Want-a-leica Posted March 31, 2011 Share #1 Posted March 31, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've become quite fascinated by this camera since reading about it here and there (specifically on Thorsten Overgaard's site, but other places too), and the fact that there's a 50-plus page thread about it on here tells me something too. I've found one going for an absolute song (here in Japan on an auction site). So cheap in fact that if it turns out to be bogus and I can't for some reason return it, I will hardly have lost anything. Or I could possibly get it spruced up somewhere. The fact that it's out there now, however many years after they came on the market, suggests that the notorious sensor problem is OK or has been fixed. I've seen some really nice, classic-looking pictures taken with this thing, especially in B/W. Is there anything I've overlooked? Auction ends quite soon, so if anyone can get a comment or two in here beforehand, it would be appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 Hi Want-a-leica, Take a look here Very cheap Digilux 2 for sale : recommended? . I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
dopey Posted March 31, 2011 Share #2 Posted March 31, 2011 I've found one going for an absolute song (here in Japan on an auction site). So cheap in fact that if it turns out to be bogus and I can't for some reason return it, I will hardly have lost anything. the notorious sensor problem Hi Does seller have lots of transactions & 100% or 99.x%. I would say go for it if you would have hardly lost anything. If possible pay by Visa or similar card which gives full refund. No cash on collection ... don't know who is lurking in the shadows. Leica will still fix the sensor issue ... i phone Leica germany two months ago. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
csuzv Posted March 31, 2011 Share #3 Posted March 31, 2011 I bought one last year at around £500 on ebay. The photos taken in Italy in my flickr set were taken with the Digilux 2. Flickr: k..ng's Photostream + Operationally, one of the best cameras of the digital age. Ring aperture, zoom and focus controls, a dial for shutter speed and physical controls for exposure mode and drive mode mean you can set up the camera without even turning it on. Becomes second nature after a while. + Great lens, sharp with the Leica glow, fast and wide at f2.0 and versatile with the 28-90mm equivalent range. Honestly, one of the best lenses I've used. + Great build quality, feels like a mini brick. It's not a Leica M, but is better than an X1 or X100. Build quality like this is rare these days. + Jpegs are great out of the camera. I hardly spend any time in Aperture post producing now, as the colours and exposure are great straight out of camera. - Small sensor. Compared to the X1 or M8/9, the sensor is tiny. In practice, this means your depth of field is always fairly large (an advantage or disadvantage depending on your style) - High noise. You need to stick to 100 to 200 ISO. Due to the lack of mirror slap vibration, you should prefer to hold steady for 1/20s shots rather than bump the ISO. If you set to continuous and take 3 shots at 1/20, at least 1 will be sharp. - Small buffer. Not really a problem if you're shooting jpegs, but RAWs eat the buffer up too quickly. Overall, it really is up to your personal preferences and whether it suits your shooting style. I would love Leica to update this design with a modern back-lit sensor for better high ISO performance and a larger buffer. And an exposure compensation dial wouldn't go amiss Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Want-a-leica Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share #4 Posted March 31, 2011 Hi Does seller have lots of transactions & 100% or 99.x%. I would say go for it if you would have hardly lost anything. If possible pay by Visa or similar card which gives full refund. No cash on collection ... don't know who is lurking in the shadows. Leica will still fix the sensor issue ... i phone Leica germany two months ago. The seller's almost new (one transaction, but with a positive feedback). That's not too much of an issue because (at the risk of generalisation) the Japanese are pretty honest. It would be done by bank transfer, which could theoretically be reversed if something goes wrong. The seller has made it clear that he's used the camera a few times, so it's definitely used, but there's no mention of any glaringly obvious faults. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Want-a-leica Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted March 31, 2011 I bought one last year at around £500 on ebay. The photos taken in Italy in my flickr set were taken with the Digilux 2. Flickr: k..ng's Photostream + Operationally, one of the best cameras of the digital age. Ring aperture, zoom and focus controls, a dial for shutter speed and physical controls for exposure mode and drive mode mean you can set up the camera without even turning it on. Becomes second nature after a while. + Great lens, sharp with the Leica glow, fast and wide at f2.0 and versatile with the 28-90mm equivalent range. Honestly, one of the best lenses I've used. + Great build quality, feels like a mini brick. It's not a Leica M, but is better than an X1 or X100. Build quality like this is rare these days. + Jpegs are great out of the camera. I hardly spend any time in Aperture post producing now, as the colours and exposure are great straight out of camera. - Small sensor. Compared to the X1 or M8/9, the sensor is tiny. In practice, this means your depth of field is always fairly large (an advantage or disadvantage depending on your style) - High noise. You need to stick to 100 to 200 ISO. Due to the lack of mirror slap vibration, you should prefer to hold steady for 1/20s shots rather than bump the ISO. If you set to continuous and take 3 shots at 1/20, at least 1 will be sharp. - Small buffer. Not really a problem if you're shooting jpegs, but RAWs eat the buffer up too quickly. Overall, it really is up to your personal