Leica V-LUX 20: Affordable Leica Compact GPS Camera / Expensive Panasonic

Please welcome the Leica V-LUX 20.

It’s the first compact to feature the famous red dot that comes equipped with built-in GPS.

The Leica V-LUX 20 has the lovely Leica DC-Vario-Elmar 4.1-49.2mm lens as well as rocking a 12x optical zoom, 720p/60fps Motion JPEG video recording, 11-point AF, SD/SDHC/SDXC storage and a 460,000 pixel 3-inch LCD display so you can enjoy your handiwork straight away.

As a GPS virgin, Leica have not simply settled for adding GPS data to your snaps. The V-LUX 20 also includes a list of 500,000 points of interest in 73 different countries to help you find some camera-fodder.

Along with manual settings, the Leica V-LUX 20 has a range of automatic modes for folk who prefer to point and shoot and image stabilisation for the shaky handed. The Indiana Jones-style brown leather case comes as an optional extra.

Where the Leica V-LUX 20 costs £495 (and extra £70 for that case) and will no doubt seem like a bargain for those tempted by Leica M9 fans of Panasonic may notice a similarity to one of their own.

The same lens, sensor, LCD, and GPS feature on Pan’s DMC-ZS7 (or TZ10) which lists for just £299 (Here’s a link to it on Amazon – Panasonic Lumix TZ10 Digital Camera (12.1MP, 12x Optical Zoom) 3.0 inch LCD – Black. It’s slightly smaller, records HD video in AVCHD Lite format but lacks that red dot.

If you can live without that you could save a coupla hundred 😉

The Leica V-LUX 20 will be on the shelves in a few weeks.