|lā′ərs| - Sixteen

Its been awhile since my last post. Mainly due to the studying and testing I've been compiling on a new camera system. My short lived love of the 4/3 camera system is now gone. In all honesty, it was at a physical size that I was not comfortable with. At this point, any 4/3 and or Micro 4/3 camera system is at a size between any professional DSLR and a small point-and-shoot camera. Though I enjoyed the "rangefinder" esque the little medium sized bodies gave (particularly the Olympus Pen E-P2 I used to own), I soon began thinking that If I was going to be carrying around an interchangeable lens system, I might as well carry around one of my DLSR's. There lies the predicament. I stopped shooting with the 4/3 system for awhile, and researched on my days off what other cameras out there produce the qualities I particularly look for in a camera. High quality RAW files (in a range from low to high ISO), a sensor that has great color range and retains detail in the shadows, and a wide angle lens with the widest aperture settings available. My research landed on the highest quality, most technologically advanced point-and-shoot today - the Leica D-Lux 5.

I sold my Olympus 4/3 system, grabbed the Leica and loved it. Yes it had limitations, as all cameras do, however this was compact (not quite pocketable) though portable and light enough for a true snap shot point-and-shoot camera, but with the quality desirable by most enthusiasts and professionals looking for a street shooting sidekick to add to their arsenal. After a few clicks with the Leica, and upon further investigation, I was struck with reality that it is in-fact the exact same camera as the Panasonic Lumix LX5. The same body, back buttons, software, firmware accessories and both sport the same Leica 24-90mm lens. In-fact, the bottom of the Leica D-Lux 5 said Made in Japan and Manufactured by Panasonic. They are manufactured with the same sensor and internal hardware as well. So, I quickly and simply swapped cameras and saved 400 dollars! I suggest others to do the same. I examined both RAW files (as that is what I shoot) and they were both the same. Nevertheless, this little fella is incredible. I can't believe how far technology has come in these sized sensors. It's astonishing how the little sensors interpret and render the RGB channels. The quality of what DSLR's (utilizing either a CMOS or CCD sensor) used to be a few years ago, are what these micro CCD sensors are today. The LX5 pumps out an almost 30MB RAW file and the detail/sharpness is what you would expect from a Leica Summicron lens. At the price you just simply cannot beat the quality.

All in all, I'm ecstatic with the new camera, and am very much enjoying the street shooting capabilities it has. Today was the first outing with the LX5 (as most shots prior were all test images in comparison with the Leica) and next will be color imagery. I hope to now get back to posting more images on the old Blogger! Cheers!