Canon 5D owner with some questions about Digilux 3

[Crazy Cat Lady]

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I currently own a canon 5D and have been eyeing the Leica Digilux 3 for a while now. I do not know much about Leica but am very interested in them because I love the color, saturation, contrast their lenses produce. As I remember correctly, Lecia has not released any official lenses for the Digilux line, correct? Can the other Leica lenses (M, R) lenses fit on the Digilux 3?

 

So my questions are, can my canon lenses fit on the Leica Digilux 3 body? and would the Leica lenses fit on my 5D body? Would I loose any auto focusing ability? Some people have commented that the Digilux looks like a rangefinder. Does it act like a rangefinder or is it DSLR?

 

Sorry if some of this seems obvious, but I am totally new to Leica and have been slowly researching this. Plus I want to make sure of certain things before I take the plunge into another DSLR.

 

Thank You

Jennifer

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[doubice]

Jennifer,

 

All your questions might be answered here: Adapters:* SLR to RF

 

The Digilux 3 has a 4/3 lens mount and does come with a 14-50 mm zoom lens. Other Leica lenses are forthcoming - 1.4/25mm for example. The 4/3 mount lenses cannot be used on the 5D, as they were designed for a smaller sansor - your 5D has a full frame sensor.

 

All your Canon lenses however, could be used on the Digilux 3 via adapters available from Cameraquest (see above link).

 

Merry Christmas.

 

Jan

[telyt]

The Digilux 3 is a 4/3-system camera, which is an open standard so any of the Olympus DSLR lenses will fit too. Adapters are available for many other SLR cameras, Leica-R for certain but I don't know about Canon EOS. The 4/3 lenses will not fit on your 5D, however many of the Leica--R lenses than can be adapted to fit the Digilux-3 can also be adapted to the 5D (without AF).

 

When you put lenses other than 4/3-system on the Digilux-3 you lose AF.

[stunsworth]

Jan, I don't think you can get an adaptor for the Canon lenses as there's they don't have an aperture ring - they're controlled from the EOS body - and I doubt that there will be a compatible electrical conencted between the Olympus body and Canon lens.

 

I'm about to leave, but I'll answer some of the other questions later.

[dwcolvin]

I currently own a canon 5D and have been eyeing the Leica Digilux 3 for a while now. I do not know much about Leica but am very interested in them because I love the color, saturation, contrast their lenses produce. As I remember correctly, Lecia has not released any official lenses for the Digilux line, correct? Can the other Leica lenses (M, R) lenses fit on the Digilux 3?

 

So my questions are, can my canon lenses fit on the Leica Digilux 3 body? and would the Leica lenses fit on my 5D body? Would I loose any auto focusing ability? Some people have commented that the Digilux looks like a rangefinder. Does it act like a rangefinder or is it DSLR?

 

The D3 is a DSLR (very similar to the Panasonic DMC-L1, and somewhat similar to the Olympus E-330).

 

The only released Leica lens for the D3 is the image stabilized 14-50mm that comes with the camera. A 25mm prime (a 'normal' lens for four-thirds cameras) has been announced for next spring, and others have been hinted at. All Olympus four-thirds lenses work on the D3, and many Sigma lenses are available in the mount as well. Four Thirds | Products | Lenses lists the currently or soon to be available lenses.

 

Four-thirds lenses would not work on your 5D. Canon lenses would not work on the D3. An adapter is available to allow Leica R lenses to be used on the D3. Other adapters allow Nikon, Olympus OM, Pentax (K and M42) and many other mounts (I even use Hasselblad V lenses) to be used, but manual focus (of course) and stop-down metering. There is no adapter for Leica M lenses.

[doubice]

Jan, I don't think you can get an adaptor for the Canon lenses as there's they don't have an aperture ring - they're controlled from the EOS body - and I doubt that there will be a compatible electrical conencted between the Olympus body and Canon lens.

 

Steve is of course correct; my mistake due to a quick reponse during the usual pre-Christmas Eve fury at home.

 

All the best,

 

Jan

[Guest stnami]

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Buying a couple of R lenses and a adapter for your canon has to be the way to go. Wait for Steve's full reply or some others who use Leica on Canon.

