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Everything ready for the NEW DIGILUX 2


kamilsukun

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Panasonic mastered to handle 10M pixels at similar sensor size (the LX5). The technology developed enough to reduce the shutter lag to almost none, much faster writing speeds to high capacity memory cards, a brighter crisp EVF and larger LCD, overall faster electronic handling and most important of them all, presently wasted magnificent Summicron 28-90 is already waiting to deliver more and more to any sensor.

 

The great D2 design must be updated without delay. Every single D2 owner will buy the new camera immediately to begin with. The humongous amounts of new buyers will follow.

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Andy,

 

I only wanted to be a little convincing :)

 

No need to try. I'd buy it in a hearbeat. And as I mentioned soemwhen in another thread, even priced north of USD 2000. If one tries to match the quality of the lens in any other system, significant amounts of money have to be spend as well, without reaching the same optical excellence.

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No need to try. I'd buy it in a hearbeat. And as I mentioned soemwhen in another thread, even priced north of USD 2000. If one tries to match the quality of the lens in any other system, significant amounts of money have to be spend as well, without reaching the same optical excellence.

 

Absolutely.

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I'd buy in a flash, as well! Too bad Panasonic calls the shots on this one. They never look down.

 

LOL - true. I have a sneaky suspicion that they're probably just a little p*ssed off at all of us keeping the damn Dinosaur 2 alive. I can hear them now...

"don't these people realize it's obsolete? Hell, they even had the nerve to repair them when the sensors went bad! They're supposed to be disposable... it's planned obsolescence. Red Dot my *ss!"
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Well, the LX-5 sensor would involve SOME crop compared to the Digilux 2 sensor. Using the D2's lens one would get about a "35-120" zoom range.

 

Realistically, what Leica will get out of the LX-5 is a D-Lux 5. Add the accesory EVF and that's about as close to a "Digilux 5" as we'll ever come. Sadly, no analog focus, zoom, aperture, or shutter controls.

 

The lenses on the D-Lux 3/4 have gotten some serious acclaim - we can hope the new "24-90" keeps up the standard.

 

Personally, I'm going to have to give the D-Lux 5 a serious look (IQ-wise) as a sidekick/emergency backup to the M9.

 

CCD rather than CMOS; "24mm f/2" lens that retains its wideness even shot in the Barnack format; "90mm" at the long end rather than "60"; and the eye-level finder options all make it the first non-M digital (or for that matter compact camera of any kind) that eliminates many of my objections to the genre.

 

The Digilux 2 was "Leica-driven" - they were desperate for an "analog" digital camera at a time when "a digital M was impossible" and the DMR was in a development black hole. Today, Leica's "analog digitals" are the M8/M9 (and legacy DMRs, and maybe further development of the X1), so neither they nor Panasonic see any purpose to reviving the Digilux approach.

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The Digilux 2 was "Leica-driven" - they were desperate for an "analog" digital camera at a time when "a digital M was impossible" and the DMR was in a development black hole. Today, Leica's "analog digitals" are the M8/M9 (and legacy DMRs, and maybe further development of the X1), so neither they nor Panasonic see any purpose to reviving the Digilux approach.

 

I believe you are right, but it's very, very sad that no other manufacturer sees a market opportunity for a digital camera that "behaves" like a traditional analog camera, i.e. having

 

  • manual (and "mechanical") controls for aperture and shutter speed,
  • manual focus, preferably on the lens, and
  • a decent viewfinder.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the only digital cameras to ever fall into this category were the Digilux 2, the Digilux 3 (and their Panasonic equivalents), and the M8/M9. The first two are no longer in production with the Digilux 2 being technically obsolete by now, and the M8/M9 is in a price category that leaves a big window of opportunity wide open.

 

The X1 is neither here nor there, but it demonstrates what could be possible today. I fear, though, that Leica won't be bold enough to turn it into something like the above for the fear of cannibalizing the M.

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I believe you are right, but it's very, very sad that no other manufacturer sees a market opportunity for a digital camera that "behaves" like a traditional analog camera, i.e. having

 

  • manual (and "mechanical") controls for aperture and shutter speed,
  • manual focus, preferably on the lens, and
  • a decent viewfinder.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the only digital cameras to ever fall into this category were the Digilux 2, the Digilux 3 (and their Panasonic equivalents), and the M8/M9. The first two are no longer in production with the Digilux 2 being technically obsolete by now, and the M8/M9 is in a price category that leaves a big window of opportunity wide open.

