Leica D-Lux 4 Digital Camera (Black)
by Leica
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: LeicaRelease Date: 2009-11-30
Model: D-Lux4 Black
Color: Black
Product features:
- 10.1-megapixel resolution and 24-60 Summicron lens f2.0
- Small, compact design with 3.0-inch TFT LCD screen
- 50 MB built-in memory; capture images to SD memory card, SDHC memory card and MultiMedia cards (not included)
- Adobe Photoshop CS5 Upgrade [Old Version]
- Serif PhotoPlus X3
- Aperture 3
- Manfrotto 7302YB M-Y Tripod with Ball - Replaces 725B
- Pixelmator [Old Version]
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Leica D-Lux 4 Digital Camera (Black)
Customer Review: Outstanding features in a compact camera.
Summary: 5 Stars
The biggest questions I had in my mind about this camera before buying it were "Is it worth the money?" and "Can it replace my dSLR as a carry-around camera?" After about a month of using it I have some of the answers.
The old saying goes that the best camera you have is the one you have with you. This camera with it's `ever ready' case weighs about 14 ounces. My dSLR kit with 3 lenses, a TC, and a flash weighs about 25 pounds. A tripod (carbon fiber), long lens, and macro lens adds close to 15 pounds. I hiked up the lakefront last week carrying the 25 pounds, and it got a lot heavier about half way through, downright painful. If I wanted to spend a day at the zoo I'd take everything, so I'd be lugging around 40 pounds. This is a great mental block to getting out, and it's a whole lot easier to throw 14 ounces in my jacket pocket. I also really noticed that with my dSLR people were very aware of the camera, and with the Leica people didn't even notice me, making it a lot easier to capture candid `street' photography.
So, what do you give up for this portability? Surprisingly little. The only things I can think of are the ability to change lenses and a smaller sensor size.
The lens is fantastic, starting at f/2.0, being so fast that in sunlight I could not get the shutter speed slow enough at f/11 to smoothen water or blur moving objects such as a train. I've already ordered an Opteka 52mm adapter so I can use my existing CP and ND filters. Panasonic also has a wide angle lens adapter. There is no telephoto adapter, that would be a welcome addition. The lens introduces very little distortion, buildings and trees actually look straight. I had another `famous lens maker' P&S that had so much distortion that it made flagpoles look like pretzels.
The camera shoots RAW and JPEG and RAW+JPEG in varying sizes and quality. I really wanted RAW files, that's all I shoot with my dSLR, and I really like the non-destructive and enhanced editing features you get with RAW. It comes with a full version of Phase One's Capture 4, which looks pretty sophisticated, or the files can be read and rendered by CS4 and Lightroom 2. You can change the shooting aspect ratio, focus mode, and even the simulated film type to match Leica film cameras including B&W.
What I consider to be the biggest feature of this camera is the firmware. The camera will shoot in the very easiest to use up to sophisticated options as well as video. The `snapshot' mode picks out what type of scene you're shooting and adjusts everything accordingly, you do nothing. `Scene' mode lets you pick from 23 predefined settings like `baby', `party', starry night', etc. Then there are the standard Program (which you can shift using the joystick), Aperture priority, Shutter priority, and Manual modes.
Even with the latest firmware version which is supposed to fix white balance detection, it is not good. dpreview notes the bad fluorescent settings, and I noticed that even shooting a flower patch resulted in a different WB depending on the color of the flowers in the scene. Luckily, there are 4 ways around this problem, 1) shoot RAW and adjust in the renderer, 2) set WB manually on the camera, 3) set WB temperature in the ROM, 4) set a WB preset by reading a white piece of paper in the shooting light. Even my dSLR gets confused with WB, the problem is not unique to this camera.
Other dSLR type features: Exposure bracketing, Flash output bracketing, Burst mode, Custom settings (2), Rear curtain flash sync, AF tracking, etc. To see a full list of features, you can download the camera manual from Leica.
Negatives: The accessories are incredibly overpriced. A viewfinder that is little more than a hollow tube is almost half the price of the camera. I'd like to have it to steady the camera against my face, but I won't spend that much on it. The battery is twice the price of the Panasonic battery, which is 3 times the price of a generic battery. The `ever ready' case costs more than a lot of people want to spend on an entire camera.
Forget about a Leica flash, buy a 3rd party one for the LX-3 with more output. While the body of the camera is made of sturdy metal, the I/O and Battery/SD doors are cheap plastic. I'm really careful with the battery door. While I haven't had any problem accidentally moving the mode dial when pressing the shutter as a few people have reported, the camera is a little hard to hold. It would have been nice to have a built in handle like the LX-3 or at least include the now optional handle with the camera. If you do buy the handle, it will not fit in the ever ready case. The case itself has some problems which I'll address in a separate review.
So, can this camera replace a dSLR? Yes, with the reservation that there is not a long lens available. The options common with a dSLR are there. The image quality is there.
I have a couple of other P&S's and I rarely use them mostly due to distortion, noise, slow lenses, and lack of RAW capability. I'm not willing to haul around 25 pounds everyday, but I keep the Leica next to the door ready to go.
Is the camera worth the money? A qualified maybe. It depends on how much you value two hundred dollars, that's the premium over a LX-3 or G11. Then you have to consider whether you are going to add accessories and if they will be genuine Leica accessories. The whole system is getting near fifteen hundred dollars. The two hundred does mean something to me, but if you're going to pay as much for a P&S as you are an entry level dSLR you might as well go for the Leica. And, it takes better pictures than my 10K+ worth of equipment sitting at home.
Description of Leica D-Lux 4 Digital Camera (Black)
Compact CameraDigital Cameras
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