Leica 18191 V-LUX 4 12.7MP Compact System Camera with 3.0-Inch TFT LCD - Black

I used to use SLR cameras back in the day of film . Then came the point and shoot cameras. Seemed they were taking just as good photos as my SLR. And that is when I made the switch. I've been using Olympic for decades. My last one was really getting slow on the shutter speed and I wanted a new camera for a trip I was taking to Africa this November. I had noticed the Lecia 18191 V-Lux in a catalog I received over the holidays. The price seemed great for the type of camera it was, but as an amateur photographer, I had never heard of the brand before. I did some extensive research online and read reviews. It seemed like the perfect choice for my needs. A few months passed and we booked a trip to the Sea of Cortez along the Baja Peninsula to view whales, dolphins, sea lions, sea birds and a mirage of marine animals. The adventure cruise line informed us that a professional photographer would be a special guest on board to give us guidance on photography. I knew this was the camera I wanted and what a fabulous opportunity to have a professional show me how to use the camera before our big safari in the autumn. But how do you purchase a $900 camera sight unseen? I thought I would go into the various camera shops in Chicago to "test drive" different cameras and see which one worked best for me. The cruise was leaving in two weeks and I didn't have time to camera shop. I bit the bullet and purchased this Leica. I ordered the camera from Amazon one week before departure. Freaking out that it wouldn't arrive in time, Amazon came through like champions and it was delivered in 3 days. I cannot begin to tell you the fabulous pictures I began to take in just auto mode. Magazine quality. I love every single thing about this camera. I have played around with the shutter speed, apertures, light meters, ASA, etc. But why bother? This camera in auto mode takes the most amazing photography. The professional photographer on board the cruise told me that this is the Ferrari of cameras. All passengers carrying their big, expensive equipment and I was the envy of the trip. Yes, buy this camera. You will be so happy!

Love that 24X zoom, size and light weight. It weights even much lighter than one of my 70-200mm f/2.8L lens. Pictures came out great, consider it's 12mp only. Body's workmanship is very good(by Panasonic). But the material is a little on the cheap side for that price tag. It takes some times to learn how to use all the features and functions. If you're thinking of just one camera when you travel, this is it. Loving it.

For a novice like me, plunking down close a $1000 for a camera is a tough purchase to justify. I don't work for National Geographic or Newsweek. Rather, I take photos of what I see around me (which, in New Mexico, is abundant, given our diverse selection of wildlife, plants/flowers, sunsets, views, balloons---no aliens, yet). These are photos I share with friends or post to Facebook. So why not do that with a $100 digital camera from Walgreens? I've gone through several digital cameras these past few years, most of which I end up re-selling on Amazon, as I don't like the picture quality. Granted, some (much?) of that is photographer error, but it really does seem that the quality of the picture also depends on the quality of the camera. In anticipation of an upcoming trip to Spain, I took the plunge and bought this one. On our first trip overseas, most of my pictures were washed out. On the last trip, there was a long delay between 'click' and 'picture' on the camera I was using. As such, I liked that people said this camera is faster. I've played with the camera for a few weeks, shooting pictures of hot air balloons this morning. The shutter is fast! I can only imagine how the camera operates in multi-shoot mode. It takes very little pressure on the button to take the picture, which eliminates shake/blur. The photos are crisp and clear. Like a lot of digital cameras, this one does a whole bunch of things; many of which I will never dabble into. You can take 'still' photos or videos. If you do a video, you can identify a spot on the frame and turn that into a photo. There are 'auto shoot' modes, as well as specialized selections. The camera comes with a basic manual, but a more detailed version is available on-line. This was helpful, as a quick scan let me know what the camera can do. Of course, I didn't read it thoroughly, but it at least gave me a good overview of the camera's potential. So, I'm happy with the purchase. Spain, here I come. Update (11/18/2013). Ok, so I took the camera to Spain. As I hoped, the pictures turned out really good. The camera was easy to use and it held up well during the travels. I'm keeping this one, as I'm impressed with the photos.

Haven't used it much but it produces crystal clear images. Video is fun, have not played with it much. I'm use to a 'real' SLR (Canon) so the electronic view finder takes some getting use to. Also, plan to spend some time with the manual. There are some combination of settings that disable other functions. This is not completely clear from the manual. For example, full extended (digital) zoom cannot be activated if you are shoot in RAW format - even RAW+JPEG. I purchased this for an upcoming trip where carrying a camera body and 2-3 lenses was just not an option. I'm not considering making this my 'only' camera (assuming I can sell the other kit). Overall, like almost ever other review on here, this is a great, fun, camera that produces wonderful images.

Love the real view finder. this is new to me so am learning it's many features. the picture quality is outstanding. the camera is light, so easy to hold steady. fast zoom,if a bit touchy. I have not used the toggle like feature to fine tune the zoom. have not learned to use Lightroom software so can not comment. e have had family emergency so just have not had time to really learn what all this camera can do. have been very satisfied so far. Hope anyone who purchases this camera loves it as much as I do. Buy on line a manual, it has helped me

I was concerned about the small cmos sensor, but since I have read so much about the Leica Lens quality, and the internal software being better than the $340 less expensive Panasonic equivalent model, I went ahead and bought it. Manual focusing is also very awkward. On the positive side, the f2.8 throughout the entire zoom range is amazing as long as there is sufficient light to allow shooting at ISO 100 to 200. I still have not mastered all the features, so will continue to "make it worth the price of $799. My previous and current equipment is Canon 5D Mark II with Canon 24-105mm L series lens.

This camera is a great solution for those who want more than a simple point & shoot--although you can definitely use this in the full auto mode to capture those spur of the moment shots. Super fast lens, great telephoto reach, numerous creative modes, intuitive and easy-to-use features are attributes of this camera and makes this an attractive alternative to carrying & switching different lenses for different photo shoots, or different subject compositions. I'd not suggest this is better than a high end professional camera, with several thousand $ lenses. It's not. But if you're camera needs are more for vacations and people shots and you still want to have some flexibility with creative modes and composition this all-in-one is hard to beat.

Just got this. Not had a chance to use it much yet but from the few sample shots I took, just using the default settings it came with, I'm loving the pictures. It took me a long time to decide and I almost bought the Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ-200 which on paper seems a better camera at a lower price. However , when I checked out sample pics of the two cameras online I felt that Leica's pictures where just better. I am amateur photographer but love photos and been taking pictures a long time. There is lot of debate about these two cameras and the so called Leica or red dot effect. In the end I didn't find that the Lumix images, while absolutely excellent, created that same emotion response in me that the Leia pics did. It could be all in my head. I've never used a Lumix so its not fair to compare. For me, Leica images affect my heart while the Lumix affect my head (thoughts). I prefer a picture that affects me emotionally, so I guess that's why I ended up choosing the Leica over the Lumix.