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Soft Digilux 3 Pictures


jbstitt

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I have been using the D3 for 2 weeks now and I can honestly say this is one VERY SHARP lens! I shoot RAW and sharpen in PS CS2. It is an amazing camera! Edge to Edge sharpness, fast and feels real good in the hand.

 

I would definately return it for another.

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I have been using the D3 for 2 weeks now and I can honestly say this is one VERY SHARP lens! I shoot RAW and sharpen in PS CS2. It is an amazing camera! Edge to Edge sharpness, fast and feels real good in the hand.

 

Jim, that is really good to hear! I'm eagerly anticipating receiving mine tomorrow. Have you looked into any of the Oly fixed lenses for "street" work? - Something like with a focal length equivalent to 35mm or even 50mm? I'm thinking that a fixed lens would be smaller and less obtrusive. Hopefully. Leica will offer one.

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Have a look at the review of the Pana L1: "www.cameralabs.com/reviews/PanasonicL1",

in which softness was obsereved with most of the L1 shots using the default settings.

They concluded that it was not a fault of the lens or camera though, just modest sharpening by default and that considerably higher detail could be revealed with greater sharpening either in-camera or through software later.

 

Hope this helps to derive at the right decision.

 

regards

Ecaton

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All,

 

Thank you all for your advice. I apologize for not entering replying to some of the discussion but I have been traveling without computer access until tonight.

 

I have concluded that my D3 definitely has a problem, although from the photos posted it appears that there is considerable variability in the sharpness people are seeing out of the box. . The original shot I posted was made with both RAW and increased sharpness JPG files. I went as high as 250/0.8/1 sharpening ithe portrait n PS CS and neither the JPG nor the RAW looked sharp. I have now returned the camera to the dealer along with a sample print. He agrees it the print is not any better than one could get with a $300 point and shoot. My D2 does MUCH BETTER! He issued a refund. They are returning to Leica USA for examination. I like the camera's feel and function so I have told him that if they can find that there is a problem with the one I had and correct the situation then I will again take a properly working D3, but if that is as good as it gets then I am not interested and a 5D is probably in my future. I really do want the live view and the 16:9 ratio for landscapes and I like the idea of using my R lenses with the adapter.. I've got to like what I get though before putting down $2500 plus tax again.

 

I did try some shots manually focusing and the situation was the same. The spot I focused on was the sharpest of the range but was still not sharp.

 

Still no one else has mentioned the missing shutter speed in the PS CS file info data . When I look at the metadata it is there but not with the file info. Also both places the metering mode is always listed as center weighted average when I know I used different metering modes. Anyone else looked to see if their shot data is recorded correctly?

 

So I will see what my dealer, whom I trust very much, hears back from Leica.

 

John Stitt

Slide 1.

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Two things to consider with soft focus on the D3 and L1

 

a) As the default setting for Autofocus is "Auto" for the 3 zones, change this to "Central Only" and see how you go.

 

B) The default sharpness for "Film -standard" may be too mild. Try to Sharpen this and set this as FILM-1

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I just received it late yesterday afternoon, and as with all new cameras/lenses I like to shoot images of my makeshift and boring focus chart with the lens wide open. I think this is going to be a fine everyday camera:

 

  • Overall of focus target
  • 100% crop - left side
  • 100% crop - center
  • 100% crop - right side

 

Lens was set at maximum aperture, but with zoom, ended up at f/3.2. ISO 200. I used window light to light the target and it was somewhat uneven. No PS sharpening was used.

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Lens was at f/11, ISO 200: Used AF, RAW image:

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Guest Bernd Banken
Bernd,

 

Can't read German - what's the general opinion about the Digilux-3 over there?

 

John,

 

sorry for no reply - I just missed the thread:rolleyes:

 

 

Bernd

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The focal length was 50mm (100 equivilant) and the apature was 5.6. Outside with good light and -1 fill flash. Sharpening +1 bump on the scale. 0 noise reduction, contrast normal. My Film 1 settings. I shoot almost all apature priority auto most of the time but I found no shutter speed listed when I looked in the "file information" selection under FILE in PS CS. That bothered me too. The 100% and even 200% blow ups do not look like camera shake (no ghost image). The more I hear the more I think I got a bad camera. It is now on its wayback to Leica (refund in hand) and I will wait to hear what they say before deciding what to do. With rebates a 5D system including flash, 24 to 105L and 4 gig card is only about $500 more. But then the 5D does not have live view and I use the back screen for composition on my D2 lots for landscapes, and started to with the D3. I do like the camera but not the results I see so far. So I will wait and see. Not bashing the camera at all. Much to like there and I do hope mine was just a lemon.

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{snip} The more I hear the more I think I got a bad camera. It is now on its way back to Leica (refund in hand) and I will wait to hear what they say before deciding what to do. {snip} I do like the camera but not the results I see so far. So I will wait and see. Not bashing the camera at all. Much to like there and I do hope mine was just a lemon.

 

John, I really do think that you got a bad sample. It happens with all makes. I've got a Canon 24mm f/1.4L back at the center for a soft focus problem.

 

Here's another from my new Digilux-3 from this morning:

 

http://www.leica-camera-user.com/nature-wildlife/10607-trunk-crossing.html

 

 

The camera seems to be quite capable - at least a properly operating one.

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After a few sessions with my D3, my images have gone from sharp-ish to tack-sharp. The camera has a learning curve. The default settings are sub-ideal, and it took me ages to realize that the only way to get my changes to those settings to survive when I turn off the camera is to create a custom settings set. Now everything is as I want it:

--highest-quality JPG

--sharpness 1 step higher than center

--NR at minimum

--AF on single center point

--Manual focus preview at 10x

 

For awhile, I was afraid that I, too, had a bad camera. I'm glad I was wrong. Now that I'm sure the camera is OK, I can wade into the world of RAW...

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