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D-Lux (190) vs. iPhone 7/Smartphone


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Hi all

 

I do a lot of architectural photography, and I've been thinking about getting the D-Lux (109) over the past two weeks. However, the news about iPhone 7 camera has distracted me a lot. It seems it can do pretty good job as a compact camera.

 

So I was wondering how these two cameras compared to each other since they both have about the same amount of megapixels. Because I am planning to do a lot of printing on large canvas (around 100cm, 150cm, 200cm).

 

I know that D-Lux (109) has bigger sensor size which affects the capability to capture more detailed picture. But how significant can the D-Lux 'beat' the iPhone 7 in large printing? Can anyone give samples of 100% cropped images from these cameras? I've been trying to look for threads discussing about this kind of comparison (D-Lux vs. smartphone), but still no luck.

 

I really appreciate your comments on this.

 

 

Best regards,

Kafin Noe'man

Edited by kafinnoeman
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Here you go, the iPhone 7 Plus image is the first in each case. The images from the D-Lux 109 are jpgs OOC, you would probably get better results using RAW.

 

I have printed D-Lux photos at 150cm, they look amazing.

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Edited by mikemgb
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Thank you Mike for your reply.

 

Judging from the images you've shared, is it fair to say that the detail is on par between the two cameras?

 

I guess the iPhone 7 images are sharper, at least to my own judgment.

 

What do you guys think about it?

Edited by kafinnoeman
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The images from the iPhone have certainly been sharpened more, and the colours have greater saturation. I feel the D-Lux retains a more detail in the shadow areas and the colours are certainly more accurate. 

 

The iPhone photo is designed to have more punch OOC, you could obviously do the same to the D-Lux images post.

 

So far I have only printed the iPhone 7 images at 4x6, they look amazing, certainly better than iPhone 6 images. On Monday I will try printing a large iPhone image and see how that compares.

 

However, you are probably going to get better results out of both using RAW but even then, the larger sensor of the D-Lux is going to capture more information than the iPhone and at 100cm+ sizes I think you are really going to see the difference, I'll let you know.

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Be careful trying to judge camera's on these small examples.

Unless you are going to use your photo's on web only, I think the D-lux is still a world apart from the iPhone 7.

 

The differences that make you choose the iPhone over the Dlux now can easily be corrected in LR, by applying some extra contrast and sharpening to the images..

What can not be corrected IMO in the iPhone images is the 3D feel that is not there, and that is more present in the Dlux images. 

This is an area where even with smaller amount of MP, you will see an evolution from iPhone -> Dlux -> Digilux2 + Leica X... -> Leica M

 

I would be very happy with an iPhone coming close to what the Digilux2 (5 MP) can do, but I think it is simply physically impossible to squeeze the performance of that sensor and huge lens in such a small form factor.

So the choice is yours... super convenience of iPhone or small inconvenience of 'lugging' around the D109.

 

Also... I am still using the Digilux2 and Dlux 4 occasionally after 10 years and about 6 years for the Dlux 4... How long will you keep the iPhone 7 ?

 

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Be careful trying to judge camera's on these small examples.

Unless you are going to use your photo's on web only, I think the D-lux is still a world apart from the iPhone 7.

 

The differences that make you choose the iPhone over the Dlux now can easily be corrected in LR, by applying some extra contrast and sharpening to the images..

What can not be corrected IMO in the iPhone images is the 3D feel that is not there, and that is more present in the Dlux images. 

This is an area where even with smaller amount of MP, you will see an evolution from iPhone -> Dlux -> Digilux2 + Leica X... -> Leica M

 

I would be very happy with an iPhone coming close to what the Digilux2 (5 MP) can do, but I think it is simply physically impossible to squeeze the performance of that sensor and huge lens in such a small form factor.

So the choice is yours... super convenience of iPhone or small inconvenience of 'lugging' around the D109.

 

Also... I am still using the Digilux2 and Dlux 4 occasionally after 10 years and about 6 years for the Dlux 4... How long will you keep the iPhone 7 ?

 

Hi dpitt,

 

Thank you for your comment. It's very helpful.

Yes, I agree with your point "Be careful trying to judge camera's on these small examples." 

 

Because, a few hours before you posted your comment, I had done further side-by-side studio test scene comparison (original resolution images from DP Review, and enlarged by resampling method into the desired printing size). The result was, image quality-wise, no way that iPhone 7 can outperform the Leica D-Lux 109 especially in lower light condition. The D-Lux 109 maintains the detail very well. Very impressive.

 

To be frank, I don't really print my pictures. I just share it online through my Instagram account.

So yeah, I guess my decision will be based on my potential client's preference, who specializes in selling large printed photographs.

If he's fine with the iPhone result, I think I'll go with the iPhone upgrade. And if he demands a higher and better detail result, I'll get the D-Lux.

 

Once again, thank you and wish me luck!

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As promised, this morning I printed some samples at one meter length. They were printed on a Mimaki 8 colour wide format printer. On each image pair the top one is the iPhone. It is very clear, even on this poor image, that the D-Lux 109 prints at this size far better than the iPhone. The D-Lux retains so much more detail.

 

Please excuse the reflection in the middle of the image.

 

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