Thanks! nice review and lovely B&W jpegs. I had this camera back in 2011. I bought it used at a very good price with the 14-50 / 2,8 - 3,5 zoom. I got some good photos from it, especially I remembered some beautiful color jpegs. I did not use the zoom so much but my Olympus Zuiko 135mm f2.8 I used a lot. When full frame became affordable I got the Sony a850 and it made my work a lot easier, and I sold the L1. Whis I still had it for the B&Ws.
Lovely images from such a relatively old camera. My first leap down the Leica “rabbit hole” was via an equally obscure Pani-Leica, the Panasonic DMC-FX100 which was the size of a pack of cigarettes ! I had so much fun shooting with it because of its size and image quality. I still own it. Thanks for posting. Very interesting back stories as well.
I have used several Canon cameras going back about 15 years, a couple Nikons and several Lumix MFT cameras plus the S5. Panasonic makes my favorite cameras. They’re innovative, intuitive and produce great results. The G9 is my favorite camera of all time. Panasonic is underrated.
Thanks again for an entertaining and informative video. It makes a welcome break from the flood of videos about the latest Panasonic release. I don't know if it was intentional but the introduction made me smile.
@@OneMonthTwoCameras it's midnight soon where I live, but I will go for a short walk in my lunch break today and take some black and white pics for sure!
Rad! I need to take notes, your videos are so good. Perfect mix of “real life conversation” kind of delivery but with plenty of sample photos and you hit all the specs without sounding like you’re reading off a sheet. I always go into making videos thinking “I’m not a camera reviewer, I’ll just talk like I’m telling someone about my camera during their haircut” then I end up rambling for an hour and forgetting to say half of what I wanted to say 🤪
Ever since I found your channel my GAS has been peaking!!!! I used to collect film/digital cameras and pretty much sold all of it. Safe to say, I ordered this camera.
I've just withdrew the sale of my leica digilux 3 . After looking back at the photos I took with it, I've decided to give it another airing. Definitely got a special look to the images. Thanks Dan. 😊
I agree with everything you said. I had the Leica Digilux 3 and the Black and White profile had to be my absolute favourite. I haven't experienced any modern digital cameras that can produce a similar B&W Shooting Experience as this camera (except the Leica Q2 Monochrome). Sadly, my Digilux 3 shutter ended up failing, so I retired it as a collector piece. I ended up buying a Viewfinder Magnifier for this camera and it made Manual Focus super duper easy.
I have the L1, paired with Zuiko 14-54mm f2.8 and OM Zuiko 55mm f1.2, the latter having the craziest and most flamboyant bokeh imaginable! Great video, thanks!
Love this review 🙂I purchased mine after watching watching a video on the Leica Digilux 3 and realized that I had a preference for the Panasonic DMC L1 over the Digilux 3 and found it (body, lens, manuals, etc in excellent condition for $300 less than most on ebay wanted for the digilux) 🙂
The L1 is actually based on the Olympus E-330, sensor wise and also the whole mirror setup incl. the 1st live view implementation. The sensor, although not being a CCD anymore creates fantastic colours. I took so many nice photos back then using it.
Great review. I've been following your channel for a while and knew that you had an L1, but thought you sold it a couple of spring cleanings ago. I've taken some of my favorite photos using it, which I bought new with its 14-50mm vario-elmarit kit lens in December of 2007 for $799. Its flash is not only ingenious, it also works surprisingly well. The 14-50mm lens can be adapted to many u4/3's cameras including the em1.1, but is not compatible with the em1 II, em1 III, em1x, om-1, etc. The L1 is easy to operate for someone familiar with film cameras or traditional controls, but is no joy to use for someone who needs reading glasses, as I do. I've been spoiled by EVFs, especially the one on the OM-1. My L1 needs to find a new home.
Great video! This is the camera I own for the longest time.(since 2009 I mean) There was a time I want to sell it, but now I'm happy I didn't. The colours are special, but good As you said, the B/W Photos are awesome! The (retro)style and look was so different at that time and live view was an incredible feature 😄 A beautiful camera, not getting enough attention, because time is going on too fast and everyone wanted more and more resolution.
I have the previous version (DMC-LC1) and the b&w is really really awesome. I shoot it almost exclusively in b&w. The fixed lens is an absolute jewel, soo sharp. Definitely one of the best early digicams imo. I would like to try this version eventually.
