Leica C-Lux 3 Digital Camera (White)

I bought this camera after my shoulder got tired of dragging my M8 and four lenses around Boston.

I am extremely pleased with it.

The real plus of this camera for me is that I can carry it in my pocket (it is really tiny) and its 5-to-1 zoom range lets me get pictures that I might miss if I had to open my camera bag to get another M lens.

I have used a lot of point-and-shoot cameras and I find the quality of the camera and pictures to be excellent. The color is great and the resolution is excellent.

I would not hesitate to buy this camera again and recommend it to friends.

Sustains:
- I own a C-Lux 1, received it as a gift in 2006. This camera is just a bit thinner, but looks even more so due to the design.
- The controls have been simplified greatly. The wheel which controls the type of shot you take has been reduced from 6 (?) settings to two. The on/off switch received a cosmetic change, but retained the hard "click" which makes it difficult to turn on accidentally in your pocket.
- I purchased the glossy white camera. In contrast to my regular silver, this glossy white looks very nice.

Improves:
- More ISO settings. The ISO setting as essentially unchanged through the C-Lux 1 to the 3.
- A screen protector should come as a default with this camera. You will need to buy one.
- I didn't receive a memory card with my camera. For 600 dollars, you expect to receive even a 512 MB memory card. If I hadn't had a spare, this gift would have been unusable out of the box. Ridiculous.

Bottom Line: This is a Leica. You can purchase the same optics and CCD through the Panasonic Lumix line, but you are purchasing this because you like the red dot. It's ridiculously expensive for the technical specs, and is an adequate point and shoot camera, but sometimes, only a leica will do.