The Oly/panaleica is really only worth while to 400iso, I opted out of the 4:3 system as it was dormant as far as high iso go. There is not much out there with great colour rendition other than a DMR brick, a M8 that needs a bit of work or a small sensor Oly I even am considering a Fuji S5 with some new Zeiss 35/25mm lenses, though the colours could be somewhat cool. I am sort of in a pretty lost situation as far as cameras go at the moment as the Nikon has its own dramas and canon never really got the colour right.

...or just wait 12 months and see what Leica does with the M8

[John Maio]

I have the 5D and the DigiLux-3.

 

Each has features that recommended it for certain uses. I use the DigiLux-3 for general purpose photography and take it along on day trips around town (its smaller and weighs less than the 5D and the so-called "Kit" lens is excellent. You'll hear from many ( some who never have even held the camera) that the DigiLux-3 "is only useful through ISO 400". That is not my experience at all. I have made nice images through ISO 1600, and if you search the Photo Forum, you'll see others have too.

 

I use the 5D on different kinds of paid assignments - especially when low available light is involved and I can't use flash. Many think its the current industry standard for low noise at high ISO, and I certainly wouldn't argue with that.

 

Both the Canon 5D *and* the DigiLux-3 can use many Leica "R" mount lenses with adapters. That's something to think about.

[Crazy Cat Lady]

Wow, I did not expect so many responses already! What does "R" stand for when you say an R Lens?

 

Thank You everyone for your help

 

Happy Holidays

[stunsworth]

Wow, I did not expect so many responses already! What does "R" stand for when you say an R Lens?

 

Jeniffer, I'm about to go to bed - Christmas eve and all that - and I'll attempt to answer most of your questions in the morning, but when people refer to the 'R' system they're refering to the Leica SLR range of lenses which are different to the Leica M rangefinder lenses.

[John Maio]

Wow, I did not expect so many responses already! What does "R" stand for when you say an R Lens?

 

Thank You everyone for your help

 

Happy Holidays

 

Sorry - I should have provided this link:

 

Leica Camera AG - Photography - Lenses

[dwcolvin]

The Oly/panaleica is really only worth while to 400iso, I opted out of the 4:3 system as it was dormant as far as high iso go.

 

This becomes tiresome.

 

First, D3 ISO 800 images are perfectly usable, and higher are just as good as any APS-C sensor with a little Neat Image processing.

 

Second, most of the world's great images were captured at less than ISO 100. To dismiss a camera because it can't take available light pictures of black cats in coal mines says more about the photographer than the camera.

[ennjott]

"With a little Neat Image processing", APS-C sensors keep their edge over four thirds.

 

Also, who are you to tell people they don't need high ISO speeds? Actually most famous photos are <=ISO100 because more sensitive film emulsions with acceptable results haven't been available for that long. Photographers had to cope with what they could get.

Many if not most of the world's great photos were also done without a built-in light meter or digital capture so why don't we all just use 1930s Leicas.

[Guest stnami]

Denny, I have used the 4:3 since the E-1 etc since their inception and has been my preferred camera, all the cameras including the pana1 same as D3( slight firmware changes) have a tendency to blow out the highlights coupled with the noise in the shadow areas at 800iso does not make for a great image. Sure you can get away with it in landscapes and evenly lit cityscapes. The smaller sensor just has a smaller dynamic range. survives at 400iso but finds it difficult to cope at 800iso.

There is nothing wrong with the 4:3 cameras and have some of the best colour rendition going around but if one has been using a full frame digital the noise performance will disappoint, Oly/pana leica have never played the low light game with these cameras and are aware that high iso are not their forte

 

First, D3 ISO 800 images are perfectly usable, and higher are just as good as any APS-C sensor with a little Neat Image processing.

Sure if you accept the loss of detail

 

I am sorry you lost your black cat, I hope you find him/her

[dwcolvin]

"Also, who are you to tell people they don't need high ISO speeds?"

 

I don't tell people that need high ISO that they don't. My problem is people that think they need high ISO trashing cameras that don't have high enough ISO to please them, when those cameras have suberb performance in other areas and can satisfy many other photographers.

 

I also don't tell people with "full-frame 35mm sensors" that they need edge sharpness on their wide-angle shots.

[rjgleason]

So is the consensus that Canon Lenses (bodies: 5D, 1DsMII, etc.) cannot be used on the Digilux 3......that there is no adapter for the Digilux 3 to use the Canon "L" line of lenses?

 

If someone knows of an adaptor and/or the specific model # and manufacturer I would appreciate the advice.

 

Thanks much.