D-Lux3 - A real Leica?

Please don't get me wrong - the D-Lux3 looks like a great camera.

I've just sold all my DSLR gear as I simply didn't enjoy lugging it all around, and am looking for the best compact I can afford.

My choice appeared to be the Canon G9 - but my local dealer (who I have bought previous cameras from) while recommending the G9 also suggested the D-Lux3.

I'm certainly quite taken by it's looks, and of course the Leica name, but when I asked the question "Is it really a Leica or just a rebadged Panasonic?" he wasn't able to give an honest answer.

I know the Panasonic LX2 is essentially the same camera, at a lower price (though, in my opinion, it doesn't look as good), but does the D-Lux3 do/have anything that the Panasonic doesn't?

Again, please don't misunderstand me, I'm not here to cause any kind of argument (and I don't really want to compare the G9 to the D-Lux3 unless anyone has experience they can share), I just want to know if the D-Lux3 is considered by Leica purists as a real Leica, or whether it's a compromise.

I really do like the idea of owning a Leica, but if it's only the badge then I'm not sure I'm prepared to pay the premium.

Thanks
Phil
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Question Everything.

The lens is incredibly sharp and if you know how to unleash the potential this is a wonderful camera. I have had mine since November and have enjoyed shooting with it every day.

I love my D-Lux3 and wouldn't trade it for any other small sensor camera on the market.

PhilMarshall said:

Please don't get me wrong - the D-Lux3 looks like a great camera.

I've just sold all my DSLR gear as I simply didn't enjoy lugging it
all around, and am looking for the best compact I can afford.
My choice appeared to be the Canon G9 - but my local dealer (who I
have bought previous cameras from) while recommending the G9 also
suggested the D-Lux3.

I'm certainly quite taken by it's looks, and of course the Leica
name, but when I asked the question "Is it really a Leica or just a
rebadged Panasonic?" he wasn't able to give an honest answer.

Click to expand...

It's just a rebadged panasonic with some additional changes to software in camera and slightly different content in package.

PhilMarshall said:

I know the Panasonic LX2 is essentially the same camera, at a lower
price (though, in my opinion, it doesn't look as good), but does the
D-Lux3 do/have anything that the Panasonic doesn't?

Click to expand...

Nope. Except for the Leica badge and the nicer appearence.

PhilMarshall said:

Again, please don't misunderstand me, I'm not here to cause any kind
of argument (and I don't really want to compare the G9 to the D-Lux3
unless anyone has experience they can share), I just want to know if
the D-Lux3 is considered by Leica purists as a real Leica, or whether
it's a compromise.

I really do like the idea of owning a Leica, but if it's only the
badge then I'm not sure I'm prepared to pay the premium.

Click to expand...

But the Leica badge will make you happy. I don't know why it happens, but it does. And that might be worth a hundred bucks or so

PhilMarshall said:

Thanks
Phil
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Question Everything.

Click to expand...

--
Anders

'It is nice to be important but it is more important to be nice'

It bears the Leica badge and contains a Leica lens (made to Leica specs by Panasonic) aside from that and the exterior esthetics, it is 99% Panasonic.

No, it is not a "real" Leica.. but the styling of the camera and the extended warranty was enough to lure me away from the Panasonic version... but if a couple hundred dollars is an issue, then go with the Panasonic. You can not tell the photos apart.

I bought the camera because the Panasonic version looked and felt a bit cheap to me. I liked the look and feel of the D-Lux 3 and paid for it. I have no regrets.
--
Jim Radcliffe
http://www.boxedlight.com/dlux3
http://www.image36.com
http://www.oceona.com

The ability to 'see' the shot is more important than the gear.

As a long-time Leica user, it took me a while to buy off of the idea of Panasonic "building" a Leica. However, after the process was explained to me by the Leica dealer that I've always dealt with for the last 15 years, I'm at peace with it all. What you're paying for with the Leica version is, as Jim said, a better warranty, better build and styling, better included software, and alas, the "red dot". But it does go beyond that. Per my dealer who relayed this to me from the Leica rep, the process goes like this...the lens, as we all know is made by Leica. But for the Leica version, the lens is shipped to Panasonic, assembled to the body, shipped back to Leica, and at that point there are firmware tweaks to the sharpness, noise reduction, and color settings that are not in the Panasonic version. This process applies to all the cameras that are badged as both Panasonic and Leica...V-Lux 1/FZ-50, Digilux 3/L1. So some of the price difference obviously comes from all the back and forth shipping costs with the Leica versions.