GOD I LOOOVE YOUR VIDEOS 😂 it’s just that camera addiction goodness. I don’t even know the model and every time I’m so excited ❤😂 I love that you think of all the people who need a X100V haha, I had one and switched to the GRIII but now sort of back to Fuji with the XT30II and love all the buttons, more buttons more fun.
You’re welcome! What’s your favourite brand colour wise? Since I switched from Ricoh / Pentax I just hope I can still edit my photos so they look alike with Fuji raws, the sharpness just blew me away when I used the GR III it looked so good - similar to this one here, it really makes a difference on how cinematic a photo can look for my work so yeah. I sort of found the brands I like and moved away from canon when I started photography many years ago but it’s hard when you can’t buy every camera to test it ou.
This is not a correction but an interesting tidbit...the first camera to have live view was the Olympus E330 which is the follow up to the E300. It's mostly the same body but with some tweaks to make it look more 'normal' than the E300 and of course...the change from CCD to LiveMOS and probably the same sensor set up you talk about for this cam! I bought the E330 because of your E300 videos because I wasn't able to find one :)
Hello from Cambridge England, love the channel, I have the Leica Digilux 3 I would love the 25mm lens but can only find it in micro four thirds, where did you find an original four thirds? thank you
Great video! Curious about your upscaling and noise reduction process. Usually in photoshop (adobe raw), it either lets me do upscaling or NR, not both. Love to know how you go about it, make a video! :)
Cool review and great photos. NGL though when I saw that 4/3rds 50/2.0 macro I had an involuntary reaction of some sort because I have spent years having to watch my flickr group for the film version of the 50mm f2.0 like a hawk because people cant read 🙃speaking of if you ever wanted to borrow either the 50 or 90/2.0 macro (since youre already adapting old OM lenses) or either of the f1.2s that could be arranged.
I have the Leica Digilux 3 - basically the same camera with a different name (except for the firmware), and I love it as well. I'm partial to prime lenses, and my Digilux 3 came with the 14-50mm f2.8-3.5 Vario-Elmarit zoom lens, which with other lenses/cameras would be an issue for me, but it is so good I don't mind, that it's a zoom lens at all. My biggest problem is what to do when my Digilux 3 bricks, as I'm convinced it will some day in the hopefully distant future. The Panasonic GX7/8/9 is the closest I have come to an MFT version of the L1, but it isn't really that close.
Oh man I think about that fate all the time with these old cameras. I say use them until they take their last breath and enjoy every moment. There will always be another camera after. :P
@@OneMonthTwoCameras I just hope I can find another Digilux 3 or L1 or E-330, when/if I need it. I do have an Olympus E-500 and it's nice, but it's no Porro prism finder camera.
Nice to see you. Greetings from Japan Glad to see Japanese historic camera a lot ❤ I love ccd old digicam too I have E-1 ,K10D ,S5pro and Konica minolta alpha 7 digital is wicked gear too You might like it Peace 😊
The porro mirror is similar to the Oly E-300, so I wonder if that has something to do with the extra little umpf the rendering seems to have. Great video, like always, Ali!
I got to use the Olympus E-330 which is basically the same camera with a few extra features and different body design. It (naturally) didn't come with the Panasonic 14-150 zoom though which I really wanted to try. It would of course fit the E-330 but was fairly expensive to buy by itself. Live MOS is just something Panasonic name most of their FT-sensors regardless of technology or who actually made it.
I always assumed live Mos was a marketing term for CMOS sensors. I looked it up just now, and they are an nmos gate sensor. Long story short, it seems they draw more current and have a higher noise baseline than cmos, but we're easier to manufacture and had faster readouts in the earlier days of CMOS sensors. But yeah, I can see how they might lend to more subjectively pleasing b+w photos :) Every day a school day.
I absolutely flipping love my L1 (and Digilux 3 and, to a somewhat lesser extent, E-330). The only thing about the L1 I wish were configurable is back-button-focusing. I don't know how to set it and am not sure if it's even possible. If someone knows how, please let me know. I really don't like shutter half-press for focusing.
