I have owned one for two-three months. Ever since they halved in price in Australia. Here is my take on them. As someone else pointed out they look much more elegant than the Leica version which is all chrome and plasticy looking. A rare taste slip for Leitz. I mainly bought mine because of (a) the rangefinder appearance of the thing. It does look for all the world like a rangefinder camera and is quite attractive not withstanding its boxy appearance and (b) because its almost unlimited in the lenses that can be used on it with adapters. Nikon, Pentax K, M42, Leica R, Olympus, Contax / Yashica, Minolta and some more exotic types like Hasselblad, Mamiya and Exacta. The only big exception is the Canon FD/FL and thats only because Canons register distance is about the same as the 4/3 cameras leaving no room for the adapter. While on the topic of adapters I favour the fotodiox ones. These are mid priced (around $20-$30 on eBay) The cheaper ones work but I have found that they tend to not be built to the required tolerances so scale focussing (or hyperfocal focussing) becomes impossible if that is what you want to do. I had to buy 3 M42 adapters before I found one that was acceptable to me.
Since purchasing the camera I have found one other thing I really like. You can select about 8 different "film modes" i.e. different looks to the shots you take. e.g. Dynamic color which boosts saturation, nature which only boosts certain colors and a few different black and white types. I was one who believed that BW conversions all had to be handled in Photoshop to get a good result by balancing channels. But believe me this camera does a pretty competent job of this for you and sometimes its fun just to shoot in black and white.
Someone mentioned the focus confirmation. I have found this to be less than perfect with manual lenses. It seems ultra sensitive and the indicator in the viewfinder snaps on and off with the smallest twitch of the lens focus ring. To make matters worse it is sensitive to light availability so if you stop the lens down (which you would think should increase DOF and reduce the problem) in some lighting situations it makes it worse. In fact the auto focus on less than good light is one weaker aspect of the camera even with its auto focus kit lens and in low contrast situations it can some times struggle. BTW I found that focus confirmation with third party manual lenses did not work AT ALL until I upgraded the firmware. So if you are finding that you are not getting focus confirmation when using manual lenses - try that. So in short, manual focusing will work in good light but unless your eyes are about 10 times better than mine (not hard I admit) forget about it in poor lighting - you will struggle.
When using manual lenses you also have to be prepared to experiment a bit with exposure. I have found that in critical situations the camera will not always get it right when a manual lens is mounted. Maybe the camera and kit lens talk to each other and use this data to set the correct exposure. In any event you will get the occasional flop in manual focus mode with a third party lens. (I think this is common with the 4/3 format for some reason as I once saw but did not fully study, an explanation of why this occurred with Olympus 4/3 cameras. If you are so inclined here is the link.
http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/oly-e/any-lens.html )
I have not used "live view" much although this looks useful for use on a tripod. I have just bought a wireless remote to use with the camera and think that this and live view with the camera mounted on a tripod will do just fine for long or slow shots where accurate focusing and a steady rest are critical.
The camera has a feeling of quality. It is built around a metal shell and is quite heavy compared with some other cameras (e.g. the Olympus e-330 which is built using similar technology and looks a little the same - i.e.a porro prism instead of a penta prism.) On the whole I would say I am very satisfied with it and especially enjoy he flexibility it offers. But I also have a Nikon D70s and to me that has more the feel of a pro camera whereas this one feels like a dilettante's camera - an expensive toy, but nice never the less.
Having said this, there are one or two minor handling quirks that I find annoying. For example, in the Nikon when you take a picture there is an auto review function so the picture appears on the rear screen. If you wish to scroll to compare it with another you have taken or to delete it then these are one button push away. In the L1 however auto review is odd. The picture appears. But if you want to scroll or delete you have to first change mode from auto review to full review. This takes some button pushing. If you then wish to delete, this is not done with two simple presses of the delete button as with Nikon, you have to push the delete button , then use the scrolling buttons to select the "yes I really really REALLY do wish to delete" option and then press the delete button once more to confirm delete. This juggling between pressing the delete button, pressing the scrolling buttons then pressing the delete button again is unnecessary and I often find myself stuffing it up and having to start the process again. Odd little handling aspects like this detract from the ergonomics of the camera and can be annoying.
One final point. This camera is a "gas guzzler." My Nikon can shoot for days without recharging the battery especially now that I have installed an after market battery grip which takes two batteries. But if you are in the field with the L1 be prepared to recharge every day at least and for preference buy some back ups as in some situations (e.g. using live view) you may need them even sooner. One other minor battery related niggle. The battery door latch is not held shut by a spring so it comes open at the slightest provocation . So does the interior catch locking the battery in place inside the battery chamber. The only difference is that the battery IS spring ejected. So once the battery door and the battery catch are disengaged the results are predictable. With your left hand under the camera body to stabilize it while shooting, its surprisingly easy to disengage both by doing no more than bumping them with your finger and on more than one occasion my battery has shot from its compartment like a pilot in an ejector seat of an upside down aircraft to end up on the ground - fortunately without damage or loss, but I could envisage losing a battery very easily to breakage or just by not noticing it falling out.
The above may sound like a litany of issues but they are really only minor niggles and as I said I do like the camera and am not disappointed with it. But I am balanced in my view of it and it may not be for everyone.
