Leica V-LUX 30 (1 Viewer)

[656]

Edd just bought me one of these superb little camera's Leica V-LUX 30. Solidly built and a joy to behold. Almost identical to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ20, but feels an awful lot sturdier. Edd got me the case also, a thing of beauty in it's self. Now looking for a reason to use it, well good weather The question is, will it replace my Nikon D300 / 24-120mm VR? Only time will tell:thumb:

 

[beckysharpe]

Edd just bought me one of these superb little camera's Leica V-LUX 30. Solidly built and a joy to behold. Almost identical to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ20, but feels an awful lot sturdier. Edd got me the case also, a thing of beauty in it's self. Now looking for a reason to use it, well good weather The question is, will it replace my Nikon D300 / 24-120mm VR? Only time will tell:thumb:

They are a fabulous camera, I have had a V Lux 20 for over a year, I have a Flickr stream and people comment on the sharpness of the photos. Unlike the Panasonic the body is metal and Leica claim to have tweaked the sensors so the pics are improved. I also have a Nikon D3000 which is great for panoramas (wide angle) but my Leica goes everywhere with me. Enjoy!

p.s. I got the retro case too, really nice.

 

[Jim]

I love Leica, I had a Titanium M6 with a Titanium 35 and 50 both 1.4 summilux. I must have put around 350 rolls of FP4 through it. Had the kit for ten years and sold it for more than I paid for it

Are the Lux and panasonic bodies different? I read it was just the badge that was different and with the Leica you got a copy of photoshop, is that not so?

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[MikeandCarolyn]

The V-LUX 30 is Leica’s latest travel-zoom camera, featuring a 16x, 24-384mm lens, built-in GPS geo-tagging, 3D Photo Mode and a touchscreen LCD. Successor to the V-LUX 20 model, VLUX 30 has a new 14.1 megapixel MOS sensor which enables full 1080i HD movies in the AVCHD format and fast continuous shooting at either 10fps or 5ps with continuous auto-focus turned on. A built-in GPS unit tracks where each photo is taken, automatically embedding the latitude and longitude in the EXIF data and also now including landmark information from over 1 million locations. The Intelligent Resolution function can be used to digitally boost the zoom ratio to 21x without hardly any loss in quality, or to simply make still images and video look better, at least according to Leica. The V-LUX 30 also implements A, S and M exposure modes for creative photographers, in addition to Intelligent Auto and a variety of scene modes for beginners. An upgraded Sonic Speed auto-focus system, high-speed and high-performance Venus Engine FHD processor, POWER O.I.S. anti-shake system, a 3-inch touch-sensitive LCD screen with 460k dots, and the inclusion of Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 and Adobe Premiere Elements 9 complete the headline specifications. The Leica V-LUX 30 is available in black for £550 /

does it take pictures as well as doing all those really needed things

Mike

 

[beckysharpe]

I love Leica, I had a Titanium M6 with a Titanium 35 and 50 both 1.4 summilux. I must have put around 350 rolls of FP4 through it. Had the kit for ten years and sold it for more than I paid for it

Are the Lux and panasonic bodies different? I read it was just the badge that was different and with the Leica you got a copy of photoshop, is that not so?

Leica body is metal according to this......

Link Removed

OH has the Panasonic equivalent and it certainly 'feels' plastic to me and is a little lighter in weight, having said that the Leica has the GPS so maybe that is a factor. Yes, you get a Photoshop CD with the Leica supposedly worth £70, if I ever get round to looking at it/ fathoming it out I'll let you know.

 

[beachcaster]

The panasonic has a metal body and is a great camera at a fraction of the price of the very similar leica. Not a lot of difference unless you want to pay
350 squid for the name?

But having said that the camera marketing folks are adding things like HD video,
HDR, panorama and GPS and free software to the latest incarnations of all brands. The number of pixels has gone up and the zoom levels creep higher all these relatively useless things are designed to make you think your trustworthy camera thats 4 years old is dead in the water.Its probably not.
The lumix TZ8 is still a really good camera and can be picked up for peanuts.