This isn't Leica's first sojourn into the "made in Japan" thing. Many zoom lenses in the past for the Leica R system were made in Japan by Minolta. Even now some of the R system lenses are still made in Japan by Kyocera.

So is it a real Leica? In my opinion, it is. There may not be a lot of major differences between the two, but enough for me to justify having not only the D-Lux 3 but the V-Lux 1 and the Digilux 3 as well. And my M6's still serve me well. So if the extra hundred or so isn't an issue, get the Leica and be happy. It sounds like that's really what you want anyway. Good luck with you decision.

PhilMarshall said:

I just want to know if
the D-Lux3 is considered by Leica purists as a real Leica, or whether
it's a compromise.

I really do like the idea of owning a Leica, but if it's only the
badge then I'm not sure I'm prepared to pay the premium.

Click to expand...

There are at least two ways of looking at this.

Leica built its reputation on quality without compromise whatever the cost. For traditionalists, the Leica brand means built by hand in Germany by highly skilled craftspeople to the highest achievable standards. It means a largely mechanical product of the highest quality. The M series of rangefinder cameras is what purists would think of as a real Leica.

I look at it differently because the whole notion of branding has changed. In a world of global manufacturing, branding is a marketing device which creates its own reality. Brand identity no longer derives from the manufacturing or even the design origins of the product. A product can be designed by one or more companies in one or more places and assembled in another using parts made elsewhere. Companies co-operate and partner each other in order to produce marketable brands. To call this process re-badging is an obsolete way of looking at it. It's not as simple as that any more. It's more realistic, I think, to see the products of this process as differently branded versions of what may be, under the skin, the same camera. Looked at in the light of how modern manufacturing and branding operates, the D-Lux 3 is no less a real Leica than the LX2 is a real Panasonic.

Which is not to say that I wouldn't like my D-Lux 3 even more if the casing had been hewn by hand from the living brass and every mechanical part skilfully engineered to the highest standards of German craft traditions. But I wouldn't pay the price - not for a small sensor digital camera.

If your choice comes down to D-Lux 3 or LX2, buy whichever brand you believe you will be more content to own and use.

I bought a D-Lux3 for a holiday so I could leave all my pro gear at home...I didn't regret it and have some nice 16x9's on my wall :0)

This was how I justified the difference of the Panasonic and Leica to myself

Think of it as Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, a chick-flick I know, but it fits this example.

She's a hooker, a hooker in tarty clothes, i.e. the panasonic....but when she's sitting at the bar in that expensive red dress and Richard Gere doesn't recognise her...good looking clothes and expensive dresses etc..she's the Leica

It doesn't change the fact that she's still a hooker/panasonic, but it makes me feel better that she's put a bit of effort into what she's wearing! :0) And lets face it, I'd rather be seen classy looking lady than a trashy woman or to put it another way Leica than a panasonic...I'd also have to look at the panasonic on the back of the LCD everytime I take a pic...but I'd rather read leica and see the red dot. :0D

It's the same camera, yes, but one that's put a bit of effort into her appearance - even though I'm paying for the £200 dress she's wearing!! :0)

So that was the way I thought about it...and having used the camera, just seeing the red dot on and reading leica revives memories of all the great photograhers who used one...and you don't get that with a panasonic :0P

--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-Always give the client a vertical-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
http://grahamsnook.wordpress.com/

Thank you all for your very reasoned replies - if nothing else it seems that folks over on this forum are less likely to jump on the "you're a troll" bandwagon as I've seen in other forums here...

I'm still undecided - the price difference in the UK is quite significant, but as you've said, that name could well be worth it...

Thanks again (and further comments welcomed).

Phil
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Question Everything.

Graham, I like the way you put it; very funny, and very true too! ;-))

But I think the main difference besides the red dot is the warranty with the excellent Leica support, and the software that is slightly different.

These are the main details that make Julia Roberts look so good in an expensive dress! )

Louis

--
'You know he heard the drums of war
Each man knows what he's looking for'
'Sean Flynn' by The Clash

It does not matter that it is not a "real" Leica or not. It is a tool. One I chose based on features and esthetics.

When I made the purchase the camera suited my needs, wants and desires, the little red dot was not part of my buying decision.

I was in a diner the other morning and took the camera out to take a few pictures and a woman at the next table said, "They're nice little cameras aren't they?"... as she pulled out her Panasonic version.
--
Jim Radcliffe
http://www.boxedlight.com/dlux3
http://www.image36.com
http://www.oceona.com

The ability to 'see' the shot is more important than the gear.

