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).

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.

--
Best regards,
John Navas
Panasonic DMC-FZ8 (and several others)