D-Lux 8 Aspect Ration and Consequences in LR

[Alexander108]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi, 

I am considering a D-Lux 8. I typically shoot in 4:3 RAW in my Q3. In LR it is automatically cropped  and I can use the cropping tool in LR to reveal the full size (3:2) if necessary for some reason.

Is this the same with the D-Lux 8? Will I be able to see the full 4:3 (cropped top and bottom if 16:9 shot) or did Leica do this differently on that camera?

Could not find any clear answer to that after searching quite a bit. Thank you.

Cheers
Alexander

[EspressoVizsla]

I tried it out. I shot one 1:1 and 16:9 with the same farming. In Lightroom (Mobile) you get the exact crop that you chose on the aspect-ratio-switch. I think this is because of how the M43 works compared to a full-frame sensor.

[Alexander108]

Thank you. So no way to salvage details if you're not in the native aspect ratio. Interesting. In street photography this sometimes comes handy for me. 

I love the form factor of the D-Lux 8 but I may as well keep my Canon G5X MII. 

[CoxJul]

To understand these in camera crop modes, you need to start with the fact that the lens projects a circular image onto the full micro-4/3s rectangular sensor but effectively misses the corners (vignetting). The 4 crop options are four subsets of data from the full sensor image that represent different aspect-ratio rectangles that fit in that circle designed to miss the vignetted corners. That subset is captured when you take the image, it doesn't record the full sensor image as the raw.

Edited June 26 by CoxJul

[Alexander108]

Thank you. But this seems to be special for the D8. My Q3, Canon G5X MII, Canon R5, Ricoh GRIII all work with a "native" aspect ratio of 2:3 and they all always record the 2:3. If you set cropping and shoot RAW you can always go back to the originally shot 2:3 aspect ratio, if you for instance, cropped to 1:1. I love that. A bit of an exception is the GRIII that still has everything in RAW but you need a special tool to uncover the original picture.

However, when I look at the D8 Manual, this is indeed different from other cameras:

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

I would have expected the max width of 16:9 or 3:2 would be 4736px. But it's wider. I read somewhere that the sensor is actually a 21 MP sensor. The way they engineered it is that the sensor is not fully utilized in 4:3 for whatever reason. Maybe compactness. 

I am still torn to buy one. Love the form factor but I am not sure if it lives up to my Canon G5X MII which is certainly not as nice and the retractable EVF is not great. But it comes with a tilt-screen, and with lower ISO and electronic ND filter so I can go as far down as 1/8s in daylight. It also"remembers" the last zoom setting (needs to be set) which is also great. The higher resolution of the G5X may not be relevant as cropping in post won't be that much (also compared to my Q3 which is my absolute favorite but too clunky for short business trips).

[EspressoVizsla]

To be honest, with the set of cameras mentioned above - you don't need it. I got the DLUX8 as my first camera ever and I also didn't need it - I wanted that camera. For me it was clear that the top priority is not about the end product, but the whole experience. It's just a joy to use. I could've chosen a less expensive, more specs-filled, technically newer camera but everything that I saw in that comparable segment just didn't cut it for me. People shot great photos with way less than what is out there today I guess anyways.

I have tried some different cameras but I didn't get the excitement and joy that I had and have with the DLUX8. I can go into full-dad-mode with zero regrets just firing the most random shots and I absolutely love it. Didn't take my phone out once to do a photos since then, it's always with me. 

The form factor is great for me. I throw in in a compact Carhartt Sling Bag with all the accessories even (charging dock + cable, 3 extra batteries which I rarely need at all or more than one of, cleaning kit, SD reader, filter kit and the tiny flash) - it all fits.

The iso-noise has its own touch, so I'm not bothered by it that much. Low light challenges me finding some light and getting even more creative. There plenty of more "negatives" you can find against this camera but tbh - I just don't care. 

 

In your case, there's even less to care about since you got other amazing cameras and you don't have to rely on only one. I think the main question is do you wanna use your Canon everywhere you go or do you wanna use a DLUX8 everywhere you go.

