Leica Rebrands Panasonic’s Lumix Fz150, Calls It the V-LUX 3

Panasonic’s venerable Lumix Fz150 will soon get a new lease of life courtesy of Leica which has just announced a rebranded version of this digital camera that will be known as the V-LUX 3, once it arrives in January of 2012.

For those of you that are already familiar with the Lumix Fz150, the new V-LUX won’t hold any surprises as the two snappers feature the same 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor which is paired together with a Leica built DC Vario-Elmarit 4.5 - 108 mm f/2.8 - 5.2 ASPH lens (25-600mm in 35mm).

This setup is capable not only of capturing stills at up to 12fps in burst mode (only with manual focus), but also can record 1080p AVC HD video at up to 60fps with stereo sound.

Moving to the back, the V-LUX 3 greets us with an articulating 3-inch LCD with a 460K pixel resolution as well as with a 0.2-inch electronic viewfinder that provides nearly 100% frame coverage.

But the features list doesn’t end here and the camera also includes full support for P/A/S/M modes, an ISO 100-3200 range, a special starry sky mode with a maximum 60s shutter speed, a built-in Flash and RAW shooting support.

"The Leica V-Lux 3 combines exceptional performance with the handy size of a compact camera,” said Peter Kruschewski, Product Manager for Digital Compact Cameras at Leica Camera AG.

“It offers a vast range of focal lengths and covers almost all photographic situations that usually require the use of a camera system.

“The V-Lux 3 is therefore an attractive alternative to entry-level DSLR cameras with interchangeable lenses," concluded the company’s rep.

The Leica V-Lux 3 will be available from the company’s dealers starting with January of next year, but no info regarding the pricing was made public.

However, considering the presence of that iconic red dot, the V-LUX 3 is expected to carry quite a hefty price premium over Panasonic’s creation.