In Part 1 of this
rolling review I reported some
negative impressions of my early experience with the D-Lux 8. Fortunately none
of these is a deal breaker.
I can now move on to report some more positive impressions
of the camera after three weeks and several thousand exposures in a variety of
challenging conditions.
First and perhaps most important is that the DL8 is well
suited to spontaneous, quick shot, close-in documentary and lifestyle
recording.
The combination of small size, wide aperture zoom lens, fast
focus and good low light image quality make this possible.
Of course there are plenty of cameras which can match the
DL8 for image quality, zoom lens and
fast focus but they are all larger and will attract more attention from
people in a crowd.
In no particular order, here in brief summary are some features
of the DL8 which appeal to me.
The EVF is big, bright and sharp. It is much better than the
EVF in the DL7. It also offers a nice level gauge which is always easy to see
as it runs right across the screen.
The sensor delivers better results than its specification might lead us to expect. I will discuss this in detail later but for now I just note that overall picture quality coming off the DL8 is very nice and in some conditions competitive with current model full frame cameras.
High ISO noise levels
are lower than I expected from a 4/3 type sensor leading me to wonder if Leica
is applying noise reduction to Raw files. Whatever they are doing the results
are very nice, with very good sharpness, dynamic range and color management.
I have been very well pleased by the extent to which I can
recover highlight and shadow detail in Adobe Camera Raw from files made in
conditions with a very high brightness range. This is often encountered in
Sydney where bright, cloudless, clear sunny days are often encountered. In
urban environments this produces very bright highlights adjacent to very dark
shadows. The DL8 manages this rather well.
Ever since the original Pana Lumix LX100 in 2014 the unique
selling proposition of this camera line has been the lens. I will have a lot to
say about this in a later post but for now I will just observe that the lens is
the heart of the DL8 around which all else is assembled. It is not perfect but
is good at all focal lengths and apertures and is the key feature of the DL8
which enables it to deliver results which compete in some situations with much
larger full frame cameras.
In particular the DL8 has very good low light capability.
This is because the lens is serviceable at f1.7 at the wide end (24mm full
frame equivalent) and f2.8 at the long end (75mm FFE). This allows the camera
to use a low ISO sensitivity setting even in low light with consequently low
noise levels.
Although the DL8 uses old style contrast detect autofocus,
it usually, but not always, operates quickly
and reliably in single shot mode. This is important because I often use the
camera quick-shot style with only a
second or two between seeing and making the photo.
I have already referred to some aspects of handling, ergonomics and the user experience and will have more to say about this later. Suffice to say here that the arrangement and operation of the controls on the DL8 is different from that found on the LX100 and DL7 and different from the usual setup we find on a current model mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. The DL8 provides a serviceable user experience but someone coming from a typical interchangeable lens camera will need to re-set their operational expectations and finger memory to become comfortable with the DL8.
Color management in auto white balance is very good even
inside buildings and facilities with mixed artificial light which can be a
challenge for some cameras.
The monitor screen although fixed is bright and clear and
can be viewed from an angle of 45 degrees or more so I can hold the camera
above my head and still have a
serviceable preview of the shot provided the reflection of the sun or bright
clouds is not directly into my eyes.
The DL8 continues the Pana Lumix/Leica D-Lux tradition of
having a multi-aspect ratio facility in camera. I appreciate this and use it
frequently. The only grumble I have is that the options which are 3:2, 16:9,
1:1, 4:3 are marked on the slider switch in the order given here. This makes no sense
to me. I wish they would delete the 1:1 option which is just a crop anyway and
list the others in the order 4:3, 3:2, 16:9. I could then switch from one to
another without having to look at the slider switch. As it stands I have to
stop making photos for several seconds to peer at the little numerals on the
slider and check that I have got the aspect ratio I want.
In general I find the controls on the DL8 easy to understand and operate. There are enough of them to allow an expert user to take control of the primary and secondary exposure, focus and zoom parameters. The process of doing so is logical and easy enough to live with given this camera’s intended purpose which is single shot photos of reasonably static subjects. Within that envelope it all works just fine.
Setting up the menus on the DL8 is easier than is the case
on many other modern cameras, largely because the DL8 has fewer menu items than
most others. On receiving the camera I was able to set up the menus in a few
minutes without reading the commendably concise owners manual.
There is no [My Menu] but when we press the Menu button the
first screen presents us with a summary of the main camera settings which can
be adjusted from this screen. It all
works OK once we become accustomed to the Leica way of doing things.
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