On 2007-11-16 14:45:24 -0700, John Navas said:

On Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:19:28 -0500, "Neil Harrington"
wrote in
:

"John Navas" wrote in message
...

Don't look now, but "prosumer" level compacts by Panasonic equipped with
superb Leica lenses are going strong.

I'm glad to hear it. Panasonic does make an excellent product. I've had
an FZ15 for a few years now and I agree, the Leica lens (probably
should be "Leica" in quotes, but still) is excellent. On my model it's
35-420mm (equiv.) stabilized and f/2.8 *all the way* which is very nice
indeed.

Since the lens is designed by Leica and built to Leica standards, I'd
personally say it's a Leica (without quotes).

I have a distant friend of long standing who was bitching about the
difference between modern "Leica" lenses versus the twehty- to
forty-year-old ones he still uses on his RFs (I think he has about six
bodies from the screw mounts up through an R8 digital) at about the
same time I was being disappointed by the "Carl Zeiss" 12x zoom on my
Sony P&S...I am pleased to see that Nikon has kept up the optical
excellence of lenses made for them in Thailand and, in a few cases,
China...I have had Nikon zooms that were under $100 (used, from eBay)
that ran rings around that "Zeiss"...personal experience talking, not
Nikon Acquisition Syndrome...well, OK, both...

Still, there's only so much you can do with that small CCD, and the
very best EVF you can get is no joy compared to a real mirror reflex
viewinder. These I think are the chief shortcomings of the "prosumer"
compact compared to a DSLR.

Current EVF have gotten very good, and can now do things that can't be
done with an optical viewfinder, including 100% image, visible image in
very low light, and magnification while focusing, not to mention image
replay.

How's the view in strong sunlight?
--
"Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know."