You will have to pry my leica binos from my stiff hands when the good Lord calls me home. Seeing the success I have enjoyed with my binos, and in need of a new digital camera, I was looking to Leica again.  I do not want to get into an SLR, I really don't need another hobby! I wnat a camera capable of taking photos to accompany article submissions to magazines.  The d-lux 3 seems like a good choice, with the V-lux 1 being a few dollars more, but I am sure adding a few more attributes (namely a swivelling display).  Should I spend the money on the Leica name, or just go with a 10 mega pixel cannon?

I had the same question. I'd like to see what other think of this.

V I    I recently bought a Panasonic DMC-LZ6S (with the Lumix lens by leica) for use on pack-in hunts.  It has a 6x optical magnification and optical stabilazation which will be great in the outdoors.  Not sure if this will fit the bill for what you need but thought you might want to check it out.

Joe

The Leica's you mentioned are very nice camera's however the reports seem to all indicate large amounts of digital noise at the higher ISO levels.  For the money, I would stick with the Canon line, either the S3, S5  or G6 or G7.  Even the G5 will probably be a good bet for what you want. The G5 and 6 both allow you to shot in Raw format which would give you a lot of room to process after the fact.  Might save a great picture that would otherwise be lost to the conditions.

Good luck.