Leica V-Lux 20 compact with 12x superzoom is pure brand extortion

It's out -- the V-LUX 20 -- what was rumor is now official courtesy of a Leica press release. The 12.1 megapixel superzoom with 25-300mm Leica DC-VARIO-ELMAR 4.1-49.2mm f/3.3-4.9 ASPH lens and integrated GPS is slated to ship to the UK in May for a suggested retail price of £495 (about $757, likely a bit less when priced Stateside). The matte-black finished compact sports a 1/2.33-inch CCD sensor, 720p/60fps Motion JPEG video recording, a 460,000 pixel 3-inch LCD, 11-point AF, SD/SDHC/SDXC storage, and plenty of options to drop into manual mode when you want a bit more control of the action. Nice huh? Just remember that the V-Lux 20 is a near exact replica (same lens, sensor, LCD, and GPS) of the DMC-ZS7 which lists for just $399, is smaller, and shoots HD video in the more sophisticated AVCHD Lite format. Yeah, we know.

Leica V-Lux 20 compact with 12x superzoom is a brand extortion

[Techie Posted Apr 20th 2010 7:30AM]

Leica makes good lens but not good digital cameras besides it's over priced. I will take an Nikon or Canon anytime over Leica.

[xValentine Posted Apr 20th 2010 8:45AM]

@Techie

I'll take Panasonic over Leica anytime.

But thanks to Leica for the sweet lens used by Panasonic.

:D

[creativepart Posted Apr 20th 2010 11:40AM]

@xValentine

It's the software that's better on the Leica. The glass is the same on the two cameras but the Leica software is superior. Read the comparisons of other Leica/Panasonic cameras and you see there's a real difference.

[therodt Posted Apr 20th 2010 12:39PM]

@creativepart Yeahh and hundreds of dollars too...

[grandmainger Posted Apr 20th 2010 7:31AM]

Is the glass the same in the lens?

[grandmainger Posted Apr 20th 2010 7:34AM]

@grandmainger
As in: is the same glass quality used for the Panasonic and the Leica? Or is it just the same lens design with two different grades of glass?

Not that a small sensor would adequately capture the difference, I'm just curious...

[xValentine Posted Apr 20th 2010 8:43AM]

@grandmainger
it's the same glass used on the TZ10.

Just like what they did to the Dlux4 and LX3.

although there are some very small differences in the output if you compare it.

You're paying about $358 for that red dot prestige.

[DetlevCM Posted Apr 20th 2010 10:07AM]

@xValentine
If the glass were better then I could understand it (I said that in my original comment on the first "report" by Endgadget)

But the same glass... come on Leica - you used to do better...

[NewL Posted Apr 20th 2010 7:43AM]

Really like the design of the Leica variant, but the premium is just ridiculous...I mean, 25% (or heck, even 50%) more for a nice brandname and a much nicer design is bearable, but a 100% premium? You've got to be kidding me.

[Mikeo Posted Apr 20th 2010 7:56AM]

Butbutbut.... it has a strikingly minimalist logo shaped after a certain fru- oops sorry! Wrong Engadget news post.

Move on guys, nothing to see here...

[Atkins Posted Apr 20th 2010 7:58AM]

@Mikeo At least you have MacOS on a Mac. What do you have here?

[Sarcasme Posted Apr 20th 2010 8:45AM]

@Mikeo Exactly

[KirinIchiban Posted Apr 20th 2010 10:18PM]

@Atkins
I thought it's MacOS on an Asus?

[Diesel1313 Posted Apr 20th 2010 7:58AM]

This is panasonic rebadged.

Here is the Panasoni Version

Enjoy....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Digital-Camera-12-1MP-Optical/dp/B0031MA0ZE/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271764694&sr=8-6

[Pies Posted Apr 20th 2010 8:23AM]

It's the Monster Cable of digital cameras.

[nitinmehra20 Posted Apr 20th 2010 8:40AM]

This is just atrocious. Kinda reminds me of the the whole Theta Digital Compli Blu vis-a-vis Oppo BDP-83.

This should be considered as fraud!! X-(

[Nickerus Posted Apr 20th 2010 8:49AM]

Panasonic ZS-3 anyone?

[jayayess1190 Posted Apr 20th 2010 11:27AM]

@Nickerus This is a rebranded ZS7.

[msatlas Posted Apr 20th 2010 9:08AM]

Leica doesn't have the resources to develop their own cameras. Panasonic pays Leica for the rights to the Leica name to lend a little cachet to them, and in addition to the cash Leica gets a source of compact cameras on which they can slap their logo and sell for twice the price. This is not a new phenomenon. Just look at every other Leica compact camera. The only "real" Leica digital cameras and lenses are the M-series rangefinders, S-series SLRs, and X1 large sensor compact. All of which make the prices on their rebadged Panasonic compacts look quite reasonable in comparison.

[Sarig Posted Apr 20th 2010 10:11AM]

It doesn't even look good! At least the D-Lux 4 looks pretty wicked.

[Chuck NYC Posted Apr 20th 2010 10:44AM]

I've owned several Leica rebrands (D-Lux 3, C-Lux 2), as well as some small Panasonics (LX-3, TZ-7, ZS-3, ZS-7), and can say with some degree of confidence that the rebrands are the same in terms of hardware, but have some stylistic differences (Leicas are more minimalistic) and run a tweaked version of the image processing firmware resulting in what I consider better images. The 'cheap' feel of the Panasonics is removed and the serious potential of these designs is realized by the Leicas. Is it worth the difference? It depends on your preferences and your wallet. At the end of the day, this is a very nice, high quality pocket camera.

[magallanes Posted Apr 20th 2010 10:44AM]

And the worst part is that the picture quality CAN be measured, putting Leica (as a brand of camera) just in a inferior position in comparison with the rest of cheapest cameras.

[StalkyTheFish Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:15PM]

MJPEG is the next-best thing to Raw for editing, though.