Customer Reviews

Leica D-LUX 3 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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 13x19 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.

First off, let me tell you I have been shooting with a Canon20D with 3 different lenses for the past four years, my basis for review IS biased, opinionated, and thus the Leica is being forced to compete with an SLR worth 2-3x the value of itself. Gyeah!

It's sort of a Leica. The camera is metal and has a retro-feel to it. I do like the simplicity of the dials. But it's made in Japan and it wouldn't take a die-hard camera-guru to tell you it's a souped up Panasonic.
I feel like I bought a Lexus with a maserati emblem on it. It's really good, but I expected fantastic.

NOISIER THAN A SLAYER CONCERT! My goodness this thing has trouble with dark lighting. Uggghhh. I wouldn't shoot this anywhere I didn't need sunglasses. 4 out of 10.

THE COLOR IS DECENT. An 8 out of 10.

LAGS! Press the shutter, wait, wait, wait, think about what you might have for lunch tommorow, wait, wait, wait... okay. Picture time. If you want to take a photo of any sport faster than chess or catfish noodling, don't get this camera. 2 out of 10

OVERALL PHOTO QUALITY.
It does take good photos. It collects a surprising amount of detail. The focusing is ingenious (sp?) for a point and shoot, and the options are nearly unlimited (3 different ways to photograph babies! 2 different skintone options) THere is a brain in there. 9 out of 10!!!!!!!!!! I'd go 8.5, but the focusing is quite brilliant, i.e. depth of field.

MANUAL SETTING.
THe programming is nearly unlimited, you need to spend at least half an hour to an hour to read and understand all the different settings available. But, in manual mode, THERE IS NO FOCUSING RING! You merely push the button up or down to tell it to focus in or out (like cheap video cameras). Left and Right button control aperature, and there are film speeds to choose from (100-200asa for me, buddy). But no it's not manual in the sense one would expect from a "swiss/german" camera-smithery. 4 out of 10

FLASH
Wow! 10 out of 10! Why? Because it's manual. When you want the flash, you press the MECHANICAL button and the flash MECHANICALLY pops up and the flash is in use. When you don't want the flash, you press it down MECHANICALLY. It's built in, of course, but it's not "built-in". And in baby mode, the flash reduces the flare and glare as to not burn second degree scars into the baby retinas.

BUILD/FINISH/STURDINESS
It's metal! Just like those more expensive good cameras. It's satiny, and it has a big bright red logo that let's everybody know you only get the best things you can afford. YOur fancy, and you like to spend money! People will admire you more and treat you with respect. Just like a Gucci purse, or six hundred dollar sequined jeans that were ripped on purpose at the factory and sprayed with acidic bleach by robots. IF your REALLY materialistic and want everyone to think your a rockstar, this is the camera for you. THere is a fifteen thousand dollar gold Mamiya with diamonds on it, but I'd rather get the Hassleblaad h3 for that price.
Just kidding, some people do just like really good cameras, like me. I guess it's pretty strong, my girlfriend dropped it at the gunrange today and it was fine. 9 out of 10. It could be sturdier, heavier, more made for Nepal/Tenderloin expeditions.

BANG FOR BUCK
5 out of 10. FOr the same price you could probably get a decent Canon Rebel, or a super nice Canon point and shoot. Or for 170$ you could get a nice Sony, Panasonic, or Canon and spend the rest on a nice weekend roadtrip vacation and have something to take pictures for. And if you spent twice as much as this camera you would have a real sweet digital SLR! But SIX HUNDRED BUCKS? FOR A POINT AND SHOOT? 5 out of 10. It is ten megapixels though.

LCD SCREEN
14 out 10. That's right 14 out of 10. The screen is so ridiculously nice and big, I could watch Lawrence of Arabia on it. I've seen airplane seats with smaller LCD screens. The screen is so frickin' nice, I'm terrified I bought a two hundred dollar camera with a four hundred dollar LCD screen attached to it. I wish the company had put the money and technology towards the sensor, the lens, and the overall sturdiness. 14 out of 10.

