The 'universal compact camera for carefree photography' resembles the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 (except in price)

SOLMS, Germany (May 26) -- Leica Camera AG has announced the Leica V-Lux 30, a new digital compact camera featuring a 15.1-megapixel sensor (14.1-Mp effective). In comparison to its predecessor, the new camera has a Leica DC Vario-Elmar lens with an extended range of focal lengths and a new LCD touch screen display that guarantees fast and simple handling. Together with its numerous automatic features and manual setting options, this makes the Leica V-Lux 30 "a compact and universal camera for the whole family," the company said. Additionally, it integrates GPS function and video recording in 1080i-AVCHD Full HD.

The Leica DC Vario-Elmar 4.3 to 68.8mm f3.3-5.9 ASPH. 16x zoom lens has an extended range of focal lengths equivalent to 24 to 384mm in 35-mm format. Thanks to this high performance lens, the Leica V-Lux 30 delivers outstanding image quality and covers a wide range of photographic opportunities, ranging from wide-angle and macro shots to telephoto shots of distant subjects.

The newly developed 1/2.33" CMOS sensor of the Leica V-Lux 30 guarantees outstanding image quality and allows photographers to capture image sequences with the camera's fast, continuous shooting mode. The Leica V-Lux 30 enables consecutive burst shooting at a rate of ten frames per second at a full resolution of 14.1 MP or 60 frames per second with reduced resolution in a choice of individual aspect ratios. This allows users to reliably capture fast moving subjects -- for example when shooting sports or wildlife. Its brand new 3D mode lets users take fascinating, creative images. In this mode, the camera combines two suitable shots from a sequence in a "stereo image pair" and saves them as a 3D image in MPO format.

The Leica V-Lux 30's video recording mode offers performance comparable to that of digital camcorders. Particularly, the video mode records in efficient, 1080i-AVCHD-Full-HD format with the entire 16x zoom range available during video recording and an integrated stereo microphone with an electronic wind noise filter guarantees a crystal-clear soundtrack.

As with the complete Leica portfolio, the V-Lux 30 is characterized by timelessly elegant styling and extremely easy handling. With the new 3.0-inch LCD touch screen, many camera features can now be controlled simply by touching the screen with a fingertip. This generously dimensioned screen has a diagonal of approximately three inches and displays images in outstanding brilliance with a resolution of 460,000 pixels. This provides users with an ideal tool for reliable and precise assessment of images both during composition and after capture.

Thanks to the integrated GPS function, the camera records the geographical coordinates of the location and the local time for every shot and saves them in the Exif data of the image files. When travelling, the V-Lux 30 can also display the sightseeing highlights of the immediate neighborhood (1,000,000 so-called "Points of Interest"). Images posted on social networks, image portals and map sites such as Google Maps or Google Earth reveal exactly when and where they were shot.

The Leica V-Lux 30 will be available from Leica dealers beginning June 2011. The camera is supplied with an extensive software package comprising Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 for still image processing and Adobe Premiere Elements 9, especially designed for video processing. There is also a choice of two different camera cases: The strong and resilient leather case and the soft leather case.

Technical Data

Lens: Leica DC Vario-Elmar 4.3 to 68.8mm f3.3-5.9 ASPH. (corresponds to 24 -- 384mm, 35mm equivalent focal lengths), 12 elements 10 groups); Aspherical Lenses: 6 surfaces in 3 elements

Optical Image Stabilization: Yes

Zoom: optical/digital: 16x/4x

Focusing Modes: Normal/Macro, continuous focusing (On/Off)

Metering modes: Face Detection, AF Tracking, multi points, 1 point, Spot, Touch Field

Focusing range: P / A / S / M: 50 cm (wide-angle) / 2 m (tele);

Macro/intelligent/auto/movie: 3 cm (wide-angle) / 1 m (tele)

Sensor: 1/2.33" CMOS with 15.1MP (effective 14.1MP)

