Hands On Gallery: Leica D-Lux 5 and V-Lux 2

It's not as swanky as their limited-edition Titanium M9, but Leica's new D-Lux 5 is still a very capable little camera that certainly has the Leica feel in your hand. Inside, it has basically the same guts as Panasonic's high-end LX5 compact, but we found that the Leica version is smaller and a lot more stylish. The pop-up and push-down actions on the flash are extremely snappy and satisfying. The same can also be said about the mode dial. It feels like we have seen more dials on new cameras lately. That's a good thing as far as we're concerned. he form factor is actually very reminiscent of Canon's new S95. The grippy coating and flat black appearance are both extremely nice. The new V-Lux is basically a re-branded Panasonic FZ-100 and it handles accordingly. The extra-long zoom lens is nice to have, but style counts a lot in Leica's case and we have never thought this form factor worked well with the red badge. It feels good to hold, but it doesn't give you the feeling of holding a Leica. The shiny ring around the lens is perhaps the worst offender when it comes to going against the Leica aesthetic. If hundreds of dollars are going to be tacked on to the price tag in the name of style, we're going to need something better than a shiny finger-print magnet like that.