Leica D-LUX 3 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)
Leica D-LUX 3 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)
Every picture taken with the Leica D-LUX 3 has a story to tell. The unique manual setting options give you the freedom to create images that express your own style. Use the high-quality Leica lens to take stunning shots from the wide-angle to the telephoto range. With O.I.S. optical stabilization technology and ultra fast processing, the Leica D-LUX 3 sets new standards in its class. Choose between three picture formats, achieve first-class image quality with the camera’s 10 megapixel sensor and assess your shots on the wide-screen display. Small and elegant, the Leica D-LUX 3 is always ready to make your personal view of the world reality.
Stylish design
The design of the D-Lux 3 is totally in keeping with Leica tradition: pure, discreet, timeless–in a housing of high-quality aluminum.
Always on the move
The D-Lux 3 is so light, compact and unobtrusive that there’s no reason why you should leave it at home. Small as it is, it’s a great performer: three file formats–from simple JPEG to the RAW format rarely offered in this class of camera–ensure optimum image quality for further processing as well. The image stabilizer (O.I.S.) leads to sharply focused images even in situations where there’s not really enough natural light. The camera is also perfect for digiscoping–taking photographs through a spotting scope–to capture the fascination of nature at close range.
Plenty of scope for creativity
The D-Lux 3 still gives the photographer the freedom to create his own view of the world without any automatic settings. The 16:9 picture format with the full resolution of over 10-megapixels produces fantastic images for frame-filling viewing on HDTV equipment. The brilliant 2.8-inch display also has an aspect ratio of 16:9.
What’s in the Box:
Camera with lens cap and hand loop, 64 MB SD card, charger, Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery, A/V cable, USB cable, extensive software package (Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 (PC)/3.0 (Mac), Quicktime Movie Player).
Leica D-LUX 3 10MP Digital Camera Review
First the bad news- NOISE!!!!! I guess with a sensor this small, there is just nothing you can do about it, short of using a noise plug-in with photoshop. At ISO 100 and 200 this is not a problem- jump to 400 and above and it becomes an issue.
Now the good news- because of the image stabilization, you can choose a lower speed, and minimize the noise as much as possible.
The lens is at least the equal of the one on my Contax TVSIII, which was the sharpest I have ever seen on a pocketable camera.
The internal flash is adequate for most conditions, but if you are takin advantage of the wide format, and trying to get a large room or group more than a few feet away, you should get the Metz compact digital flash which matches with it well.
I took RAW and JPEGs of the same scene and blew ‘em up to 13×19 inches. While the raw image was marginally better, the JPEG (with minimal tweaking) was almost as good, and both were quite usable.
If you plan on shooting RAW- bes sure to get a largish high speed SD card.
I love that you can shoot manually, and getting great portraits is a snap- easy to blur out the background and get an incredible sharp portrait.
The preset modes suck.
The screen is great.
If you have a good photo stitching program, and you take a landscape photo with the camera vertically (say 4 or 5 sequential shots), taking advantage of the wide format, you will be floored. With this combination you can print landscapes 48 inches wide. I did this at the Eagles game on Monday night (Eagles won- thankfully!)- and the print was remarkable.
Nobody on the whole planet has the brown leather case. i want one and I want one bad.
Get this camera, be prepared to deal with the limitations of any camera using a small sensor, and you will be a happy clam. You will be able to leave your SLR home more often, and have a great camera with you always so you never miss a shot.
If you found this review useful, please send me the brown leather case.
