Advantages: fast operation
Disadvantages: no info in viewfinder, bad CCD quality, operating time

...I am a professional photographer and bought a Leica Digilux 1 in October 2002. Initially, I was pleased with the camera, it handled like a Leica M series film camera. After a lot of tests in different lighting conditions, I came to the conclusion that the camera is not really suitable for the professional or serious amateur. On the plus side, the Summicron lens is brilliant (although let down by the poor quality of the chip) and functions well. The LCD screen is also large and easy to view and the cameras functions are easy to operate. It also works better at 'ISO' 100 - as the other settings produce more noise (which is a problem). Unobtrusive and quick to use (the shutter actually fires when you press it without delay) it had the makings of a great camera, shame that Leica billed it as being almost useable for semi... Read review

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Advantages: Legendary quality, solid construction, easy to use, manual overrides, surprisingly versatile.
Disadvantages: Not light for a compact,bulky for a camera not having a zoom, top shutter speed too slow (see review)

...I was introduced to Leica over twenty years ago when I saw an advert in 'Amateur Photographer' Magazine for the R4 SLR camera. The thing that stuck in my mind was the expense-almost £1000 for a very average looking camera, what could justify that? Well I was very new to photography back in those days and asking around led me in two different directions. One was saying that Leica are the best money can buy and others said that Nikon etc are as good and cost less. To cut a very long story short, I was employed in the photgraphic trade and was not so enthusiasic about Leica, that was until I saw a slide show presented by Wolverhampton Photographic Society. This was set in the Alps and the effect was staggering. Razor sharp pictures of stunning clarity and neutral colour balance (the snow stayed white!) of a standard which amazed me... Read review

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Advantages: Picture quality, adaptability, good optical zoom, user freindly
Disadvantages: Could be a bit more robust.

...I bought this camera as a birthday present to myself in March and I have used it extensively. I bought mine from Misco as a bundle with the adapter ring and the wide angle and telephoto lenses and it came with a set of Fugi AA rechargeable batteries. At that time it cost me £176. I have a Minolta 35mm SLR that is great and wanted a digital that was small enough to fit in the pocket but good enough to take decent pictures. Unfortunately there is no way I can justify spending a couple of grand on a DSLR at the moment! My wife was due to (and did) give birth to our daughter in early May and I thought (correctly) that we would be taking lots of pictures. Also my (well works really) old Nikon Coolpix was slowly giving up the ghost, the Li-ion battery was only holding charge for a few shots and I couldn't find a replacement at a reasonable... Read review

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Advantages: easy to use and it's funky.
Disadvantages: the quality of the pictures can't be guarantee.

...If you are looking for a camera that can stand our from the crowd but you can't afford a Leica. A lomo is your choice. It is made in Russian. It is a very basic camera with no zoom, autofocus or flash functions. The appearence is simple and it is black. You can find its specifications from the website, www.lomo.com. You can even order it from the website and it only takes a week to delievery by DHL. My friend introduced this camera to me, she said it is funcky. Then I looked through the website. The pictures are fabalous and exotic. They are different from the normal pictures which taken from digital, APS or normal cameras. Thus, I bought one and it costs me 86 pounds. I carry it with me everyday, it's like my dairy. Because it is so simple, you don't have to look at the viewfinder before you take any pictures. What you have to do... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent design and quality, wide angle Leica lens, OIS, manual controls
Disadvantages: High noise levels, only 4:3 LCD display (should be 16:9 on widescreen camera)

...Introduction -------------------- My old 2 megapixel Olympus camera needed replacing after many years of use. I was getting more into photography and wanted something with manual controls to let me experiment, yet be small and compact to easily carry around. I was originally considering the Casio EX750, but saw the Panasonic DMC-LX1 for a bit more money but more manual controls, a native widescreen 16:9 sensor, very nice styling and quality Leica wide angle lens. After a lot of research, I saw a lot of praise for the camera but the only criticism was noise levels (which I'll cover later). But regardless, I decided to go for it. Details from manufacturer -------------------- # 8.4 Megapixel 16:9 aspect CCD # 28mm wide 4x optical LEICA DC lens # MEGA O.I.S.(Optical Image Stabilizer) # Venus Engine II # Joystick... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Very good all round package
Disadvantages: Cheaper to buy the Fuji MX 1700

...This is a complete clone of the Fuji MX1700 it has all the same buttons and the same accessories except the case. Its a very good 1.5 mega pixel camera with easy to use comprehensive features, It comes with everything you need accept a case which Leica charge extra for. I do not think you can buy this new any more but as a second it would be agood buy. The Leica is supplied with PhotoShop 5 LE which makes it nice to have just for that. The camera uses Smart Media 8MB which is upgradable if need be. Its macro is very good too with a shooting distance of 10cm. This is the same as the Fuji 1700 so read my review of that and this camera has all those qualities but you will need to buy that case.... Read review

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Advantages: Great lens, zoom, features and value
Disadvantages: erm......doesn't fit in my wife's tiny new bag... I guess I will carry it

.... The camera has 5 million pixels which is enough to take high quality pictures. When combined with the lens quality (read below), the number of pixels is so not an issue. When people discuss digital cameras, it seems to me that everyone gets distracted by the number of pixels. Whilst this is important, it is still a camera and the lens quality must be taken into account too. Let me explain... you can have 20 million pixels, but if you are looking through a cola bottle, the picture will be poor. The lens on this camera is far from cola bottle quality - it is made by Leica, one of the finest lens manufacturers in the world. Panasonic make really good video cameras, so in this product you get the excellent Leica lens and superb motion picture technology of Panasonic in one product. And another thing - the optical stabiliser... Read review

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Advantages: The lens is superb
Disadvantages: None as yet

...Ive not long owned this camera. It is best described as a cross between a digital compact and a digital slr. I say this because you have more control over the camera than you would with a point and shoot compact. It is only 4MB but produces images as good if not better than a camera with greater pixels. You can either use the autofocus or manually focus. It is an easy camera to use and a nice feature is the fact that it has both a viewfinder and also a screen to view the images on. It is alot lighter than it looks and is available in both black and silver models, I have the black one and i personally think it looks better in that colour. It appeals to the passionate photographer as it has a leica lens therefore great image capture. The 12x optical zoom is great but ive not tried the digital zoom as yet. It has captured great photos... Read review

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Advantages: 12x Zoom, Image Stabilizer, Picture Quality
Disadvantages: Manual Focus, No Manual Zoom,

...This camera is great. Its the closet it can be to being a SLR without actually being a SLR! It comes with a leica lens (the best lense manaffacture around), and its best feature of all, 12x Optical zoom, which means not having to buy Zoom Lenses for the camera. I have taking this camera hill walking for around 8 months now, and have taking some great photos, and the picture quality is amazing. There are low level of noise on the pictures and the Image Stabilize