Leica V-LUX 1 10.1MP more professional than ever before. Universal all-purpose digital camera is used to combine the best Leica image quality with the ease of the intelligent all-in-one solution. Equipped with a 12x optical zoom and optical image stabilization, there are almost all the photos you will not be able to control the V-Lux 1.
Helpful consumer’s review
After spending an hour with the camera in my living room this evening, I am very impressed with how well it is designed for convenient use. Although the camera manual is over 100 pages long, I only had to check it two times to access all of the needed photographic controls. The lens zoom is controlled by a smoothly rotating mechanical ring, just like an SLR zoom lens. Autofocus, macro focus, and manual focus are switched with an easily accessible switch on lens barrel. There’s also a focus button right below that switch to engage the autofocus even when in manual mode. This is terrifically useful.
All of the common settings are quickly accessible through the function button, and no matter what you’re doing with settings or picture review, partially pressing the shutter release returns instantly to shooting mode. Again, it’s very well thought out as a photographer’s tool.
The image stabilization is very effective. I was able to hand hold shots in my living room at 1/5 of a second with little evident camera shake in the photograph. Of course it cannot overcome all shaking, and not all photos were free of some blur from shaking, but I was very pleased with the improvement.
The lens is remarkable. If you’ve ever used a 12x zoom on an SLR (like one of those Tamron or Sigma zooms) you might not expect much from such a lens design. Leica have lived up to their reputation, however, with this lens. It provides sharp, contrasty images with very little curvature of field (slight at the widest angle and gone quickly as you zoom in). There is no evident vignetting.
The body of the camera is sturdy with an actual, solid door over the connectors (not one of those flimsy pieces of rubber found on most cameras). The camera balances well, and with a hand under the lens for support it’s easy to hold steady. The lens barrel is metal, and the provided lens hood fits securely (with the lens cap still useable while the hood is in place).
