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Leica d-lux 3

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ellemand

Guest
Hey everyone.

I use (besides the Ricoh GRD as written in another thread) the Leica d-lux 3, witch I find is at very good compact - and it makes a great IQ.
I mostly use Jpeg when shooting in the streets, with sharpness and noise reduction set to "low" - the rest settings in "normal".
Anyone care to share experiences?



Best wishes

Ellemand
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ellemand/
 
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wbrandsma

Guest
Excellent image Ellemand. This spring I thought about buying the d-lux 3, Pana LX2, Canon G7 or Ricoh GX100. I opted for the Ricoh just because of the 24 mm wide angle. I think the build quality of the d-lux 3 is very good.
 
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Mitch Alland

Guest
Very nice tonality, Ellemand. I like the D-Lux-3 but haven't used it after I got the GX100 because I left on a two-month trip to Paris and only took the latter camera with me. At ISO 100 the D-Lux-3 seems sharper than the GX100, but aggressive sharpening of the latter's RAW file seems to equalize the difference. I have a great preference, however, for the "stepped zoom" of the D-Lux-3, which makes it feel as if one is using a camera with five prime lenses.

At higher ISOs (400 and 800) I like the GX100 much better: the D-Lux-3 I find a hit-or-miss proposition at ISO 800, but Maggie O has done well with this camera at this speed. At ISO 1600 I find the D-Lux-3 unusable because, even in RAW, there seems to be some in-camera smoothing that "smears" the image.



—Mitch/Bangkok
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/
 
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wbrandsma

Guest
I thougt the 16:9 framing was a nice to have. But I mostly use the 3:2 format and I wanted to have a real wide angle lens. Like Mitch said the stepped zoom of the GX100 is a really nice thing. In snap mode with 24mm it works really fast.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I'm lurking on the sidelines amazed at the images you guys are getting with these little cameras! I now find myself in the embarassing position of having to admit I own a D-Lux 3 (I wanted a good P&S) but rarely to never use it; I've owned it about a year and have maybe taken 100 frames total...

Any suggestions on how to best set it up for street?
 
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Mitch Alland

Guest
Jack, if you're going to use RAW files, it of course really doesn't matter how you set it up. Since I want mainly B&W I just set the JPG for B&W and get a B&W view on the LCD. As I haven't used JPGs, I can't advise you on the settings, if that is what you want to do.

—Mitch/Bangkok
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/
 
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wbrandsma

Guest
The thing that works for me on the GX100 is to underexpose slightly (between -0.3 and -0.7 EV) and set it up for aperture priority between f4 and f5. The autofocus is already pretty fast, but the snap mode of the Ricohs is a real bonus and makes the camera even faster.
If only the writing times of raw could/would be faster (around 6 seconds)?
 

Maggie O

Active member
I adore my D-Lux 3. I've found it usable up to ISO 800, even in JPEG mode. My biggest gripe is the slooooooooooow RAW write times. (I just got a San Disk eXtreme III, hoping to speed that up a bit. Thoughts?) Here's some shots from it, taken in Southwark this autumn:













I shot JPEG @ ISO 800 and OIS at setting #2. AWB. That seemed quick enough. If you prefocus, the shutter response is almost instant, though not as quick as the M8.

Lots more here in my D-Lux 3 photoset.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Mitch and Maggie:

Yes, the RAW write times are so slow I don't bother with them and have always shot jpeg. I haven't done a comparison, but I'd suspect for B&W that the in-cam jpeg may be close enough to the raw that it is doesn't matter? It's a scuzzy day here, so a good oppportunity to play around with it some...
 

Maggie O

Active member
Jack, I go back and forth on that. I get to thinking that the RAW stuff looks so much better, but then I look at my jpegs and start thinking that they look pretty damn good, too.

I'm trying out some new settings on the camera- I got NR at low, sharpening at high and everything else at normal.

Oh, and I love the macro setting on this little bugger!

 

Terry

New member
I have the d-lux3 as well. Unfortunately it has been sitting in Scottsdale since this summer and I need to get out to my house and rescue it. I held one next to my M8 the other day and it seems so tiny. Here are some of my shots from the camera:

From the back yard










 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Maggie: Indeed, the Macro is impressive and I love that image you put up --- way cool!

Terry: Those are stunners, I especially like number 3! #4 and #6 are locked up in a way I've never seen before. Do you have them digitally protected?
 

Maggie O

Active member
Maggie: Indeed, the Macro is impressive and I love that image you put up --- way cool!
Thanks, Jack! It's also a testament to one of the best things about the D-Lux 3: it fits in a purse or a pocket, no problem. I made that shot while I was waiting for the eye doctor to come in and start my exam! :thumbup:
 

Terry

New member
Maggie: Indeed, the Macro is impressive and I love that image you put up --- way cool!