Oh, that is one of those cameras of Mr. Kaoru Mokunaka (product manager). The other cameras of which Mokunaka was the product manager were Lumix LC1, Leica X1, and Leica Q. All of them are beautiful cameras. Ah, yes, after LC1, Mokunaka quit Panasonic and joined Leica. (People rumor that something not so nice must have happened between Panasonic and Mokunaka, back then.) He was working in Germany when he was a part of the developments of X1 and Q. Then he went back to Japan and now is the liaison of Leica for the L2 Technology thingy. Obviously, the relations between Panasonic and Mokunaka, if they were not so good for some years in the past, must have been restored. While it does not look beautiful, there is another camera called Lumix L10. The good news is that you can get batteries new for L10, doing so is not that easy for LC1 nor L1. The thing is though, you must adjust the contrast and color saturation settings lower when you use L10 otherwise you cannot get the same image quality with L1. Yeah, it is similar to the situation of E-1 (flag ship) and E-300 (entry).
Great review. When I divested my 4/3 stuff (gave it away to a niece and nephew) I could not give up the 50 f2 as it is crazy good. I have used it a few times on m4/3 with adapter but am soooo tempted to get a 4/3 body just for that lens. I woudl disagree with the best camera for B+W: for super dynamic B&W try an OMS OM1 with B&W Art Filter Type II, or even better: a Sigma dp quattro. I have the dp0 and dp1 and would love to find a dp3 quattro just for that lens...
I've been waiting for someone to review this camera for ages, idk why the sideways mirror DSLR style never took off. What adapter did you use for Olympus lenses?
I bought mine 3 years ago from a retailer as a boxed mint complete kit with the 14-50 lens lens for £300. Either not many were made, or owners are holding on to them, as I don't see any for sale.
Great review. I find you interesting. Are you still able to find batteries for this camera? I got introduced to Panasonic’s dynamic b+w on the LX3. Love that look. Wish maybe I could be the one to sleep under your pillow. That camera is lucky. Someone is totally flirting with you. 😂
Ali gotta love those Panasonic sensors. B&W Dynamic my fav. Was wondering which lens you used for your b&w images? Flickr b&w's are not as good as yours Ali.
For a second I was thinking Panasonic was releasing a rangefinder style camera with a viewfinder and they sent you one to review. This is the first time I'm even hearing about this camera. I always wondered about Panasonic and Four Thirds. I know they made some lens but I did not even know they even made one camera.
Used to own 'Leica version' back in 2008 and was got that one because i believed it was a digital RF lol. Later i transit to R-D1 to fix my 'mistake' but sometimes im thinking about this camera. By the way, Im really wondering if there gonnna be some difference between Olympus E-330 with this one on color science and digital grain patterns cause i believe both camera share same sensor.
Be interested in your comparison with E-330. I tried the L1 and E-330 when they were new. I preferred the look of the L1 but the Live View A feature of the E-330 won me over. I still have it and would love to find a nice Panny 14-150mm f3.5-5.6 to make a stabilised E-330 walkaround. I love the look of those old low pixel density sensors.
The E-330 has an additional small sensor that provides a mirror closed live viewing method on the LCD, much like a compact camera - Mode A. Mode B is like the Panny, mirror locked out of the way. Very clever option and useful in its day. Sadly the E-330 got savaged in reviews because of its brick like E-300 looks and small viewfinder. I loved the looks and the ability to use built in flash with an extra on hotshoe flash, bouncing main flash and using little built in flash at very low power for eye highlights
Another one for the list. “They” should send you on a month long photo only trip. It would be interesting to see a book of that. Time, the universal nemesis.
@@unbroken1010that’s okay it would be an EDC type camera that would be for b-roll. Any audio that is getting picked up will be insta deleted anyway. If I do desperately need audio with it I always keep a zoom float recorder and a lav mic in my car/bag anyway so it’s whatever.
It's nice but too expensive for what it is. the second one was a nice chunky slr Instead. I might get the fuji S5, they make cf to micro SD cards adapters.
NOOOOOOOOOO! I have been stalking this camera on eBay for the last 6 months now they will surely become more expensive. Two of these just sold for less than $250 with the 14-50mm 2.8-3.5.
The LUMIX 25mm 1.4 and that 14-50mm 2.8-4 and Zuiko 50-200mm 2.8 with the Olympus E-400 10MP KODAK CCD was my Four Thirds KIT I regret selling but got more than I paid when I sold it.