[XMan]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Over the past 30 or so years I used the Lumix LX range of cameras, all of them, upgrading as soon as a new model was released.  A great result of the partnership between Leica's lenses and Panasonic's electronics.   My last camera was the only one of the series to play up, the viewfinder surround decayed and broke and the camera also started to make some wrong decisions.  But every time I looked at my galleries going back over the years I marvelled at the image quality and wished I still had the LX100 to travel with me.  Meanwhile I used a range of Fuji cameras and lenses which gave me great results but was more cumbersome than the old LX single zoom, fast lens, camera range.  Then Leica released the D-Lux8 with the Leica Menu similar to my Q3 and I read the review and the naysayers telling us that it was not a new camera,  There are a breed of naysayers whose pleasure comes from knocking things for the sake of it and I have learned to ignore them.  So I purchased a D-Lux8 and headed off from home in Australia to Europe, UK for two months, and, just like old times with the Lumix cameras, shot great images and also found the menu system so much more intuitive and familiar than the old Lumix.  My only complaint with the camera is the rear screen which is fixed, as were the screens on the Lumix range, and I live in hope that there may one day be a D-Lux9 with a tilt screen.  This is probably a forlorn hope like the hope that ended up in me selling a full CL kit which I absolutely loved but which did not have stabilisation, or a tilt screen, and as a line, was abandoned by Leica.  I am still furious about that betrayal.  I would have to say that I am head over heels in love with my D-Lux8 for travel.  I adopted the Australian Leica guru, Nick Raines, recommendation of setting ISO on Auto, and modified his advice by setting 1/60th second shutter speed as I found in 'auto everything' the camera sometimes set too low a speed.  Much of my travel photography is in dimly lit buildings and hand held.  I found that with the new features on Lightroom, mainly noise reduction, that I could produce a good final image from a single RAW file.  The image that I feel gave me the greatest satisfaction was one I shot in the Fraumunster, Zurich of the chapel with Marc Chagall windows.  I wanted to show the dimly lit space and the bright windows.  With Lightroom's help I achieved what I set out to create.  No doubt there will be naysayers that do not like it and will have advice for me, but it pleases me and takes me back to my visit.  I was so pleased that the young family walked into my shot to give it a special flavour, but I had to be quick to catch them where I wanted them.  Luckily they were also spellbound.

I am so happy that I took the plunge and purchased the D-Lux8.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited June 27 by XMan

[Alexander108]

Thank you all for commenting.

My D-Lux 8 arrived yesterday and I just went out in our little town to take a few pictures. Nothing great, just to figure it out. Here are two of them.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

My wife took our Canon G5X Mark II which was my travel camera for quite some time. The G5X pictures were almost as good but not as good. But the difference is not huge. The reason I considered the D-Lux 8 was that I came back to street photography two years ago. Last year I treated myself with the Q3 wich I am extremely happy with. But for short business trips it's too large and heavy.

Before I got the Q3 I bought a Ricoh GRIII which is an amazing small APS-C camera with a fixed 28mm equivalent lens. I took the GR III a few weeks ago to Madrid only to realize that I completely unlearned to use it! The menus and (many) buttons are so different that I missed a few shots trying to figure out ISO settings and other things. This experience made me think. The Ricoh is a great little camera for street photography. But it is so different to all my other cameras and I too rarely use it so that it is not fit for purpose when I need it. Also: while I can always heavily crop with the Q3 for my street photography, this obviously does not work with the GRIII.

I now sold the GRIII and got the D-Lux 8. I am pleased with the quality. Some things like remembering the last zoom, and renaming the user profiles and a few other things are disappointing but I knew that before. It is not a mini-Q. But I can use filters (impossible on the G5X). The cropping is as described. There is no additional leeway. You're stuck with the aspect ratio you selected.

 

 

 

[davidzvi]

@Alexander108 Have you seen this from DPReview?  It gives a visual of how the cropping is different on the D-Lux 8 (and type 109, 7, LX100, & LX100 II).  I'm not sure if prior Leica/Panasonic models that had the aspect ratio dial did the same.  I know the Fujifilm GFX100RF does not; they all have the consistent max X or Y pixel counts.

I may not use it too often, but it can be fun.  I do wish the 1:1 took advantage of the extra height like the 16:9 does with the width.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!