The Leica C-Lux 2..A Glorified Panasonic?
Shelton Muller looks at the Leica C-Lux 2 and asks ‘is it just a badge’?
There was a time when to own a Leica meant that you lived among the upper echelons of photographers, condescending from great heights to associate with mere mortals who used ‘other’ cameras.
Such is the legend that is Leica.
While the legend remains, owning a Leica these days is much simpler. Nonetheless, the reasons for owning one remain the same. Quite simply, Leica is quality. The Leica C-Lux 2 is proof of that.
This compact, 7.2 megapixel digital camera fits so neatly into your hands that it is an absolute pleasure to hold and to use. It is a very well designed and well built camera however, and no corners have been cut in making this little Leica feel like a Leica should.
The C-Lux 2 has few external controls, keeping the operation simple for basic picture taking. The power button, zoom lever, mode dial, four-way jog controller are all external controls, keeping the settings you rarely need to concern yourself with in the menu. In keeping with the camera’s compactness they have even done away with a viewfinder. Rather, it has a very large screen and in bright conditions you can increase the screen’s brightness by 40 percent, making it easier to compose your pictures. It fires up very quickly too, meaning that you don’t miss those special moments.
The C-Lux 2 also has a 3.7x optical zoom with a very good image stabiliser for those low light photographs that are only ever ruined by flash. For those situations, you can even set the camera as high as 3200 ISO. The 7.2 megapixel resolution combined with the legendary Leica optics mean incredibly sharp, high resolution images with excellent colour and detail. Movies can also be taken in either 640 x 480 SD (4:3) or 848 x 480 HD (16:9) resolution at 30 fps.
There is a range of accessories available for the C-Lux 2 that make it even more interesting. Leica have three beautiful leather cases available for this high class little camera – cognac, brown black. You can even attach your C-Lux 2 to a Digiscope, making it possible to photograph birdlife at the 35mm equivalent of 1000mm telephoto!
A Glorified Panasonic?
For decades, Leica have combined their talents with other camera manufacturers to combine technologies and manufacturing methods. They make no bones about the fact that they are still doing that.
Anyone who knows their cameras would point to the Panasonic DMC-FX07 and accuse it of being the same camera. That Leica and Panasonic are working together is no secret, and the specifications between the cameras are almost identical.
So why buy the Leica? There is very good reason, the most important being that which is important to you – the image quality. All Leica digital cameras have proprietary firmware settings within the camera that suit the more educated and advanced photographer, making this an automatic benefit for even your family photographs.
The colour and contrast performance is more biased toward a “European” standard, which has always been more subtle than Japanese colour and contrast standards. This is true certainly of the Panasonic and the Leica and side by side image comparisons bear this out. It is the same as using professional film for your family snaps. This firmware cannot be installed on the Panasonic versions.
Also, unlike the Panasonic, the Leica C-Lux-2 does not automatically choose 800 ISO under low light conditions. This means that the Leica maintains less noise in your available light photography, remembering that the camera has an excellent image stabiliser to compensate for those slow shutter speeds. Also, the Leica digital cameras keep your “Flash Off” settings even after the camera is switched off and on again. The Panasonic defaults to “Auto Flash” when under the same conditions and always has to be reset if you prefer to shoot without flash.
Another distinct advantage to buying the Leica is that all Leica digital cameras are supplied with Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 with an update available for Vista. The Macintosh versions are also packed with the camera. This is not the case with the Panasonic cameras. Adobe PhotoShop Elements is a comprehensive image editing suite that is used by enthusiasts and professionals alike.
In keeping with Leica’s commitment to quality, the C-Lux 2 has a full two year warranty, as against the Panasonic which is limited to twelve months.
Then, and forgive us mentioning it, there is the simple thing about owning a Leica. That badge has ‘legendary’ stamped all over it. The look and feel of a Leica is unique to that name. You’ll know what we mean when you get the feel of one in your own hands.
Shelton Muller can be contacted by leaving a message or via his website at www.photographybyshelton.com
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July 9th, 2007
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July 10th, 2007
European vs. Japanese image quality? There is a setting on these cameras called “PICT ADJ.” On the Leica it is set to “Natural.” On the Panasonic it is set to “Standard.” Swap the settings and do your side by side comparisons and you will pick the Panasonic as the camera with the European aesthetic every time.
January 29th, 2008
Was in need of point and shoot and had left mine home so bought this one. I think my canon SD900 is better and allows more control over the picture taking. Also, for color the 2 pentax point and shoot cameras I had were quite good, BUT the LCD screens on both pentax cameras cracked, so that is how I bought the canon. I now look at the edge of the lcd screens to see if there is a protective design or just plastic on the edge of the screen the canon screen is recessed and has metal edges, (the leica does not, forgot to look) and the canon has better settings than the leica. As for lenses, all digital shots usually need software sharpening. Overall I like the pentaxes for color, the canon for quality of construction and battery life, and the leica is okay but too pricey for what you get, for what it costs it SHOULD be made in Germany at least. Also the on/off switch on the leica will turn the camera on when you put it in the case thus wanting to extend the lense while it is in the case, you have to set the camera dial to green display picture setting to avoid the problem, and it should have more zoom for the money you pay. It (the leica) does take reasonable pictures and obtains good color balance in odd light so it is not a waste of money per se. What I would like is the color from pentax, the build and options from canon and the lense from leica. I found the leica flash too strong and it is not adjsutable for some situations, but did find some improvement by using some of the pre-set modes, but wish you could adjust the flash power on the leica. If you are careful the pentax point and shoot cameras do a great job, just be careful about the lcd screens breaking (on the older models the screens were recessed on the pentax, and better protected.) The canon sd900 is also very nice but does NOT let you know in advance if the battery is getting low, i.e., there is no gauge showing the battery level except when it is almost out, the battery life however is exceptionally good on the canon and seems so far pretty good on the leica also. In my opinion however for the Lica you are paying for the badges (badges -I don’t need no stinking badges! per the movie for those with long memories) In the end spening all the money all over again I would go with the canon.
March 29th, 2009
@BruceMcL,
that is not true, C-Lux2 defaults (i own one) are set to a color mode ’standard’, you can change settings however to others ‘natural’ and ‘vivid’.
@author, Shelton Muller,
is there any other option (other than swapping it to a ‘vivid’ color) under the camera settings to make this ‘european’ default’s color/contrast standard in order to match its counterpart panasonic’s japanese color?