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I have a Canon 5D which I use most of the time and a G7 to use as a pocket camera. For times when the 5D plus 24-105 lens is too big and I want more fun than the G7 will give, I was thinking of a D2. In fact, I put a $100 non-refundable down payment on a used (excellent ++) D2 from Tamarkin this morning. I am beginning to think I am crazy to pay almost $900 for a four-year-old 5MP camera with an EVF, long (by today's standards) shutter lag, and reported issues with sensor failure. On the other hand, the camera/lens are calling me, and the photo examples I have seen do seem to have a certain look about them. Does such a look really exist with this camera, or does it just seem this way because most who use this camera happen to be goood photographers? If there is such a look, does it come from the lens or from the in-camera image processing? Do the D2 users here tend to use JPEG most of the time?

Wer hat Lust seine 5 besten Bilder aus den Schwestern hier zu präsentieren? Zur Erinnerung an eine Leica wie es sie so nicht wieder geben wird.

Hi, I suffered from Gear Acquisition Syndrome from 2005 through 2012. After that I never touched a camera for two years. Just wanted to let you know how I recovered. I purchased a Digilux 2. This was after reading through all the threads here. Thank-you all, and to the inomparable D2, for helping me. Over and Out.

Digilux 2

Hallo, ich habe meine Digilux 2 seit 11 Jahren. Ich habe vor einigen Jahren einen no-name Ersatzakku gekauft. Ich habe die letzten Jahre die Kamera selten benutzt - der Akku war schnell leer. Zuletzt lädt der Akku ca. 10 min auf - dann erlischt das grüne Licht beim Ladegerät - wenn ich den Batterie fest hineindrücke - leuchtet das Gerät wieder für eine Minute - und so weiter. Der Akku ist dann nur wenig aufgeladen. Frage: Genügt es einen neuen Akku zu kaufen oder ist das Ladegerät defekt? Kann man das Ladegerät einfach testen? Im Internetversand wird ein Set mit 2 akkus + Ladegerät um ca.40 € angeboten. Ist das empfehlenswert? Danke im Voraus für die Tipps. Imkerjoe

Liebe Mitglieder, Ich habe eine Digilux 2 mit einer späten Seriennummer, also zu einer Zeit gebaut, wo es keine Probleme mit dem Sensor geben soll wie bei den früheren Produktionen. Jetzt ist es mir passiert, dass die Camera von Zeit zu Zeit nicht mehr anging, dann aber wieder doch, also soetwas wie ein Wackelkontakt. Wenn sie angeht ist sie voll funktionsfähig, wenn sie nicht angeht passiert gar nichts. Ich habe sie zu Leica eingeschickt und telefonisch erklärt bekommen, die Camera sei nicht mehr reparabel, da die Elektronik kaputt sei und Leica die entsprechende Platine nicht mehr lagert. Auch auf wiederholte Nachfrage wurde mir nicht gesagt, was genau kaputt sei und stattdessen angeboten zu einem ermäßigten Preis eine neue Camera zu kaufen. Meine Frage ist nun, ob jemand jemanden kennt, dem ich die Camera zur Reperatur schicken kann? Der Defekt ist ja an/aus, es müsste sich also um ein relativ grobstoffliches Problem handeln, dass ggf. auch ohne neue Platine repariert werden könnte. Auch würde ich gerne wissen, ob ich anderenfals die Platine von der baugleichen Pannasonic benutzen könnte? Ich bin Geigenbaumeister und war sehr glücklich mit dieser Camera um meine Instrumente abzulichten! Sie war für mich als Laie perfekt und lieferte sehr charmante Photos. Liebe Grüße und vielen Dank für die Hilfe :-)

I love my D2, but unfortunately I found a problem in Digilux 2 manual focus @ infinity. Basically manual focus @ infinity will not focus on infinity at all. Here is my test: [1] Put camera on tripod, set aperture @ F2, set zoom @ 28 mm, and set focus distance at infinity. I took a picture, and I found both foreground and background are blur, and I don't even know where is the focus. [2] Set focus @ AF, point to infinity, and took second picture when AF indicate light is green. this picture is very sharp, both background and foreground, which is expected. It looks like this problem only occur at bigger aperture (F2, F2.8, F4), when I use F5.6 and F8, manual focus @ infinity seems work fine, I got sharp image. I think this issue will make manual "zone focus" difficult. I am not sure if this happened to me, or someone else also experienced the same issue? thanks a lot!!

