Major Software/Interface Improvements, But Design Flaws
By Joel
Rated 3 out of 5
Date: 2025-06-03
I’ve
purchased the Leica D-lux series (5,6,7,8) for some time for its
superior optics and quality build for the point & shoot class.
But IMHO, Leica have become “Design Dummkopfs” for those of us
who believe function should drive design. But perhaps that it is too
much to hope for from a “luxury brand” selling surface glitz. For
my every day shooting walking the streets of the big city, I still
prefer my d-lux 6 over the 7 and the new 8, because I like the small
size factor of the d-lux 6 which fits easier into a pocket and is
less conspicuous than the 7 or 8. As a practical matter, I gave up
the larger SLR cameras, because I was constantly getting stopped by
the metro police for “suspicious behavior” when they saw the
larger camera (never mind people all around me were snapping with
their phones). Also easier to keep the d-lux 6 warm in pocket between shots when traveling to cold weather cities, where lithium ion battery of newer larger camera would stop functioning due to the cold and take too much time to warm up.
While
d-lux 8 is a good improvement from d-lux 7 in terms of interface and
software, it is end of the line for me with Leica unless they can
come up with a smaller pocket-size design like the d-lux 6. I visited
local Leica store, in hopes I might find an update for my C-lux,
which has 24-300 range plus a macro zoom function that I love. Nope, Leica has abandoned that model, as people like me owning multiple Leica cameras for different purposes is not part of their thinking. Also for the price, the least they could do for the d-lux 8 is have a non-glare screen, as it is impossible to see with the sun at your back, though I compensated by learning to point the camera and making good guesses about the composition. D-lux 7 had an automatic opening and closing metal lens cap, which fits perfectly on the d-lux 8 which comes with a regular plastic cap. The Leica rep said the regular cap is there because it allows you to add filters, which makes sense; and besides you can buy a plastic auto lens cap from third parties for a nominal cost if you are against paying $90 for the Leica logo on a plastic auto lens cap. Removing the front protective ring to put on the automatic lens cap was a struggle for me, but when my filter wrench failed a jar opener did the trick. I do recommend the 200+ page pdf download of the Leica manual, as you can print out the pages explaining the menu symbols, which in contrast to the Leica rep were not all obvious and intuitive to me. For the price, Leica the luxury brand could have been a bit less Spartan, and at least printed out a durable plastic “cheat card” with the menu symbols. If you do buy the camera, allow yourself 6 to 18 months to figure it all out.
Excellent Point and Shoot camera
By Bruce
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2025-05-06
Excellent Leica controls, lens and foto app. OK sensor with acceptable high quality photos. Very useful focal length and easy to carry size/weight. Affordable edc price. Better than Apple iphone fotos and small compact point and shoot camera options.