Is the Leica D-lux 8 ideal for my use ?

[fred67]

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Hello everyone,

As mentioned in the title, I'm looking to pick up a camera again after several years without a dedicated camera.

To give a quick history of my practice and needs:

- Beginning in film with an EOS 3000 then an EOS 30v (a delight that one) with standard zooms
- Switch to digital with an EOS 20D then a 7D then a 5D mark III with more ambitious 24-105L and 70-200L zooms and a 50L (what a combo with the 5D )
- I wanted to be lighter and switched to a Sony A7, but I didn't like the way the photos looked or the camera itself.
- Back to a 5D mark III with fixed lenses: 28 - 35 - 50 - 105
- Too much gear, too heavy, so I switched to a Fuji X100V, but felt limited by a single focal length.
- I've had nothing since the X100V, and now I want a little more than my smartphone again.

After all that, I know what I want and don't want anymore !

What I want:
- A true digital camera with manual controls
- As compact as possible to travel light as with my phone
- More a zoom than a fixed focal length
- No more time-consuming post-processing, so good quality jpegs
- Connectivity that works well with the phone because I don't have a computer (for light jpeg retouching and sharing)
- Image quality that surpasses my Iphone 15 pro (at least close in display on the phone, but superior in printing).

I don't think I've forgotten anything ;D My practice today: family photography, travel photography, a little landscape and street photography

Do you think the D-lux 8 matches my needs ?

Many thanks for your help end your time and sorry for my approximate english... 😄

Edited November 21, 2024 by fred67

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[EUSe]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb fred67:

Hello everyone,

As mentioned in the title, I'm looking to pick up a camera again after several years without a dedicated camera.

To give a quick history of my practice and needs:

- Beginning in film with an EOS 3000 then an EOS 30v (a delight that one) with standard zooms
- Switch to digital with an EOS 20D then a 7D then a 5D mark III with more ambitious 24-105L and 70-200L zooms and a 50L (what a combo with the 5D )
- I wanted to be lighter and switched to a Sony A7, but I didn't like the way the photos looked or the camera itself.
- Back to a 5D mark III with fixed lenses: 28 - 35 - 50 - 105
- Too much gear, too heavy, so I switched to a Fuji X100V, but felt limited by a single focal length.
- I've had nothing since the X100V, and now I want a little more than my smartphone again.

After all that, I know what I want and don't want anymore !

What I want:
- A true digital camera with manual controls
- As compact as possible to travel light as with my phone
- More a zoom than a fixed focal length
- No more time-consuming post-processing, so good quality jpegs
- Connectivity that works well with the phone because I don't have a computer (for light jpeg retouching and sharing)
- Image quality that surpasses my Iphone 15 pro (at least close in display on the phone, but superior in printing).

I don't think I've forgotten anything ;D My practice today: family photography, travel photography, a little landscape and street photography

Do you think the D-lux 8 matches my needs ?

Many thanks for your help end your time and sorry for my approximate english... 😄

The DLux 8 is a wonderful travel camera if you want to go light and don‘t need extreme image quality. I love my DLux 8, it has given me very good results, the zoom range is just what I need for this purpose. Handling is very good and simple. Nevertheless if you are coming from full frame DSLRs and mirrorless cameras you will probably be disappointed. A Q 3-28 might serve you well, on the other hand these files need a little processing and are too large for simply sharing. There is always a price to pay! Personally I don‘t use the DLux 8 for photography for the sake of photography, but for no-thrills every day situations when I don‘t want to bring a large camera. Up to you to decide whether your iPhone is sufficient for the job. You will need a little time to familiarise with the camera. Try one first before buying if you can.

Edited November 21, 2024 by EUSe

[wda]

For your stated purposes, I think that it would,. I use an older version (D-Lux Typ 109) and find it an extremely capable compact camera.

[fred67]

2 hours ago, EUSe said:

The DLux 8 is a wonderful travel camera if you want to go light and don‘t need extreme image quality. I love my DLux 8, it has given me very good results, the zoom range is just what I need for this purpose. Handling is very good and simple. Nevertheless if you are coming from full frame DSLRs and mirrorless cameras you will probably be disappointed. A Q 3-28 might serve you well, on the other hand these files need a little processing and are too large for simply sharing. There is always a price to pay! Personally I don‘t use the DLux 8 for photography for the sake of photography, but for no-thrills every day situations when I don‘t want to bring a large camera. Up to you to decide whether your iPhone is sufficient for the job. You will need a little time to familiarise with the camera. Try one first before buying if you can.

Thank you for your answer.

I'm not looking for same quality as a FF DSLR after post processing. How would you describe jpegs made with the dlux8 ?

[fred67]

2 hours ago, wda said:

For your stated purposes, I think that it would,. I use an older version (D-Lux Typ 109) and find it an extremely capable compact camera.

Thank you for your answer. Do you make post processing or do you use internal jpegs ?

[rsolomon]

I use it as my EDC : Every Day Carry. Small, lite , quick, fun to use.
 

 I use my M for weekend activities where I’m a bit more into my photography with a couple of different themes 

[EUSe]

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vor 49 Minuten schrieb fred67:

Thank you for your answer.

I'm not looking for same quality as a FF DSLR after post processing. How would you describe jpegs made with the dlux8 ?