None of these new fangled things will make you a better photographer...some will drain your battery so fast. HDR is just for sentimental chocolate box lids and megapixels are really over hyped... 6m would do 95 % of users.As for GPS on a camera if you really need to know where you were when YOU took the pic ..perhaps you shouldnt be allowed out I always thought the picture was a clue.

As for replacing a nikon with interchangeable lenses with a pocket camera...in performance terms small cameras can't compete.
Its horses for courses....and depends what you are shooting...I keep my heavy stuff at home happy with a simple dependable small camera for outings.

barry

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[hilldweller]

Almost identical to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ20

As in Panasonic changed the badge.

Excellent camera though.

 

[beachcaster]

As in Panasonic changed the badge.

Excellent camera though.

Yes a bit of research shows the Leica is a re badged Panasonic.
Exactly the same camera....different badge.

Same everything including the weight.
But as Brian says..............a very nice camera.


barry

 

[beckysharpe]

In the interests of thoroughness I just wieghed my V-Lux 20....200gms versus OH's Panasonic....215 gms.

Leica comes with a 2 year guarantee I believe. I'm not old, but not that young either and so awarded myself a red dot! Love my camera.

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[hilldweller]

Yes a bit of research shows the Leica is a re badged Panasonic.
barry

Though under the Panasonic label it sports Leica lenses - allegedly.

My older one has 12x optical zoom plus 4x digital, I sometimes use this 48x zoom to produce really decent pics. It's quite amazing.

The only thing I don't like is no proper viewfinder, but that the price to pay for something that fits in my pocket.

 

[wivvy's dad]

The Nikon P7000 has a viewfinder.

Beginning to wish I'd kept my Contax G2 kit though.................I do miss fillum, as opposed to digital

 

[beachcaster]

The Nikon P7000 has a viewfinder.

Beginning to wish I'd kept my Contax G2 kit though.................I do miss fillum, as opposed to digital

Oh yes!!!! film was so much easier and convenient too ....( I'm practicing my sarcasm ).........do you miss
black and white telly too ??

barry

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[thehutchies]

Some people do still use film, of course...

I'm just teaching my kids the joys of B/W processing :thumb:

Digital is simple but it ain't got soul

 

[hilldweller]

The Nikon P7000 has a viewfinder.
Beginning to wish I'd kept my Contax G2 kit though.................I do miss fillum, as opposed to digital

Nice, but only 7x zoom. Only !

Why on earth would you miss film ????????????

I've digitised some old slides and negatives and I cringe at what I thought was brilliant quality.

And I was saying 'tother day, it was A Big Deal, expensive, to take 3 rolls of film on holiday. That would be a single day now.

 

[beachcaster]

Some people do still use film, of course...

I'm just teaching my kids the joys of B/W processing :thumb:

Digital is simple but it ain't got soul

And there are people who still think the morris minor is the best car ever
( I actually like them )

great pictures come from the photographer...not the camera.
If film was better then the majority of pros would still be using it .

Most of us just took our nikon lenses and stuck them on the front of a digital camera. Business as usual. but with masses of benefits.

Can you tell the difference these days.................no way.

Having been in the business all my life....... almost no film based pic used
commercially ever got to print without retouching by hand.

Today its the same but so much easier and faster with photoshop.

Still have a soft spot for a morris minor traveller though.... and its good to teach kids history

barry

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[thehutchies]

If film was better then the majority of pros would still be using it .

barry

That depends upon the definition of 'better', of course

Many 'art' photographers still use film; a friend who is doing a photography degree at the moment is involved in a protest movement because her university is proposing to stop teaching 'wet' photography.
My favourite photographer uses a 10x8 plate camera and develops using the wet plate collodion process

There's room for all of us!

Digital is obviously better for press and commercial photography but does it move you?

Is there anything better than a bit of dodging and burning then seeing the image slowly develop in a tray under a red light?

 

[hilldweller]

Some people do still use film, of course...

I'm just teaching my kids the joys of B/W processing :thumb:

Digital is simple but it ain't got soul

Followed by thatching, dry stone wall building, fletching.