Terry: Those are stunners, I especially like number 3! #4 and #6 are locked up in a way I've never seen before. Do you have them digitally protected?
User error. Interesting. I have my Zenfolio set up so that very large and full sized images can't be downloaded or linked to by others. Those shots were reduced in sized when I uploaded them to my Zenfolio gallery so my normal posting size for threads was actually full size. So, as far as Zenfolio is concerned I was linking the full sized image. I tested that I could see them fine on getDPI before posting. I failed to realize the only reason they could be seen was because I was still considered logged in to Zenfolio so it seems I can see my own links just fine but no one else can. The good news is that Zenfolio's security works. They allow unlimited storage so it is a decent place to back up some things offsite (however right now only jpegs).

I'm going to edit above and change to a link with a smaller size. Going forward I will simply add them to the gallery here and link from the gallery.

terry
 

Terry

New member
Dang,
I didn't realize there was an edit time limit. Here are the blocked shots.





and just for fun:
 
S

Sean_Reid

Guest
Hey everyone.

I use (besides the Ricoh GRD as written in another thread) the Leica d-lux 3, witch I find is at very good compact - and it makes a great IQ.
I mostly use Jpeg when shooting in the streets, with sharpness and noise reduction set to "low" - the rest settings in "normal".
Anyone care to share experiences?



Best wishes

Ellemand
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ellemand/
That's a good picture, IMO, and the arms moving across the center space really give it the last piece it needs to hold. It's also a nice JPEg "print". I think that the Leica D-Lux cameras (2 and 3), with their Panasonic counterparts, are the other really great compact small sensor cameras. I tested the D-Lux 3 earlier this year for review and it was, in many respects, an excellent little camera with a very good lens.

Also, thank you for crossing brands on this forum because getting stuck in a brand loyalty thing is one of the ruts I hoped this forum would avoid.

Cheers,

Sean
 
S

Sean_Reid

Guest
I'm lurking on the sidelines amazed at the images you guys are getting with these little cameras! I now find myself in the embarassing position of having to admit I own a D-Lux 3 (I wanted a good P&S) but rarely to never use it; I've owned it about a year and have maybe taken 100 frames total...

Any suggestions on how to best set it up for street?
Hiya Jack,

As you probably know, I don't think there really is such a thing as "street photography" and I've been trying for several years to get the world away from the term "point and shoot" (see that "On Small Sensor Cameras" article). That's why I came up with the term "Small Sensor Cameras" in my 2004 review of the D2 for LuLa. It moves the emphasis to what these cameras are as a format, rather than dismissing them as "snapshot" cameras, etc.

But for working quickly, I think the most important thing about these cameras is to forget that they even have an auto-focus function. None of them, in AF, can keep up with a fast photographer and the deep DOF they yield works perfectly with pre-focusing. The Leica, of course, has that great DOF scale focus indicator and presetting the manual focus distance is really the ticket to making these cameras fast. And, of course, they're much more flexible capturing RAW files and I know you have a lot of expertise in RAW.

Cheers,

Sean
 

jonoslack

Active member
Interesting stuff
I've had more 'small sensor cameras' than I've had hot dinners - the Dlux 3 being one of the few exceptions. I was enjoying my GX-100 when Wilson Laidlaw nabbed it in part exchange for his Noctilux (no regrets).

I'm now wondering whether to have another go at the D-lux (and if I don't like it I'll blame Terry).

Finally, Terry - do you really have a Marks and Spencers in your back yard!!!!
 

Terry

New member
Interesting stuff
I've had more 'small sensor cameras' than I've had hot dinners - the Dlux 3 being one of the few exceptions. I was enjoying my GX-100 when Wilson Laidlaw nabbed it in part exchange for his Noctilux (no regrets).

I'm now wondering whether to have another go at the D-lux (and if I don't like it I'll blame Terry).

Finally, Terry - do you really have a Marks and Spencers in your back yard!!!!
You know late last night when I was posting the images I knew someone was going to ask how both the cactus and Marks and Spencer could both be in my back yard! I still own a bit of real estate in London so I could actually claim all the shots from AZ, NY and London are all part of my back yard :D.

But seriously,
I would not get a new d-lux3/lx2 just yet. I would wait and see what Panny announces for PMA in January. I also have the TZ3 which is a great little P&S with a great lens and zoom range (28-280 and no distortion) but lacking manual control. The dream is the marriage of the TZ3 and the LX series. TZ was announced last January so we should see a follow-up soon.

terry
 

Maggie O

Active member
Here's something to kill the pain of waiting:



;)

A" D-Lux 4" would be worth waiting for, I would think, but the GRD II is here now...
 
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