Leica D-LUX 3

Opinion: Beautiful camera. I've had it for 6 months. I came back here to read up on cameras to recommend to a friend and came back in here to read the more recent reviews. I don't understand the complaints about noise. You get the same amount of noise from similar sensor sized cameras. You should be using Noise Ninja regardless of what compact digital camera you are using.

The 16:9 ratio is absolutely fun to shoot with, landscapes and portraits included. The interface is remarkable considering the amount of options there are. It's simple and elegant without the clutter of too many buttons. Granted, as with most things, there's a learning curve to get the most out of your investment. Read the manual and familiarize yourself with the controls, exposure lock, metering, flash control are a must. Shoot in RAW! Even in low light situations, I'll stay in ISO 100. The image stabilizer is great here.

The lens is classic Leica. Natural in color saturation and contrast. Comparing it to Japanese lenses with a high color saturation and contrast is pointless. It's like comparing a nikkor to a sinar large format lens or velvia film to astia. If you are after high contrast super saturated colors, go for a different camera or adjust in Photoshop. I prefer natural skin tones in my daily shooting with good shadow and highlight detail.

Now for the fun part, the ego boosting. It will get a lot of looks and compiments especially if you carry it with its tailor made brown leather case. At the same time, the camera is very discreet when you whip it out start shooting. I leave the lens cap off while it is in its leather case for quicker shooting response when I see a potential shot. The shutter lag is better than most in it's class. I've been able to catch some pretty good moments. Frankly all reviews are trash until you see the portfolio of the reviewer. How many times have you seen a critical review of a camera only to see ugly ass pictures from the reviewer? Don't trust my words, trust what you see. Visit the Flickr Leica D-Lux3 photos or check mine out, search for rocketrichard21 and decide for yourself.

Opinion: I finally decided I wanted the darn thing. So, a few days ago, while on the West Coast, I went by Kenmore Camera (Washington) and laid my hands on the D-Lux 3.

Seriously solid bit of work.

My first unit was a bit of a let-down, however, as it didn't work - almost like the sensor wasn't connected to anything - no image on the screen, and after checking everything in the manual, I understood - it was busted. :(

A quick trip back to the shop and the new unit worked fine. I took a drive around the Northern Cascade Loop yesterday (450 miles all in, and 260 pics in total), and other than wondering why the battery seemed to lose a charge so fast, everything seemed fine. Loved playing with the B/W setting in P-mode - looks great and lends a real "feel" to the images.

I noticed th ebattery life indicator showing me at 2/3, then more an dmore frequently dipping to 1/3 life left. Normal you say? The battery is bran dnew and was fully charged the day before tis trip. I did take about a dozen shots the night before htis trip with the flash enabled, but I'd expect more life according to the manual.

In the end, though, I ende dup back at my hotel with juice in the battery and over 260 images taken, so though the battery indicator was an active bugger, the camera just kept chugging along taking shots for me.

Overall, I'd say it's a fine camera in terms of carrying around-and-every-day-use. Certainly not a range topper (maybe price-wise), but it takes fine images. Nice to have this ability, control, these options, and the quality in one small package.

Opinion: D-Lux 3 is quite a disappointment. I was expecting much more from Leica. Previously I used for 5 years a small compact from Sony, DSC-P100. Even with the difference in technology, 5 MP and a tiny LCD screen, the Sony delivered constantly good image quality. I cannot say the same about Leica after 6 months of using it.

1. Construction – rating 4

Good: Solid construction, metal body, good looking, wide LCD screen, aspect ratio can be changed easily from the lens barrel, same for the macro and manual focus.

Bad: The ergonomics (nice doesn’t means good!); the LCD screen is difficult to see – especially under bright sunlight, no viewfinder, the shutter button is a little too hard to press for me (resulting in camera shake), the lens cap.

2. Features – rating 4

Good: Everything you want or you don’t want, you will find in this camera: RAW format, 19:6 aspect ratio, AF/AE lock, Manual focus, very fast operations.

