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First Impressions of Digilux 3

sean_reid

By sean_reid
in Digital Forum

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designdog

designdog

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Hi. I have a new L1, a 20D with a host of "L" lenses, and a Digilux 2. The last is my favorite camera!

 

Re the L1 or the Digilux 3, I can tell you there is less of a difference in the two than the LC1 and D2. (I have both) To give you an idea, download the manuals for these cameras, and compare the differences. At least the D2 has a German owners manual! Then do the same for the D3 and L1. They are the same.

 

Also I can tell you that the Leica chrome/black construction does not travel well in the less than $3,000 sphere. The "magnesium" body just looks more like plastic than not. The LC1 and L1 actually look better, probably because you have less expectations from them.

 

In the US there is almost a $1,000 difference between the two. And the lens, as we know, is exactly the same. Hard to justify the difference.

 

That said, I do enjoy my L1 and think it was misunderstood by the reviewers. I recently got the Olympus 50 f2 macro and am learning a lot from it! I was thinking of the 40-200mm, but the recent purchase of an excellent 70-200 f4L IS for my Canon stopped me!

 

-ddog

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jaapv

jaapv

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Sean, when/if you do a feature on the Digilux 3 would you please include an assesment of long (Olympus?) lenses. I am looking for a "long" complement to my M8 for wildlife this fall and though my Noflexar 400 and Viso3 on the M8 are very good, practical they are not. Do you feel the Digilux3 plus an Olympus long zoom are good enough to be used beside an M8?

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dugby

dugby

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Aaah...i see there is some 'poetic license' being applied to the D3 / L1 differences.

 

This 'in-camera' processing differences that the D3 has compared to the L1 i((s applied to the jpeg associated to the raw, as well as the 'jpeg only' shots.

 

The black L1 feels solid & steely just like a black M6, the D3 feels more plastic-like. Don't get me wrong, i'm not defending a lower cost purchase, i would have happily paid more to get a black D3.......(i would have bought an M8, but being 20,000km from a Service centre that really cares.......has been an inhibitor for me....so am waiting for an M9)

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Riley

Riley

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Sean, when/if you do a feature on the Digilux 3 would you please include an assesment of long (Olympus?) lenses. I am looking for a "long" complement to my M8 for wildlife this fall and though my Noflexar 400 and Viso3 on the M8 are very good, practical they are not. Do you feel the Digilux3 plus an Olympus long zoom are good enough to be used beside an M8?

 

jaap you might like to check this link out in the mean time

 

PhotoZone

 

USER PERFORMANCE SURVEYS

 

4/3 System (Olympus E) lenses

 

come Monday there will be some changes I will post them here I guess

but recommend you check out the 50-200/2.8-3.5,

which equates to 100-400 and its as sharp as *

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biglouis

biglouis

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Riley

 

I was looking at these reviews and the Olympus lenses are highly praised. I'm suspicious of the Leica roadmap for the 4/3rds lenses which seems identical to the existing range of Olympus lenses. Makes me wonder if Leica is going to rebadge the Olympus lenses as their own????

 

LouisB

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sean_reid

sean_reid

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thats good news Sean

since it is at heart an Oly processor

will you be taking the time to implement usual +2 sharp, & maybe back off the contrast etc

or will this be a RAW experience ?

 

Hi Rob,

 

As usual - all testing will be done in RAW.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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sean_reid

sean_reid

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This puzzles me. If "RAW" truly means raw -- i.e., unprocessed -- then how can there be any difference between the Leica and Panasonic versions? I suppose there could be some difference in the noise-reduction settings since this feature cannot be disabled, but otherwise ... ???

 

With many cameras, Raw is not exactly Raw -- various degrees of processing are applied before the "raw" file is written.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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sean_reid

sean_reid

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Thanks. I'm shooting most of the day down here but I try to check in on the forum in the evening when I can. I'll take a look at your pictures tonight.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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jonoslack

jonoslack

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Sean, when/if you do a feature on the Digilux 3 would you please include an assesment of long (Olympus?) lenses. I am looking for a "long" complement to my M8 for wildlife this fall and though my Noflexar 400 and Viso3 on the M8 are very good, practical they are not. Do you feel the Digilux3 plus an Olympus long zoom are good enough to be used beside an M8?

Hi Jaap

I've been using these lenses on and off since the E1 came out (must be 4 years ago now). The BIG lenses (35-100 f2 and 90-250 f2.8) are splendid, but very expensive. The 50-200 on the other hand is f2.8/f3.5, handles nicely and is sharp at all apertures and all focal lengths. I've recently got rid of all my nikon gear - but kept the Olympus because of the quality of the lenses. They do not bullsh*t about the advantages of telecentric designs!

