Why aren't pro camera stores stocking/promoting the Digilux 3?

[goodbokeh]

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what adapter are you using ....? i have the Digilux 3 and some R lenses (7) ...i have the leica version of the adapter on order but have been wating weeks - i can;t find one instock. i have talked to a few dealers that have sold them but all seem to be waiting at this point

 

I use a inexpensive adapter like this one shown:

Leica R lens Olympus 4/3 E500 E400 E200 E1 Adapter NEW - (eBay item 300175755334 end time Nov-29-07 17:08:37 PST)

 

Cameraquest has adapters also:

Adapters:* SLR to RF

[smokysun]

Hi smokysun

 

I don't know about the E410 but you don't need a auto focus "confirmation" 4/3rds adapter for R lenses on the D3 or L1 (updated with 2.0 firmware). They also have greater dynamic range than the E410/510 and those great analog controls we all appreciate for speed and simplicity of use.

 

Pull the trigger while you still can:

 

Panasonic 7.5 MP Lumix Digital SLR Camera w/ SDHC Compatibility, DMC-L1K - Wal-Mart

 

i thought for sure you have to have an adaptor. does the new firmware mean you don't, or does it make the ordinary adaptor confirmation sensitive? if so, it's tempting.

 

just did a bunch of reading and camera comparisons. looks like i'll stick with the xti. used it with the r 50 2.0 today for more dance pictures under difficult conditions: chico dance theatre 2007: spacing Photo Gallery by wayne pease at pbase.com

[lx1jon]

No "special" adapter seems to be required. I have the L1 (and its lovely Leica zoom). However, we also had an OM-2 system lying around and I couldn't resist getting a cheap adaptor to try out the old primes. I got the adaptor from Fotodiox (delivered surprisingly quickly from USA to UK) as it's a lot cheaper than the "official" Olympus one. It's no more than a simple mechanical adaptor, but that's all that is needed. Set L1/D3 to MF and away you go, the little green LED in the VF gives focus confirmation.

 

The adaptors for R lenses are I believe very similar (and just the same low price from Fotodiox). I nearly got one at the same time, even though I don't have any R lenses :-)

 

Jonathan

[lckt13]

Me too.

 

I bought mine at a store in Houston.

I got the L1 online.

 

I like them both but for image, quality and commitment the Leica wins for me.

 

I shoot Olympus as well.

 

Good morning! does this mean when i print out the loyalty certificate from Leica that i can mail that back into B&H and they will credit my charge card for my purchase of my Digilux 3? this is the first Leica camera i have purchased. thanks!

 

Hank

[lckt13]

There is just something special about using a Leica because of the heritage, design and being confident in that company's commitment to quality and support. I got a very good price of $1650 for the D3 kit because of the $699 Leica Loyalty Certificate and the dealer had an additional Leica Days discount of $150. I am happy with the price I paid for both the D3 and the L1

 

Good morning! does this mean when i print out the loyalty certificate from Leica that i can mail that back into B&H and they will credit my charge card for my purchase of my Digilux 3? this is the first Leica camera i have purchased. thanks!

 

Hank:cool:

[spylaw4]

I can't remember if it has been said in this thread already - but remember to go into the menu (Custom section, last item) and set it to allow the shutter to fire without lens attached.

[goodbokeh]

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Good morning! does this mean when i print out the loyalty certificate from Leica that i can mail that back into B&H and they will credit my charge card for my purchase of my Digilux 3? this is the first Leica camera i have purchased. thanks!

 

Hank:cool:

 

Hi Hank

 

Check with B&H before you order. I had to have the certificate in hand when I picked up my D3 at ProPhoto Supply in Portland, Oregon. The discount was then applied immediately. You might also want to check the Leica website to see if any Leica dealers near you are having a "Leica Days" event with additional discounts. That is what I did.

[Riley]

how many people really want to buy into a whole new lens system? thought about getting an olympus 410 cause it's got to be the smallest dslr out there. couldn't find a confirmation adaptor for r lenses.

