Digilux 3 a photojournalist's camera?

[audidudi]

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Why quieter? No mirror to slap, and you can turn off all the beeps.

 

And also the sensor is quite a bit smaller, so the shutter doesn't have to move as much as it does with the L1/D3 ... in fact, as others have noted, it's really quite amazing just how quiet this camera is!

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[bluzdoctor]

OK, I went and bought a Digilux 2 from Popflash with a 1-year leica warranty. Thank you all for the feedback and information. I will report back about how it works for me...

 

Joel

[paisatge]

if you would consider the L1, what about the olympus e410?

[jaapv]

 

Is the Digilux 3 a photojournalist's camera?

 

Thanks,

 

Joel

 

Any camera is; a photojournalist's job is about being in the right place, seeing the shot and taking it, irrespective of the camera used.

[bluzdoctor]

Yes, Matthew Brady was a photojournalist of his time and used a wet-plate view camera and a wagon-full of chemicals, but because of the equipment and technology, he had to photograph with long exposures, not in the heat of battle. Not the best for capturing moments, so he and his assistants set up images of dead bodies in the aftermath.

 

I would submit that in fact, the type of camera used does make a great deal of difference in which type of image the photographer will obtain. I would never use an M-Leica with a fixed 28mm lens for football or sports and would not use an 8x10 view camera in a war zone (although I am certain someone has done this successfully). I will leave that sort of thing for the art photographers who are not on deadline. But I am open to rethinking things if it tells the story better and in a different way (and I can still make a living on deadlines that are getting shorter and shorter because of the demands of the web).

 

Joel

 

Any camera is; a photojournalist's job is about being in the right place, seeing the shot and taking it, irrespective of the camera used.

[jaapv]

I agree, Joel, it certainly would, and we can trust a competent photojournalist to take the right tool on an assignment.Horses for courses and all that. But as long as we don't define the assignment we don't know which camera can be used. Plus, I can certainly imagine a photograph taken by a cell-phone because it happened to be the only recording medium at hand making it to World Press Photo of the year (Although I admit that as far as I know it has not happened yet)

[bluzdoctor]

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The Dallas Morning News is using HD camcorder frame grabs to use as still images. With media convergence heaven knows what tools we will be using in five years. I suspect the SLR digital camera will become a thing of the past in favor of a multi-platform (print, broadcast, podcast) camera. It is coming...

 

I gave a workshop to a bunch of social workers on Web 2.0 and multimedia and when I asked what came to mind when mentioned the Virginia Tech shootings, they said the cell phone footage shot by a student.

 

I can certainly imagine a photograph taken by a cell-phone because it happened to be the only recording medium at hand making it to World Press Photo of the year (Although I admit that as far as I know it has not happened yet)

[AlanG]

I agree, Joel, it certainly would, and we can trust a competent photojournalist to take the right tool on an assignment.Horses for courses and all that. But as long as we don't define the assignment we don't know which camera can be used. Plus, I can certainly imagine a photograph taken by a cell-phone because it happened to be the only recording medium at hand making it to World Press Photo of the year (Although I admit that as far as I know it has not happened yet)

 

David Burnett is one of the top photojournalists in the world and he's been known to shoot assignments with a Speed Graphic, point & shoot, Holga, Canon 20D, Leica. (And surely others.)

 

Personal | David Burnett -- Photojournalist

[FastFashnReloaded]

No, it´s a toy.

 

No, it isn't. Come up with something a bit more descriptive and useful next time.

[FastFashnReloaded]

No, it is not. It's a consumer camera with some nice features.

 

Cheers,

 

A photojournalist camera "" is any camera you can use to get the shot.

[Guest stnami]

With the freelancing rates continually spirraling downward, whatever they can afford is the camera used ................................remember http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/digital-forum/25386-goobye-leica-friends.html it's here and will not disappear

[gepetto]

What they need to do is just bring video capture to DSLR.

 

Who wants to lug around that huge Sony camera.

 

Joel the D2 sounds like the camera you need. The biggest draw back may be the ~3 to 4 second delay shooting RAW. If B&W images are your final intention the D2 should provide for your low light needs.

[bluzdoctor]

I got the D2 today. My first impressions:

 

Has the overall look of an m-series Leica, except boxier, less elegant. But it has sort of a geeky appeal.

 

Incredibly light...feels like a toy camera, especially without the battery.

 

The pop-up bounce flash is nifty and the automatic setting makes beautifully exposed pictures with balanced strobe and ambient light when I took some photos of my kids in the car.

 

I need to read the manual. Can it be setup to show black and white through the EV Finder or image review?