Bad: Lot of features with lot of limitations. You have even ISO 1600, but you can use only ISO 100 to 200 for good image quality. Some of the limitations are recognized even in the camera’s manual!

3. Image Quality – rating 3

Good: ISO 100 in ideal light conditions (sunlight), very good movie and very good macro.

Bad: the image quality in general; lot of noise at higher ISO, highlight blowouts, lack of dynamic range, bad flash sync.

4. Ease of Use – rating 5

Everything is fast, helpful shortcut buttons, easy to scroll the menus and to change the settings.

5. Value for Money – rating 3

This because the camera doesn’t deliver what was supposed to do and I have to recognize, I lost the money buying this camera. Lesson learnt: always trust the reviews!

Recently I purchased the Sigma DP-1 and I am very happy with this one: the Image Quality is superb.

Both cameras were announced in September 2006, but the difference between them is huge. Kudos to Sigma for thinking “customer first”, not “profit first”.

Opinion: I love this camera and I... hate it.
Lovely build quality, excellent handling, great wide angle and 16:9 but... imagine quality is soooo bad in terms of noise! Even at ISO 100 it is almost useless without noise reduction software.
So I hate it but I love it.

Opinion: Just to ease suspicion of manipulative scoring (which is a[n unavoidable...] problem up here, pity for this marvellous site): I OWN the camera, have used it for some time now.

Had been informing myself a long time, before buying this one. Alle the "stories" on terrible noise on everything over 200 ISO... nothing of it, I mean in "normal" daily use.
As most photographers, I hardly even use(d) over 400 ISO anyhow, besides this little marvel's "mega" Optical Image Stabilization does the job quite perfectly. Has 2 choice positions in this, by the way, and can we switched off by "the steady hand man" ;-)) So, to keep a long story short enough: no noise problem at all, in fact.

It's no use putting the cam on 1600 ISO anyhow, just to have no image movement, this is a bit stupid. Photography is about capturing reflection of light, right? If possible the natural light, ok in a limited sort of situations (counterlight) for artificial light (flashing), but - imho - photography is not about capturing light "which is not there". The pellicule (of ancient decades, so fast) could not capture at 3200 ISO either, btw. So far the noise, which is not only quite fully absent, up to 400 ISO, also the image is razor sharp. Colours naturally vivid, and above all, the white balance on "auto" is perfect, even non-flash (as I tend to, almost always) pictures in intgeriors, by artificial light, the white is just white,no yellowish, browninsh, greenish shine.

Only "not winning" feature: its "only" (!?) 2.8 does not match the incredible 2.0 of my ancient CanonPowerShot G2 Pro (black version), feature which nowadays is - a great pity - not to be found anymore, anywhere, not in compact, not in DSLR even, if not unpayable lens on the latter. The G2 - this without Image Stabilization - registered pictures in almost dark, incredible. OK, it dates in other features now. The only real possible competitor for this D-Lux 3 was - until the moment before deciding - the PowerShot G9. Of which - at the photography shop(s) - some 15 pieces were sold in just a few days... Nice to find out that not all photographers go to stupid cheap mega-megapixel plastic.

Only shortcoming in use, in some outside daylight situations: lcd reflection, AND the D-lux 3 has no optical viewfinder (to save you of that discomfort), which the G9 has... Price of G9 was 429 euros, price of Leica kept on 599 euros, everywhere. BUT I was lucky: just saw (this silver) one which had been on display. Unused (no battery inside) and virtually (als visibly) untouched, because of the "full" price, I guess... which was now priced down to 419 euros, and I grabbed for it!! Therefore the "5" also for "value for money", otherwise it would have been a 4. Also ordered the retro leather case, which cost 90 euros. OK, I just stop telling stories now.

