Leica’s new V-Lux 5 balances photo and video capabilities in a compact body

It seems that compact cameras aren’t going anywhere despite mobile photography being more and more widespread. The V-Lux 5 is the latest compact camera from Leica, and it’s aimed at both photo and video shooters, as well as those who want to get the best of their travel images and videos.

The Leica a V-Lux 5 features a 20.1MP 1″ CMOS sensor. Leica promises “impressively fast” autofocus performance along with continuous shooting rates up to 12 fps or 30 fps at 8MP in the 4K Photo mode. While we’re at it, the 4K Photo mode allows shooting of 8MP stills at 30 fps in three ways:

• 4K Burst: Just as with video recording, this mode will allow you to continuously record 8MP images at 30 fps for up to 15 minutes, making it ideal for instances where you need a fast frame rate in order to capture the best moment.
• 4K Pre-Burst: This mode is ideal for times when you’re unsure of the critical moment to press the shutter button and will record 8MP images at 30 fps one second prior to and one second after pressing the shutter button in order to give you 60 frames to choose from.
• 4K Burst (S/S): This mode most closely follows the 4K video recording process, and allows you to playback your video, pause at the chosen moment, and use the shutter button to mark a chosen frame from the video and save it as a single 8MP frame.

As for the lens, the Leica a V-Lux 5 features a DC Vario-Elmarit ASPH. lens with 16x zoom, which covers a 25-400mm equivalent focal length range. The maximum aperture is f/2.8-4, and the lens features a series of aspherical elements. This helps it to minimize spherical aberrations and distortions throughout the zoom range.

The Leica a V-Lux 5 allows you to focus-stack images in-camera. It also comes with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, along with the Leica FOTOS app. As for the design, there’s a 2.36m-dot, 0.74x-magnification EVF and a rear 3.0″ 1.24m-dot touchscreen LCD monitor. The screen flips out 180° to the side and then tilts 270°, so I guess this camera could be useful for vlogging.

Here are the specs:

Imaging
Pixels	Actual: 20.9 Megapixel Effective: 20.1 Megapixel
Maximum Resolution	4864 x 3648
Aspect Ratio	4:3
Sensor Type	CMOS
Sensor Size	1″
Image File Format	JPEG, RAW

Lens
Focal Length	9.1 to 146mm (35mm Equivalent Focal Length: 25 to 400mm)
Optical Zoom	16x
Maximum Aperture	f/2.8 to 4

Exposure Control
ISO Sensitivity	Auto, 125 to 12800 (Extended: 80 to 25600)
Exposure Modes	Aperture Priority, Manual, Program, Shutter Priority
Continuous Shooting	Up to 12 fps at 20.1 MP Up to 30 fps at 8 MP

Video
Recording Modes	MP4 UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p [100 Mb/s]
Recording Limit	Up to 29 Minutes, 59 Seconds
Video Encoding	NTSC/PAL
Audio Recording	Built-In Microphone (Stereo) External Microphone Input (Stereo)

Viewfinder and Monitor
Viewfinder Type	Electronic (OLED)
Viewfinder Resolution	2,360,000 Dot
Viewfinder Coverage	100%
Diopter Adjustment	Yes
Monitor Size	3″
Monitor Resolution	1,240,000 Dot
Monitor Type	Articulating Touchscreen LCD

Flash
Built-in Flash	Yes
External Flash Connection	Hot Shoe

Interface
Memory Card Slot	1 x SD/SDHC/SDXC
Connectivity	USB 2.0 Micro-B
Wireless	Wi-Fi Bluetooth
GPS	None

Physical
Battery	1 x Rechargeable Lithium-Ion (Approx. 440 Shots)

 

As for the price of the new Leica V-Lux 5: well, it’s a Leica, so it will set you back $1,250. It’s a bit pricey for a point-and-shoot camera. Still, there are no surprises, because the price is pretty similar to the previously launched Leica C-Lux and D-Lux 7, The Leica V-Lux 5 is available for preorders and we don’t know the exact shipping date yet, but it’s noted that it’s “coming soon.”