The Panasonic DMC-LC1/Leica Digilux 2

“Toe Curling Fun” 🙂 Panasonic DMC-LC1, 2009. For a larger and better view, please click on the photo.

The Panasonic DMC-LC1, aka, the Leica Digilux 2 was a 5mp point and shoot camera introduced in 2004 and featured a 28-90mm f/2-2.4 Leica Vario-Summicron lens.

I have fond memories of this camera. I remember lusting after it and getting one in 2005. I’ve never had more fun with a digital point and shoot than I did with this camera!

Now, I also had a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 before this and was not impressed with the “Leica” lens on it. It was sharp, but lacked any character.

The LC1 was different. The lens on this camera was phenomenally sharp. And it did have character. It had a Leica signature for sure.




Now being a small sensored point and shoot you’re not going to get any crazy bokeh with it. However, you CAN get some decent bokeh with the right technique/situation, but you also get resolution that looks better than you’d ever expect from five megapixels.

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“JD Omniac” 2006. Panasonic DMC-LC1. As mentioned in the article, you CAN muster out some bokeh from the Panasonic LC1 if you shoot wide open and get in close. Please click on the photo for a larger and better view.

The build is also very good and it almost reminds me of the Fuji X-Pro 1 with a big lens on it. I absolutely loved this camera for street shots.

“Fine Arts, Ten Bucks” 2005, NYC. Panasonic DMC-LC1. He had some good stuff for ten bucks! I asked the man what his name was, he said “Call me Papi”…I said “Ok Papi” 🙂

I am sure Panasonic built everything on this camera, including the lens, though it really seems like a Leica designed lens rather than just a Leica “badge” as on other Lumix cameras.

You can also get this camera under the Leica name as the Leica Digilux 2. The Digilux 2 comes in a silver/chrome finish. I much prefer the black body of the Panasonic version, it works much better for unobtrusive street work. The Leica is also more expensive, as expected. Ignore the “red dot” and get the Panasonic! Trust me on this one 🙂

If buying one of these, be forewarned that many have had sensor failures, and you always have to be careful when buying older digital cameras, especially expensive ones.

That said, the Panasonic DMC-LC1/Leica Digilux 2 are cult classics and fantastic cameras that prove megapixels aren’t everything.

“Doc Spock” 2007. Panasonic DMC-LC1. Please click on the photo and check out the man’s face to see the outstanding resolution from this 5mp camera. You may have to double click it to see it properly.

Note 11/10/14: I have found the hard drive and some “lost photos” from the DMC-LC1 and have updated the post. The post is now current.

Note 11/4/14: I will be updating this post with more images from the LC1, but first I have to find the old hard drive which contains my images from this camera! It’s been a while since I’ve seen that old drive 🙂

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3 thoughts on “The Panasonic DMC-LC1/Leica Digilux 2”

  1. Pingback: Updates | Camera Legend

  2. I bought DMC LC1 in second hand market in hk. Love the camera but i can not take sharp photos, could you share some skills to me? Thanks.

    i also found vignette from the right low conor, is it common in this camera?

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    1. Hi Andrew, sorry for the late reply. I’ve been concentrating on the YouTube channel exclusively and haven’t been here on the blog as much.

      Congrats on the DMC-LC1 but sorry to hear you’re not getting sharp images.

      Can you better describe your issues? Let me be clearer about what I mean. When you look at your photos are they out of focus? Or are they sharp when you first look at them and then look unsharp as you zoom in?

      From my own experience the DMC-LC1 presents with very sharp images when viewed “as is” but because it’s only 5mp, if you zoom in, or “pixel peep” too much the image will look softer which is normal.

      The vignetting on the lower right corner makes me suspect that your camera may have a physical problem with the lens, like decentering. The camera may have been dropped some time in the past and the lens elements may have moved out of place.

      Try shooting in automatic mode with flash. If the images are sharp, then you may just have problems with technique like your shutter speed may be too slow for handheld shooting.

      There’s a lot of possibilities but if you try my flash test, it will go a long way in determining whether it’s a problem with the camera or whether you just need to practice more with it. Feel free to let me know what happens and hope this helps! Thanks

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