Digilux 2 Vs Canon G6 ?

[jtk]

Has anybody actually compared the Canon G6 to the Leica?

 

Reports seem to indicate that the Leica is noisier at moderate ei and

above (200+).

 

Canon has a real viewfinder, Leica's just another prosumer digicam in

that respect.

 

But maybe that Summicron is worth the extra thousand dollars? Is it

better in some way than the Canon lens? Is the famous Leica glow/bokeh

even evident in the 5mp digital images?

 

Leica's bulky, Canon's compact. And there's the money.

 

Anybody make direct comparisons?

 

Djon

[joshroot]

Get the Panasonic version of the Digilux 2, it is a good 1/3 cheaper, maybe more.

 

Also, I wouldn't give much credit to the G6's viewfinder, it is no more than a point & shoot squinty plastic hole to look through. For an EVF, the Digilux does pretty well. Though I'd still rather be looking TTL.

 

I have used Canon G series cameras since the G2 as my "prosumer" and the Digilux 2 is one of the few cameras that tempted me enough to think about switching. Though I never actually did it. Mostly due to cost & size issues.

 

Quality and ease of handling seemed about equal between the two. Though obviously their "handling" pluses & minuses came in different areas.

[dg1]

They're both "prosumer" cameras aren't they? Whatever that means. Curious why you don't check out the Canon Pro1, Sony f828, Oly 8080 or KM A2. The KM A2 has unquestionably the best EVF available, higher resolution, mechanical zoom lens, and good ergonomics. In many ways I think the A2 would offer the best features of both the D2 and G6.

[david_haynes]

I own both cameras.

 

Both are great in their own ways.

 

I'm at this moment in the middle of a five day advertising shoot in which we're

shooting environmental portraits of local businessmen in their places of business for

a bank's small business division.

 

I'm shooting the job with both my Digilux 2 and Canon DSLRs. The ads will be 8.5x11

or less and so megapixels are not an issue.

 

Because these are real people and not professional models, the D2 is great because

it's completely silent and tends to put people more at ease than to be peering at a

photographer zipping off exposures with a DSLR and big lens, lens shade, etc.

 

I'm using it with the 2.5-inch LCD as a viewfinder, shooting from a tripod. We're

shooting first with the Leica, then with the Canons to make sure all is covered. But

after the first shoot last week, the art director really liked the look of the Leica images

(I did too) over the Canon ones. Not that with PS massaging the Canon ones couldn't

look about as good.

 

But there's just something about that Summicron lens. It's a little Leica magic.

 

Would the G6 also be feasible to use? Sure, as far as straight resolution goes. But I

don't think I want to show up at a shoot and have the art director ask me why I'm

using grandma's camera.

 

Fact is, I've used the D2 on two or three other professional jobs and would gladly do

so again after this. If you haven't used this camera you just don't know what you're

missing. For me it's a useful professional tool and a lot of fun to use. It's zoom range

effectively covers 28mm summicron, 35mm summicron, 50mm Elmarit, 90mm

Elmarit. If you think in terms of Leica's pricing for those lenses, it's a bargain!

 

BTW, I am aware that the LC1 is the Leica's twin, but when I bought my D2 15 months

ago, they weren't available and the Leica was, so I got it. The first job I used it on it

paid for itself two times over. In my book, that's a good tool.

 

I got the G6 for its IR capability (neither my Canons DSLRs nor the D2 do well with IR)

and for its compactness and image quality.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either camera, but the Leica really does magical

things with people. And JPGs straight from the camera are by far the best I've ever

seen from any of the 14 digital cameras I've owned.<div></div>

[dg1]

Now there's the real "dog nose" effect!

[jtk]

David, thanks...great, meaningful response.

 

You used the D2 the way you might have used a Hassleblad for those shots, in another era: Not hand held, therefore no need for a real viewfinder.

 

Yes, the client would be happier knowing you weren't shooting grandma's camera...assuming her name wasn't Leni R.

 

Djon

[david_haynes]

John,

 

Funny you mentioned the "Blad; it's the only film camera I still regularly use. The

Leica's LCD has a setting that overlays a grid of tic-tack-toe-like/rule of thirds

pattern which I find very helpful in composing. In working this way, the AD can stand

behind the camera with me and give imput on the framing/cropping, then see the

result instantly. With the Hasselblad it's a minimum of 90 seconds for a color Polaroid.

But with the Leica, if one of the tests is really good, it could end up being used rather

than just another Polaroid in the wastebasket.

 

We shot the fourth of the five shots for the campaign today, in a corner market of the

owner standing in front of the butcher counter. The last one is tomorrow at an

optometrist office.

 

Yesterday I gave the art director a CD-R with all the JPGs so far from the shoot. We

shot three last week. Of course I'm shooting RAW + JPG, but the AD won't need the

converted RAW images til he makes selects for final production.

 

Anyway, today he said not to even get the Canons out, he prefers the Leica images.

They do have a "different" look, which I attribute to the lens mostly.

 

The store owner had recently replaced all the lighting with daylight-balanced

florescent tubes and we didn't need any additional lighting for what we were doing. I

just did a custom white balance and they looked just beautiful. If necessary, of course,

the white balance can be tweaked more when the RAW conversions are made for final

production.

 

I think the AD likes the Leica shots because they are different than what he's been

getting from other photographers shooting Canons and Nikons. Gives his work a

slightly different "look."

 

The only downside with using the Leica is its slow RAW write times - 6 seconds

between shots with the fastest cards. But for this particular project that really hasn't

been an issue and I'm averaging shooting about 60 images with variations of cropping

and angles for each shoot - about a GB for each one. After all, he really only needs

one image and for the size they'll ultimately be used the JPG would probably suffice,

but it's good to have the RAW for peace of mind.