I received this camera for Christmas from my Husband. For a one size fits all digital camera you will be hard pressed to find something better. The 24x zoom and full HD video makes this a perfect family camera. The burst feature which takes 11 fps at 14.1 mp is great for taking pictures of kids who don't always cooperate. Much has been made about about the similarities to the Panasonic FMZ 100. Volkswagen makes some cars that are similar to their Audi brethren, but it doesn't make them a Audi. The V Lux 2 his upgraded software, expanded iSO settings and much better better appearance. I would recommend this camera for amateur photographers looking one catchall camera. If you don't need the zoom and want a smaller camera iI would recommend the D Lux 5. Leica V-Lux2 Super Zoom Digital Camera with 14.1 Megapixels CMOS Sensor, 24x Optical Zoom, 1080i AVCHD Full HD Video Recording (18393)
I too bought a V-Lux 2 recently, largely based on the reputation of Leica and sales rep advice. The camera is light, portable and easy to use. Excellent multi-use digital camera. It has a lot of good user functions, including manual mode, creates RAW files, fast burst mode (up to 60 fps in with jpegs). The 25-600 zoom lens provides great versatility. Daylight pictures are sharp and good quality. A good step up from instamatic type point and shoot.
However, I am not at all impressed with the depth of field (max f8), nor it's ability to focus in zoom mode or with moving targets (autofocus lock does work ok, not great), very difficult to get sharp, in-focus pics. Low light or narrow spectrum lighting situations (sports, ice rink type lighting) are low quality. ISO speeds beyond iso 200 are grainy and muddy.
I'd give it 4 stars for usability and versatility, but 2 stars for image quality, especially at higher isos, low light and moving targets.
Update: notice that similarly priced cameras (bodies only, in the $600-$1,000 range) have pixel densities (See DPReview.com) in the 2.5 to 5 MP/cm^2. Higher end cameras have pixel densities in 1-2 MP/CM^2 range. the Leica V-Lux 2 pixel density is 50 MP/cm^2!!! - therein lies the difference.
I just got this camera and I love it. It is very fast when you want to take pictures quickly (turn off the picture review), and it saves even 12meg pix with very little lag. The photos are clear and crisp with no noise. Its light and easy enough to use, altho there are perhaps too many options for me to choose from, and that gets confusing fairly quickly. While the basic choices are the same as most cameras, the further you go into the feature set the more you can do.
However, I'm very impressed by many of the features. I finally got a great series of my cat running flat out across a field in burst mode. The zoom is easy to use and maintains focus the whole way. I haven't tried the camcorder or the slow motion (220 fps) yet, but I expect they'll be as good as the rest.
I agree with another reviewer who said that the its not a Volkswagen but an Audi...this is a Leica and they have some of the best optics around. If your purpose is too save money buy the Panasonic. If you want the quality of a Leica then buy this one.
About the price: I bought this at Amazon for $849. They now have a price of $1399. I'd check on that before buying.
This is a great little camera. The pictures are sharp with good color. The camera operates fast and does not make you wait. It has good manual controls and a flash hotshoe so you will not outgrow it any time soon.
Why then only three stars? Because it is just a Panasonic DMC-FZ100, rebadged and jacked up to twice the price. Panasonic engineer and build a great camera and sell it to Leica, who resell it for a fantastic margin. This is a very smart move for Leica. There is no possible way for them to compete against the Japanese giants in the compact camera world. When Leica does their own engineering, they produce products that are woefully slow in operation, with such creations as the $7000 18 mpix M9 which does 2 fps burst and 0.3 fps thereafter. Panasonic meanwhile provides them with a 14 mpix model with 11 fps burst. These are obviously not the products of the same engineering organization.
What I wonder with this camera is who exactly it is supposed to impress. Most people do not have any idea who Leica is these days. And of those who do, I think most are quite well aware that the cheap Leicas have been rebadged Panasonics for many years. But I suppose there is some tiny slice of the market that will be fooled.
This is my second Leica camera, I have a Dlux 4. I don't know if I can be naif in saying that the pictures that I have taken with this camera are amazing. I know that many people would say, why didn't you buy the panasonic FZ100? Well, that was my first choice, but living in a country where the price of these cameras are prohibitive, I had to buy in a trip abroad. The camera shop didn't have the panasonic then, I thought it was a good chance to buy a Leica, so I did it!! At first I thought it was a silly buy!!! But the camera is something. I had some good experience and excellent results with the DLUX 4 and the VLUX 2 is much greater. I think that one of the problems with this german product is that we don't see much of them around so we don't have a clue if it is worth the investment, but it is for sure!!! The quality of this camera is singular in its kind! The superzoom cameras that compete with this camera do not seem to be as good. Let's say that we are buying a German product with a Japanese high quality standards!!
I am not a professional photographer but the results in B&W with this camera I have never seem nothing similar. It seems that Leica has a kind of DNA for B&W photographs that you only can achieve with a Leica. I tell you, one day, If I could afford to buy a M9 with lens, I will!!!! That's a dream....Maybe at the time it will be a M100!!! who knows - Photography - Point - Digital - Leica'
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