 

I looked at the D3 (and the L1) but, truth be told, they seem to have some considerable disadvantages over the Olympus E330, and only cosmetic advantages. The E330 is an ugly beast, but the flip out LCD is wonderful for macro and product work on a tripod (with stunningly efficient focusing in mode B). I think Panasonic/Leica really missed a trick here.

 

Anyway, I digress, I couldn't recommend the Oly 50-200 more, and it works well with their excellent (but expensive) 1.4 converter as well - and if you want a weatherproof kit, you can grab an E1 for almost nothing these days (still my alltime favorite handling camera). And when I say weatherproof - you can wash it under a tap, and someone on the olympus forum took some underwater pictures with it (not to be recommended!).

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sean_reid

sean_reid

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Sean - I remember you had a Digilux 2 at one time. Let us know how you like the Digilux 3. I have the Olympus E-500 which is another 4/3rds format which I shhot once in a while. Not sure how viable is the 4/3rds format in the future. Care to comment ? Thanks:)

 

Yes, I've worked with several D2s and LC1s at various times. Comparing the D2 and D3, informally, will be where the article begins.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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MJLogan

MJLogan

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I've just today started working casually with the Digilux 3 at ISO 100. Quick impressions:

 

While it's true that the finder is not as good as what we see on some other DSLRs, it's not bad and is *much* better than the EVF on the D2.

 

I've had my D3 since late November, but I do primarily travel photography and hadn't done any traveling til a couple of weeks ago. Ten days in Paris gave my D3 its first workout; I'm leaving tomorrow for Venice (where I don't even hope to compete with Tim's gallery) and Amsterdam.

 

My business partner was shooting with his D2, so we got to compare strengths and weaknesses in the field. There's something really special about D2 images--if they're made under near-ideal circumstances. Add the facts that it's smaller, lighter and silent, and you have a slam-dunk winner for well-lit, stationary subjects.

 

My D3 is much more versatile, and did amazingly well in low light (inside cathedrals, for instance). And I found a great use for live view. I set the camera on our cafe table at about 11 pm with the lens stopped down to f22 and took very stealthy time exposures of the passing scene. I'll attach a reduced-size copy of my favourite.

 

My only complaints about the D3 are its size/weight, and that viewfinder. I love manual focus, and find that I need to use live view to get accurately-placed shallow DOF. An afternarket split-screen for the viewfinder would make me very happy.

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audidudi

audidudi

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With many cameras, Raw is not exactly Raw -- various degrees of processing are applied before the "raw" file is written.

 

Then perhaps you could use this review as an opportunity, once and for all, to explore the actual differences in image quality between the Leica and Panasonic versions, and let the truth fall where it may. If necessary, I'll even arrange to send you an L1 for as long as you need it. Seriously!

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biglouis

biglouis

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Riley

 

I'm talking about this slide, which I think I got from the Leica forum some time last year. It shows the various lenses that Panasonic are planning on introducing. Now, I realise that I've made an assumption that these would be Leicasonic lenses but it occurs to me now that perhaps some will be developed with Leica and others will come from (perhaps) Olympus????

 

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Riley

Riley

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ah yes Louis

that is familiar to me

the 25/1.4 has been coming for ages, not yet arrived

and the 14-45/2.8-3.5 OIS is the kit lens I think ?

the other 3 suppose to be coming this year

 

in addition to this, Oly has 5 lenses coming this year

and the rest of the SIgma's will get their 4/3 mounts, there might be 5 of those

 

going to be a busy year

 

1 more thing to contemplate

since the Olympus dSLRs will mount the Panasonic sensor

perhaps there is another 4/3 camera coming

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biglouis

biglouis

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Riley

 

It is interesting to see that the Oly cameras are shrinking in size. Much in the press (well AP to be exact) about the new Oly cameras being reminiscent of the old Oly film cameras from about 25 years ago, like the OM1, which I always thought was a wonderful body

 

Maybe Leica will bring out a shrunken 'D' series body?

 

LouisB

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Riley

Riley

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i think that if i could find a camera remotely like an OM i would jump at it

one of my few regrets was selling my OM4-Ti, a very well proportioned/featured camera

if they made me chief of design at Olympus tomorrow this is exactly what i would do

a digital OM4 with 4/3 sensor with E-510 internals and tilt LCD & 4/3 lenses

it would get the interest of anyone who owned an OM in the past

my only problem would be gearing production to meet demand

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