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Leica V-Lux 1

Manufacturer: Leica Camera, Inc. Part number: 18313

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Compare with most popular

$1,999.00 at 1 online store

CNET Editor rating:
3.5 stars Very good
Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 4 reviews

More product information:: Editors' review; User reviews; Specifications; Accessories; Manufacturer info

Bottom Line:: Leica's version of Panasonic's DMC-FZ50 has slightly better JPEG compression, slightly slower performance, and a much higher price tag.
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Amazon.com Marketplace	See store profile	In stock	Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price	$1,999.00 Shop now as of 07/05/2009

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CNET editors' review

Leica V-Lux 1

price range: $1,999.00

Reviewed by: Philip Ryan
Edited by: Jim Hoffman
Reviewed on: 12/01/2006

The good: Fast, 12x optical, image-stabilized zoom lens; raw capture; sensitivity to as high as ISO 1,600.

The bad: Big camera body; auto white balance is bad with tungsten lighting; expensive.

The bottom line: Leica's version of Panasonic's DMC-FZ50 has slightly better JPEG compression, slightly slower performance, and a much higher price tag.

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User reviews

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Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 4 reviews
My rating: 0 stars

Showing opinion 1 to 4 out of 4

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9 stars

Great cam for nature photography

by pdfolk on August 31, 2007

Pros: Rock solid engineering; sharp optics; wide zoom range

Cons: Price (but who's counting?)

Summary: Leica has a long tradition of designing and building great camera lenses. While the review suggested that this superzoom could do better at the wide angle end of its range, ...

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Summary: Leica has a long tradition of designing and building great camera lenses. While the review suggested that this superzoom could do better at the wide angle end of its range, that's not a a valid criticism. Building a zoom lens that maintains its focus through the zoom range, doesn't generate spherical distortion at its wide angle setting, and provides a good response in low light settings is extremely hard. Leica put together an ideal camera for nature photography, portrait photography or other work outdoors that calls for the flexibility of a zoom lens. The image stablization feature is just icing on the cake.

I have been a big fan of the red dot after using several other digital cameras and this one is no exception. The image quality is superb and it doesn't take much to learn how to cope with the idiosyncracies of the white balance adjustment (for which Panasonic may be responsible).

If you could only carry one camera, this is a fine one to take on the road.

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4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
2 stars

Image not sharp- maybe problem with my camera

by kodachrome2 on December 4, 2008

Pros: Easy to use, zoom is great, great flexability

Cons: Image not as good as less expensive point and shoot 5.1 mega pixle

Summary: I recently inherited a Leica V-Lux 1 and have shot 30 pictures or so with it set in the 35mm aspect ratio at 8.5 mega pixles, and was not ...

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Summary: I recently inherited a Leica V-Lux 1 and have shot 30 pictures or so with it set in the 35mm aspect ratio at 8.5 mega pixles, and was not impressed with the results. When looking at the image at 200 percent there is an over-all fuzziness in the pictures. When comparing the images taken on this camera to a HP 707 Photosmart 5.1 mega pixles there is no contest- image quality goes to HP, but the flexability goes to the Leica camera. I don't know if this camera is in need of repair (causing the poor image quality), or if it is an inherit problem with the camera's processor.

I would love to download and view someone elses picture taken on a Leica V-Lux camera so I could tell if my camera just needs to be repaired (I hope this is the case as the other reviews say nice things about the camera)

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

The best camera I have had in 30 yesars.

by timba on August 23, 2008

Pros: Perfect, easy to use. A great German machine.

Cons: I looked close and can't find a thing wrong with it.

Summary: Over time I have had Nikons,Canons and some others. They did not get in. I did look a Leica, but the price use too high. After a long wait ...

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Summary: Over time I have had Nikons,Canons and some others. They did not get in. I did look a Leica, but the price use too high. After a long wait I got thr Leica V-Lux 1. It is the real thing. The *** copies still are not the real thing. This is a great camera.
It gets IT!

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 stars

Durable and extremly well crafted 10 mega pixel digital camera with a massive zoom range

by buynshoot on May 13, 2008

Pros: durable and extremly well crafted 10 mega pixel digital camera with a massive zoom range

Cons: Pricey, and over-use of noise reduction software in-camera softens images

Summary: Let?s cut straight to the chase with the Leica V-Lux 1: the quality of the workmanship and the sophisticated design of the camera are unquestionable. So too are the ...

