There are those out there who think the Panasonic version of the 4 meg camera that they share with Leica is in fact 'nicer' feeling than the Leica. Supposedly the Panasonic is cheaper than the Leica and the only differences other than the cosmetic is in the software and the size of the memory card supplied. Be aware that upon talking to the Western Canadian Panasonic rep that the camera has been found to have visually obvious banding problems and has a much higher degree of noise at the 400 ISO setting. He thinks the cameras will be recalled this week from dealers shelves. I'll keep you posted on anything else I hear.

-- Bob Todrick (bobtodrick@yahoo.com), May 10, 2002