felipeordoez
New member
Here we are in 2009 and I am posting a review of a camera that has been around
for more than 5 years. Why do I bother? Well, in the blizzard of new cameras that
hit the market every month, with ever-increasing pixel count, 4007 focus points, all-
singing, all-dancing in-camera features, I keep coming back to my Digilux 2 -- I also
have a Nikon D200. Not only does it provide an aesthetically pleasing photograph
taking experience, because of its analogue control features -- shutter, aperture,
zoom and focus -- but because it simply takes photographs of quite remarkable
quality. Colour rendition, image clarity and sharpness, contrast and JPEG output
are all extraordinary, regardless of the camera's age: it can hold its own against just
about any non-DSLR camera on the market today. Build quality is outstanding.
The two-position flash is great: built-in bounce flash! Best of all, however, is the
Summicron lens, f2 and a very useful focal length range, much better than today's
D-Lux 4/Panasonic LX3. There is also, uniquely I believe, a "Superfine" JPEG
quality setting, which I use all the time now. The bottom line is that although this
camera's sensor has "only" 5Mp, it produces images that would do credit to a top-
of-the-line 10Mp camera. Moreover, subject to one caveat (below), it is just a joy
to use. My D200 is my first choice only where I need to shoot super-wide or long
telephoto, but there's a huge penalty to be paid to do that in terms of weight and
bulk. Otherwise, it's the Leica.
Problems:
The electronic viewfinder takes getting used to. ISO range is limited, but the f2 lens
makes up for the limited top-end settings.
for more than 5 years. Why do I bother? Well, in the blizzard of new cameras that
hit the market every month, with ever-increasing pixel count, 4007 focus points, all-
singing, all-dancing in-camera features, I keep coming back to my Digilux 2 -- I also
have a Nikon D200. Not only does it provide an aesthetically pleasing photograph
taking experience, because of its analogue control features -- shutter, aperture,
zoom and focus -- but because it simply takes photographs of quite remarkable
quality. Colour rendition, image clarity and sharpness, contrast and JPEG output
are all extraordinary, regardless of the camera's age: it can hold its own against just
about any non-DSLR camera on the market today. Build quality is outstanding.
The two-position flash is great: built-in bounce flash! Best of all, however, is the
Summicron lens, f2 and a very useful focal length range, much better than today's
D-Lux 4/Panasonic LX3. There is also, uniquely I believe, a "Superfine" JPEG
quality setting, which I use all the time now. The bottom line is that although this
camera's sensor has "only" 5Mp, it produces images that would do credit to a top-
of-the-line 10Mp camera. Moreover, subject to one caveat (below), it is just a joy
to use. My D200 is my first choice only where I need to shoot super-wide or long
telephoto, but there's a huge penalty to be paid to do that in terms of weight and
bulk. Otherwise, it's the Leica.
Problems:
The electronic viewfinder takes getting used to. ISO range is limited, but the f2 lens
makes up for the limited top-end settings.