The Panasonic looks like it's wearing an ugly hair clip; the Leica is among the best-looking compact digital cameras. That's really what it comes down to, as the camera is unlikely to fail during warranty, and the Leica firmware can be closely approximated on the Panasonic by tweaking the settings.

I have an original model D-LUX, and I still love it. For a 3.5MP small-sensor point & shot, it works wonders. The D-LUX 3 is a much more technically-advanced machine, and I'd buy one in a minute if my D-LUX failed. I've obviously drunk the PanaLeica Kool-Aid, though, since I also own a Digilux 3 (plus the 25mm f1.4 lens) and bought a Digilux 2 for my best friend.

The PanaLeica cameras all provide an exceptional user experience--the Panasonic and/or Leica designers are very good at anticipating the user's needs and minimizing the menu-scrolling, computer-y aspect of digital photography.

So--just decide if losing the ugly hair clip is worth the Leica markup. Either way, you'll have a fine camera.

When I wander into the Leica forum, it is almost like going to a "salon" where all the elites hang out, but won't call the gathering a "party"

You guys are so smarmy and east coast elite dipwads LOL
What a farce

No ketchup on the table

Oh my

I wonder if any real photographers hang out in this forum any longer

Shame on your pretensions

--
Tom
Yorba Linda, California

You should be careful who you judge.

--
Jim Radcliffe
http://www.boxedlight.com/dlux3
http://www.image36.com
http://www.oceona.com

The ability to 'see' the shot is more important than the gear.

MJLogan said:

The Panasonic looks like it's wearing an ugly hair clip; the Leica is
among the best-looking compact digital cameras. That's really what it
comes down to, as the camera is unlikely to fail during warranty, and
the Leica firmware can be closely approximated on the Panasonic by
tweaking the settings.

I have an original model D-LUX, and I still love it. For a 3.5MP
small-sensor point & shot, it works wonders. The D-LUX 3 is a much
more technically-advanced machine, and I'd buy one in a minute if my
D-LUX failed. I've obviously drunk the PanaLeica Kool-Aid, though,
since I also own a Digilux 3 (plus the 25mm f1.4 lens) and bought a
Digilux 2 for my best friend.

The PanaLeica cameras all provide an exceptional user experience--the
Panasonic and/or Leica designers are very good at anticipating the
user's needs and minimizing the menu-scrolling, computer-y aspect of
digital photography.

So--just decide if losing the ugly hair clip is worth the Leica
markup. Either way, you'll have a fine camera.

Click to expand...

Do you prefer silver or black?

Why?

Thinking of adding a D-3 to my toolbox

Kind regards

Leica C-1 in silver owner.

Although the D lux 3 is a nice camera....it has some drawbacks ....Leica ...or panasonic ...has not addressed these at all to date.....

The G9 while not perfect... it is Canons answer to the G7 which also had some drawbacks....

At least Canon was listening and tried to address these with some timely key changes...

I do not see this happening with Leica yet....

and thus would not buy a D lux 3 at this time...

Cheers

Mine seems real enough.

In many ways, it is the new rangefinder. While the M8 is incredible, the D-Lux 3 in capable hands is small, agile and produces extraordinary results. The wide angle is fantastic.
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http://www.massengale.co.uk

Par70 said:

Although the D lux 3 is a nice camera....it has some drawbacks
....Leica ...or panasonic ...has not addressed these at all to
date.....

Click to expand...

The Rangefinder has some drawbacks too.

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http://www.massengale.co.uk

Then Tom, maybe you should not wander over here if it iffends you so much. I kind of feel the same way, I know my V lux is a rebadged Panny FZ50 but you know what, I like it. Don't ask me why but I do. If it isn;t for you, stay home and quit causing trouble. Nobody made you come here.
--
Robb
http://fmphoto.smugmug.com/




Why is it that the best picture you could ever take is always the image right before you press the shutter release?!?!?!
NPS Member
NAPP Member
WSSA Member #76

Leica says it's a Leica and guaranteed so to me in writing (my warranty). Designed by Panasonic, you bet, just as the Jaguar XK was designed by Ford. Welcome to the international world and decide for yourself whether the minimal price difference (and firmware) is worth it to you for the appreciative glances, comments, and outright envy you will be treated with that wouldn't be the case if it didn't have that red dot (and cool brown leather Leica case).

Whatever you call it, it's a great pocket tool when I can't get my Canon 1DM3 in that pocket.
--
No wolves, just Irish Wolfhounds around here.