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Which digicam to replace my Digilux 1?


lct

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I like much my Digilux 1 but i miss higher iso capabilities.

D-Lux 2 and C-Lux 1 successors seem to be announced here but there is no viewfinder in those things!

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Which model would you suggest to replace my D1?

I just want:

- nice images a la Leica;

- optical viewfinder (so no EVF plse);

- short lag;

- f/2.8 at least;

- 35-70mm at least (but no big nose a la D2 plse);

- decent 200 and 400 iso capabilities.

Thanks folks please02.gif

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lct, i can only think of one real alternative: the fuji f10 or one of its successors. the f30 has improved on this stellar camera and has already picked up a handful of awards and other accolades. how a small sensor can produce such clean photos even when the iso is cranked up to 800 is beyond me (and belief). i had a f11for awhile until i gave it to my father (a former nikon ftn, f2a, fe2 and leica r5 and minilux zoom user) who, now in his 'retirement' years, refuses to carry any heavy equipment while traveling. during the time i did have it, i made a series of test shotes comparing images taken at different iso ratings from 200 to 1600. the images are still available on my website if you'd like to take a look.

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If you really need a viewfinder, why not just glue a Voigtländer hotshoe viewfinder to a D-Lux, like Simon Hughes, a forum member in the old forum had done? Or get a Ricoh GR Digital, which has a fixed 28mm 2.4 lens, and an optional optical viewfinder for the hotshoe. The Fuji's have (for a small sensor) a really good high ISO, but no optical view finder. If you want a small pocketable and fast camera with a built in viewfinder, you might want to check the Canon Ixus and Sony W series, since I believe they're about the last ones to stick an optical viewfinder in their pocket cameras.

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OK, how about the Ricoh Caplio GX8? The Canon range includes a number of compacts with optical finders such as the A700.

 

The D1 does have a good combination of features in a relatively small package, but like yourself I'm after something with better performance now. I like the look of the Ricoh GRD too, its what many here have asked for from Leica, i.e. high quality fixed lens digital compact. But I think I'll wait to see the M8 and I might just be making a massive change in direction.....

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Check out the Oly SP 350 reviewed on the same site. I think it is a recently discontinued model but probably still available.

 

On the other hand maybe Leica will announce something else at Photokina? The 4/3 camera could be an option but will be that bit bigger than a D1.

 

Unfortunately the 'non viewfinder' compacts are becoming more and more the norm. I don't like them and much prefer an optical finder also.

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There are not many digital camera's with optical viewfinder. Perhaps a Fuji Finepix E900; optical viewfinder, uses AA bateries. Had a good review in the French magazine Chasseur d'images. Goes upto ISO 800 with 9 MP but uses more expensive xD cards.

Have used in the past a Finepix E500, switched to a F10 and finally bought also a D-Lux2.

I like the picture formats of the DL2 but the F10 has (much) less noice.

Roger

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Ah yes the Ricoh Caplio GX8 sounds great, thank you James.

Any experience with this digicams folks, specially at 400 iso?

I suppose at the moment Fujifilm has the low noise part of the equation. As for the viewfinder, I read that the camera industry conducted a survey of teen age school girls in Japan and they said the LCD was the way to go......:D

If one of the Mfrs came up with an optical view finder bigger than 100% with a floating frame (of about 80% of the larger field) that zoomed with the fixed zoom lens, put it in a decent body and worked the noise so it was grain like, they would have a gem of a cult camera.

In the meantime we have to put up with the mini-view cameras and hope the LCDs improve as we look for work arounds, especially if you wear reading glasses...:(

Bob

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The Oly sp-350 has no 35mm FoV and the Fuji e900 sounds great but f/2.8-5.6 is far from the fast apertures of the Digilux 1 i'm afraid...

Looks like i'll have to wait for a possible Digilux 3 but i've been disappointed by the EVF and the size of the Digilux 2 already so i don't hold my breath to be honest.

Thank you much for your help nonetheless!

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I agree with the Powershot S80. Bought one for my wife - it is a great camera. However, it has no RAW capture. The Powershot S70, which is very similar, has RAW so if you need it then you might look around for one - some dealers still have them. Both of these cameras are very nicely made. They are more traditionally sized compact cameras than many of the alternatives, which I like. Both do have some vignetting and corner softness wide open at the wide end though. Personally I also find them a bit noisy at 400ISO, although I use a 5D as my other digital camera so I might be being a bit oversensitive- the 5D produces very clean images at 1600ISO and quite usable ones at 3200ISO.

 

As regards the Ricoh GR1 digital- think seriously about whether you can live with a 28mm equivalent fixed lens before buying and the optical viewfinder is silly expensive.

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What I like about the S80 is that it doesn't have any aggressive noise reduction. So yes there's noise at ISO 400 but nice looking noise if I can call it that. + It's better with noise than most compact digicams.

Look at this comparison between GR Digital and S80 Akam.no - Test av Ricoh GR Digital

The GR is far behind except for it has less distortion at 28mm which is it's only focal length...

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LCT,

I'm no fan of Olympus, but they have a lot of point and shoot digicams with real rangefinder-like viewfinders.

I don't know if you have check them out... it may be worth the try...

Ed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

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and I thought this is the Leica forum and we are recommending non Leica cameras?

 

 

back on topic I think we hev to accept the fact that optical view finders are fast disappearing especially for P & S camera.

 

I believe the D Lux 2 will ba a good replacement for the Digilux 1, but just read that their replacement has been announced. so why not wait?

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I agree with an earlier suggestion that the Fuji F10 or its follow-on models can't be beat for a compact camera with ISO ratings from 80 to 1600. I experimented with Manual Mode and ISO 1600 a few days ago. This is my first attempt to post an image, so I will see if I understand the system.

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!

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Guest stnami

"I believe the D Lux 2 will be a good replacement for the Digilux 1" Two very different cameras and used in a different manner

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