Leica love

Notice how in my recent vacation posts, my point-and-shoot photos got a lot awesomer than they have been in my past vacation recaps? The culprit is this little beauty.

This camera takes gorgeous pictures when it is just too much of a pain to lug around your DSLR. Plus, the amazing settings like "high sensitivity," the ability to shoot in manual mode, and the widescreen setting, make for some dynamic shots even when you can't use a tripod or need to shoot something without prep time.

The downside is that a new model, the Leica D-lux 4, came out recently, and they stopped manufacturing these little guys. D-Lux 3's are so popular, market price for a new one shot up to something crazy.

I got mine for a significant steal on eBay, so if you're interested, I would look out for deals there. I don't know much about the new D-lux 4, though I've heard pretty good things. Newer isn't always better, however, so do the research! I read a lot of reviews and looked at a lot of flickr photos before I chose this camera.