive. My dealer suggested early November or with a bit of luck late October.

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Thanks, Jon,

There do seem to be a lot of rather dismal comments about a camera none of us have had a chance to use yet. Sean Reid in his (paid for) review regarded it as a pretty decent lens though he did comment on some softness in the corners which he attributed to the effects of interpolation due to the software correction of distortions. This is now a widely used technique specially when a quart lens is being squeezed into a pint pot. I had a look at some raw files opened in RawTherapee which does not correct aberrations automatically and there is quite a lot of barrel distortion at the wide end. This does not bother me as in the sort of pictures I expect to take most of the action is in the centre of the frame. If I want to do pin sharp landscapes I will use my M240 with a good Leica prime lens stopped down and mounted on a tripod.

I think the D-Lux will be a great camera for family outings, social events and grandchildren's parties when you do not want the photography to get in the way of the fun. I may even be tempted to use the video on such occasions.

 

Now I am getting impatient waiting for the camera to arrive. My dealer suggested early November or with a bit of luck late October.

 

congratulations and more:

the D-Lux type 109 could end up being the only one camera you need.

 

klaus-michael - mike -

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Thanks, Jon,

There do seem to be a lot of rather dismal comments about a camera none of us have had a chance to use yet. Sean Reid in his (paid for) review regarded it as a pretty decent lens though he did comment on some softness in the corners which he attributed to the effects of interpolation due to the software correction of distortions. This is now a widely used technique specially when a quart lens is being squeezed into a pint pot. I had a look at some raw files opened in RawTherapee which does not correct aberrations automatically and there is quite a lot of barrel distortion at the wide end. This does not bother me as in the sort of pictures I expect to take most of the action is in the centre of the frame. If I want to do pin sharp landscapes I will use my M240 with a good Leica prime lens stopped down and mounted on a tripod.

I think the D-Lux will be a great camera for family outings, social events and grandchildren's parties when you do not want the photography to get in the way of the fun. I may even be tempted to use the video on such occasions.

 

Now I am getting impatient waiting for the camera to arrive. My dealer suggested early November or with a bit of luck late October.

 

I don't pay too much attention to the pixel peepers at DPR.... I rarely print above A4, sometimes A3; most of my wide angle shots are likely to be stopped down a little (less of a problem with corner sharpness) and at telephoto the borders and corners are likely to be out of focus in any case. From Focus Numerique it looks like the lens performs well wide open at longer focal lengths, and does best around f4-8 at wide angle....seems like the designers made the right compromises to me.

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

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IMHO Don't think the choice is hard at all.

Whatever the price difference, what's the use of buying any camera if it says "Panasonic" on top and when you know you won't ever be able to sell it and in addition the new price of it is reduced by 10% each month ?

The Leica version at least retains some value over time (although in the case of these compacts not that much either).

If we look at the awesome Leica version ... that minimalistic timeless Leica look alone is worth the price of the D-Lux to me and no, I am not joking.

I don't care even if they were to give the LX100 to me.

I pre-ordered the Leica type 109.

Never even considered the LX100.

Leica is one of the main reasons I love photography so much.

Edited by simfan
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IMHO Don't think the choice is hard at all.

Whatever the price difference, what's the use of buying any camera if it says "Panasonic" on top and when you know you won't ever be able to sell it and in addition the new price of it is reduced by 10% each month ?

 

 

You're talking nonsense, and you probably know it.

 

But Panasonic and Leica can be glad to have buyers like you.

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HDmobile I really understand this might sound non-sense but to me (and many other people here I reckon) it makes *a lot* of sense.

I also know what I want and am prepared to pay for it.

I love photography.

Leica and Nikon have been a great joy of my life.

I don't really understand people moaning about the rather small price difference between the

Pany and Leica versions.

I may take thousands of pics with the D-Lux each year so what would I care about that ?

I would probably get the Leica anyway, whatever the cost.

What I also truly mean is ... why get a 'Panasonic' camera that says 'Leica' on the lens ?

Would you also buy a car with both 'Ford' and 'BMW' written on it ?

That's why I also fully understand people, like my father-in-law, buying real German Leica cameras.

Edited by simfan
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Simfan, you have for sure all the reasons to buy Leica cameras, but you are wrong with your opinion on the value of Panasonic cameras in resale. There is a market as well, for good prices once you've taken care of your camera. The FZ and LX cameras are high tech, otherwise they would not be rebadged by Leica. And this reflects in respectable resale prices as well, that's my point.

 

Anyway, here's a good read: http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/lx100_interview/

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HBmobile, re-sale value in general, AFAIK, of digicams and video cameras is terrible

, in Belgium anyway.

May be different in some countries that are in an economic crises ?

 

6 years ago, I had a Panasonic GS500 camcorder of 1.299 EURO in perfect condition and 2 years old.

Tried to sell it, for a year, at 500 EURO ... but had to let it go at 300 EURO, and with it quite some accessories to further sweeten the deal.

I also now tried to sell my D-Lux 4 at 250 EURO (300 USD), with also lots of extras as well, on several websites. No go.

Same problem with my Nikons (and ditto lenses!).

Also sold those at 1/3 of the original price, and lenses less than half.

Everything as new ... yet not a lot of buyers here.

Electronics without "special emotional attachment" to it, as crazy as it might be, hold little value.

Maybe Leica M9, M240 and such are different !?

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