preferences and whether it suits your shooting style. I would love Leica to update this design with a modern back-lit sensor for better high ISO performance and a larger buffer. If you haven't already been there, I'd suggest checking out Thorsten Overgaard's excellent summary: - leica.overgaard.dk - Thorsten Overgaard's Leica Sites - Leica Digilux 2 sample photos and tests (as well as Panasonic DMC-LC1) - Page 2 - portraits, cleaning Digilux 2 and more samples Thanks a lot for that post. I've read Thorsten's page several times, the pictures he gets with the camera are lovely and his enthusiasm is infectious. I think I'm becoming a Leica addict. I love my M8 more than any camera I've ever used, and if the digilux 2 does what people say it does, for the price on the auction site it's a steal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted March 31, 2011 Share #6 Posted March 31, 2011 The viewfinder takes some getting used to, but you will get used to it. When we travel I find that about 65% of the photos I take are with it (the other 35% with an R8/DMR), and it's the camera that I carry with me every day to and from work, and carry with me most places during the weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dopey Posted March 31, 2011 Share #7 Posted March 31, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I bought one last year at around £500 on ebay. The photos taken in Italy in my flickr set were taken with the Digilux 2. Flickr: k..ng's Photostream V nice & show just what the D2 is capable of when there plenty of light ... in these conditions i have found aperture & shutter on auto works super. In low light or gray (usual english days) & high contrast i have needed to go fully manual & there's a lot of satisfaction in nailing the exposure in fully manual. Interestingly there are some Sigma DP1 photos (page 6 onwards). I had the DP1 and found my DP1 photos looked digital compared to my (lovely) Sigma SD9. To me the DP1 photos also look digital compared to the D2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
csuzv Posted March 31, 2011 Share #8 Posted March 31, 2011 Interestingly there are some Sigma DP1 photos (page 6 onwards). I had the DP1 and found my DP1 photos looked digital compared to my (lovely) Sigma SD9. To me the DP1 photos also look digital compared to the D2 Yes I agree, and the DP1 RAW files need a lot of poking to get into an acceptable state. Part of my reason for buying the Digilux 2 was that post production on DP1 was becoming a bottleneck, and as a result I was hardly sharing any photos at all. With the D2, 95% of the shots I share are straight out of camera. It has let me concentrate more on capturing the photo rather than manipulating it in software at a later date. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted March 31, 2011 Share #9 Posted March 31, 2011 You can't recall a bank transfer (at least not in UK/EU) so proceed with caution! Do you have the option of paypal in Japan? Insist on that if so, as you do get protection. If the seller is reluctant then I'd take that as a warning sign. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Want-a-leica Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share #10 Posted March 31, 2011 Didn't bother in the end. As is often the case with these things, the bid price increased sharply towards the end of the auction, beyond what I'd want to pay. Worth keeping an eye out in the future though. There's a 15mm Heliar going on the same auction site with what looks like a far more reputable dealer, so I might look at that instead. Thanks for the replies anyway! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
csuzv Posted March 31, 2011 Share #11 Posted March 31, 2011 Didn't bother in the end. As is often the case with these things, the bid price increased sharply towards the end of the auction, beyond what I'd want to pay. Worth keeping an eye out in the future though. There's a 15mm Heliar going on the same auction site with what looks like a far more reputable dealer, so I might look at that instead. Thanks for the replies anyway! Oh well, I see from your photostream you have an M8. I don't think you'll regret not getting the Digilux 2 too much Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted March 31, 2011 Share #12 Posted March 31, 2011 Didn't bother in the end. As is often the case with these things, the bid price increased sharply towards the end of the auction! I assumed you were talking about a 'buy it now' price. Serious bidders always wait until the last minute, so whatever price an item is going for on an auction basis is really irrelevant until then. You can also register with a website that will automatically submit your highest bid in the last few seconds of an auction. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Want-a-leica Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share #13 Posted April 1, 2011 I assumed you were talking about a 'buy it now' price. Serious bidders always wait until the last minute, so whatever price an item is going for on an auction basis is really irrelevant until then. You can also register with a website that will automatically submit your highest bid in the last few seconds of an auction. There's another one which just turned up today. Fingers crossed I can get the timing of the bid right. It's funny, when I started getting into photography I went from an 8mp camera to a 12, then a 16, and eventually a 21. Now I own a 10mp camera and am giving serious consideration to getting one with 5mp:D Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinocchio Wood Posted April 1, 2011 Share #14 Posted April 1, 2011 What money do these cameras fetch nowadays? I have a mint one that I would sell at the right price. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted April 1, 2011 Share #15 Posted April 1, 2011 I bought both a Digilux 2 and a DMC-LC1, each in the range of € 500...550, within the space of a year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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