I believe that the main differences deal with the bundled software included and some other tweeks. As far as build quality is concerned, Panasonic builds both of them. The Leitz lenses are also manufactured by Panasonic under licence from Leitz. If the lens was actually made by Leitz, it would probably cost twice the price of the combo of lens and camera.

If you are looking for eventual sale/trade in, the Leitz Logo may be worth the difference in price.

I would also strongly advise that you also handle both before you make your decision.

Thanks for your reply. That's sage advice about checking out the cameras for myself. I plan on doing so with the Leica in a few days, haven't found anyone locally that carries the Panasonic yet.

Also considering the new Pentax K10D 10.1MP paired with Tamron's new AF18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro lens. That's an interesting camera and lens combo, might be fun.

I hope someone reviews the Leica, but that may not occur. Cnet's review of the Panasonic wasn't terribly flattering, but the reviews at Amazon.com from users has been good. I tend to weigh users opinions higher than experts, since an owner would use it under a wider variety of situations than a tester. Plus, they are more likely to make the dumb mistakes I do.

That's an interesting post! I am in exactly the same position as yourself, considering both the K10D or the V-Lux1. I'm no nearer making a decision now than I was a month ago.
I don't know if I could put up with the inconvenience of a dslr (no flip-around viewfinder, lots of glass to carry, dust), but the K10D certainly seems the best of the bunch right now, on paper at least.

Frank

Quote:

I don't know if I could put up with the inconvenience of a dslr (no flip-around viewfinder, lots of glass to carry, dust), but the K10D certainly seems the best of the bunch right now, on paper at least.

Frank

The K10D looks to be the better of the two, but doesn't have mpeg recording, alas. It also doesn't have things like sport, portrait, etc, at least that has been announced. I really wish one of them had wireless capability to download pics to my computer. It's going to be awhile before one can wirelessly download pics to an iPod, but that should be in the not too distant future. I hope to try a Leica soon, the Pentax won't be out til December. I like the Pentax's durabilty and weather resistance, living in the Pacific NW where we get our fair share of rain. Ah, decisions, decisions.

The main difference as stated above is in the software. I have just posted a review in our monthly newsletter. You can sign up on the home page for it.

Thank you very much! Signed up for the newsletter. I look forward to reading the review.

In the end I decided against the K10D, good as it probably is, and went for the V-Lux1.

So far I am very impressed with the general performance. The 420mm telephoto is much better than I thought it would be, but with an Olympus TCON17 screwed on the front of it it's AMAZING ! I can't find a way of leaving the 2sec or 10sec timer ON - it cancels after every shot at present. If this is how it's designed it's just a pain in the neck but maybe I'm missing something.

The index in the instruction book carefully omits most items which you might want to look up - it's been written by a complete fool. The illustrations in much of the instruction book are way too small to be any use. I've no idea why they do this, there's plenty of white space to spare round them.

In every other respect I just love the V-Lux1.

Frank

Congratulations! Hope it's a great camera for you. I've been reading on some other boards of people having problems with the m8's rendering of the color black-how well does your Leica perform? It's probably totally different, but thought I would ask.

How quick is the autofocus? That is one of the reasons I want to get a digital slr, as well as low light capability. How well does your leica handle those situations? Sorry for all the questions, just curious as I am still considering purchasing it.

the Firmware differences between the :Leica and the FZ50 do matter as the overly aggressive Noise reduction problem does nmot seem to exist with the Leica.

I havent experienced the watercolor effect i.e. removal of details through noise reduction which hasw been reported and noted in the panasonic branded version .

tell me what you think re this sample if you would.