Hi All Not long ago I finally took my Digilux 2 to a Leica store for inspection and repair. I have always suspected the reason why I got dead black screen and couldn't power on was the image sensor (or whatever reason that everyone else had). The shop examined it and reported that they couldn't fix it because Leica no longer produced the parts for Digilux 2. I know it's my fault to have waited this long to try fixing it, but I've always thought Leica would value its machines well enough to at least keep the capability of repairing them. I don't know what to do now. The shop I brought it in was a legit distributor in Taipei. They claimed they have called Germany headquarters and no luck with spare parts. Should I try Leica Germany again? Or Leica US? Or is there any third party Leica-specialist repair shop I can go to? Perhaps use the parts from the Panasonic counterpart of Digilux 2? Sorry for the rambling. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks. HC

Hello, this is my first post on the forum. Am currently reading page 81 of 117 pages on this thread so I don't know if this has already been posted. I am actively searching for a D2 and contacted Leica UK the other day asking about free sensor replacement. Was told by Customer Services that; ' up until quite recently, sensor replacement on the Digilux 2 was carried out free of charge, but as of 2013 this is no longer the case ' So there is now a charge and it was suggested that this would be under £200. My apologies if I am posting something you all already knew...

Hi, I just received a digilux 2 in the post today and there is a problem with it. It looks like the sensor needs replacing. Here's an image of the display from the lcd However, I currently can not find a SDSC card at home so have yet to try it with a memory card in. I have already contacted leica via phone about the issue and was told it sounded like the sensor has given up but they also said just to try it with a card just in case. Is someone able to confirm whether this is the sensor from the image shown? I need to contact the seller and may not be able to find/buy a smaller card in the next few days. Thanks. Jack

We remember everyday. D2 [ATTACH]287703[/ATTACH]

Hier der Link zum auslesen (Seite unten). Ob es bei der Digi 3 auch funktioniert werde ich Sonntag versuchen. Solltet Ihr vorher testen können Bitte Info! leica.overgaard.dk - Thorsten Overgaard's Leica Sites - Leica Digilux 2 sample photos and tests (as well as Panasonic DMC-LC1) - PAGE 4 - How to buy a Leica Digilux 2 second hand Hier in deutsch (Googleübersetzer): Herausfinden der tatsächlichen Auslöser setzt auf eine Digilux 2 1a. Setzen Sie einen vollständig aufgeladenen Akku ein. 1b. Legen Sie eine SD-Karte und ein paar picutres. 1c. Schalten Sie die Kamera "Aus". 2. Stellen Sie den Modus-Wahlrad auf "Single Bild". 3. Gleichzeitig; drücken Sie die "Flash"-Taste (die kleine Taste auf der rechten Oberseite der Kamera) und "Up" auf dem Kreuz-Taste: Schalten Sie das Gerät auf "On", während Sie diese beiden unten zu halten. 4. Gleichzeitig; drücken Sie die "Flash", "Menu" und "Left" auf das Kreuz drücken. Dadurch werden Sie auf einen Fehlercode Speicher Leinwand zu bringen. 5. Gleichzeitig; drücken Sie auf "Flash", "Menu" und "Left" wieder. Dies bringt Ihnen einen Überblick auf dem Bildschirm angezeigt: VER 1.0B: 001D (oder ähnliche Firmware-Version). NO:. S010XXXXXXXXXX (eine 12-stellige Nummer mit einem "S"-Präfix, wahrscheinlich eine Hauptplatine Seriennummer). PWRCNT: XXXX (die Anzahl der Male die Kamera auf, wurde "Power On Count" gedreht). SHTCNT: XXXX (die Anzahl der Auslöser abgefeuert, "Shutter Count"). STBCNT: XXX (die Anzahl der Flash fired, "Strobe Count"). 6. Schalten Sie "Off" die Macht.

