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[Guest malland]

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...and Panasonic is well behind Nikon and Canon in digital technology.

That's not a particulalry helpful comment and largely irrelevant for people who find that a Leica/Panasonic camera has what they want.

 

—Mitch/Potomac, MD

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

[Guest tummydoc]

However it is a true statement, and both helpful and relevant to the O.P who is in a quandary as to what to purchase, even if it hurts the feelings of and is irrelevant to those who have spent their money on the Panasonic and Leicasonic cameras and are satisfied with their level of performance. From the sound of things the O.P.'s photographic acumen is probably closer to mine than yours, therefore I propose he would be happier with a camera that doesn't demand as much postprocessing skill and experience to massage RAW output into satisfying prints. This I say from personal experience, having owned several of the Leicasonics thus far and burnt far too much midnight oil endeavouring to get prints on par with what my D70 (let alone the D200) give me by simply plugging the memory card into the printer slot and accepting the defaults. Being preemptive to the counter that will surely follow, the fact you can produce more compelling photography with a Leicasonic than I could produce with a Nikon says as little about the instrument itself as the fact I could make a cleaner incision with a boxcutter than you could with a laser.

[Guest malland]

However it is a true statement, and both helpful and relevant to the O.P who is in a quandary as to what to purchase, even if it hurts the feelings of and is irrelevant to those who have spent their money on the Panasonic and Leicasonic cameras and are satisfied with their level of performance.

Not really. Speaking of small-sensor cameras, the Canon G7 does not have RAW and cannot be a seriously considered for making large prints the way a Ricoh GR-D or GX100 or a Leica D-Lux 3/Panasonic LX2 can, or a V-Lux 1, for that matter; and Nikon does not have a small-sensor camera that is in this class.

 

Have you actually used any of these small-sensor cameras, or are you simply repeating opinions that you have read on the web?

 

—Mitch/Potomac, MD

[Guest tummydoc]

I said nothing about the G7 or any small-sensor camera besting the Leicasonics, you're simply setting up straw men so as to knock them down. The O.P. posed an open question of what to purchase and said nothing about the camera having to fit in his pocket, only that he preferred something that wasn't overly bulky and heavy. A Nikon D40X for example, would fit his criteria nicely, and handily trounce the Leicasonics and any other sub-APS-C camera for prints > 8x10 and/or ISO >400.

[jaapv]

I said nothing about the G7 or any small-sensor camera besting the Leicasonics, you're simply setting up straw men so as to knock them down. The O.P. posed an open question of what to purchase and said nothing about the camera having to fit in his pocket, only that he preferred something that wasn't overly bulky and heavy. A Nikon D40X for example, would fit his criteria nicely, and handily trounce the Leicasonics and any other sub-APS-C camera for prints > 8x10 and/or ISO >400.

 

I think a Leica Digilux2 would fit both your and his requirements admirably. Have you ever tried one? It is an excellent Jpg camera, and despite its lowly specs, the lens helps it produce prints up to A4 that easily compete with any of the current mid-range DSLR's, at least at lower ISO.

[leica dream]

Vinay & Mitch,

Wow! this has opened up the debate very considerably and is valuable discussion................but has also increased my confusion. As Vinay has observed, I am indeed extremely amateur and want good quality pictures after applying "reasonable" care and attention to detail.

My decision day is Friday (27th) when I intend finalising my choice as I shall be visiting my nearest Leica dealer who is 60 miles away. All the input I have had through this forum has equipped me at least with some interesting questions to ask the dealer, as well as steering me in what to look for when handling each model before finalising my choice.

I suppose where I am coming from is to get a good quality digital camera which over time I can I can learn with to perfect my digital technique. The lens on the VLUX attracts me particularly because of the wide optical zoom capability and Leica quality, yet the camera seems to have considerable flexibility without having overly complex setting controls whoever has constructed the electronics.

As ever, I am most grateful to everyone in this debate for taking time to share all your experience with me.

Richard

[Guest tummydoc]

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I think a Leica Digilux2 would fit both your and his requirements admirably. Have you ever tried one? It is an excellent Jpg camera, and despite its lowly specs, the lens helps it produce prints up to A4 that easily compete with any of the current mid-range DSLR's, at least at lower ISO.

 

I not only tried one, I owned one. The viewfinder was dreadful compared to an SLR or a rangefinder, and whilst it performed better than compact 5MP digitals and in fact stood quite well against my 6MP D70 (as you say, at low ISO), it is no match for a 10MP DSLR. The Nikon D40X is smaller, lighter, and has twice the resolution (and a slightly larger sensor). The same can be said for Canon's Rebel 400/XTi although not as compact, but which has even better performance at higher ISOs. That becomes increasingly important when economic and weight considerations preclude indulging in fast lenses.

[Lucklik]

This I say from personal experience, having owned several of the Leicasonics thus far and burnt far too much midnight oil endeavouring to get prints on par with what my D70 (let alone the D200) give me by simply plugging the memory card into the printer slot and accepting the defaults.

 

This is not my experience, I have several friends with Nikon gear (D70/80/100/200) and they all have to do a lot of post processing to get good pictures.

It is normal that a more professional camera needs more post processing compared to a more amateur camera.

 

Luc