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Summary: Let?s cut straight to the chase with the Leica V-Lux 1: the quality of the workmanship and the sophisticated design of the camera are unquestionable. So too are the speed of the lens and its considerable 35-420mm focal range. But, at the end of the day, this unit isn?t without its faults: it?s quite expensive for a digital compact especially considering its equivalent competition and the over-use of noise reduction software in-camera softens images creating a somewhat ?painted? effect.

For some this will be welcomed but for others, impressive styling and a long list of features may not be enough to compensate for an overall lack of sharpness. As smaller images, the effect isn?t particularly noticeable but as you begin to enlarge or zoom in, an artificial smoothness does become apparent and a loss of detail, especially in the shadows, can occur.

Having said this however, the reproduction of colour in the 10mp V-Lux 1 is accurate, start up time is very fast and shutter delay is so minimal it?s barely noticeable.

The swivel LCD is an ingenious inclusion that opens up the user?s shooting possibilities tremendously. The 2-inch screen and its 180-degree swivel action (either horizontal or vertical) means you can hold the camera above your head, by your feet or at you hip and always know exactly what you are photographing. It completely takes the guesswork out of freestyle shooting that doesn?t always occur at eye level, which is a bonus for all creative photographers.

The V-Lux 1 kit comes complete with a: lens hood, 512MB memory card, battery charger and dedicated Li-ion battery, USB cable, AV cable, 143-page manual, and software (Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 and QuickTime.) It has 12x optical and 4x digital zoom along with optical image stabilization, which detects what Leica calls ?jitter? (camera shake) and compensates for hand movement when taking stills and video. The feature can be turned off although I?m not sure why you would ever operate without it. For movie mode especially it is an absolute must and proves very effective. And, just in case you?re not convinced of the difference image stabilisation can make, the camera will give you a demonstration!

16 different scene modes are available including: portrait, soft skin, scenery, sports, night portrait, night scenery, panning, food, party, candlelight, fireworks, starry sky, baby, snow and high sensitivity, meaning most situations are covered.

When focusing manually, a magnified preview of the centre of frame appears on screen and proves very helpful in ensuring correct focus is achieved. In some situations, auto focus may not operate correctly (e.g. in low light or scenes with minimal separation) in which case, this feature is much appreciated.

The V-Lux 1 is capable of shooting a considerable range of subjects from fine macro through to wide angle and super telephoto, and for a photographer that spends most of their time in the outdoors this camera will perform well.

Although marketed in the compact class, don?t take this as a literal description. At 14.1cm x 8.5cm x 14.2cm and 734g in weight the V-Lux 1 isn?t necessarily a unit that is easy to take with you everywhere. As mentioned, the quality of the camera body is undeniable and it certainly feels as though it would last a lifetime. The operation of the aperture and shutter speed wheels isn?t especially ergonomically friendly (at least not if you have smaller hands) and this is due also to the boxy design that remains a Leica trademark.

Options to tag your favourite images, create an in-camera slideshow or safeguard your photos from deletion are available as well as having a live histogram appear when shooting to ensure no highlights or shadows are clipped. Three of your personal custom settings can be saved to ensure that the desired recording mode can be quickly and easily set any time you pick up the V-Lux 1.

The power of the flash can be manually adjusted and its overall coverage is good. Sometimes, images shot indoors without the flash can appear muddy in the shadows and having to manually pop the flash when you want to use it may either be liked or disliked pretty quickly. The electronic viewfinder is surprisingly subpar for Leica: it is very difficult to obtain a clear preview and is quite uncomfortable to look through for any longer than a few seconds at a time. But with such a versatile swivel 2 inch LCD I would think most users will opt for this and leave the viewfinder for novelty use.

By and large, this unit is a good all-rounder with the all the stylings of a digital SLR. If you?re after a smart looking, durable and extremly well crafted 10 mega pixel digital camera with a massive zoom range then the V-Lux 1 is a very good choice.

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

Showing opinion 1 to 4 out of 4

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Leica Camera, Inc.
Part number: 18313
Description: The V-Lux line makes photography in the compact class more professional than ever before. The all-purpose digital camera for universal use combines the best Leica image quality with the convenience of an intelligent all-in-one solution. Equipped with the 12x optical zoom and the optical image stabilization, there is hardly any photographic situation you won't be able to master with your V-Lux 1.

