One year, one and one half months ago I wrote this post about how great the DMC-LC1 was and how I was looking forward to my next great camera. In the post I also talked about the camera after the one I am currently using. It was going to be a camera jointly designed by Panasonic and Leica. It would have a great analog feel like the DMC-LC1 and have amazing Leica glass with an incredible ability to resolve super fine details. I was pretty hopeful and very confident in the path both I and the Lumix group would go.
Well that camera is about to come out and it looks like it might be the best camera so far. It is called the DMC-L1 and continues along the lines set up by my much loved camera the DMC-LC1. The new camera looks almost exactly like the LC1 and has that awesome lens I was predicting. It doesn't have an f2.0 aperture through the whole zoom range but it does have image stabilization built into the lens. With image stabilization you can shoot in the same light conditions or better than at f2 but it doesn't get the depth of field any smaller. Depth of field is really what is important and if it worked the other way and smaller apertures gave you smaller depth of field I would move to the Sun. What is interesting is that depth of field isn't so important to me that I wouldn't get a big chip Canon. It would cost more but I would get that shallow field I seek. I guess the things I would loose wouldn't be worth it. I am looking to the future and I love Leica.
This camera probably comes out around early September. At least that is probably when it will become available in the US. I am pretty excited about this one though. As excited as I was for the DMC-LC1 so I might find a way around that. When I bought the LC1 I bought it in Hong Kong and had it shipped to the US. It was available in Hong Kong camera shops way before it was available here and it was cheaper so it makes a lot of sense. If there is ever a camera problem, warranty coverage can be tricky. I will look that place up and see when they expect to receive a few. This is all assuming I can afford the camera. It is going to be crazy expensive.
This camera is a professional camera. It is a professional artist camera. It isn't made for sports or news, just photography. I was always a little suspicious of the E-300 because it included “Scenes.” That shows the target market was a little bit off from me. Let me list a few Portrait, Landscape, Landscape+Portrait, Night Scene, Night+Portrait, Macro, Sunset, Candle, Fireworks, Documents, Museum, High Key, Beach & Snow, Sport. That was actually all of them but I get it. The inclusion of scenes on the dial could be at the expense of other features I might want. I want to have access to aperture, shutter speed, ISO and focal length. On the E-300 focal length is easy, it is right there on the lens. Aperture and shutter speed are either 1 or the other. If you want to go from aperture to shutter speed you need a button push, same for the ISO. That isn't really ideal.
The DMC-L1 on the other hand gives direct control of all these things in a clear way. It is what I loved about the LC1 and it is what I love about the L1.
And it also includes the bounce flash that made so much sense when I got the LC1 that I wondered why more companies didn't do something similar.
I had thought about adding a donation button but then I thought maybe that wasn't a cool thing to do. Then I changed my mind because a little bit goes a long way. I probably changed my mind again but I will think about it and just leave this button down there.
Update: I would also point you to a page at dpreview.com that has some more pictures of the camera.
Here is an image of the future lenses coming out. You know I will get that 25mm Summilux. Can you even imagine having one of those?
This page has a good interview with the developers of the camera.
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