I tired of carrying my DSLR and associated lenses, etc and decided to go to a Point and Shoot (P&S) camera. I had read a great deal and having owned a Nikon D-60 DSLR for a period of time, was concerned primarily with picture quality in going from a DSLR with large sensor to a P&S with much smaller sensor. For 3 solid months, give or take, I diligently, researched all P&S cameras as well as "mirrorless cameras" currently on the market. I went to 'handle' the cameras I was interested in (see below) and to Flickr on the internet and queried some groups regarding the cameras I was considering. I am a hobbyist when it comes to photography but, I was obsessed with getting as close to the superior photo quality of a DSLR as possible in a P&S. I finally decided on the Leica due to (what I believe to be) superior photo quality and excellent in-camera jpeg processing. I looked at the Nikon P7000...mixed but generally lower reviews within this group (I have owned a number of/and greatly respect Nikons); Panasonic LX5...which many say to be the same as the Leica (with the exception of jpeg processing); Canon G-12...which seemed ok with the exception of handling RAW production and the Canon S95...not as good in the lens department and photo processing. Both the Leica and Panasonic have a larger sensor than the rest of this group. Granted, I could have purchased any of these really good cameras, at a much lower price; but, I found the color and overall photo quality of the D Lux 5 to be best of the group I researched. I have never owned a Leica before and I while I expected it I am still shocked at the sticker price and cost of accessories. I'll not debate the pros and cons of the Panasonic LX5 versus the Leica, there is enough information in that regard published by professionals and labs, all over the internet. The warranty and the inclusion of Lightroom 3 were nice additions, to help soothe the price pain. A word about the warranty, depending on what you read the warranty goes anywhere from 2 years (what was in my box warranty) and some (see Steve Huff's excellent analysis) say 3 years. I'll admit the whole warranty process was/is confusing. I bought my camera from B&H Photo in New York and was confused when the salesman said that there was no warranty with the Leica during checkout and that I should buy an additional warranty for 2 years. Everything I had read previous to my purchase, said Leica provided a 2 year warranty and so I passed on the B&H offer, hope I am right. I am very happy with this camera. It is easy to operate, provides excellent stabilization, in-camera menus are outstanding, shoots in RAW format and is easy to carry/handle. Leica accessories are expensive though. Many of the items that fit the LX5; also, fit the Leica. The viewfinder, although with mixed reviews, is a must if you shoot in bright daylight or snowy environs. The Panasonic viewfinder is around $200.00 less than the Leica brand and supposedly fits/works the same on the D Lux 5...we'll see. My decision to buy the Leica boiled down to quality of build/pictures and reputation. Good sites to go to: stevehuffphoto.com; DPReview; CNET; bhphotovideo.com; snapshot.com; youtube and if you want to look at actual photos, taken by everyday users of the Leica D Lux 5, see the Leica groups on Flicr. Hope this helps. Leica 18151 D-Lux 5 Digital Camera
My first Leica that is affordable. I was going back and forth between this and the Panasonic LX5 as they are essentially the same camera as I've read. I wanted something for travel and as a backup to my Canon dSLR. This is smaller than I expected which is actually great because I can fit it in my pocket!
As for price, if you think about it, the copy of Adobe Lightroom and the 3 year warranty basically means it costs about the "same" as the LX5 if not getting a better deal IMO. Yeah, I like the red dot too...and the build is really solid for this camera..and a beautiful one at that. The menu is pretty intuitive. The manual isn't all that informative.
Picture quality looks great, I like the different formats..I can take square pics or wide angle..
The special effects aren't as robust as the Olympus Pen, but I use graphic editing programs anyway....gets a little noisy above 1600 but again, I have noise reduction software..but for its size and convenience and the fast 2.0 lens, available light photography is great. I use this mainly as my street photography/photojournalism cam.
I would've given it 5 stars if it had a viewfinder...I really wish these companies producing these compact cameras, 4/3 cameras and the like would have a built in viewfinder..it only makes sense. Also, don't get the Dlux4 battery for this, it won't fit. I have to wait about a month before they release the ones for Dlux5 and exchange the Dlux4 battery.
But I'm happy so far and hopefully I'll be able to update to the M series someday.
I'm very happy with this camera.
The only up side to having my D-Lux 3 stolen this past summer was that the D-Lux 5 was soon to be released. I use a camera for my work - which is mostly point-and-shoot locations stuff - but I also want the ability to take beautiful pictures when I have the time.
This camera gives me what I need.
I love the simplified menu, the rear dial, the hot shoe for my viewfinder and flash, but most of all I love the quality of the pictures I can get whether it's a quick snap-shot or a nicely composed portrait.
It's not a pro camera but it's a great camera for someone (like me) who carries a camera with them at all times looking for that great image.
Warranty is great and Light Room is a nice addition. As for concerns over the price difference between this and the Panasonic version c'mon, you spend that much for premium cable every month.
I purchased this camera a few weeks ago to try it out after hearing much about it. Quite frankly I'm not sure what the hoopla is all about -- other than it has a red dot on it. First of all I AM a photogapher. I shoot with a Nikon D700, d300, a bevy of Nikon glass, as well as medium format Mamiya film and digital. So yes, I do know what I'm talking about and this is not a casual review.
The Leica is an incredible piece of metal. I love the heft, and the feel of it. The lens is superb at F2.0. Love it. I LOVED the 1:1 ratio which gave me square images -- one of the reasons I still shoot 2/14 film on occasion. The video option was also awesome. I shot several movies in B&W which was so neat and also in the 1:1 ratio I loved it. They were crystal clear in HD.
My problem, and this could only be my problem, not yours was the image quality. I shot a total of 263 images with the little gem and was extremely disappointed in the image quality. I shot mostly at ISO 80 which is the lowest; I also chose an aperture between the F2, and F4.5 or 5.6 depending on the light. I used a tripod for many of the shots but I just couldn't get over the smudging of the noise reduction. Oh, I shot in both jpeg and raw format, which is how I shoot my D700, and D300 100% of the time.
Anyway I shot and I shot away. I had several designers I work with look at prints I made (11 x 14) and at 13 x 19 and they noticed the noise and/or the smudging. Since I shoot for stock, working with several on line sites, as well as "real" agencies I submitted a batch of images to them all. Each and every image was rejected from three online sites, and my agents due to "overall lack of focus and detail due to excessive noise reduction" (which smudged the images). Even when viewing them on screen in Lightroom at 100% they were awful. I did submit the out of camera jpegs, as well as jpegs that I processed from the raw files in LR3. Neither was accepted by anyone. Since that is pretty much my bread and butter I decided to return the camera. At $799.00 it's way overpriced (IMHO) as a piece of equipment that I can carry wherever for "the shot" when I don't have my dSLR's with me. I believe the Panasonc Lumix, which is essentially the same camera without the red dot, is $300.00 less. Even at the Panasonic's $399 or $499 price point it's still way overpriced due to the lack of resolution/sharpness even at the lowest ISO of 80. I don't get it. I played with every option in the menu's trying to get it to shoot correctly; shot the highest quality jpegs, and simultaneous raw file to no avail. At this point I'm 99.9% certain it wasn't me causing this.
If I were an amateur, and just wanted to capture atypical "I was here" shots, and videos I might be tempted. It is a gorgeous camera. But my being so nit picky about noise, grain, and image quality I just could not bring myself to keep this camera.
On a side note Amazon and J&R Music World were fabulous to deal with. Shipping was fast, return processing was fast as well and I was given my full credit as of last night. - Compact Camera - Wide Angle - Digital Camera - Photography'
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