no info in viewfinder, bad CCD quality, operating time
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
I am a professional photographer and bought a Leica Digilux 1 in October 2002. Initially, I was pleased with the camera, it handled like a Leica M series film camera.
After a lot of tests in different lighting conditions, I came to the conclusion that the camera is not really suitable for the professional or serious amateur.
On the plus side, the Summicron lens is brilliant (although let down by the poor quality of the chip) and functions well.
The LCD screen is also large and easy to view and the cameras functions are easy to operate. It also works better at 'ISO' 100 - as the other settings produce more noise (which is a problem).
Unobtrusive and quick to use (the shutter actually fires when you press it without delay) it had the makings of a great camera, shame that Leica billed it as being almost useable for semi-pros or pros.
The SD memory cards are nice, as they are about the size of postage stamp and are fast on transfer to the computer.
Fact is that it does not produce very good quality colour (though works quite well at the 1600x1200 JPEG setting - which is what I and many others suspect that the CCD is, using badly-written in-camera firmware which interpolates the file to around 2000x1600 pixels).
However, depending on the light, this setting (1600x1200 pixels) can also produce a lot of noise - especially if you under-expose the picture.
It generally functions better for black and white photography, as you benefit from the unobtrusive design of the Leica M series. However, the file is small - about 5MB as a TIFF - and this is not really enough info for a fractal interpolation program to do a successful upsize.
If you do have to use the camera or have already purchased one, then the best thing to do if you need large files is to print the original digi file (after editing) at 300dpi at a proper lab (not on your Epson). This 'paper positive' can then be scanned high res on a good quality flatbed scanner. This way an image from the camera can be used at 70MB!
Naturally, this process is a bit complicated and denegates the benefits of buying a digital camera, but thought some may find it useful.
Aside from the poor-quality CCD, viewfinder information is restricted to two small LEDs near the eyepiece, this is confusing (as it is a bit like Morse Code!), this can make focusing tricky and an old-fashioned focus dial would be handy.
Which brings me to another problem with the Digilux 1, which is operating time. The camera generally runs out of juice very quickly when LCD screen is used. Using the viewfinder extends operating time, but is still poor, you'll need to recharge by lunchtime if you are out in the morning!
More details
Durability
Satisfactory
Reliability
Satisfactory
Size
Average
Weight
Light
Instruction Manual
Excellent
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