 

How do I made the camera faster at reading and writing to the card? (Faster card....any suggestions

 

 

 

 

 

What they need to do is just bring video capture to DSLR.

 

Who wants to lug around that huge Sony camera.

 

Joel the D2 sounds like the camera you need. The biggest draw back may be the ~3 to 4 second delay shooting RAW. If B&W images are your final intention the D2 should provide for your low light needs.

[mgcd]

A photojournalist camera "" is any camera you can use to get the shot.

 

Shutter lag is surely something that will disqualify any camera as the mainstay of photojournalistic work in my book, which is how I interpreted the question. The other thing is how though is it? can it withstand drops, shocks serious bumps etc. In any case, it's just my opinion related to the work that I do.

 

Cheers,

[gepetto]

Joel, A fast 2GB card like a Sandisk Extreme III will bring the write times down to about ~3 to 4 seconds shot to shot using RAW capture. JPG shooting will be pretty much instantaneous shooting. In the white balance menu there is a setting for B&W. This will cause the EVF to be in B&W. Shooting RAW in B&W the JPG comes out B&W and the RAW file will be in color.

[bluzdoctor]

Has anyone used an external viewfinder on their D2? The EV seems to me to have a lag in timing. And if you use an external finder, how do you deal with focusing?

 

I emailed Stephen Gandy and he recommends the 28mm-35mm MiniFinder, as I will be using the D2 at 35mm and wider 95% of the time. I wear eyeglasses, so it would have to be a "high level" finder.

 

Thanks for all your help and feedback. I really like the images from the D2 so far and the pop-up and tilt flash is very useful for my style of shooting.

 

I sent for the SanDisk Extreme 2gb card and a Heliopan 69mm UV filter.

[bluzdoctor]

Has anyone used an external viewfinder on their D2? The EV seems to me to have a lag in timing. And if you use an external finder, how do you deal with focusing?

 

I emailed Stephen Gandy and he recommends the 28mm-35mm MiniFinder, as I will be using the D2 at 35mm and wider 95% of the time. I wear eyeglasses, so it would have to be a "high level" finder.

 

Thanks for all your help and feedback. I really like the images from the D2 so far and the pop-up and tilt flash is very useful for my style of shooting.

 

I sent for the SanDisk Extreme 2gb card and a Heliopan 69mm UV filter.

As the thread has changed somewhat to the D2, I am going to repost the above question to a new thread.

 

Joel

[jdlaing]

It does baffle the mind doesn't it?

 

In answer to your original question.........yes it could be. It has the quality and many strengths. It may be a tad slow, however, for a lot of rapid shooting trying to get the "right" picture in a news gathering frenzy like you see wrapped around politicians.

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[Bo_Lorentzen]

While I no longer work as a news-photographer, and it have been a good while, but I think the distinction of "photojournalist camera" may be a rather loose one. My father thought of the Twin Rollies as the ONLY way to approach a photo-op... The Leica Digilux 3 is positively a fantastic camera by many measures, but it is not the latest/fastes/whateveries camera on the market.

 

Compared to the cameras that I over the years have used to pay the rent, (and I am sure this applies to many other people in this forum) the Digilux 3 is a magnificant camera and better than many which were used the way you want to use it. it all depends on your shooting style. if it makes you feel more creative and it do not get in the way of your shooting style.. well then it is it. however there are many cameras which technically will out-perform the Digilux 3. So you need to measure based on your use of the camera, your shooting style and your desires in a camera.

 

Bo

 

Bo Lorentzen - Panorama Playbox

[johnastovall]

Hello:

 

I just sold my last film camera, a Cosina Voigtlander Bessa R-2 with 40mm f2.8 Summicron C lens. I have a Canon 20D with lenses to shoot everyday assignments, but for my personal, social documentary black and white work, I want a small, quiet camera with about a 35mm focal length. I shoot for "moments", so the camera needs to have a fast shutter response, good low light performance, etc. I cannot rely on an electronic viewfinder...it just isn't my style of shooting (I used to have M-series film cameras).

 

I absolutely cannot afford an M8; it seems my choices are an Epson RD-1, or a Leica/Pana Digilux 3. There are no dealers around here (an hour south of Pittsburgh) that I can pick up and feel a Leica, so I wanted to get some feedback from this forum.

 

Is the Digilux 3 a photojournalist's camera?

 

Thanks,

 

Joel

 

Get the R-D1 have it and love it (until the M9 comes out). Plus the lenses for it will work an M if you ever get one. I've found the CV lenses to be far beyound my expectations. I just finished a PJ workshop this weekend where the R-D1 was one of my 2 cameras. I used it for wide and my Canon of the tele work.