Shot with the new digilux. Yuck!!!!!

I just got back from our local Leica dealer where I handled and

shot with the new Leica Digilux digital camera. I'm not sure I

would even accept one if it were free. The download time

between images is astoundingly long. It is anything but intuitive

and a simple portrait in soft light against a neutral wall was at

least a stop overexposed. This nightmarish camera comes with

an imposing manual. It feels as though one is holding a plastic

brick. For the same price the Canon G2 seems two generations

ahead. I am stunned at how bad this offering from Leica is. My

suggestion to them is to immediately drop the price to $299,

clean out the warehouses and leave consumer digital to the

mass manufacturers.

 

In the same outing I saw the new Contax Digital SLR (full frame,

six megapixels, etc.) the top deck is exactly like the N1 and it is

elegant and well done. There is a waiting list at my local dealer

of 15 pre-paid Contax shooters for this camera. At $7000 a pop.

I guess that means there is a market.......

 

It all made me want to come home and stick a 35 on an M6 and

get on with it.

 

Kirk

Contax N Digital, now we're talking digital. Yes, give me the Leica and 35 anyday. Carefree and simple. I just need to buy a neg/slide scanner though. Maybe a Canon.

While the Contax is interesting b/c it has a full frame sensor, I haven't ever (and likely won't ever be) a contax SLR shooter. The Digilux is good in some ways and medicore in others. I think we all expected too much out of a company that moves forward with technology very slowly. Even if the camera is mostly a Panasonic, the Leica name made up wish for the moon.

 

The contax that I really want to see, is the rumored digital G body. But like all rumors, it's hard to put too much stock into it. Especially considering how long it took their digital SLR to show up on shelves.

Gotta remember, the Digilux is really only a re-badged Panasonic with a Canon lens. Leica obviously thought they could sell it upscale on name alone, and indeed, maybe they will.

Thanks Kirk - glad I'm not the only one who thinks Leica have come up with a light weight over-priced piece of junk. I was at a Leica day in London this week and assorted Leica fans were commenting very enthusiastically over A4 print outs from this plastic rubbish. I looked at the pictures and was amazed - at just how awful they were! Jaw-droppingly dreadful.

 

I sometimes wonder if users forget that most pictures need to be printed if a truly fair comparison is to be made. That is the real acid test, and the Digilux fails this test very badly.

 

I'm sticking to my M.

 

Cheers

 

Matt

The first reviews of the overly delayed Contax have been very poor. The chip is bogus--they should have cut their losses and scrapped the project like Pentax did. As far as the new "Leica" offering--they need to hire someone who knows the market before coming out with an un-competitive offering like this camera.

Kirk, thanks for your information. Your excellent review of the M6 a

few months back put me over the edge. I'm going to attach an untouched

image I shot today with the Canon G2 for those folks on the fence. I

used a Canon 550EX flash with Omnibounce straight on for this sh<div>[ATTACH=full]252[/ATTACH]</div>

I was going to try one but everthing posted reports the digi Leica as rubbish.Trying a Fuji 601 for my wife who likes the design of it, not to bad ,back to my M6 next week...fill like i am playing with a toy gives me a empty feeling.<div></div>

Feel..correction.

And<div></div>

I feel so bad for Leica. Here's a company that has been, for the

most part, true to it's philosophy and gives us things like a

camera we can trust with our career...and delights like the

M-28/2 ASPH. I also have handled the Digilux ( lux? ) and it's a

thing to pity. They should give one away with every M6TTL to

speed up the demise of that wonderful piece of equipment.

 

As for those drooling over the Contax N Digital...I recently turned

down the opportunity to be the first in our region to get one. Why?

Why pay $7,000. to field test the first digital from Contax? They

should pay me for the hassle. The Nikon D1 was a relative

nightmare compared to the D1x. Lesson learned. I'll wait for the

Contax N2 Digital. Which will be twice as good and half the

price. Or better yet, the Canon EOS-2 Digital which they must

bring out before Nikon kills 'em in the marketplace. Watch out

this fall.

 

Meanwhile, it's still hard to top Leica glass, with images

scanned at 4000dpi. The deeper I get into other digital cameras

( and I'm in DEEP ) the more I "like-a" my Leicas.<div></div>

Allen...You did it! Your first picture on the forum if I'm not

mistaken. Way to go.

