D-Lux-3 focus problems

[Jay66]

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My wife has been using her D-Lux-3 since its purchase in October 2007 with no problems. Lately, however, the focus fails to lock on and many pictures are out of focus.

 

On a few occasions, the lens will not retract when switching the camera off, or it will freeze up with a message that says to turn the camera off and then back on. But that does very little. Other times, the focus locks on and everything is sharp. There is no discernable pattern as to when the focus will fail.

 

Has anyone else out there had similar problems? I'm close to Leica USA, so a drive up to the service department seems in order. (Thankfully we have that 2-year warranty.)

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[Jon-Luke]

You could also try checking in the menu settings if the Auto Focus is set to high speed focus (see page 88 of your manual) It may be worth switching this off and seeing how your focusing works or if its already off try switching it on to see what happens. I have found that since switching it on, Auto focusing has been more reliable. The high speed auto focus does give a momentary freeze frame as it does its work... (Another way to show its working, and I think all the camera's resources are aimed at focusing, so the image freezes).

 

Hope this helps.

[Jay66]

Jon-Luke,

 

Thank you. I will see what my wife has the settings on, I honestly don't know (and neither does she, most likely!).

 

Of course, there must be something mechanically wrong or a firmware problem for the lens to not retract automatically when switching the camera off. Right now, the camera is "off" but the lens is fully extended.

[jmoors]

I too am having focus problems - took around 30 photos at my nephew's christening yesterday and only 2 of them are in focus. Will try the setting adjustment and see if that helps...

[Jon-Luke]

Another issue that may make your photographs "appear" out of focus is to check your shutter speed setting. If you are not using the shutter priority setting and shooting in lowish light you may find that your shutter speed is less than 1/80 sec. Most people cannot hold their cameras totally steady at shutter speeds lower than this and the result may be a slight blur which would make the still image look out of focus. Its worth a try to set your cameras to Shutter Priority and set the shutter speed to 1/100 sec or faster and see if that helps your "focus" issue.

 

Another thing that may help is to Stop Down your aperture as much as possible this will give you a larger depth of field with more of the image "In Focus" Here are some web sites that may help: LuxArs Digital Photography Site

or for a more technical explanation: Depth of Field

 

Hope this helps... The D-LUX 3 is a little finicky though so take some time to get to know it and it will serve you well.

[jmoors]

Jon-Luke - I think you're absolutely right. Since trying to capture my nephew under artificial lighting, I've been trying to find a solution by photographing my dog (equally prone to movement) under indoor lighting. The problem I find, is that the Auto setting is choosing a shutter speed of 1/50 and 1/60, hence the blurred image.

 

If I try shutter priority, and force it to 1/80 or 1/100, the preview image is black unless I change the ISO to 1600, at which point it's un-useably noisy. I know other point and shoot cameras would be able to capture it, but they'd be reliant on flash, and I never use the D-Lux 3 flash as I don't like the results.

 

So perhaps what I've learned is this: if photographing a moving subject, stick to bright conditions, preferably outdoors?

[Jay66]

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My problem is more severe. I could not try the "work-around" solutions because the camera turns itself off momnents after switching it on. I turn the camera on, the lens extends, then the screen gives a message, "Turn camera off and turn on again," which I do, then it turns itself off but the lens will not retract. Obviiously big problems here.

 

I'm driving it up to Leica USA in Allendale for repairs next week.

[mattbradders]

Jon-Luke - I think you're absolutely right. Since trying to capture my nephew under artificial lighting, I've been trying to find a solution by photographing my dog (equally prone to movement) under indoor lighting. The problem I find, is that the Auto setting is choosing a shutter speed of 1/50 and 1/60, hence the blurred image.

 

If I try shutter priority, and force it to 1/80 or 1/100, the preview image is black unless I change the ISO to 1600, at which point it's un-useably noisy. I know other point and shoot cameras would be able to capture it, but they'd be reliant on flash, and I never use the D-Lux 3 flash as I don't like the results.

 

So perhaps what I've learned is this: if photographing a moving subject, stick to bright conditions, preferably outdoors?

 

 

Try the party mode, from memory, I think it uses a slower shutter speed to bring in the ambient lighting but uses the flash to freeze the subject.

 

Matt

[Jay66]

I dropped my wife's D-Lux 3 off at Leica USA in Allendale yesterday. I was told they will contact me in 2 weeks' time. So we shall see.