 

this confirmation adapter from a Russian guy appeared a few weeks ago

 

Olympus 4/3 AF confirm and image stabilize emulator bei eBay.de: Sonstige (endet 07.11.07 11:42:05 MEZ)

[goodbokeh]

The feature which looks most advantageous to me is the image stabilization with legacy lenses on the E3/510. I wonder if it really works?

[Riley]

yeah they both do, you get the 'beep' or whatever your breed of camera has for focus lock, and IS apparently works with legacy glass too. He visited at the Oly dSLR forum at dp, he seems like a pretty smart sort of cookie, clever how he worked the protocol out and got into manufacture pretty much right away.

 

This might prompt Oly to do this via a firmware update for its cameras which would be a good thing. They've been put under pressure for some time by forum members to do this, saying at first it couldn't be done, then when that argument was rejected they dissolved to 'might' be done. Im tipping they will, its just a matter of when.

[thrid]

Magnum shooters aren't pro's? Eli Reed of Magnum shoots a 4/3 E-1 system.

 

I guess he'll be surprised to realize his camera can't be used for pro work.

 

There are always exceptions. Also back when the E-1 came out it was still competitive with other models in the market.

 

While the E-1 and E3 are nice cameras, they nor the 4/3rds format, have found wide spread acceptance in professional circles. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

[thrid]

i disagree with the image quality since Olympus/Panasonic/Leica collaborated on this 4/3 in vention for years. the primary reason for 4/3 is the high quality of the chip thus the image. please visit the Four Thirds website for more information and for tech specs that blow the standard chip formats out of the water. the 4/3 system is definitely the future in DSLR's.

 

Well, that's a press release. Of course they are going to say they are the future of DSLR.

 

But the simple fact is that the entire industry is moving towards larger chips. As pixel count goes up, the size of the individual receptors decreases. Small receptor wells mean lower dynamic range and increased noise. If you cram 16MP or more into a 4/3rds size chip, you're going to end up with receptors the size of a point and shoot.

 

Besides, I think the Bayer pattern style chip is probably going to start to fade away, as 'true color' sensors come to the market in the next 5 years.

 

The Olympus E-3 looks like a very impressive piece of gear, but I don't think they will be able to go much beyond 10-14MP with the 4/3rds chip and still get good high iso performance and dynamic range.

 

additionally, these cameras, the Digilux 3 etc are built well and are as durable if not more so than the prosumer Nikon/Canon models such as the D40/50/70/80 comparable Canon models.

 

Sorry, but none of the cameras you listed are professional bodies and they all cost a fraction of the Digilux 3. At +$2500 you need to compare it to something like the $1800 Nikon D300, which is a pro camera and delivers greater performance in almost every respect.

[smokysun]

to be fair, the point of four thirds was (i thought) a smaller dslr. only the olympus 410 with say an r 28 2.8 fits this bill. as unobtrusive as you can get (like the original leicas). however, the viewfinder leaves a lot to be desired. the other four thirds seem to be as big as the 40d. maybe the sigma dp14 will show us something different.

[MJLogan]

to be fair, the point of four thirds was (i thought) a smaller dslr. only the olympus 410 with say an r 28 2.8 fits this bill. as unobtrusive as you can get (like the original leicas).

 

I'm very happy with my D3, but I'd be thrilled (and, more importantly, I'd be willing to part with another pile of cash) if the D4 were the size of my dear old Olympus OM-1, with similarly shrunken lenses. I could give up autofocus without shedding a tear, to get the size right.

 

Oh h*ll--I guess that means what I really want is an M8 with an SLR viewfinder! Go ahead--shoot me now! Or I suppose I could learn to use a rangefinder...

[sdai]

It has been a good joke since the birth of 4/3 and every other Japanese camera company (except Panasonic but they're not a camera company LOL) is probably laughing at Olympus.

 

To offer you some background info just in case you are not familiar ... Olympus had this 4/3 thing in mind stubbornly basically due to two major reasons.

 

1. To revive a utterly failed concept ... half frame, Pen F ... do you still remember? and they thought digital would give them the chance.

 

2. They hadn't expected the cost of solid state image sensors could be driven down so low so fast ... and they've planned to steal the thunder from bigger players.

