My D-LUX 5 takes crappy pictures

[NZDavid]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I'm now thinking it could be this; because it's in low light and flash off, the camera is using F2 or thereabouts and, with the combination of the focus being out, that is why the faces are blurred. Try switching from spot metering and use larger area metering. Remember, it may be a comparatively large sensor for a camera of this size nut it is still a small sensor when compared to a DSLR.

 

 

Cheers, Macjim.

 

That's right, the camera does have a built-in preference for the widest aperture in order to maximize shutter speed -- at least in P setting. Again, a case of more trial and hopefully less error.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[c.d.ewen]

I appreciate the interest and suggestions made by all. I'm certain that I can get decent photos out of the camera eventually, but apparently I haven't made the current problem clear enough.

 

I have told my wife that all she has to do with this camera is to turn the Mode Dial to "A" (Auto/Snapshot Mode), and the camera will take good pictures. That's what she expects of all machines - turn it on and don't think anymore. To any worry she has expressed about this camera, I have always answered, 'Relax, it's a Leica' (I bought my first Leica in 1962; I know how good they are). My current problem is that I'm not getting good photos while in Snapshot Mode.

 

If you turn the Mode Dial on your camera to "A" (Auto/Snapshot, not Aperture) and enter the Recording Menu, you'll see that you have only four available options: Resolution, Burst, Color Effect and Face Recognition (N.B. different from Face Detection). There are no other changeable settings. My current settings are: 10M, Off, Standard and Off.

 

This is the first day in many that won't be rainy, so I'll take the camera outside and enjoy some higher shutter speeds. I'll see if the wife will volunteer to supply a face for the camera. I will experiment with using a tripod, and will also do a factory reset (menu page 5). I have my fingers crossed.

 

Charley

[andybarton]

Why not try P mode instead? Just as user-friendly, but you will probably be able to set where the focus point is. Even if you leave it right in the middle, at least you know where the camera is going tofocus.

[k0vt73]

not sure my comments will be of any help, strictly amateur here, but i really dislike the snapshot mode, way too much chance of bad focus due to a frame being selected i don't like, not to mention the shutter speed it may select.

 

i haven't really found a good use for that mode.

 

instead for fast shooting and wanting to just hand the camera to someone, i put it in P mode and have the shutter speed minimum programmed to 1/60, just to be sure.

 

for myself i find myself using the P mode and A (perature) modes most, in combination with minimum shutter settings... it's fast to set the ev if necessary.

 

good luck.

[kschwarz]

The issue is a combination of camera shake and relatively low dynamic range of small sensor cameras. Both images supplied look like classic camera shake to me, which combined with a low dynamic range sensor leads to a muddy image (especially effecting eyes, hair, or other dark tones in the image). You could prove that this is the case by repeating your test images with the camera affixed to a study tripod and using the timer to fire the shutter. You could also improve your exposure of backlit subjects (like your example image 2) by using manual exposure set to the bright background (outside window in example 2) and letting the flash fill in for the foreground (I apologize in advance, if you already knew that). Good luck.

[NZDavid]

Why not try P mode instead? Just as user-friendly, but you will probably be able to set where the focus point is. Even if you leave it right in the middle, at least you know where the camera is going tofocus.

 

+1

[c.d.ewen]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Once again, I appreciate the comments made here. What I would appreciate more, however, would be some links to, or examples of, sharp photos of people taken with available light. That's really the problem. Having used the camera outdoors (since the rains finally stopped), I see no focusing problem in sunlight.

 

The other problem that folks here haven't fully grasped is that it is my wife who is complaining about the quality of the available light photos. Please realize that she is one of those people who were convinced that they knew everything by the time they were 15 yrs old. She doesn't want to learn about settings. If she points the camera at a scene and doesn't like the resulting photo, it is the camera's fault, not hers.

 

Charley

[macjim]

Once again, I appreciate the comments made here. What I would appreciate more, however, would be some links to, or examples of, sharp photos of people taken with available light. That's really the problem. Having used the camera outdoors (since the rains finally stopped), I see no focusing problem in sunlight.

 

The other problem that folks here haven't fully grasped is that it is my wife who is complaining about the quality of the available light photos. Please realize that she is one of those people who were convinced that they knew everything by the time they were 15 yrs old. She doesn't want to learn about settings. If she points the camera at a scene and doesn't like the resulting photo, it is the camera's fault, not hers.

 

Charley

 

Better not let the wife see the above

 

 

Cheers, Macjim.

[macjim]

You could go to my flickr page and look at my photos. None taken with a flash!

 

 

Cheers, Macjim.

[macjim]

Also, go to the Leica d-lux 5 users group for more fine photos: http://www.flickr.com/groups/dlux5/

 

 

Cheers, Macjim.

[NZDavid]

Hairdressers, 1/60, f/2, ISO 100 (P mode).

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[M. Valdemar]

Put the camera on a tripod and do some test exposures with different modes and with face recognition turned on and off.

 

If you're still getting blurred photos it's possible that the AF is not working properly.

 

Can you try another example of the camera?

 

I have the Panasonic Lumix GF1. After 4 months the AF became totally wonky and Panasonic replaced the camera.

[LuxBob]

What happens when you try a similar shot outside in bright sunlight when it is set at F2 in A mode?