The photography again. Very nice is the 16:9 LCD screen, which reflects the real sensor size! Meaning that the two other - easily selectable - positions are using a smaller part of the sensor... Indeed it has all three: at the panorama 16:9 position, the camera is 10MP, at the "middle" 3:2 it takes 8MP, and at the compact-classical 4:3 it has about 7MP. Still MORE than enough for a sensor this size, MORE than enough for prints up to poster size... Nice thing is, that all 3 sizes usse the maximum height of the LCD: at 16:9 it the image also fills the whole width, at 3:2 and next 4:3 it just gets a little less wide (black on both sides).

Features: as a DSLR, to be short, just the movie feature extra... "Only" a 4x zoom, which turns in fact to a very decent 6,2x zoom (in 35mm would be ~28-175) - supposing not going over 3MP (which is still a BIG 2048 x 1536 image in 4:3 aspect!! People forget that, think they really need 14 MP to not be in the 19th century...).
Nice also, if you - of course - own a FULL HD 1920x1080 flatscreen TV: the D-lux has this photo position (which is only 2MP, remember!?), so if you take (even on only a 512 MB SD card...) some 860 (!!!) FULL HD panoramic pictures, you can have a nice 40 inch/46 inch or bigger fully pixel-filled camera/dia show at your home (or any other thus equipped) place, just connect the (also supplied in the package) camera-TV cable...

Contruction is perfect, and this is - again imho - the oly compact besides the G9 which gives a "miniature DSLR" feel. In which the G9 has the optical viewfinder... and fully rfetracting zoom lans... So, the D-Lux 3 is the only one which does not only have the feel, but also the "look", with its pronounced not-away-sinking lens unit. It comes forward, also in "sleeping" position, it has the best "model". It has the best finish too: full metal case. Most "professional" look would be the black... IS it, really? This may be subjective, but having this smaal (and relaively "weighy" aluminium miniature DSLR-block in your hands... it is so incredibly nice-retro-Leica. Especially the red Leica dot matches the alu so good, and combining it with the brown leather case... some "useful gadget" to die for, and never give away, not in 50 years.

I used to be a DSLR owner, for a long time, but just.. the ease of having this little machine with you, anywhere you go, with no weight, no extra lenses... However I planned to have this one as a back-up camera (I had to replace both my G2 as my - also masterpiece - Olympus E-330, as I accidentally sold both at the same day on ebay ;-))) and to buy also an good reflex, now I strart to doubt if I need a DSLR, at all... at least, I postpone it a bit, it will come one day, maybe...

So, to conclude... apologies for the 5 times 5, but this time they come from a delighted and convinced user.
All the best, and congratulations for dpreview for the best (and most logically usable) website I encountered, so far. And I do not mean just in photography.

Opinion: I've only bought this camera today. I have been reading reviews on the internet about all the others out there, Canon, Olympus, Fuji, Panasonic and the only thing in common is that they all differ one from the other. There are as many different opinions as there are people posting about them.
The only consistent reviews were for Leica. So, contacting my local dealer about 30 miles away in Worcester off I went and purchased it. (London Camera Exchange) Thanks Luke

This is a SOLID piece of kit.

17th March 2008. I've been out today and tried the camera for the first time 'in the field' and I am NOT dissapointed with the results. Photographing a friends racing car, the images are so sharp you could cut your fingers on em!

15th April 2007 However! see problems below:

22nd April see below, Issue resolved with style and applomb!

So sorry that this is late!
May to June 2008.

The camera peformed faultessly during my trip to Israel. I could not have wished for a better camera to capture precious moments from a once in a lifetime trip.

Opinion: First of all, I love this camera. I've come to digital kicking and screaming, tried more than a few others - most recently the Canon S5 IS (sold it after less than 3 months), and I've found most all of them to be more related to toys than cameras. I also decided to stop trying to emulate past film cameras with looks and such.

This little Leica is very quickly warming me to "today's" photography. I never thought I could live without a viewfinder, I can. The toggle is great, as vs dials and rings, and all the familiar settings are right there.

Lots of the reviews I read prior to purchase spoke of the noise at higher ISO settings, and while I certainly see what they're talking about, I seem to remember fast film being undesirable, or at best "artsy" and used for effect. Who shoots fast, high ISO? I've got boxes of Kodachrome.

