Customer Reviews

LEICA CAMERA C3 Compact 35mm Camera

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a really great camera which has a really wonderful lens for this type of camera - the colours and the details are quite stunning when compared to previous high end compacts I've used (£200 ish category). The lens is f3.6 at 28mm, very fast for a zoom compact.

It's also unusual in design which makes it quite interesting to my mind. For example it has a T mode for long exposures of up to 90 seconds (great for night scenes in cities or traffic trails). It also has a stepped zoom at 28,42,50,60,70,80mm, which I find quite handy when composing, and you can zoom right through it you want to.

Metering is excellent, I've tried a number of different films from 100-400 asa including 2 slide films, which have been perfectly exposed.

the flash is very powerful, perhaps a bit too much so, but if you focus on the nearest subject, it closes the aperture and this lessens the blast as well as giving good depth of field. It does give red-eye, but most on camera flash will - just get a red eye pen and sort it that way.

But overall it's the lens which is the real selling point. OK it's expensive, but you can't really value the difference it could make.

A tip - and this is obvious - get your photos developed somewhere pretty good as it makes all the difference when you have a good lens.

It seems everyone that is contemplating buying a new camera these days (particularly in the novice and point/shoot market place), will automatically go for the digital option, and pay a lot of money and get a camera that on the service of it, appears to offer every option under the sun, but in reality takes disappointing photos! But the thought of going back to a good old 35mm point and shoot camera, is just to socially hard to except! So why should the Leica C3 change your mind about 35mm compact point and shoot cameras!
Well to start off....Its a Leica, probably the most prestigious camera maker in the world, built designed and bread in Germany. Only the best material, best optics. and best styling go into making every model, so which ever one you go for (C1,C2,C3), you can be pretty sure its way up there on the list in its class. Even before you find out what the C3 has under that solid stainless steel casing, you won't want to put it down. It feels, looks and handles beautifully. The C3 is built to last with a real retro feel and every part of the camera oozes quality. The buttons and display are very simple, clean and very well laid out, making the camera so simple to use a child would be able to pick it up and take pictures.
The C3 features a 28mm - 80mm lens, the same as a standard lens for many an SLR. What's sets this lens apart from other brands of camera is its build (only genuine optical glass not plastic), its incredible speed for a compact camera (making pictures in less than adequate lighting a breeze and worry free) and its sharpness/depth of colour. Infact the colour reproduction is breath taking, reproducing deep rich smooth colour within pin sharp focus! I have had friends amazed by what the C3 can achieve!! The 28mm wide angle lens is also great for capturing landscapes and architecture, whilst the 80mm top end will aid you with portraits and macro work.
So with the C3 you really are getting value/quality for money and obviously a great looking camera, wearing that exclusive Leica label.
Sure this camera may not be a 5 mega pixel, movie making piece of stainless steel the size of a stock cube (although the 35mm pictures it takes cover as much, if not more detail than a 13.5 mega pixel camera, something digital lovers like to leave out), but you are getting a solid camera that takes amazing photos every time. My advise before buying any camera would be to think carefully about what you are buying it for! And If your looking for a camera that feels great, looks the part, takes breath taking photos in almost any lighting condition, that is simple to use and that can fit into your pocket, the Leica C3 is the one for you. The Leica C3 also comes with a 7 year warranty and a hard as nails plastic transparent case, making this product almost indestructible.

...the leica c3 is a good versatile camera at a moderate price, in my humble opinion, and should make a good traveling companion (perhaps as a backup) for those impromptu moments...

...for naturalists and outdoor enthusiasts, the camera's wide-angle capability, alone, may be worth the price, as it is difficult to find point-and-shoot compacts with this feature...

...the vario-elmar lens (the same as used on leica's new cm zoom 35 - 70 which retails for around $1.2k) produces sharp and nearly 3-d quality images which are slightly better than the images from my older olympus zoom wide 80 compact...

...some negatives include a film door that did not close properly (but was repaired by leica on a one-month turn-around time basis), and a jammed film rewinder button...

...if you want the best zoom compact camera available go for the new leica cm zoom...if you want wide-angle capability at a moderate price, the leica c3 should not disappoint...

This is a really great camera which has a really wonderful lens for this type of camera - the colours and the details are quite stunning when compared to previous high end compacts I've used (£200 ish category). The lens is f3.6 at 28mm, very fast for a zoom compact.

It's also unusual in design which makes it quite interesting to my mind. For example it has a T mode for long exposures of up to 90 seconds (great for night scenes in cities or traffic trails). It also has a stepped zoom at 28,42,50,60,70,80mm, which I find quite handy when composing, and you can zoom right through it you want to.

Metering is excellent, I've tried a number of different films from 100-400 asa including 2 slide films, which have been perfectly exposed.

the flash is very powerful, perhaps a bit too much so, but if you focus on the nearest subject, it closes the aperture and this lessens the blast as well as giving good depth of field. It does give some red-eye, but most on-camera flash will - just get a red eye pen and sort it that way.

But overall it's the lens which is the real selling point. OK it's expensive, but you can't really value the difference it could make.

A tip - and this is obvious - get your photos developed somewhere pretty good as it makes all the difference when you have a good lens.

I bought Leica C3 five months ago and the rubber ring from viewfinder came out. It took a lot of time to receive the part and to find the Leica service. Leica does not cover the cost of transportation of cameras even for a camera in warranty.
Other problem: unexplained mid-roll broken film inside the camera!

For the photos the quality is very good even in the low-light conditions, sharp and natural colours.
A good camera, easy to use, very nice design, but having problems with the camera body so soon and unpleasant experience with the Leica service is quite disappointing.

I have owned several prestigious, metal-made P&S cameras, including Contax T2, T3, TVS, TVS III, Leica CM, Minolta TC-1. However, this Leica C3 is the one that I use the most (along with T3).

On major point is definitely its lens. It is convenient (28-80mm), which covers from true wide-angle to short telephoto. Someone may question the optic quality of this zoom lens with relatively long range. Will, just believe it! This Vario Elmar is at least as good, or better than Contax TVS III (Vario-Sonnar 30-60mm), and it's range is wider, with slightly larger apertures as well. It produces cripy and vivid color pictures. I particuly like to feed it with Fuji Reala and the new Kodak Ektar 100. Enlarge it to 12"X8" picture, and you would thought that it was taken by an SLR with a prime lens!! I have not tried slide film yet, but I believe this camera is capable for the slides as well.

Not all Leica P&S impressed this much to me, though. For example, the much more expensive CM, while not bad, disappointed me with at-the-best Contax T2 quality rather than T3 quality. Lecia Mini3 is even a worse disaster! The pictures it took look like coming from a disposable camera! But this C3 definitely far exceeds its value in terms of its optic quality.

It does have its shortcomings. First, it is big. It is OK to put in a coat pocket, but too big to hang it over the waist belt. Second, there is no way to adjust aperture or shutter speed, it is fully automatic. Third, the on-off switch quality seems not going to last for long because it feels loose (though I have used it for more than 1 year without the problem). Fourth, and common to all other Leicas, you have to press many times in order to switch the flash off or always on. Fifth, its aluminum body (it is made in China) feels better than most other plastic cameras, but not as good as the titinium-made T2, T3, or Leica's own CM.

In summary, the build and the operations of this camera are just OK. But its optic quality is top-rated!