It depends on what monitor or pad size you are viewing the results. I think the JPGs are rather good, I like the color and the contrast, but of course raw files would give you more headroom for processing (very easy, only few steps), that’s why I prefer the DNGs. Expect some corner unsharpness in certain situations that may disturb you - or not. It could be that the OIS gets in your way, I am not sure.  It‘s neither a one-trick pony nor a do-it-all for ultimate results, but a good companion - at least for me when I prefer a relaxed day. The AF is not ultra fast, I don‘t care much, though.

If I want a challenge, I take out my Q 43, a real love-hate relationship. It often gets in my way with its fixed focal length despite the cropping feature, but if it doesn‘t, it often leaves me speechless. A Q 8 24-75 mm (real zoom) would be my dream camera.

[fred67]

1 hour ago, rsolomon said:

I use it as my EDC : Every Day Carry. Small, lite , quick, fun to use.
 

 I use my M for weekend activities where I’m a bit more into my photography with a couple of different themes 

That's I really want, an Every Day Camera but with a good image quality. Not the best but better than py phone. Are you usually shot in RAW or Jpeg ?

[fred67]

1 hour ago, EUSe said:

It depends on what monitor or pad size you are viewing the results. I think the JPGs are rather good, I like the color and the contrast, but of course raw files would give you more headroom for processing (very easy, only few steps), that’s why I prefer the DNGs. Expect some corner unsharpness in certain situations that may disturb you - or not. It could be that the OIS gets in your way, I am not sure.  It‘s neither a one-trick pony nor a do-it-all for ultimate results, but a good companion - at least for me when I prefer a relaxed day. The AF is not ultra fast, I don‘t care much, though.

If I want a challenge, I take out my Q 43, a real love-hate relationship. It often gets in my way with its fixed focal length despite the cropping feature, but if it doesn‘t, it often leaves me speechless. A Q 8 24-75 mm (real zoom) would be my dream camera.

If I want to make post-processing, I need a computer and it's not my goal. Just want take photos and share or print. Could you process images with Leica Fotos ? 

A Q with zoom could be perfect 😍

[EUSe]

vor 24 Minuten schrieb fred67:

If I want to make post-processing, I need a computer and it's not my goal. Just want take photos and share or print. Could you process images with Leica Fotos ? 

A Q with zoom could be perfect 😍

Sorry, I cannot help you in this respect, I don't use Leica Fotos, never. I sometimes use Apple photos, which works nicely. 

[GMJ]

This jpeg was taken with the D Lux 8, transferred to my iPad with Leica Fotos and gently tweaked with Apple photos. For it’s size and specification I think it is a superb camera and very versatile 

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[wda]

5 hours ago, fred67 said:

Thank you for your answer.

I'm not looking for same quality as a FF DSLR after post processing. How would you describe jpegs made with the dlux8 ?

I use Leica Fotos to transfer files to a Galaxy tablet and get excellent results by using Snapseed to refine the results.

[fred67]

16 hours ago, GMJ said:

This jpeg was taken with the D Lux 8, transferred to my iPad with Leica Fotos and gently tweaked with Apple photos. For it’s size and specification I think it is a superb camera and very versatile 

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Really nice shot ! 

[fred67]

12 hours ago, wda said:

I use Leica Fotos to transfer files to a Galaxy tablet and get excellent results by using Snapseed to refine the results.

Could be possible for me as I used Snapseed sometimes, thanks

[satijntje]

For me, the D-Lux8 felt like a toy (coming from M and SL)and I returned it and got a Panasonic S9 and 2 lenses (50 1.8 and 28-200).
Also IMO the picture quality was not what I wanted, and I could have used my IPhone for most of my takings instead.
Now all family members are very happy with the Pana S9 and I can use it whenever an SL2 is too clumpsy to carry around and I want AF.
Of course the D-Lux8 is a different camera compared to the S9 but for us it worked well.

[fred67]

Thank you 😄

Someone else has feedback about dlux8 and jpeg quality ?

[NaAn]

Hi @fred67

I’m using D lux 8 approximately a month and maybe my thoughts will be helpful 🙂

First of all the reason why compact camera is to make my hand bag light as possible. 
 

Second is I don’t need to work a lot of post processing and I’m happy with what I can achieve with camera in jpeg.

I’m using LR anyway but to make a crop or to straighten the lines. You can do it in Snapseed as well, no computer needed.

As an example of what I can get straight from the camera and what I can do in IPhone photo adjustments (lighting up the image).

 

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[fred67]

@NaAn

Thank you very much.

That's exactly what I need. Small and compact camera and no proccessing but good jpegs.

Your photo looks very great 😄

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Lux

[rsolomon]

On 11/21/2024 at 9:37 AM, fred67 said:

That's I really want, an Every Day Camera but with a good image quality. Not the best but better than py phone. Are you usually shot in RAW or Jpeg ?

You have the option of shooting raw (DNG)  and/or  Jpeg .  I recently picked up the moment 2l sling bag,  a lite EDC camera bag , Im out there everyday and having fun !  Additionally  have the auto-close cap - which i consider a must for EDC..... and with that I was struggling to fine a protect filter that allows the cap to close properly. finally found and finally arrived:  ENIS Super protect filter (this was a hunt - got it on ebay from Japan) arrived this evening - works perfectly.  

From my perspective ... what motivates you to take photos is the right camera .... (un)fortunately i have an affinity to leica - i just like it 

[fred67]

And you are happy with OOC jpegs ?