General
Product Type Digital camera
Width 5.6 in
Depth 5.6 in
Height 3.3 in
Weight 1.5 lbs
Main Features
Resolution 10 megapixels
Color Support Color
Optical Sensor Type CCD
Total Pixels 10,400,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution 10,100,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size 1/1.8 in
Light Sensitivity ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, ISO 3200, ISO auto
Digital Zoom 4 x
Shooting Modes Frame movie mode
Shooting Programs Food, Snow, Baby1, Baby2, Candle, Panning, Fireworks, Landscape, Soft skin, Starry sky, Night scene, Sports mode, Party/indoor, Portrait mode, Night portrait, High sensitivity
Special Effects Cool, Warm, Sepia, Black & White
Image Stabilizer Optical
Image stabilizer feature Optical stabilization helps prevent blurry pictures, especially for handheld cameras at slow shutter speeds or when using high optical zoom.
Max Shutter Speed 1/2000 sec
Min Shutter Speed 60 sec
Exposure Metering Spot, Multi-segment, Center-weighted
Exposure Modes Manual, Program, Automatic, Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority
Exposure Compensation ?2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing 3 steps in 1/3 EV step
White Balance Custom, Presets, Automatic
White Balance Presets Flash, Shade, Cloudy, Halogen, Daylight
Digital Video Format QuickTime
Still Image Format RAW, JPEG
TV Tuner None
Video Capture QuickTime - 848 x 480, QuickTime - 848 x 480, QuickTime - 640 x 480, QuickTime - 640 x 480, QuickTime - 320 x 240, QuickTime - 320 x 240
Memory / Storage
Flash Memory 512 MB Flash - SD Memory Card
Supported Flash Memory MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card
Floppy Drive None
Image Storage RAW 3648 x 2736, JPEG 3648 x 2736, JPEG 3264 x 2448, JPEG 2560 x 1920, JPEG 2048 x 1536, JPEG 1600 x 1200, JPEG 3600 x 2400, JPEG 3248 x 2160, JPEG 2560 x 1712, JPEG 2048 x 1360, JPEG 3584 x 2016, JPEG 3072 x 1728, JPEG 1920 x 1080
Camera Flash
Camera Flash Pop-up flash
Flash Modes Auto mode, Fill-in mode, Slow synchro, Flash OFF mode, Red-eye reduction
Red Eye Reduction Yes
Effective Flash Range 1 ft - 23 ft
Features AF illuminator, Flash +/- compensation
Lens System
Type Zoom lens - 7.4 mm - 88.8 mm - F/2.8-3.7
Focal Length 7.4 mm - 88.8 mm
Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 35 - 420 mm
Focus Adjustment Manual, Automatic
Auto Focus Points (Zones) 9
Min Focus Range 11.8 in
Macro Focus Range 5cm
Lens Aperture F/2.8-3.7
Optical Zoom 12 x
Zoom Adjustment Manual
Lens Construction 10 group(s) / 14 element(s)
Lens Manufacturer Leica
Features ED glass, Aspherical lens
Additional Features
Self Timer Yes
Self Timer Delay 2 sec, 10 sec
Flash Terminal Hot shoe
Additional Features DPOF support, Audio recording, Built-in speaker, Contrast control, Histogram display, Sharpness control, PictBridge support, Saturation control, 16:9 widescreen mode, Digital noise reduction
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Type Electronic
Viewfinder Color Support Color
Viewfinder Diagonal Size 0.44 in
Viewfinder Resolution 235,000 pixels
Display
Type LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2 in - Color
Display Form Factor Rotating
Display Format 207,000 pixels

Digital Player (Recorder)
Type None
Microphone
Type Microphone - Built-in
Connections
Connector Type 1 x USB, 1 x Composite video/audio output, 1 x DC power input
Expansion Slot(s) 1 x SD Memory Card
Software
Software Drivers & Utilities, Adobe Photoshop Elements
Miscellaneous
Included Accessories Lens cap, Lens hood, Carrying strap
Cables Included 1, 1 x USB cable, A/V cable
Power
Power Device Battery charger - External
Battery
Supported Battery 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery ( Included )
Environmental Parameters
Min Operating Temperature 32 ?F
Max Operating Temperature 104 ?F

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Leica V-Lux 1

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