I’d been thinking about snagging a Panasonic Lumix LX3 until this WSJ trend piece spiked the already pricey, um, price over $US500. But it’s still way cheaper than Leica D-Lux 4, which is basically the same camera for $US800. Why?
That little red dot with the word Leica etched inside. Everything else, Ken Musgrave says, is the same: “They have the same sensor, lens, LCD, housing material, embedded software, battery, and battery charger. Both take identical pictures.” Yet, the Leica “is often described as taking warmer, smoother, somehow better pictures, which would be amazing given the technology is identical.”
Even if you grant that the pictures the two cameras take aren’t exactly the same, they are pretty damn close, as these excellent comparison shots show. Regardless of whether you think they’re the exact same or just really close, Musgrave still raises worthwhile question about the power of branding and history on one’s perception of quality.
The Leica is definitely a more beautiful camera, though. [FastCompany]
Brendan Fox
Friday, July 17, 2009 at 10:24 AMI must say that I would go for a Leica Everytime
I do own a Leica Digilux 3 (Which i could get the Pana. Cheaper, and same token an Olympus). However there is that Branding power of owning a Leica. However I have found the Software in the Leica’s has been adjusted to produce more natural looking photos
Steve
Friday, July 17, 2009 at 12:41 PM@Brendan Fox
Once again the power of the reality-distortion field that Leica have created is visible in your post.
What branding power? All it makes you look like is a douche whose money got sucked away by a red dot.
H
Monday, August 17, 2009 at 2:28 PMhaha, I liked that. It’s true, Leica’s do look cool, but for $300, no thanks. Anyway, any decent self respecting Leica photographer would tape over the red dot and be incognito. The most important difference though (everything else being about the same) is that the Panasonic has a handgrip. It makes handling a lot easier, and thats important for real photography.
JA
Monday, October 26, 2009 at 11:09 AMI have an LX3 so glad I didn’t burn my cash for branding power, great camera and it gets really cool firmware updates that the D-lux 4 doesn’t seem to get any of oh well whatever makes you happy.
grahame
Monday, December 7, 2009 at 12:36 PMWould like to see comparable close ups which contain fine detail e.g. photos of birds. Looking at feather texture is a true test of lens sharpness and will quickly highlight the difference (if any) between the Leica and Panasonic.
Thanks for the great reviews.