Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/03/02
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]My local dealer got a Digilux2 for a customer yesterday and I had the chance to handle it while he was there to pick it up. I was surprised at the size, it is about 30% thicker (deeper) than an M camera, and sized between a CL and an M but closer to an M (we had both for comparison in the store). It's also *heavy* for a non-DSLR, the heaviest P&S digicam I've ever held. Finish is really nice pseudo-Leica, much nicer than the Miniluxes. The lens (according to the store owner, I forgot to verify this, sounds fishy) takes a 69mm filter???? The electronic viewfinder is not as bad as ones I've seen in the past (Minolta Dimage 7Hi, Nikon 5700) but it ain't no rangefinder. The zigzag built-in flash has great features but a complicated deployment that could be troublesome, time will tell. The manual-camera-type interface is a welcome relief from the multiple pushbuttons, dials and LCD menus which must be memorized in order to work other digicam P&S's. The coverage of the lens is really a perfect range for the type of general snapshooting, travel-documentation, etc photography this camera will probably be used for by 90% of its (most likely very small # of) buyers and the extensive depth of field at even the "equivalent" 90mm end (actually 22.7mm) might be useful for that kind of shooting. But if you like to emphasize a subject against an OOF background, forget it, it's impossible (well maybe there's a way to cheat and do it in Photoshop, I wouldn't know). Will I buy one: in a word, no. It's $350 more than a Canon 10D, which I *can* use selective DOF and a whole host of interchangeable lenses and which has a much larger chip. At 5MP with a postage-stamp sized chip the Digilux 2 is already way behind the curve, as the latest digicam P&S's which cost a lot less are coming in at 8MP. And with the Epson-Bessa M-mount digicam in the offing, and a real Leica M digital confirmed, I will wait. The Digilux 2 looks and feels very nice, if it were under $1000 I'd probably buy one, but not for $1850, no way. - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html