Leica V-Lux 20 Review

A Post By: Barrie Smith

Here’s another LeicaPana compact with a Leica lens married to a Panasonic-designed body and electronics. And if you think the V-LUX 20 looks like the latter’s Lumix DMC-ZS7 (or DMC-TZ10 in Australia) you’re precisely on the money.

There are some differences: among them a slightly different handgrip and some other cosmetic detail plus movie capture in Motion JPEG instead of AVCHD at the top res. However, in other respects the Leica snapper should work pretty much as the Panasonic. But it has a Leica badge on the body…

Features

The 12x Leica DC Vario-Elmar zoom helps this model stand out from the crowd, especially with its three mode optical stabiliser in a compact, pocketable body. It equates to a 35 SLR range of 25 to 300mm.

The CCD will cram 12.1 million pixels onto its surface, leading to a maximum image size of 4320×2432 pixels, then a final print size of 37x21cm. Movies: a maximum 1280×720 pixel capture at 30 fps.

The mode dial gives you the option of shooting in auto, Program AE, aperture or shutter priority and manual exposure, so the camera is a well-equipped compact.

Panasonic have, right from their earliest compact digicams settled on a successful formula that satisfies both expert and raw newbie needs: exterior controls are minimal, augmented by a comprehensive viewfinder menu that gives access to 54 options in shoot mode.

So you can run the ‘machine’ on virtual auto by driving only the eternal controls. You can, if you wish, mess with the ‘mechanicals’ via the LCD menu: here you can dabble with ISO settings, metering pattern, fiddle with colour effects, fine tune the GPS detection and other matters.

There’s not a lot that takes you into the techy-land of a DSLR but it will satisfy the photographer who wants to dress up his or her images before downloading them.

The GPS function records the geographical coordinates of location and local time of each image, then stores this information in the EXIF data of the image files.

An added bonus is the bundling of a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0; this will please many who have held off buying this application and can partially justify the price difference between the Leica and Panasonic cameras.

ISO Settings

ISO 400 and looking fine.

ISO 800 and still doing well, although definition is down a touch.

ISO 1600: noise is up and definition is down.

Startup Time
Three seconds from power on to first shot: OK. Then follow on shots coming in at about a second a pop: also OK.

Distortion
You would expect a Leica lens to perform superbly — and it does: no problems with distortion at either end of the zoom.

Comment

Quality: I found that the camera captured excellent colour and resolution; in the examples above the Leica had a tricky task in balancing the heavy shade and bright sunny areas of the shot so the exposure system is very capable in such extremes.

Why you would buy it: you feel the Leica badge will improve your photography;

Why you won’t: you need the full prowess of a DSLR.

You can’t deny the appeal of the red badge. Makes you feel all warm and cuddly. Will it improve your pictures? Who knows?

Leica V-Lux 20 Specifications

Image Sensor: 12.1 million effective pixels.
Metering: Multi field, centre-weighted, spot.
Sensor Size: 10.9mm CCD.
Lens: Leica DC Vario-Elmar f3.3-4.9/4.1-49.2mm (25-300mm as 35 SLR equivalent).
Shutter Speed: 60 to 1/2000 second.
Memory: SD/SDHC/SDXC cards plus 15MB internal memory.
Image Sizes (pixels): 4320×2432, 4176×2784, 4000×3000, 3552×2000, 3392×2264, 3264×2448, 2816×1864, 2816×1864, 2816×1584, 2784×1568, 2656×1768, 2560×1920, 2048×1536, 2048×1360, 1920×1080, 640×480, 640×424, 640×360. Movies: 1280×720, 848×480, 640×480, 20240 at 30 fps.
Rear LCD Screen: 7.6cm LCD (460,800 pixels).
File Formats: JPEG, Motion JPEG.
ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 80 to 1600.
Interface: USB 2.0, AV, HDMI, DC.
Power: Rechargeable lithium battery, DC input.
Dimensions: 103x62x33 WHDmm.
Weight: 218 g (with battery and card).
Price: Get a price ont he Leica V-LUX 20 at Amazon.