Leica V-Lux 20

Think Leica. Now, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Heritage? Precise engineering? Expensive? Well, these terms are almost synonymous with the German brand, which prides itself on delivering quality cameras to photographers through the years. However, its shooters come at a price, and usually a hefty one. The most expensive camera in Leica's inventory is the S2 (US$27,995), but the company isn't foregoing the consumer market. Its latest offering for the average user, the V-Lux 20 (US$699), is the firm's most affordable compact, and according to a Leica representative, "a great entry point for users who want a Leica camera".

If you find the V-Lux 20 familiar, that's because it is very similar to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10. The two companies have a working relationship where Leica supplies lenses to Panasonic for its shooters, with the German firm rebranding some of the Lumix compacts for its own sales. So, what's the difference between the V-Lux 20 and the TZ10? Let's take a closer look.

Design

The V-Lux 20 is designed and shaped like the TZ10, so you can check out our review of the latter to find out more about the latter. But there are some minute differences between these two shooters, as we highlight below.


The front of the Leica camera looks less cluttered than the Lumix, primarily because the only badge you'll see on the V-Lux 20 is the famous red dot with the word "Leica" inscribed. There aren't any other labels except on the optics to indicate the specifications of the lens. The V-Lux 20 is also available in black only, and with its inconspicuous design, can make for stealth shooting if the shutterbug wants to take pictures without the subject noticing.


The top of the V-Lux 20 also has lesser labels compared with the TZ10. You see only the model name, the mode dial, range for the zoom ring around the shutter button, and the power switch. There's no indication of the left and right microphone or the GPS radio beside the mono speaker.

Also, in place of iA (used on the TZ10) on the mode dial, this is replaced with just an "A", which represents the Snapshot mode.

The back, side and bottom of the Leica snapper are identical to its Lumix counterpart.

So, how else is the V-Lux 20 similar to the TZ10? If you delve into the Leica camera's menu, you'd notice the user interface looks like that of the Panasonic shooter's. The operations for the two snapper are largely the same as well, though the German snapper's did feel somewhat more responsive. We will explain this in later sections of this review.

Features

The specifications for the V-Lux 20 are like the TZ10's: 12-megapixel CCD, 12x optical zoom, 3-inch 460k-dot LCD and manual exposure control. But for HD video recording, the Leica can record only in Motion JPEG as opposed to the Lumix that can capture in AVCHD compression as well. We doubt users will be concerned about this as they will probably be more interested with capturing still images.

A night shot taken handheld with the V-Lux 20.
The Leica snapper also has onboard GPS for geotagging photos, and it works similarly to the Panasonic shooter. Also, the V-Lux 20 has a multi aspect ratio sensor so it can take high-resolution photos regardless of which physical image format (3:4, 2:3 or 16:9) you are shooting in.


All in, the V-Lux 20's features are nothing to shout about since they are too similar to the TZ10's. But as we found out once we scrutinized them in greater detail, there are differences between these two cameras.

Performance

The V-Lux 20 took about 2 seconds to start up, and shutter lag measured 0.1 and 0.4 second, with and without prefocusing, respectively. These timings are on par with the TZ10.

The Leica camera was quick to focus on our subjects and it felt a little faster than the Lumix. However, you probably won't notice the difference if you were to use these two compacts in bright outdoor conditions. But when we shot at night, we felt the V-Lux 20 was snappier in locking onto dimly lit subjects.

The V-Lux 20 was quick to focus in this dim room.
Like the TZ10, once the V-Lux 20's GPS module is activated, it remains on even when the camera is switched off. Though we noticed the extra drain on the cell to maintain this activity, the dip was insignificant in our tests.

Image Quality

Keeping to Leica's true heritage, the V-Lux 20 didn't disappoint in terms of image quality. The camera has an ISO range of 80 to 1,600, but as with most compacts, we suggest keeping to ISO 400 and below if you want photos that aren't smeared with digital artifacts.

ISO comparison for the V-Lux 20.
We noticed the V-Lux 20 delivered more consistent colors even at high ISO settings of ISO 1,600. Unlike the TZ10 which showed some discoloration at high sensitivity settings, the Leica held up well. The color reproduction of the V-Lux 20 was also commendable. The tones looked natural and had a warm touch to them. This can probably be attributed to Leica's image processing algorithm. Combine this with a steady image stabilization system, and we got pretty sharp pictures even when we shot handheld at night. This is probably what separates the Leica from the TZ10.

ISO 800 comparison between the V-Lux 20 and TZ10.
The camera's metering for exposure was also accurate in our tests, handling tricky lighting situations such as backlit subjects and scenes of high contrast well.

Conclusion

We have two cameras that are very similar in terms of specifications, but differ vastly in price. The TZ10 costs US$399 and the V-Lux 20 retails for US$699, almost twice that of the former. You may immediately conclude that it's not worth getting the Leica, but note that when you buy a Leica, you are probably not paying for just a point-and-shoot. In the imaging industry, this German company is famed for making some of the world's finest cameras. So the premium you pay can be justified if you want quality products and association with this heritage brand.

Also, take note that the V-Lux 20 ships with a full copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8, while the Lumix comes with only PhotoFunStudio. Shutterbugs who are more serious about photo manipulation may want to consider the Leica since Photoshop gives you more control over the image-editing process. We found the picture quality of the Leica to be slightly better than that of the TZ10's, though not significantly by much.

The V-Lux 20 is a great choice for consumers who want a Leica camera and can afford to pay more. But if budget is an issue, stick to the TZ10 as it delivers almost the same features and performance.