Leica and Panasonic question.

[RobK]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hello,

I am new to the forum.

 

I am sorry if this has been asked before, but I can not seem to hunt it down,and I need an answer pretty much ASAP.

 

I am looking at the V-Lux, and the Panasonic twin. The Leica is 300-400 buck more that the other one is.

 

They look the same to me pretty much. And I am better the guts of them looks the same. But I wonder how the firmware is, or may be different.

 

I want the best I can get, but then again, I do not want to pay for something that's not there, and a RED dot. I am getting the camera for the Optics, not the name in the front.

 

I also have been looking at the D-Lux 3. But I hear is has a bad shutter lag. Can any one tell me?

 

I have different needs that either camera would fill. From Nature and candid to Street style photography. I also do a lot of Black and White work.

 

If the cameras are basically the say, then I will get the cheaper one and get some software that I want. But if the Leica takes the better images, well then you know the answer to that.

 

I also want to run something by you in closing.

 

I read some reviews on a camera website on both the V-Lux and its twin. What I found kind of odd, and the the Leica was getting bad comments on how bad it was in low light, and hard to focus and all that. But the Panasonic was getting much better reviews on that area. Like they were 2 different cameras.

 

Can this all be firmware/??

 

Many thanks,

 

RobK

[earleygallery]

I don't have experience of the cameras you mention but essentially they are the same. The Leica versions do have different firmware to give more natural and less contrasty colours than the Panasonics (average consumers generally like punchy colourful results it seems).

 

So why are you paying more? The Leica will have (I think - check it yourself) better software supplied with the camera - useful if you don't already have some - better accessories and a better warranty. The other reason is of course that Leica as a company have a different cost base to Panasonic, so it will cost them more to make the same product in effect.

 

Bear in mind also that the Leica will be easier to sell/worth more if you decide to trade up to another camera at a later stage.

[steich]

When I bought my Digilux 2 about 2 1/2 years ago, I had to make the same decision. Back then I thought "when I want to sell it again, the Pana will be just another old digital camera...and the Leica will still be a Leica". A bit snobby, but last month I sold the Digilux for more than half the price I had paid for it (and I kept the SF24 flash that had come for free with it)- the customer said: "WOW! A Leica!" And he is still very glad with it.

Another point: warranty and service. I don´t know how Pana handle this, but after having 2 or 3 failures with my DL2, I am glad to have the Leica version. All repairs/ replacements without any trouble, for free...and fast!

Regards

Stefan

[RobK]

When I bought my Digilux 2 about 2 1/2 years ago, I had to make the same decision. Back then I thought "when I want to sell it again, the Pana will be just another old digital camera...and the Leica will still be a Leica". A bit snobby, but last month I sold the Digilux for more than half the price I had paid for it (and I kept the SF24 flash that had come for free with it)- the customer said: "WOW! A Leica!" And he is still very glad with it.

Another point: warranty and service. I don´t know how Pana handle this, but after having 2 or 3 failures with my DL2, I am glad to have the Leica version. All repairs/ replacements without any trouble, for free...and fast!

Regards

Stefan

Stefan,

I can see your point on this. The D2 cameras are bringing a big price on the used market for sure.

 

Thank you for the information.

 

Rob

[tiefi676]

I owned the FZ50 and I brought it back to the store - the noise was too much/the software to reduce the noise made its job to "good" an a lot of details were lost. Then - maybe a month later - I bought the V-Lux. And yes, the image quality (jpeg) is better: there is less noise and more details. I don't konw if there is a difference in RAW-files.

 

In low-ligth-conditions the autofocus is slow and the pictures are sometimes not sharp.

[Leicamateur]

Hello,

I am new to the forum.

 

I am sorry if this has been asked before, but I can not seem to hunt it down,and I need an answer pretty much ASAP.

 

 

RobK

 

With a little effort you can find lots of information on your questions in this forum! I really suggest you take your time to really search the forum rather than post this in a forum where it really doesn't belong.

Why am I even posting in reply to this? Because I'm an admin on another forum and if lots of people post in wrong forums it's giving the admins and mods a hard time.

It also can spoil the fun for other members if there are threads in a forum with content which doesn't fit.

 

Please don't take it personal, just try to get the right forum and everyone is happy (and you can be sure to get more replies if its in the right forum).

Ultimately there is a very simple solution to your problem.

Take your SD card, if you don't have one, buy one. Go to the next camera shop and test both cameras.. back at home you can carefully examine the pictures you shot with both cameras and judge which one you like more, I do this when I want to buy a camera and I'm not sure. It's always better to judge by yourself than just to listen to what other people have to say.

[farnz]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

... I really suggest you take your time to really search the forum rather than post this in a forum where it really doesn't belong...

Okay, Marc, you've tweaked my curiosity: where do you suggest that a thread about the differences between a V-Lux 1 and an FX50 belongs if not in the digital forum?

 

Pete.

[philipotto]

Okay, Marc, you've tweaked my curiosity: where do you suggest that a thread about the differences between a V-Lux 1 and an FX50 belongs if not in the digital forum?

 

Pete.

 

Pete,

This thread used to reside in About the Leica Forum.

 

I just moved it.

 

Cheers,

Philip

[farnz]

Thanks, Philip, now it makes sense. I thought I might be having a 'senior' moment!

 

Pete.

[Riley]

typically the differences are

• firmware refinements
  
• software supplied
  
• card size supplied
  
• warranty period and conditions
  

resale is inevitably different too

[Alessandro Fanchin]

See this previous thread:

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/digital-forum/21798-leica-digilux-3-panasonic-dmc-l1.html

[neelin]

Leica version. All repairs/ replacements without any trouble, for free...and fast!

 

In geologic time frames the 6 weeks my M8 has SO FAR been away for repairs is less than a blink in the eye, so I guess "fast" is a matter of framing. Unfortunately for me (and a bonus for Leica), the M8 is like crack. I had to buy another to keep me company. It is running flawlessly (2nd version).

 

robert