Do Digilux 2 photos have distinctive look?

[spylaw4]

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Those close-ups are really something Darlene. Methinks I should try to finds an Elpro somewhere. But (again) I do wish that Pana/Leica had produced an equivalent tele add-on.

 

Terry - love the colours in your Central Park shot.

 

This thread should convince anyone who doubts the D2's capabilities

 

[rant] Why oh why did they never do a firmware upgrade? Possibly the internal memory is insufficient to store, say, three RAW files while writing to card? That and the autofocus speed are the only things that IMO are the major flaws. I can live with the EVF as is. Are you listening Leica? You've missed a golden opportunity. [/rant]

 

Now back to photos (and BTW I'm taking the D2 this weekend).

[cbretteville]

Ok, here are two more, both posted in the old forum:

Liverleaf, here I used the D2 with a Canon 250D close up lens.

 

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Acending MOMA, ISO400 from raw.

 

 

- Carl

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[Guest stnami]

I bought second hand Digilux 2 about 2 months ago. Yes the images do have a certain quality that I like. Very pleased with images I have taken. Well up to Olympus standard

.................. nothing beats good old honesty

[Peter Branch]

I bought a Digilux 2 second hand while waiting for the M8. I won't be parting with it. It is a joy to use, most of the time, and does not suffer all the acknowledged, and un-acknowledged, faults associated with high IR sensitivity. In some circumstances an M8 without IR filtration cannot match the images from the Digilux 2. Now that filters are begining to become available I guess the M8's IR problem will be consigned to history, but it is very real and the filters are mighty expensive.

[steich]

I am a little sorry I have to sell my Digilux 2 in the next weeks- I need the money to pay for my M8.

Otherwise, I wouldn´t let it go.

Stefan

[richam]

Jaap, Thanks for the correction on the Clux. I notice the Clux2 has the same focal range.

 

The D2 remains for me the most versatile camera I own. For traveling, I have a Tamrac bag with zip off bottom where I store cables and charger. In the main section, I carry the D2 and usually one of my Ms with an extra lens. In the pockets, the leica mini-pod, film, extra batteries, etc. This covers all the shooting I'm likely to be doing while traveling.

 

Concerning the max 400 iso of the D2, this can often be offset with careful use of the minipod and special hand holding techniques. If you hold the D2 stretched towards arms length so the neck strap is a bit taut, and bring the elbows in towards the body, you have something of a "human pod" to steady the camera. With the shutter set to 2 seconds delay, press the shutter button and hold the position. This eliminates any motion caused by the finger releasing the shutter, and normally allows 1/15 sec exposures. I've used it successfully in this manner to 1/8 sec.

 

I also am impressed with the bounce flash of the D2. The flash has a 45° position that makes a much softer and nicer light in many cases. Here is an example from my balcony last July. It has a white ceiling and awning. I was entertaining some Greek and German friends to watch the Mondial. (unfortunately, Germany lost the match we were watching). But the quality of the light was quite appealing to me.

 

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Bottom line: Can't think of any other camera on the market with the D2 size, weight, handling, features, and quality output. I'll be keeping mine for some time.

[rebride]

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What else but to praise the camera having more capacity than expected from a small sensor. But, the lens is not from this world!!!

 

Could I repeat the question I asked 2,5 years ago when I got my D2: Is there any possibilities (through some firmware) to add-up a possibility of lower sensitivity (like later done with D-lux2)? This would maybe bring additional power to this pearl, which has not been very much popular for some reason.

 

Dejan

[Guest stnami]

D2: Is there any possibilities (through some firmware) to add-up a possibility of lower sensitivity (like later done with D-lux2)?

............ this only leads to a thing called fiddling the books as accountants say, but here there is nothing to gain

[asabet]

............ this only leads to a thing called fiddling the books as accountants say, but here there is nothing to gain

 

Why nothing to gain? I imagine that ISO 50 would have noticeably less shadow noise than ISO 100.

[audidudi]

Here's my image contribution to this LC1/D2 love-fest ... both were shot at Bryce last December, during a brief break in a two-day snowstorm. Yes, it was c-c-c-cold out...

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[Riley]

Why nothing to gain? I imagine that ISO 50 would have noticeably less shadow noise than ISO 100.

 

well thing one, it cant be done

100 iso is the baseline, higher iso's are amplifications of light data from that baseline

but you cant like divide the baseline signal by 2, it just wont work. You can go up, but not down.

 

as to gains, IF it could be done, it may, in the very broadest of terms give you less noise

you would see no other gain

 

to fix D2's ills whatever they are perceived to be

you would take that sensor out and clobber it with a hammer for fun

avail yourself of something like the Fuji F30 sensor architecture and imaging engine

reshape the curves and tones to what Panasonic/Leica had set down

and viola, a very very nice camera that is iso800 capable to 3200 in a pinch

thats a deal i would make today

[audidudi]

Clux1 starts at 28.

True, but it's 28mm on a 16:9 format, which makes the FOV somewhat less when it's cropped to match the LC1/D2's native 4:3 format.