I just got this one back a month ago with a new sensor and don't want to send it back yet. Any ideas..... will it work ok for all around shooting in macro mode. The macro symbol only goes away when I switch to manual focus mode. Is there a reboot/reset trick? Thanks, John

I was hoping to get a thread going to collect Digilux 2 users best practices for obtaining maximun quality with maximum print size. I normally print to 8 x10 inches and they are stunning(around 240 dpi). Have others been able to get to 11 x 14 or even 13 x 19 and still maintain quality? What are your methods. I was experimenting last night with 13 x 19. They best quality was to just drop the dpi towards 180 rather than upsize at 300 dpi. Still I notice some degradation from 240 dpi. I have not framed one and hung it on the wall to see if at normal veiwing distance it really shows, I will do that today. Anyone care to share their thoughts and experience? I enjoy 8 x 10 and that is fine for me, but I would like to print 11 x 14 or larger for clients/friends with maximum detail. Regards, John

finally decided to post an image, i have had my digilux 2 since 2004, but the idea of posting an image on this forum seemed daunting. pears on table in barn, natural light from window and door, overcast morning, straight from the camera. thank you, ahead, for your comments. kaethe

Hallo, ich würde mir gerne eine Digilux 2 zulegen und bin auf der Suche nach einem Händler im Raum NRW, der so etwas führen könnte. Kann mir jemand Händler nennen? Eventuell würde ich auch privat eine DIGILUX 2 kaufen, jedoch habe ich gehört, dass der Sensor bei vielen Kameras defekt war und ich kann nicht beurteilen, ob der Sensor in Ordnung ist oder nicht, daher meine Frage: Woran erkennt man den Sensordefekt bei der DIGILUX 2? Vielleicht kann mir jemand weiterhelfen? Gruß, Ulf

Note: I am posting this here (instead of the photo forum) because the actual photo is not that great and the real subject of the post is the D2 low-light capabilities. Last night, after dinner at our favorite pizzeria with the family, I decided to stay around town and take some shots with the D2. While camera's max ISO is 400 – and it's already noisy at 200, in my experience a tripod and a couple of seconds at 100 can give you some pretty good shots. Having said that, I came home pretty dejected (and wanting an M9 with more usable ISOs more than ever) because carrying a tripod around was a real pain and I stood out like a sore thumb. Fortunately, despite the hassle of a tripod and 1sec+ exposures, some of the photos came out pretty darn nice. The following example was taken outside the town's library. It was very dark; with the naked eye, all I could see was the glow of a green LED and a crouched shape outside the lighted library window. Quiet as a mouse - not to draw attention to myself - I set the Digilux 2 on the tripod and zoomed it to 90mm. ISO was set at 100, f/2.4, 2.0 seconds. When I got home and downloaded the photo, I saw that that the crouching figure was someone using the library's free WiFi on their laptop. He never noticed me, probably because he also had headphones on and was pretty engrossed by what he was reading on the laptop. While an M9 with ISO 800 or 1600 would have been great and would have saved me the hassle of a tripod, I think that the D2 low-light performance can be impressive if you give it a second - or 2. Alberto P.S. The much less compressed (3.5MB) original is significantly better than what I uploaded. The green of the foliage and shrubs really stands out, as does the texture of the rocks. But even this 480KB image should convey the D2 low-light performance.

New to the Users Forum and to the D2 that's on the way. What in the experience of you D2 users is a well-made and intelligently designed bag for this camera that would allow for the camera/charger, etc. to be separately compartmented and kept reasonably snug? I know about the Billingham L2 $$$(Alice) and the Pelican 1200 hard-sided option from an old 2007 thread. I'm seeking more recent advice and thank you most appreciatively in advance!

I just came back from a full day of shooting a passing storm with one of my trusty D2. I had 2 other cameras in my bag. The D-Lux 4 and a Panasonic FZ-35 for those shots that needed a zoom. Care to guess which camera I used for 90% of the pictures - despite its "limitations"? As I was driving back, I wondered why I like this camera so much - besides the pictures it's capable of taking of course. So I started to count the ways ... feel free to contribute you other D2 fans : I love the way you cost me just a few hundred bucks, but make me feel like a million bucks. I love the way you make me want to get out of the house, go exploring and take pictures. I love the way you feel in my hands and respond to my touch. I love your classy and classic looks. I love your big (f/2.0) eye. I REALLY loooooooove the fact that I can shoot all day with a single battery and a single card. ... Alberto

Hi all D2 users. Have any of you ever felt the need to make adjustments or use the option to make internal adjustments or maybe just as a pure experiment to contrast-sharpness-colour saturation. I'm enquiring as a new user to the wonderful Leica Digilux 2. Sc.