LENS.
Sweet lens. I'm not sure if it's german, swiss, or Japanese. But it's from one of the three and it is nice glass. Most point and shoots have lenses the size of Charles Manson's pupils, but it's impressive. I also LIKE the fact it doesn't fully retract into the camera. Most people probably don't like this feature, because it's bulkier and harder to store. But for the purpose of PHOTOGRAPHY, (the purpose of having a camera, duh), it makes for a better camera, that it doesn't retract fully back into the camera (which brings more afghan dust and somali sand in the camera). Maybe it even has SLR style mirrors in there? I don't know, I'm not an expert, I'm just a guy who OWNS and USES this camera. 9 out 10. I'd give it 10, but there is no bloody focusing ring.

OVERALL
6 out 10.
It's a nice camera, but not super nice. I do like the big lens, I do like the retro feel and the nice old school dials, it keeps it simple. The metal finish is great. It has a great LCD screen. It says Leica, it's made of Metal, but it's Panasonic as that radio/tapeplayer I had back in 87 that was aqua green and shaped like a anti-hystamine gel-tab. For a hundred or two, or a thousand more, you could have a really nice camera. I was expecting Leica. Heavy metal with a great lens and mechanicality above computer. (yes, I do know the difference between 35 and digi, but I want what I can't have) Get the Panasonic instead.
THIS CAMERA HAS A CHEAPER TWIN BROTHER WHO DOESN'T WEAR A SWISS/GERMAN TUXEDO WITH A RED ROSE IN THE FRONT POCKET.

I am a semi-pro photographer and thusly I normally shoot with expensive DSLR equipment. There are, however, some occasions where for a variety of reasons I can not bring a 3 pound 8-inch long camera with me. I have tried many different compact point and shoot offerings over the years, and I have owned many different compact point and shoot models over the years. This one is the best by far that I have tried.

The noise level is the biggest concern that I have seen people site about this camera. I personally am extremely sensitive to noise, and I have returned other cameras in the past because of it within 3 hours of buying them. I guess we must be looking at two different cameras, because I don't see it as a problem as compared with other compact point and shoot cameras. In fact it is far lower than every other compact point and shoot camera that I have used. The only time I could get this camera to produce a high level of noise was when I was shooting in very low light (indoors with almost all the lights off) and using no flash. Is that how you plan on using this camera? Then don't worry about the noise. That's not to say that there is no noise. There is noise. More noise than a DLSR? Yes. Again, we're talking compact point and shoot though. This is not a DSLR camera, so it would be unfair to compare it to one. I have tested the latest high dollar compact point and shoot offerings of Canon, Nikon, and Olympus and they all have at least triple the amount of noise this camera does. The only thing that I can think of that must account for this complaint is that Leica owners are typically more educated and sensitive to this type of stuff than the average compact point and shoot owner. I wonder if maybe traditional Leica owners are looking at the performance of this camera through "the lens" of their past Leica experience, rather than through the "lens" of all other compact point and shoot cameras. If they did the latter, I would be shocked if they had any complaints about this camera.

I will say again, this is the finest compact point and shoot ever made--yet. That may change next week, month, year, etc. But right now it is the best hands down. Better pictures, less noise, more controls, more options, better workmanship than any other compact point and shoot out there that I know of. Period. Again, everyone please just compare this to other compact point and shoot cameras. There are way too many people comparing it to entry level DSLRs because the prices are similar. This is not a DSLR. This is a compact point and shoot camera. It has its place, just like the DSLR has its place. In its place, it is the king. If you must talk DLSR vs. this compact point and shoot camera, I will say that this is the closest you will get to DSLR performance without actually buying a DSLR. If you know of a better compact point and shoot I would love to know about it. In my opinion, this camera is vastly underrated. Luckily, the resale market is great for these so if you get it and don't agree with me you can always resell it fairly easily. I doubt you will, though. I fell in love with this camera 5 minutes into using it. I was even surprised at how it looks in person. The pictures of the camera itself don't even do it justice, let alone the reviews. This camera rocks hard.

