I'm sure Herman did have the best of intentions, pictor, but I do understand your concerns. Herman's unmarked link is from The Gadget Website also known as T3.com:
Leica V-Lux 20 review review | T3.com and gives us a link to a mini review (my terms) by Rachael D'Cruze written on July, 23, 2010. Here's a bit from the beginning:
Leicia's V-Lux 20 looks great on paper with its 12MP and 12x zoom, but is it worth the premium price?
The Leica V-Lux 20’s simple yet attractive metal body screams ‘serious photographer’. At approximately 103 x 62 x 33mm you could say it’s on the bulky side, but when you take it’s 12x zoom lens and built-in GPS into consideration, it certainly isn’t.
Realistically, you can’t slither the Leica V-Lux 20 into your pocket, but if you’re a serious user you probably don’t care…In general, the body feels very well made and built to last, but we were disappointed with the cheap plastic switch used to close the battery in...
I've been doing some reading about this camera myself, and for the most part have tended to find either short reviews, rather like preliminary reviews, or comments on different discussion forums. Interestingly, people who actually have the camera seem to like what it offers them as a small, handy camera while knowing they're not getting RAW, they seem pretty happy with the camera's versatility. Naturally, this is all anecdotal.
Steve Huff, the photographer some seem to either love or love to hate - with a few of us somewhere in the middle - did take the time to write a review on June 16th and it can be found on his website here:
The Leica V-Lux 20 Camera Review | STEVE HUFF PHOTOS
About 10 years ago I was sitting in my office saying to myself “Imagine if someone would create a digital camera with a 28-300 zoom lens built in and then have that camera pump out an insane 8 mega-pixels and shoot video. Not only that, make it to where it will fit in my front jeans pocket!”
Well here I am 10 years later with a tiny camera that has a 25-300 Zoom, pumps out 14+ mega-pixels, has 720P HD video built in with image stabilization and auto focus, has a built in GPS for geo tagging all of your photos, AND has every feature and gimmik that most consumers could ever want! That camera is the Leica V-Lux 20 and it’s the new compact point & shoot from Leica, which is result of their partnership with Panasonic (who has the similar ZS-7)...
If anyone is remotely interested in this camera, I think the rest of his review is worth reading. Spoiler alert: he's not in
love with it, however he does seem to like it and does draw some comparisons. Happy reading.
🙂
P.S. As you can see I've merged two threads into one, thus now Herman's review post is second, though the thread retains his title.