I have got great results with this camera, especially shooting raw. It does seem best to my eyes at the low noise reduction setting, but that's me and not all the time. Sometimes a shot can be a bit too sharp. And if you shoot without printing, you're really missing it. I've printed some great stuff, though nothing bigger that 8x10 yet.

The 16:9 is seductive but a bit difficult to print, very cool for your computer screen though, and certainly worth the trouble for those great wide shots. I use 3:2 most of the time.

The build on the camera is truly top notch. I love the way the battery/card and connection doors open and close. Every other digital camera I've owned, or ever seen for that matter, have horribly inadequate battery and connection compartment doors. What's up with that?

I realize the D-Lux 3 is a bit pricey, but it's a real camera! And built like one! It's a great little camera you can really admire, and admire your photos.

I would very much recommend the Leica D-Lux 3 to those of you that, like me, have so far been disappointed with digital cameras. And unlike the plastic cameras, this Leica will stand in there for the long haul.

Now if I could only find a good metal DSLR for less than a month's salary...

Opinion: Got the camera for my 60th Birthday. I've used it on holiday in New york and Goa with excellent results, so no complaints on image quailty, although as all other reviewers have found, it does deteriorate at Higher ISOs. The camera is clearly thought out to be used by serious photographers as well as (rich?) beginners. I've used RAW less so far than I expected, but I'm sure this will vary with type of use.
Points to note:-
1. Very good for candids--you can hide the body in your hand with the lens poking through the index and second finger and pop away with your thumb, deleting rejects later.
2. Solid build
3. Lens quality
4. 28mm 16:9 great with modern TVs
5. Leica badge--but then, I'm a fan!
6. Leather case is superb

Opinion: I do graphic design and photography by profession. I'm accustomed to using
medium format cameras with digital backs and film, as well as SLR digital and film
cameras, but I wanted a small digital camera to take on a trip to Mexico. So I
picked up the Leica D-Lux 3 and took it along with my range-finder film camera on
the trip. I used the film camera some on the first day and every day afterwards it
was all the D-Lux 3 all the time. When I got home and processed the D-Lux 3
pictures in LightRoom I was satisfied with the results... considering it is a small
camera with a very small sensor.

WHAT I LIKE:

• RAW file format. I always shoot raw format and custom process. This was a big
selling point for me.

• Small camera - great for travel. The D-Lux 3 is often the only camera I use on a
trip. It fits in a tiny Tamrac case that's just big enough for the camera, a LowePro
SD card holder (8 cards), and a spare battery. I have it with me virtually all the
time.

• 16:9 picture aspect ratio. I'm hooked on this semi-panoramic format, it's great for
horizontal scenes. The camera also shoots in 4:3 and 3:2 formats.

• Very good image quality and fairly large file size. As long as I'm using ISO 100 or
200 the image quality is good and making nice prints/enlargements is possible.

• AE/AF lock button can be set to AE only, AF only, or both AE & AF. I use this
feature often to set exposure and focus separately.

• Pop-up flash. The flash never fires when I don't want it to.

• Easy to use and fast. That's a win+win situation.

WHAT I DISLIKE:

• No view finder. The LCD screen is often nearly impossible to see outside in bright
light due to reflections.

• The sensor is very noisy at higher ISO settings. Very good quality pics are possible
at ISO 100. At 200 it's fine, 400 isn't good and 800 is really bad news. This is a
limiting factor for shots where there's low light and hand held picture taking is
required.

• The sensor has some color fringing issues. Bright areas next to darker areas in a
scene (example: bright sky showing through trees) cause purple fringing... and
bright blue fringing... and sometimes green and magenta fringing. The problem
crops up frequently enough that I created an action in Photoshop with an
adjustment layer that allows me to partly subdue the color fringing artifacts. Scenes
without very bright areas are fine.

• Consistent over-exposure. I have to set exposure compensation to minus one or
one-half stop.