Still pictures: 16:9 format: 4320x2432 pixels, 3648x2056 pixels, 3072x1728 pixels, 2560x1440 pixels, 1920x1080 pixels, 640x360

3:2 format: 4320x2880 pixels, 3648x2432 pixels, 3072x2048 pixels, 2560x1712 pixels, 2048x1360 pixels, 640x424

4:3 format: 4320x3240 pixels, 3648x2736 pixels, 3072x2304 pixels, 2560x1920 pixels, 2048x1536 pixels, 640x480

1:1 format: 3232x3232 pixels, 2736x2736, 2304x2304, 1920x1920, 1536x1536, 480x480

Movies: 16:9 format AVCHD: 1080i: 1920x1080 pixels (max. 60 min per clip) 720p: 1280x720 pixels (max. 60 min per clip)

Motion JPEG: 16:9 format: 1280x720 pixels (max. 30 min per clip)

4:3 format: 640x480 pixels, 320x240 pixels (max. 30 min per clip)

3D: 16:9 format: 1920x1080 (MPO format)

Exposure modes: Program mode, Aperture priority, Shutter Speed priority, Manual Setting

Exposure compensation: Increments: 1/3 EV steps, setting range: 2 EV

Scene modes: Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self Portrait, Scenery, Panorama Assist, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Handheld Night Shot, Food, Party, Candle Light, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High Sens., High-Speed-Burst, Flash Burst, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial Photo, Pin Hole, Film Grain, Photo Frame, High Speed Movie

Metering modes: Multi-field / Centre weighted / Spot

White balance: Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Halogen / Manual setting

Sensitivity: Auto/iISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600

Shutter speeds: 60s-1/4000s, (Starry Sky mode: 15s/30s/60s)

Continuous shooting mode: (Burst frequency: max. number of pictures/max. resolution)

2 B/s: max. number 100 / 14 MP max. resolution

5 B/s: max. number 100 / 14 MP max. resolution

10 B/s: max. number 15 / 14 MP max. resolution

40 B/s: max. number 50 / 5 MP max. resolution

60 B/s: max. number 60 / 3.5 MP max. resolution

Flash Modes: AUTO, AUTO with pre-flash (to reduce red-eye effect), AUTO with slower shutter speeds and pre-flash, On, Off

Flash Range: 60 cm to 5.0 m [W/ISO Auto], 1.0 to 2.8 m [Tele/ISO Auto]

Self-Timer: 2/10 s delay

Monitor: 3.0-inch TFT-LCD, approx. 460,800 pixels, Touch screen functionality

Microphone/Speaker: Stereo/mono

Internal memory: approx. 18-MB

Memory cards: SD: 8-MB to 2-GB

SDHC: 4-GB to 32-GB

SDXC: 48-GB to 64-GB

HDMI: Mini-HDMI cable (type C)

AV OUT/DIGITAL: Digital: USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed)

Dedicated jack (8-pin): Analogue Video/Audio: NTSC/PAL Composite (switchable in menu), Audio-line-out (mono)

GPS: Geodetic Data System: WGS84

GPS Note: GPS tagging may not function in the People's Republic of China and neighboring regions. Satellite signal reception may be impossible, depending on the location. In such cases, the positioning data may be recorded inaccurately or not at all.

Database: 1 Mio. Points of Interest

Operating temperature/Humidity: 0-40 C/10-80 percent

Battery (Lithium/Ion): BP-DC7

Voltage/capacity: 3.6 V, 895 mAh (260 pictures according to CIPA standards)

Dimensions (WxHxD): 104.9x57.6x33.4mm / 4.13x2.27x1.31 in

Weight: 219 g/7.72 oz (with memory card & battery)

PictBridge: Yes

In the Box: Camera, Battery charger (Leica BC-DC7), Lithium-ion Battery (Leica BP-DC7), Carrying strap, AV cable, USB cable, Software DVDs, CD with long instructions, Printed short instruction manuals, Touch Pen

Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 9, Adobe Premiere Elements 9