Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3S 10.1 Megapixel

Basically the same camera as the more expensive Leica with strong qualities including sharp lens, 24mm wide angle with f2.0 speed. Price an SLR lens that's equivalent to 24mm (4/3 or APC C of about 12-14mm) and has an F stop down to 2.0 and see what it costs. This camera provides low light shooting without a flash and with image stabilization, you can do some very nice work, handheld. Panasonic has improved their sensor noise performance and the LX3 matches up nicely against its primary competition, the Canon G10 and the Sigma DP1. The DP1 gives a cleaner image but is slow and clunky. The G10 is a great camera but bigger than the LX3 and is not as fast or as wide. Why the S model for silver? Because it is exactly the same camera as the K model for black but people pay for appearance and the K model generally costs more. I bought the silver because the color of the camera didn't justify paying more for black. If you like taking photographs and want complete control in a small, well-built metal package that's good enough to have a Leica badge (again a camera purchased for how it looks, not the pictures it takes) and want to do it as economically as you can, this is your camera.

Excellent Leica lens. Large sensor = low noise.
Shoot in Raw format. Many shooting options available.