I'm sorry if I'm giving away some kind of "photographers' secret knowledge" but the picture quality and ease-of-use of this camera definitely makes me a better photographer and without question justifies the D-Lux 3's price. I've owned this camera for almost a year now and been extremely happy with the results (other than bum composition on my part!) First and foremost, the lens quality is WAY above any point-and-shoot film or digital camera I've ever used; It produces that certain Leica ambiance in color, black & white, sepia, and even to a certain extent, flash images - "warm" but contrasty and sharp at the same time, with very little noise for a digital. The zoom lens itself is a little slow - the norm for mini-cameras - but if you're looking for speed you need a digi-SLR anyway. You get to choose from 3 different aspect ratios including the normal 3:2, but especially nice is the 16:9 wide for when you're feeling particularly creative or need a little bit more image space. With its clean and unfussy design, the intuitive controls and overrides work smooth and comfortably and the menu options are very easy to use; I needed no help from the (excellent) hard copy manual. There is no conventional viewfinder and the view screen can be reflective but its brightness (adjustable) and large size more than make up for that. The D-Lux 3's metal body gives a feel of substance, but can also be a little hard to hold because of its small overall size. Warning: Though conveniently small enough to fit in your pocket, this camera will be too small for people with shaky hands or weak fingers; They will need a point-and-shoot with a built-in grip, such as the Canon 'G' series. Hold the D-Lux 3 tight and/or use a wrist strap. The buttons on the back are tiny tiny tiny but work smoothly. The anti-shake system works reasonably well, but please don't overly depend on it...As in all digital point-and-shoots, longevity and reliability are yet to be determined but I trust the D-Lux will give me many years of enjoyment.

This is really a wonderful little camera but it baffles me why Amazon insists on jumping into bed with price gougers like Wall Street Photo. The street price of this camera is $599 and the camera is available from reputable dealers like E.P. Levine in Boston, yet Amazon highlights the ridiculous price of over $1200 being asked for by Wall Street Photo. Don't get me wrong here, Wall Street Photo can charge what they like and I have no problem with that at all, but I always thought Amazon was about getting the consumer a better deal, not the merchants. So come on Amazon, you're not going to endear yourself to your customers by putting the price gougers at the top of the list just because they (presumably) paid you to be there. You need to make it clear to your customers what the real deal with these products is instead of being a willing accomplice to the bottom feeders and leading your customers towards their crappy deals first.

I got this baby in London back in November and it cost me 499 Quid (Pounds) and it really is worth it. Shot in 16:9 or in 35 mm size, or even LCD or PC Monitor size, this is really a joy to shoot images with. The interface is intuitive, as this is my first Leica, and I never owned a Panasonic Lumix either, so on the get go, I was able to use it right away.

The pics, at any mp size you choose is very SHARP. The optics of the Vario Elmarit lens is really the "star" of this equipment. It is a "hi-end/ STYLISH" backup camera for I have 2 DSLRS Canon's 30D & 400D, and sometimes these things are heavy. If I wanna travel light, I use this. But now, I treasure it so much that I don't want to bang it up, so I bought a cheaper backup to this backup. I got the Powershot G7, and even though they are both 10 megapixels, lens wise, the D-LUX 3 is in a class of it's own. No match.

The ooooooohs and ahhhhhhhhhs when people see my toy is priceless, plus the bag, brown, vintage, old skool, and Leica, is an added bonus attraction. I know some people who actually wanna buy the cam because of the bag.

The screen of this baby is so wide that you get everything in the picture. At 16:9, you get the whole planet in one frame. That's how wide it is.

Thin, matte black, old-skool look, compact, and the stunning visual capture, these are all the plus points. The video at 16:9 setting is 30 fps, dvd quality and super sharp, and performs well in low light.

The only flaw I see, is the absence of an optical viewfinder. But Leica, is Leica. Lumix ain't Leica.

The D-Lux 3 is it. Go get one and fall in love again.

I grew up in a Leica family, and was excited to finally find an "affordable" point and shoot Leica that has a little more flexibility than most others. The design and feel is 100% classic Leica, down to the simple metal body and mechanical sounding shutter click. I especially like the manual features, including manual focusing capability. The automatic modes, including pre-programmed scene modes, shutter and aperture priority were also a must for me.

All these features require a bit of a learning curve, but it's well worth it. In the 3 weeks I have had this camera, I have already managed to take a few great shots, some under difficult conditions, and I see a lot of potential.

