Make no mistake about it, the Leica V-Lux (Typ 114) ($1,350) is the same camera as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 ($897.99 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , just with slightly different cosmetics and with a higher sticker price. The $450 increase for the Leica version doesn’t just get you the company’s famous red dot logo and the satisfaction of owning a Leica, however. You also get a longer three-year warranty, versus Panasonic’s one-year coverage, and a license for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. If those are worth the extra money to you, rest assured that the V-Lux is just as good as a camera as the FZ1000. But we’re rating it a half-star lower due to the higher asking price. And our favorite bridge-style camera is still Sony’s RX10 ( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , which handles a bit better, but doesn’t have quite the zoom range as the V-Lux or FZ1000.

What’s Different?
The V-Lux has the same body as the FZ1000, but its exterior is a bit different. The texture around the handgrip has changed, as has the general feel of the buttons. The FZ1000’s buttons are rounded and stick out a bit from the body, while the V-Lux’s controls are flatter. The V-Lux omits the leatherette cover on the left side of the camera, and places the red Leica logo next to the lens; there’s also an engraved Leica script logo on the rear LCD, where the FZ1000 has a Lumix logo.

The V-Lux uses a different Wi-Fi app, Leica Image Shuttle in the iOS and Android app stores, but it also works flawlessly with the Panasonic Image App; aside from the name, the two apps are identical. The camera shoots Raw format as RWL files, as opposed to the FZ1000’s RW2 format, but aside from the file extension, they are, for all intents and purposes, the same.

Leica includes a license for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 with the V-Lux. That could be a major selling point for shooters who don’t currently have a Lightroom license, as Adobe has been pushing its users to the Creative Cloud subscription model. Adobe charges $9.99 per month for Lightroom and Photoshop CC. The Lightroom standalone license, which doesn’t require you to pay a monthly fee, costs $149.99, which bridges the cost gap between the V-Lux and FZ1000 a bit. That leaves you paying $300 for an extra two years of warranty coverage, which could save you from a costly repair or, if the camera doesn’t have any issues within the second and third year of ownership, could only offer peace of mind.

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See How We Test Digital Cameras

For lab tests, sample images, and details on how the camera handles, consult our full review of the FZ1000.