Hi, Today I went to shot some photos with my 'new' beautiful Digilux 2. Here the first attempt in Black & White. I used to shot in RAW and set the WB in Black & White, so I tried the BW out of the camera and even the RAW workflof. Here the results: This is the JPG directly out of the camera Piazza di Spagna, Roma. This is shot in RAW and a little PP with Silver Efex Pro Piazza di Spagna, Roma. I've to say that I love the JPG BW and I think I'm going to shot directly in JPG in the future.. Bye, Manuele-

As Vancouver 2010 is spreading a bit of Olympics interest I decided to post this panoramic I took a few weeks back from the London 2012 Olympic Park. It shows the Greenway which is a public footpath overlooking the Stadium and I liked the perspective of being behind the three man security team.

Much as we love the D2 -- I will never part with either of mine -- high ISO gets noisy. In the thread Digilux 2 and Low Light, noise reduction was called a last-ditch option, as indeed it is. We are fortunate not to need it too often, with an f2 lens and almost silent, vibrationless shutter, but making pictures can require compromises, so NR is nice to have. But I was astonished to see this ISO 400 picture on the huge distinctive look thread: In response to several posts admiring how clean the photo was, the OP said It might be helpful if we all compared notes on different NR apps or plugins and settings therefor, plus relative advantages of raw v. jpeg and contrast/saturation/sharpness settings in the camera, to deal with high ISO. Apparently we don't yet realize how good the D2 is. Let's find out!

A little over a week ago, the prediction that I would inevitably be drawn to, and buy, a digital Leica M series came true. I found a great M8u for sale locally (from another forum member) and, before I could kiss goodbye to a many hard-earned $s, I was the proud owner of an M8 + a 28mm Summicron. Last Sunday, I went to SF and put it to good use as a street shooter (my newfound favorite and most fun form of photography.) I was very pleased with the results (posted on a thread in the photo forum) and the camera was a blast to use. Following that day of shooting, I gushed about it in the M8 forum on this thread. Today, after using the M8 exclusively for a week, I decided to take out one of my D2s for some local (Palo Alto) street shooting. I was not sure of what to expect; but I had a feeling that - after experiencing the wonderful world of a bonafide range finder, the "poor" "little" D2 with its low-resolution electronic viewfinder would not stand a chance. How wrong I was. Since I was taking street shots, and I always convert them to B&W, I set the D2 to B&W mode and started walking around looking for worthy shots. After a few minutes, my brain/fingers connections were retrained for the D2 controls and I was having a blast. The D2 definitely felt different from the M8, but just that - different. Not worse in any way. All the pleasure of manual controls was there and I stopped thinking about the viewfinder and its lower resolution. I was 'one with the camera' the same way I was with the M8, it became an extension of my eyes (a feeling I never had with DSLRs by the way, nor with the DL4). Unlike my SF outing, I did not have a lot of time to take photos (or as many interesting opportunities as SF offers.) But, I don't think I would have fared any differently if I had the M8 with me. The camera was pretty much out of the equation - I was not thinking much about it. Visualize the shot, pick an aperture and shutter speed and let it do its job. The 28-90mm range of the Vari Summicron came in very handy on more than one occasion -- and I do love the quiet shutter. But how did the photos come out? The shots came out great - I have no qualms about using in-camera jpeg with B&W. Yes, the resolution is lower, and there's a bit more noise but, frankly, for street photography those things are not a big deal IMO. The bottom line is that deciding which camera to take with me on any given occasion is not going to be as straight forward as I thought. I love the M8 and I STILL love the D2. If anything, I appreciate it even more now that I've satisfied my curiosity of what it would be like to use an M8/9. I consider myself fortunate to be able to own both (although the M8 was a self-gift for a milestone birthday - not something I would have purchased casually.) I am not really putting the D2 and the M8 in a competition - this should be clear by now. Since I did not find much in the way of comparisons between these two very different - and yet, very similar cameras on the web, I thought I'd to post my impressions as I gain experience with both cameras. And, at least as far street photography is concerned, I can say with confidence that owners of Digilux 2s definitely don't have to feel like they are missing a lot by not having an M8. I can even imagine some people preferring some of the conveniences of the D2 (such as auto-focus and the 28-90mm range.) Even though I did not succeed in capturing any great moments. I hate to post about photography without sharing a single shot. So below is one from today ... along with a bit of background: On my way back to the office I was passed by a beautiful woman in a red outfit that, with the word "Love" written all over it, looked like an advertisement for the upcoming Valentine's day. Just in case you are wondering, I don't make it a habit of shooting women's backsides , but I could not resist taking this one (notice the word "Love" on her belt.) I am glad I did, because it came out nicely, IMO. Thank you for listening, Alberto "Love"ly Woman - Digilux 2, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/320 (~60% cropped from original.)