The user manual is very good, and follows the typical Leica style - fairly technical, consistent, and impeccably detailed.

I recommend this for demanding photographers who would like to have a compact, affordable point and shoot camera.

Having been a photographer for many years and now working as a TV cameraman i found myself looking for a replacement for my old digital compact (pentax optio 3.2mp) which was excellent for such a small basic and low res camera.

After a very brief internet search i found myself looking at the higher end of digital compacts. i was toying with the DSLR route for the same sort of money but thought no i really want something very small to take on my travels with work and the SLR is not going to be it..so back to a compact camera..

The Leica appealed to me mainly because it can be used in total manual mode including manual focus and that is the way I allways work using the auto settings as an assist and not as a be all and end all. I dont like to be dictated to by a computer, well who does eh? Im the boss! I mean how does that camera know how dark i want those shadows eh???? Simply put it dosn't!

Having used this camera a little on location in the desert of arizona i am fairly impressed, its great for landscapes using the 16.9 format and the auto bracket mode is very useful as exposure is impossible to gauge with the screen in bright sunlight. The lens range is a very useful 28mm f2.8 - 112mm f4.9 it is very good having the 28mm (35mm conv ).

A quick trip to the local Nascar meeting was also a very good execise to put this little camera through its paces and yeah im sure with a little more telephoto I may have got slighty better shots, but then again im not sure about that, and remember this is a 10MP camera so for a magazine page shot could be zoomed slightly and not suffer at all. Im not sugesting you should buy this over a DSLR for sports but it would be a very handy little back up camera for an event like this. I used to Continuous shooting mode for the pit stop action sequences and it worked great!

I have found when needed the Program mode works very well in most situations with a few tweaks in the camera, however the preset modes such 'Party' mode are far from good, giving terrible skin tones. The moral of this story, hmm dont trust a computer.

I purchased mine with a spare batt and a couple of 2GIG cards so that i can shoot in RAW most of the time if needed.

I would normally be the sort of person who would not care about brand names and go for the panasonic but thought hey its not really that much more and i may tire of having to explain to everyone 'it's really a leica you know, with a different badge on , blah blah balh' so i thought dont be a penny pincher just get what you really want and that was a little red dot.

So as a little sum up, i would say if you know what you are doing (as with any camera i guess) and can work around its limitations (lens range lack of accessories ie flash guns, filters etc )this little Leica has the potential to be one of the best cameras you can get period! With its abilty to shoot RAW and giving you 10.4 MP and a good set of optics. Great for travel and candids so very much like the essence of a real rangefinder Leica.

A very neat little package. So far so good!

(This is an ongoing review and i will keep you posted when i have used it more and have found fault with it.)

I have to think that I a one of a very few lucky humans to own this beaury. This camera is all as promised. Pics are very sharp and with 10 MPs, each to print very large pics.

The owner's manual is almost as long as the one for my Canon 1DM2N--and it's a bear. All this means is that the camera does so many different things and the user can control so many functions to enhance the end result. There is probably more camera in this little package than in most DSLRs on the market for 2 or 3 times the money.

You won't regret buying this, if you can EVER get your hands on it. Now, if the leather case would just become available.

I get so tired of people whining about noise on small sensor cameras. "OMG, it is noisier than my 30D/D80/etc." Hmm...what was your first clue? Perhaps that the same number of pixels are being stuffed on a sensor that is almost an order of magnitude smaller in surface area?!?!?

The MP race is stupid, but so are most consumers. I would have preferred that Leicasonic made this a 7MP camera with really high dynamic range and able to shoot high ISO. But they didn't...because consumers want big MP numbers.

This camera is unique because it is native 16x9. That changes the way you frame and shoot. At least it has for me. This also gives you very good manual control over things. And being able to shoot RAW is a big deal to me. I got hooked on that with my D70. And speaking of that D70, I just sold it because I am happier with the images I'm getting out of my D-Lux 3. Yes, they can be noisier, but I also can fit the Leica in my pocket. The best camera is the one you'll have with you to get the shot. This beast is a very good compromise between portability and performance. You can't have it all. Where would you put it?