 

Apples-to-apples, the LC1/D2 is able to capture a noticeably wider FOV than the FX01/C-Lux 1...

[Guest Bernd Banken]

the D2 is very silent but very slow in Raw.

Here a market shoot, people like the Red Dot:D

 

Edit: it's a crop-pic

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[audidudi]

Concerning the max 400 iso of the D2, this can often be offset with careful use of the minipod and special hand holding techniques. If you hold the D2 stretched towards arms length so the neck strap is a bit taut, and bring the elbows in towards the body, you have something of a "human pod" to steady the camera. With the shutter set to 2 seconds delay, press the shutter button and hold the position. This eliminates any motion caused by the finger releasing the shutter, and normally allows 1/15 sec exposures. I've used it successfully in this manner to 1/8 sec.

I've had reasonable success shooting handheld with shutter speeds as slow as 1/4 second on occasion and regularly shoot at 1/10-1/15 second without a significant loss of sharpness. Don't forget that when you apply the 1/focal length rule, the LC1/D2 lens is actually 7mm at the short end, not 28mm, which suggests a minimum shutter speed of 1/7 second -- let's round it up to 1/10 second -- and my experience confirms this.

 

Still, if for some reason Panasonic/Leica ever do decide to upgrade the LC1/D2 design, I'd welcome the addition of image stabilization. In fact, this alone would go a long way to overcome the LC1/D2's perceived noise problem as it would allow the camera to be used at ISO100 for another two or three stops into darkness...

[richam]

I've had reasonable success shooting handheld with shutter speeds as slow as 1/4 second on occasion and regularly shoot at 1/10-1/15 second without a significant loss of sharpness. Don't forget that when you apply the 1/focal length rule, the LC1/D2 lens is actually 7mm at the short end, not 28mm, which suggests a minimum shutter speed of 1/7 second -- let's round it up to 1/10 second -- and my experience confirms this.

 

Still, if for some reason Panasonic/Leica ever do decide to upgrade the LC1/D2 design, I'd welcome the addition of image stabilization. In fact, this alone would go a long way to overcome the LC1/D2's perceived noise problem as it would allow the camera to be used at ISO100 for another two or three stops into darkness...

 

Jeffrey,

 

Splendid shots of the canyon.

 

Younger and steadier hands at work here, obviously. At my age, I need to factor in a 2 x focal length or so. Therefore, I try to keep the minipod mounted to the camera when I'm roaming around tourist areas.

 

Also, I remember reading about someone using the D2 with ersatz 1600 iso. I believe it was somewhere in the old forum. The exposure was set to -2 EV, and capture mode was raw. I guess some had success with this method, but I tried some test shots and did not like them. Perhaps Photoshop or other processing software has been improved to the point where this becomes a viable option.

 

Bernd,

 

Really like the portrait.

[audidudi]

Younger and steadier hands at work here, obviously. At my age, I need to factor in a 2 x focal length or so. Therefore, I try to keep the minipod mounted to the camera when I'm roaming around tourist areas.

Well, I'm 47, so I don't know how much younger and steadier my hands are compared to yours, but I do know that I use a tripod whenever practical. Of course, I'm primarily a view camera user, so working with a tripod (not to mention composing/focusing with the LCD instead of the EVF) is no great hardship for me...

 

Also, I remember reading about someone using the D2 with ersatz 1600 iso. I believe it was somewhere in the old forum. The exposure was set to -2 EV, and capture mode was raw. I guess some had success with this method, but I tried some test shots and did not like them.

I've tried this as well and like you, I didn't care for the results. Usable, I guess, if I stumble upon Bigfoot in an alley at night or some such, but only as a last resort to get a shot, any shot...

[richam]

Well, I'm 47, so I don't know how much younger and steadier my hands are compared to yours, but I do know that I use a tripod whenever practical. Of course, I'm primarily a view camera user, so working with a tripod (not to mention composing/focusing with the LCD instead of the EVF) is no great hardship for me...

 

I'm a generation ahead of you. I checked my images from my visit to the Residenz museum in Munich a couple of years ago. The slowest hand held one was 1/6 second, and it came out reasonably sharp. Not an award winning shot, but not bad for an old geezer. Of course, ISO 400 and f2:

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The one I liked most from this trip was the shot I took at the Hall of Antiquities inside the same museum. For this one, I rested the D2 with minipod on a railing, set off the 2 second timer, and held the pod (not touching the camera) to the railing until the exposure was made. More light in this area, so the exposure was 1/25 sec, again ISO 400 and f2.

[mactrix]

I think yes... Digilux 2 photos have a distinctive look. But you have to print it to understand the difference.

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[audidudi]

I think yes... Digilux 2 photos have a distinctive look. But you have to print it to understand the difference.

I beg to differ, as I think your photos evidence these qualities even on the lousy monitor I use here at work ... great images!

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Lux

[audidudi]

The one I liked most from this trip was the shot I took at the Hall of Antiquities inside the same museum.

A wonderful image! Alas, I've never been to europe and here in the U.S., we don't have very many places such as this...