 

The X1 is neither here nor there, but it demonstrates what could be possible today. I fear, though, that Leica won't be bold enough to turn it into something like the above for the fear of cannibalizing the M.

 

I think you're right with respect to "fear of cannibalizing the M." I don't think Leica could risk offering or admitting to a cost-conscious alternative.

 

But as I read your statement;

the M8/M9 is in a price category that leaves a big window of opportunity wide open.

 

I couldn't help but wonder, where are all those Russian M body copy-cat companies when you need them? LOL

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I believe you are right, but it's very, very sad that no other manufacturer sees a market opportunity for a digital camera that "behaves" like a traditional analog camera, i.e. having

  • manual (and "mechanical") controls for aperture and shutter speed,
  • manual focus, preferably on the lens, and
  • a decent viewfinder.

If I'm not mistaken, the only digital cameras to ever fall into this category were the Digilux 2, the Digilux 3 (and their Panasonic equivalents), and the M8/M9. The first two are no longer in production with the Digilux 2 being technically obsolete by now, and the M8/M9 is in a price category that leaves a big window of opportunity wide open.

 

The X1 is neither here nor there, but it demonstrates what could be possible today. I fear, though, that Leica won't be bold enough to turn it into something like the above for the fear of cannibalizing the M.

 

Rubbish! My Nikon D700 does all that stuff- along with just about all of the higher-spec DSLRs! What's more; while the D2 viewfinder is just about adequate, the view thro' the D700 (and others like it) is in a different class.

The D2 is a brilliant camera, I love mine and will never stop using it but let's not get carried away with the eulogising! :)

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I simple run into too many situations where 100iso is inadequate, so the D2 runs on idle more often than not ................... a dead gone dusted camera line

Edited by stnami
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Rubbish! My Nikon D700 does all that stuff- along with just about all of the higher-spec DSLRs! What's more; while the D2 viewfinder is just about adequate, the view thro' the D700 (and others like it) is in a different class.

The D2 is a brilliant camera, I love mine and will never stop using it but let's not get carried away with the eulogising! :)

 

Forgive me if I'm missing something, Pete. But you're saying your D700 has an aperture ring on the lens barrel? And a mechanical knob for setting the shutter speed? And that it sits comfortably in your hand ... while you whirl through picture adjustments never taking the camera from your eye?

 

I don't think anyone's contesting the image capability of new cameras... my Canon 5D MK11 produces stunning images at 6400 ISO and accepts a multitude of Canon L series glass... including my 500mm f/4. But... it will never hold a candle to how I FEEL about shooting with the Digilux 2. When the time comes, I'll kick the 5D MK11 to the curb and have FedEx drop off another one. Whereas even if my Digilux 2 were to quit working, it would still have a place on display in my office.

 

JT

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Rubbish! My Nikon D700 does all that stuff- along with just about all of the higher-spec DSLRs!

 

Yeah, I was waiting for somebody to say that, but it's wrong. Read again what I wrote. Or what John replied.

 

Does your D700 have a dedicated dial for the aperture speed? If your D700 is switched off, can you see which shutter speed and aperture it is set to?

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I just stumbled upon this quote from an article written by Mike Johnston on Luminous Landscape. He's discussing a Leica... and it's obvious he's referring to film... but the gist of the statement is quite poignant and eerily fitting to this discussion.

 

In an era when a leading digital SLR may have eighty controls and a more powerful CPU than an early personal computer, there is something to be said for simplicity and directness. You always know where you stand with a mechanical Leica such as the MP: it is supremely unconfusing. Each control is mechanical, and each knob, button or lever is given only one unambiguous function. The Leica never second-guesses you, it never thinks on its own, and it never obstructs you or gets in the way. You always know exactly what it’s doing. And it does just exactly what you tell it to – no more, no less – quietly, and quickly.

 

It was written in December of 2004.

 

The Digilux 2 does a great job of editing the digital design to remain faithful to this core concept.

 

JT

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I just stumbled upon this quote from an article written by Mike Johnston on Luminous Landscape. He's discussing a Leica... and it's obvious he's referring to film... but the gist of the statement is quite poignant and eerily fitting to this discussion.

 

 

 

It was written in December of 2004.

 

The Digilux 2 does a great job of editing the digital design to remain faithful to this core concept.

 

JT

 

I wrote the following in reply to an email about the Digilux 2 & 3. So I very much agree with the above:

 

(edited) When all is said and done an image with a camera can only be created with a defined amount of light for a defined period of time. Period. All the technology that comes along will never change that. And the Digilux 3, along with the M's are the only digital cameras I know of that come close to keeping this basic fact intact.

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