[c.d.ewen]

Thanks for links. Obviously, and as I expected from Leica, the camera can take quality indoor available light photos. As I mentioned, outdoors isn't a problem.

 

I did try a quick experiment and will attach the results. In each case, the "magic green box" was on my wife. From left to right, the exposures were: (1) no flash handheld, (2) no flash tripod mounted, and (3) with flash tripod mounted. There's no real difference in detail between (1) and (2), so I'm discounting the much pointed to camera shake theory. Looking at my wife's necklace, ring, etc., there's actually greater detail in (2) than (3), but I'd attribute that to overexposure with the flash. The second attachment shows detail from the stove, where the blow-up of (3) is sharper than (1) and (2). Could this be attributed to different lighting?

 

The exposures were: (1) 1/13s f/2.8 ISO 400 (2) 1/13s f/2.8 ISO 400 (3) 1/60s f/2.8 ISO 250.

 

I'm only a 1/2 hr.'s drive from B&H, where I purchased the camera. I would have dropped in and swopped for another example under the assumption that I had received a lemon, but they went out-of-stock the other day. I'll shoot somemore this weekend and make a decision.

 

Again, the challenge is to put the camera in Moron Mode (Snapshot) and take sharp indoor available light photos of people (brightly lit salons is no fair! ). Shoot your wife over the kitchen table and see what you get

 

Charley

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[ho_co]

The flash picture used a smaller aperture, therefore has greater depth of field, therefore stove in better focus.

 

That comparison is also a good place to compare detail between 1) and 2). Just looking at what you've published here, I'd say the effects of camera shake are evident. Picture 1 is good, but picture 2 is better.

 

I don't care what shutter speed you're using, a tripod will always hold the camera still better than the hand.

 

BTW, I find that using the separate finder on the D-Lux 4 helps me hold the camera better, because adding my face gives it a better resting point than the two arms alone.

[macjim]

To me, it looks like the light at the back is what's thrown the metering as it's dominant. With the flash on, it definitely a good photo. try it in shutter priority and chose a speed that will allow hand held photography, such as 1/125th or 1/250th and let the camera chose the aperture. But, if your still not happy with the camera, it should be covered by the Leica passport warranty for a replacement camera. I have been mightily please with the flash off night photography with my D-Lux 5 but Leica (Panasonic) can produce lemons just as much as any other manufacturer. remember, they have just announced a new V-Lux 30 camera so a new D-Lux shouldn't be too far away although that might be too far to resolve your issues. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

[macjim]

Looking at your photos again, do us all a favour and check what setting the iso is set at. I'm wondering if you have it locked at a high iso setting and that may be what is happening as there seems to be a lot of noise in your photos. Or it could be you have the iso set to auto allowing the camera to go up to its highest iso and that WILL cause this fuzzy quality. If you go into the settings and set the highest iso you want it to use, that may just cure this problem. One of my night photos when look at on my MacBook Pro is noisy but this isn't a problem as it's a street view but I wouldn't have saved it if it was of family and friends. Mind you, I would keep it if it was a special moment.

[sfage]

You "are" pressing the shutter button half way down (to allow it to focus) then the rest of the way down to take the shot, right?

 

You're not pressing the fire button down in one "swoop", right?

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[c.d.ewen]

sfage: having shot pistols in competition, I'm very adept at slowly squeezing a trigger or a shutter release without jiggle. Yes, I did wait for autofocus to settle; enough that my wife asked: "Why does that camera take so long to take a picture?"

 

macjim: if you recall, the challenge is to shoot the camera in Snapshot Mode, where ISO settings and limits are unavailable. I'm assuming that in this mode, the settings are forced to Auto.

 

Also, if the V-Lux 30 shot RAW, I might be tempted to switch. B&H shows the V-Lux 30 at US$739 and the D-Lux 5 at US$799. I suspect I'll stick with the D-Lux 5, and upgrade to D-Lux 6 whenever. It's what I've always done. The D-Lux 5 is my eighth digital camera.

 

ho_co: The three photos were taken at the same aperture: f/2.8. Only the shutter speed and ISO settings changed.

 

Yes, tripods are steadier than hands, but I don't find tripod photo detail to be startlingly better. I forgot to mention that the handheld photo was taken slightly closer and with a different zoom level. The handheld photo was at 11.7mm, while the tripod photos were taken at 12.8mm. This could have had a material effect on the results. I'll include another enlargement below for your further evaluation.

 

I'll shoot somemore this weekend, using the EVF and settings of my choice, rather than that dumb Snapshot Mode.

 

Thanks, again, for all your helpful comments.

 

Charley

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[ho_co]

Charley, I'm at a disadvantage, having a noticeable tremor and never having shot competitively; I appreciate your posting the enlarged sections.

 

And I've been shot down by the fact that all the images are at the same aperture.

 

 

Oh, well. I think part of it is the camera's choice of high ISO, and part of it is just the fact that flash tends to make pictures look snappier since it's head-on lighting. (Maybe someone else can explain what I'm trying to say, since I can't give a reason for that.)

 

Remember, the sensor on this camera is smaller than your little fingernail, so part of getting good results from it has to do with learning what it can and can't do.

 

Have you let your wife use it yet? After all our comments, she may be so intimidated that she won't want to try it.