d-lux 3 revisited

[nostatic]

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OK, I'm another "d-lux vs. lx-2" lurker-turned-poster. I've read the thread here and elsewhere and am close to pulling the trigger, but I suppose I need that kick over the edge (ie, I need it to go to 11). The short story is musician forever, a/v producer since '78 (multiprojector slide shows, but I did audio and programming rather than shoot), flirted with film when I was young but started getting serious about visual about 8 years ago. My eye tends towards macro and textures, and I can't shoot people/portraits to save my life (except my son and g/f for some reason). In the last 2 years I've also moved to video, doing "mini documentaries" on work projects. I now shoot mostly HD (Canon XH-A1 - amazing camera) and in fact love 16x9.

 

For still I switch between my trusty Canon SD400 elph (been everywhere and does great macro but at 5MP I'm limited on how large I can print), Nikon D70 (usually with 105mm micro lense), and sometimes my Panasonic FZ20. Each has their strengths, although I rarely reach for the FZ20 because I don't really care for the "look" of the images. It is great when I need a long lense though.

 

When I shoot I almost always end up cropping to about 16x9, as that's what I "see." That has led me to the Leicasonic cameras, as it seems stupid to shoot 4x3 only to crop most every image. So I'm ready to pass the Canon on to my son and get either the D-Lux 3 or LX-2 as my p&s. I'm more than willing to pay the premium for the Leica if there is value there. To me, the software is a non-issue (I use Aperture) as are the storage card and case. The warranty *might* be important, but I have yet to have a digicam die on me...knock on wood.

 

What would turn the tide for me are: better processing and the user community. It seems the d-lux 3 has some tweaks, and possibly even on raw, which is what i tend to mostly shoot. The user community is a *big* deal to me. My few avocations in life are driven and supported by the online communities I've found. The benefits are immense, and I love to participate. My feel is that there is a Leica community out there (in here?), but not so much with the Panny.

 

At any rate, sorry for the tome. Any input appreciated.

[andybarton]

Welcome to the Forum Todd

 

You will find lots of Panasonic camera users here, as well as those who use the Leica branded version (I have a D-Lux 3 - amongst other things - myself).

 

There really is a great sense of community here - you won't find a better or more friendly bunch anywhere.

[rob_x2004]

I think you will find equal postings here of Dlux3 and LX2, and equally welcomed.

 

In regard to the cameras, a bit of a myth started when someone from Leica USA stood up at a conference and said some sharpening and noise reduction settings on the Digilux2 were set lower than the panasonic (LC1?) equivalent. Doubtful if it was true, and he later apologised and withdrew the comment but the story persists and gets applied over all the equivalent models. Be interesting if someone could come up with something definitive, but it would want to come from the horses mouth.

 

Whichever way you go, I think that particular camera is a bit of a learning curve, and the forum does see its share of despondent new users complaining of mediocre images out of the box.

 

Anyway, welcome to the forum, hope to see some of your stuff.

[dogberry]

Hi Todd and welcome to the forum,

 

I also have a D-Lux 3 (among other things) and I take it with me pretty much everyday. I've owned mine for almost a year now and I really love it. I think a lot of people are down on this little camera because since it's expensive and it has a lot of advanced features that make it much more than a "point-and-shoot", they also think that it will somehow not suffer from any of the limitations that beset ultracompact cameras with small, high-res sensors (low noise at high ISO, long file write times etc. etc. If however, the D-Lux 3 is approached with a realistic sense of what it's limitations are, combined with a willingness to work with/around/through them, amazing results can be had with it. It is unusual for such a small camera to offer so much creative control over the photographic process and to combine it with RAW capture, 16:9 format and a splendid little lens that offers 35mm focal lengths of 28-110mm. Having worked with mine I find it very intuitive and enjoyable to use and as an added plus, I think it's a beautiful little camera with it's sleek black, brushed metal body. Yes of course, in an ideal world there are things I would like to see on it that it doesn't have, the most important for me being a RAW buffer that would offer faster write times for at least 4 or 5 images, but overall, I still love it.

 

I hope you enjoy yours and in the meantime, here's a sample of something I snapped with my D-Lux 3 on the beach this summer. When I blow this picture up on my calibrated monitor, I'm always amazed at how tonally rich this image is given that it was captured on the D-Lux 3's tiny "pinhead" sensor.

 

Best

 

Gordon

 

[nostatic]

well, never let it be said that I sit around and wait. Went to my local shop and bought a black beauty along with a 2 gig sd card (allegedly fast at 23mb/sec). Now charging the battery to see what she'll do. The complicating factor is that my new Macbook Pro showed up today so I'm getting that prepped and will start the arduous process of making sense of files from my old 12" powerbook, desktop, and figuring out things I want to transfer to the new machine and what will live on external drives. It is amazing how many gigs of crap you accumulate over the years. I switched to Aperture a few months back and still haven't quite figured that beast out. FinalCut studio is installing now...that only takes a few hours

 

Some beautiful work in these forums. I'm sure I'll have a question or two as I go along and I'll share the good bits. My old stuff is strewn all over my website(s).

[iLeica]

In your case it seems like the LX2 is more fit for what you're looking for. Good luck.