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Its Official, I have the bug - New Digilux 2


cstevens

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After a couple of months of great D-Lux 4 ownership, I have officially caught the Leica Bug.

 

Whilst I am not yet in the position to drop a couple of grand on an M8 (much as I would love to) I have been watching with interest the prices of used Digilux-2 as I have seen some great images produced out of them.

 

However with some of the reaching around £500 on fleabay I have been a little put off as this camera will be a bit of a punt for me, and probably only used for many of my urban exploration projects where I dont want to take the D700 (bit to expensive) or the D-Lux 4 (bit to fragile).

 

Today a friend from work mentioned that Harrisons in Sheffield had one in for £400, so off I went at lunch time. The example they have comes with two original batteries, and the gorgeous brown leather Leica bag, the only issue I could see was a single dead pixel. The camera comes with a year warranty with Harrisons, so after a chat about that I had already puchased the D-Lux 4 and the grip from them they came up with what I think is a good deal.....£350 including the bag.

 

I think this was a good deal, and I look forward to learning how to use it...yet another learning curve, the D-Lux4 is my first P&S from Nikon DSLRs that I use professionally....lets see what can be produced from the Digilux 2...hopefully I wont be disapointed :)

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Same here! I had all Canon L glass, bought D-lux 4, sold the L glass, now have 2 Digilux 2's, watching for a cheap 3, and will someday buy a used M8 with (1 lens). Just don't want to get back into the lens buying game! There is something about those jpegs I can't get over. I have never seen it in any of my Canon digitals, raw or jpeg. Feels like I am shooting film again. I feel guilty pulling a shot straight out of the camera and printing it with minimal PP. I used to spend hours trying to get the look from my canons!

Regards,

John

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I am loving refinding my love for photography, since discovering affordable Leica.

 

When being paid to take out all the Nikon gear, portable studio lighting, beauty dishes, softboxes la la la la, its a job, dont get me wrong I still love getting "the" shot, but the presure is always on to produce a technically perfect shot, beit a Bride, a Model or someone's child.

 

The love of photography was seeing something that caught my eye and shooting it, whether or not it had noise or was not completely pinsharp never came into it as I started streetshooting all those years ago, noise/grain just adds to environmental photos, so the DL2 will be my urban exploration camera now so any of its "limitations" can be lived with - and I cant wait to get out there.

 

I think I will be a long way off understanding this new toy to get some of the simply stunning images I have seen, but I am say here now cleaning my new camera and smiling...I dont do that with my D700's lol.

 

Picking up a leica is like picking up a fine tool with some history...whether its a D-Lux 4 or an M8...cameras from the heart not the head :)

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Question - I have searched the manual, apparently there is a Black & White mode, which I would be likely to use more than anything - however can I find any detail of this - nope!

 

Any pointers about shooting black and white mode would be greatfully received.

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Question - I have searched the manual, apparently there is a Black & White mode, which I would be likely to use more than anything - however can I find any detail of this - nope!

 

Any pointers about shooting black and white mode would be greatfully received.

Select MENU and then WHITE BALANCE which gives you the option of BW. Enjoy your D2; a wonderful camera which I have owned from new.

 

PS I see that Carl has pipped me!

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cstevens,

 

Congratulations on your new camera!

 

A couple of things you need to be aware of (in case you aren't already); you didn't mention that the sensor had been replaced so I'll assume it hasn't. The Digilux 2's sensor came from a batch of Kodak(?) sensors that can develop a fault in humid conditions where the sensor fails and all you get is swirly, strangely coloured or often heavily tinted pink images. The fault is well documented and to its credit Leica continues to replace sensors without charge - but for how long nobody knows.

 

If you're shooting raw and you get tired of the 6 or 7 second write-to-card delay then do as many of us do and switch to jpegs. The jpegs are so good that you'll rarely need raw imho.

 

Please post some of your pictures in the Photo forums when you feel ready.

 

Pete.

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Great story, mutual feeling as many of us ;-)

 

What's the brown leather bag - I've never seen one or heard about it (only the brown one for D-Lux 4).

 

The dead pixel would be fixed if the sensor needs replacement. If it haven't been replaced, as soon as it goes by Leica, it will get replaced for free. You can also wait till one day it will go awry in colors, then turn black. Then send it in for free replacement. It's not going a little bad, it will turn very yellow, purple of something from one frame to the next, then it's over. So you can easily shoot with it till then. The image quality is the same from the current sensor to the replacement sensor.

 

The sensors were from Sony, not Kodak.

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Great story, mutual feeling as many of us ;-)

 

What's the brown leather bag - I've never seen one or heard about it (only the brown one for D-Lux 4).

 

Its this one.

 

317K9XMY3QL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

Odd little thing really. Its a bit scratched which kinda adds to its charm, not sure whether I will keep it though.

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It's so contageous :) I have used Canon SLR all the way since the AT-1, but always admired Leica. Bought the D-Lux 4 last autumn and was impressed, caught the bug, found Thorsten's website, landed a Digilux 2, which has stunned my friends with it's effortless quality..... Have now added the M8 with 3 lenses and am learning the rangefinder ropes the hard way.

 

Somewhere up there Mr. Barnack is having a laugh at my expense, but I love my Leica's and use them all at different times :)

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You won't be disappointed with the D2- have a look at some of the inspirational images and notes Thorsten has posted on his website :)

I have (and use) the original leather bag, although mine is black. The smell when I first bought it was sensational! A useful addition indeed, although I tend to leave it at home when taking another body to complement the D2.

Looking forward to seeing some images!

 

Sam

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Its this one.

 

317K9XMY3QL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

Odd little thing really. Its a bit scratched which kinda adds to its charm, not sure whether I will keep it though.

This is the original leather case, but mine is black. It does show scuff marks, but it's doing its job. Awkward to access, but it eases with time.

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Regarding the leather bag - I never have heard about it. Strange thing.

 

I have one that came with one of my purchases. I bought a Digilux 2 from an estate... bag, camera, polarizer, Leica flash... inventory even called for an ELDPro... was never located though. :(

 

JT

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After a couple of months of great D-Lux 4 ownership, I have officially caught the Leica Bug.

 

Whilst I am not yet in the position to drop a couple of grand on an M8 (much as I would love to) I have been watching with interest the prices of used Digilux-2 as I have seen some great images produced out of them.

 

However with some of the reaching around £500 on fleabay I have been a little put off as this camera will be a bit of a punt for me, and probably only used for many of my urban exploration projects where I dont want to take the D700 (bit to expensive) or the D-Lux 4 (bit to fragile).

 

Today a friend from work mentioned that Harrisons in Sheffield had one in for £400, so off I went at lunch time. The example they have comes with two original batteries, and the gorgeous brown leather Leica bag, the only issue I could see was a single dead pixel. The camera comes with a year warranty with Harrisons, so after a chat about that I had already puchased the D-Lux 4 and the grip from them they came up with what I think is a good deal.....£350 including the bag.

 

I think this was a good deal, and I look forward to learning how to use it...yet another learning curve, the D-Lux4 is my first P&S from Nikon DSLRs that I use professionally....lets see what can be produced from the Digilux 2...hopefully I wont be disapointed :)

 

 

Congratulations. Here's a gallery of some 350 Digilux 2 images. Royalty Free - Images | SWFL Stock Photo ~ prices starting as low as $35 It's an awesome camera.

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