 

When a 10MP Canon or Nikon with larger sensors can be had at the same or lower price, who wants to invest in a new lens system? ... except collectors ... but, Olympus cameras have no collection value. LOL

 

By this time in the next year, every major player will have their entry models at 12.4+ MP, and Olympus can't do anything excepting undercutting the price of their 10MP flagship ... man, is this funny or not?

[m4man]

There is just something special about using a Leica because of the heritage, design and being confident in that company's commitment to quality and support.

 

Sorry but I don't think this really applies to the Digilux 3. It is simply a re-badged Panasonic with a Leica-designed lens. I understand your point and it surely apples to M and R cameras but not I don't understand how anyone could feel this way about the Panasonic made cameras.

I do think they are fantastic digital cameras though, and will be happily shooting my LC1 until it dies. But I didn't spend more money for the Digilux 2 thinking it would be a "real" Leica.

[m4man]

Also impacting whether the D3 is sold in "pro" camera stores is the practice of "spiffing": Many manufacturer reps will give free cameras and lenses on top of an order to stores making large purchases. Leica is a niche product not selling in the numbers that permit spiffings, assuming Leica would even do that. Other brands sell far higher numbers and high volume stores benefit from the spiffing. Consequently, many of those stores do their best to push those products.

 

In Canada there is a better SPIFF program for Leica than Panasonic. I would personally pocket more money if I sold a D-3 instead of an L1 but I can't in good faith tell a customer that it's worth spending double the money for practically the same camera.

Sorry Leica.

[sdai]

Henrys has dumped many L1K (incl. the 14-54 "Leica" lens) on eBay in the past few months, starting at 1 cent ... I left a bot I wrote on the fly running on one computer that I never shutdown to grab the prices, they seemed to be ended up anywhere between 700 US and 1025 US.

 

Imagine that you're a dealer stocking a ton of these or, a photographer who paid full price ... what will you think?

[Riley]

i always find it amusing how every forum has a village idiot quite prepared to stick his foot in his mouth to get involved into an argument for all the wrong reasons.

 

"It has been a good joke since the birth of 4/3 and every other Japanese camera company (except Panasonic but they're not a camera company LOL) is probably laughing at Olympus."

 

would you be laughing if your #3 competitor just doubled sales in 1 year unless you were nutz?

 

"To revive a utterly failed concept ... half frame, Pen F ... do you still remember? and they thought digital would give them the chance."

 

The conventional rooftop prism E1 launched June 24 03 preceded the E300 launched Sept 27 04

 

"They hadn't expected the cost of solid state image sensors could be driven down so low so fast ... and they've planned to steal the thunder from bigger players."

 

when what they are really about is optical performance, there is little evidence that sensors will get any cheaper from here unless they are smaller.

 

"When a 10MP Canon or Nikon with larger sensors can be had at the same or lower price, who wants to invest in a new lens system? ... except collectors ... but, Olympus cameras have no collection value. LOL"

 

when all the manufacturers that matter have now moved to an APS C format such as Nikon with DX, while admittably still offering their antique film lenses to fill out the range just incase you felt like going back to film

.

The appearace of D3 at its pricing could in no way contribute to the notion that sensor costs matter against R&D costs. While Rob Galbraith suggests Nikon are setting production up for 8+ % of all Nikon dSLR production, Im tipping it will fall on its ass. 5D is now cheaper than ever, and still only accounts for 1% of Canon dSLR sales. Meanwhile Canon's 5D MkII is to be set to follow, any bets it will be cheaper than 5D vers 1 ? yeah just somewhat cheaper than Nikon's pricey D3.

 

As for APS C, the big 2 fail to duplicate Olympus innovations in like manner, they dont have lenses usable wide open unless you are into mush edges, they dont have 5 stops of IS, they dont as yet all have AF usable in LiveView which they previously proclaimed useless. They still dont have pixel mapping,

 

"By this time in the next year, every major player will have their entry models at 12.4+ MP, and Olympus can't do anything excepting undercutting the price of their 10MP flagship ... man, is this funny or not?"

 

2 dSLR cameras from Olympus yet to come, 1 from Panasonic. What is true is that the market has diversified into 2 groups, those of high iso performance, and those of high featuresuites and original innovations.

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[lemalk]

If I could, I would give Riley a high five from here.