D-Lux 8 First impressions

[James Connerly]

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I managed to pick up a brand new, in the box camera from a guy in California who decided not to keep it after receiving it from B&H. It arrived as advertised and unfortunately due to having surgery last week I have not been able to do much more than play around with it in the house. Having said that, I’m impressed by the build quality, surprised at how small and light it is compared to my Q2 and M 240. That’s the reason for buying it. As great as the pictures I got from the Q in a recent trip to Spain, I still got tired of having it around my neck all of the time. I took over 2000 photos which means a lot of editing even though the files from the Q don’t require too much. I also spent a lot of time just transferring files from the camera to my IPad. Something different from previous trips is how few real cameras people are using which made mine standout even more than the red dot already does. 
To my point: I plan on using this as something that I can keep hidden away in a pocket, pull out and use and pop it back in the pocket, or sling bag. Even the photojournalist with me only used an IPhone! Fast zoom is not the issue, high megapixel isn’t either. Portability and lightweight are. Something that does what a phone can’t do is also important. The bottom line is always the same, know your intended use, don’t worry about specs, and have fun taking pictures.

Photo of my great granddaughter Abigail. 1/160  f2.8  ISO 200

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Edited December 1, 2024 by James Connerly

[fred67]

Nice to read your message. It's exactly what I'm looking for in a light, compact camera that I can take everywhere. My only concern is the quality of the jpegs, as I don't want doing any more post-processing. 

[James Connerly]

This is the unedited jpeg from the camera. It’s been resized due posting requirements only. I was also concerned about image quality compared to the Q2 but so far I’m impressed by the images, even jpeg, from this camera. Obviously you won’t have the ability to crop as much as with a larger sensor but the ability to zoom helps with that. I’ve also found that the basic automatic editing you do with a jpeg on your phone or iPad will probably be enough. As always, it’s all about having realistic expectations. I’m planning on doing some photos soon using both cameras for comparison, even though it’s a bit unfair. 

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[fred67]

Thank you very much for this detailed answer. The photo looks great as an unedited jpeg.  This reassures me about the quality of the photos coming out of this camera. The fact of not being able to crop in the image is not a problem for me, as you say that's the whole point of zooming. Ideally, I'd like to easily transfer the jpegs to the iPhone and do only basic editing if needed.

[OldMan]

This is exactly why I bought my D-Lux 8!

[fred67]

On 12/6/2024 at 4:52 AM, OldMan said:

This is exactly why I bought my D-Lux 8!

And are you happy with jpegs ?

[James Connerly]

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I don’t use jpegs. I only shoot dng.