 

Also, I apologize for the blown out whites on my previous

posting. It appeared okay on my screen before sending it.

One more time just for the learning experience.<div></div>

Thanks Mark for your help posted photos digital play...will get real soon.

I handled the digilux at Leica Day last week and have to agree with Kirk. It sucks....

Last ever posting from digital,the fuji is not too bad have tried the rest.In the digital world it seems the best if you like those things.<div></div>

Allen, what happened? The digital pics of the window and the flower are real nice, but the first

one with the kid is terrible. Is it because it was your first posted pic, as I think I gathered from the

thread?

Is it because it was your first posted pic, as I think I gathered from the thread?

 

Playing at getting it right..next lot will be Leica.

While, I disagree with Kirk's assessment of the Digilux-1, he is entitled to his opinion.

However, comparing it to the Contax is off base. The Digilux-1 is designed to be a consumer camera, whereas the Contax is a full fledged professional instrument.

When, Leica introduces a full fledged professional digital SLR, then comparisons would be appropriate.

Sal, I cannot, in any reasonable way, understand how you could have found the Digilux to be at all worthwhile. I never compared the digisux to the Contax. I mentioned that I examined both at my local dealer. I understand that the DigiSux is (a poor) excuse for a consumer product and I understand that the Contax (not vaporware) is a professional product. What, if I may ask, endeared the DigiSux to you? Was it the painfully slow download time from the buffer to the memory card? (about 8 secs per image compared to 3 seconds in the Canon G2) Was it the horribly inaccurate exposure control? Perhaps it was the rare and expensive (read: original betamax) memory cards. Could it have been the ergonomically awkward body design? Perhaps it was the 45 second download time for the Tiff files. I've owned three generations of Coolpix cameras, a Canon G2 and an Olympus E-10 and several other digital offerings and I have never handled a less intuitive, slower, or less accurate camera. Please, please tell me by what argument you have rushed to this plastic paperweight's defense.

 

Kirk

Am sticking with my M6 and great glass. The film scanner I have

(the Minolta Dimage Scan Multi Pro at 4,800 dpi) does a great

job on those shots that are worth preserving digitally.

 

I figure the digital/megapixel wars will continue for another

couple of years before resolution, pixel density and other

technical features begin to plateau. Maybe then I'll take the

digital camera plunge with a better probability that my investment

won't be rendered obsolete in a matter of weeks or even days as

is likely to be the case today.

Has anyone got a good word to say on the Digilux 1. I have reserved one as in short supply in UK and had planned to pick it up next two days having read good reviews as being a nonsense basic digital reportage camera (with obvious limitations). Have a Hasselblad 503cw for portrait work, Nikon F3 and F100 and wanted to dip my toe into digital whilst waiting for SLR digital to come down in price. Had looked at Cannon G2, Nikon coolpix 5000 and the Pansonic (leica) LC5. But the Leica name won out - is this really as much of a dog as indicated above? Grateful before £750 is spent!

You can't compare the Digilux to the Contax N1 at all. The Digilux was meant to be a point and shoot consumer level camera like the C1 whereas the Contax N1 Digital is a high level professional camera body with exceptional optics.

 

That's like comparing the M6 with the Minilux. It doesn't wash.

What exceptional optics are you refering to Albert? The new

Contax 17-35 is a $2,400. Sigma feeling, zoom with images that

are a flat as a pancake. The first one I got astounded me, so I

returned it for a second one which at least was consistant with

the other...i.e. just as flat. The reviews of the Digital Camera are

also pretty flat.

<i>

You can't compare the Digilux to the Contax N1 at all.

</i>

<p>

Well then I guess it's a good thing <i>nobody did.</i>

You were expecting a digital LEICA??? Seriously, no joke? I use a Voigtlander Bessa L (25mm f4) and a Canon Elan 7 for news assigments and prep sports, and steer a mile clear of digital point and shoots. The red tag on this one doesn't make one any better. In my opinion only the Nikon D1x & Canon 1D can be considered a good alternative to pro film SLR's and to get the feel of a rangefinder camera (or something like the Bessa L) will take years.