jrethorst

Just upgraded my macOS and need to find a new photo app. I'm trying to stay away from Adobe and its subscription model, and have read good things about Darktable. Has anyone used it very much with Digilux 2 RAW files?

You could get them on eBay at one point. Also, a fairly popular camera from Sony used them. I don't remember the model number, but that should be on the web somewhere, and if you find one of those cameras on eBay you could dig the sensor out of it.

I've gotten nice 16 x 20 inch prints from D2 jpegs. A tech at the lab where I printed them looked at the files and said I could print up to 18 x 24.

> Anyway, what I tried to emphasize was that today's technology would allow for much better 2/3-inch sensors and the required in-camera software And even a better EVF, and no delay writing raw images to the card. It would all work; it's feasible; Leica should do it. > my OP was about the D2 lens quality. People used to rave about that lens! A whole lot of people still do. > I use an X Vario now, and it reminds me of the Digilux 2 in many ways. In fact, I think you could look at the X Vario as a modern Digilux 2. Similar zoom range (gives up 20mm on the long end), similar implementation of manual focus, similar quiet shutter. The X Vario lens has really nice output, nice colour, good contrast, and so on Could the D2 and XV be, only in terms of simple IQ, as good as Leica has ever done? > But it's the lens, in my opinion, that held the magic. Magic is a good word for it. If Leica doesn't see the light, as it were, and relaunch the D2, I wonder if a cottage industry could refurbish existing D2s and Panasonic LC1s. New sensor of the same size, new EVF, firmware that speeds up writing raw files to card. The sensor and EVF are off the shelf, and there are people who write firmware. How nice that would be.

> Maybe I am missing something here, but I do not see anything the D2 has that is not equal or improved in the Q3... Images from the D2 have inspired descriptions ranging from "a certain quality" to "magic". Other lenses similarly described include that of the X Vario and the 35 Summicron M version 4, the "king of bokeh". While the Q/2/3 is a nice package, its lens has not gotten this recognition. Some posts on the DP Review forum have called its images clinical.

Nice enough article, but it deals mostly with the analog-like controls, just mentioning at one point that the Leica lens is superb. But what makes the camera magic is the IQ beyond simply superb quality. Is this the only ASPH lens that produces very much of the "Leica light" or "Leica glow"? Mandel lenses are all pre-ASPH. Hmm.

For a lot more on the D2, take a look at Thorsten Overgaard's pages: https://www.overgaard.dk/leica_digilux2.html He may have a link to the "Digilux 2 Field Guide" in there. If not, you can google it. Nice guide.

> David >https://www.davidaskham.com/my-way-with-the-leica Nice web site.

My camera is the wonderful D2, for exactly the 'character' you're looking for. If I had to go to another camera, of everything out there I'd choose the Leica X Vario. Its max 3.5 aperture doesn't meet your specs, but between higher ISO and AI software such as Topaz, that wouldn't be a limitation for me. I'd need the Olympus viewer (for the D2 that's built-in). The X Vario, like the D2, has an incredible lens.

Replacements for Leica BP-DC1 batteries for the Digilux 2 and 3 are available on eBay. I bought some from https://www.ebay.com/usr/trhou-97 (I'm not affiliated) and was happy to find them for my D2, a legendary camera. John R.

You should be able to take very high quality photographs with the D-Lux 7.

Start at space.com's guide to astrophotography: https://www.space.com/astrophotography-for-beginners-guide, including basic helpful tips such as use a remote shutter release, and less basic tips such as the rule of 500: divide 500 by the focal length of your lens. If you have a 20-mm lens, then 500 / 20 = 25. You can shoot for 25 seconds on a tripod before the stars start to streak.

Handcrafted Italian leather straps and cases for Leica cameras: https://www.luigicases.com/a000-STRAPS-page.htm

The Digilux 2 has long been thought to be a nice camera at ISO 100, but the old sensor is just too noisy at the camera's maximum of ISO 400. A post in another forum said that with modern noise reduction software, 400 is now usable. What software would be a good choice for that?