Going back in time with the Leica Digilux 2 by Dro Grigorian

December 23, 2012 Daily Inspiration, essay, Guest Post, Just for fun, Leica, Leica Camera Reviews 18

Going back in time with the Leica Digilux 2 by Dro Grigorian

Leica-Digilux-2

Hey Steve, I appreciate all the work you have put into this site. I have found it to be one of the most inspirational photography websites out there. I recently took a trip to New York City. Being an Angelino, New York is quite different. No one drives and metro and subway systems dominate the city. I’m still trying to decide if I like New York or Los Angeles more….Anyway, I decided to take my Digilux 2 with me. I usually have my M8/M9 with my 50 cron, which I find to be my favorite combination till this day. The Digilux 2 is a very under-rated camera. Especially when it comes to B/W photography. It’s got great contrast and rich colors. The fixed Summicron on this camera is still one of my favorites. All these were taken as ISO 200.

I feel that this camera has very film-like characteristics. I recently showed the photos to a friend, and she asked what kind of film I shoot with. Interesting! Anyway, I will leave it up to you and readers of this site to decide whether this is the case. All of these are processed in NIK Silver Efex. No other post-processing was applied. I still haven’t decided if the film-like characteristics are due to the low ISO performance, where the grain looks quite exposed, or if it’s the contrast that the lens provides. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos and hope this reaches the daily inspiration. –Dro Grigorian

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18 Comments

  2. Great to see these images taken with a Digilux 2. I have a Digilux 1 and 2. I spent two years exploring the American West, in 2005 I bought the Digi2 and it has been awesome. I use similar M8 and M9’s my fav lens is the 24mm Summilux. Now I have seen these images I am going to get my Digilux 2 ready for use. I also use NIK SilverFX and love it. Thanks for a great posting.

  3. I like all of these photos. They show off the Digi 2’s nice dynamic range. That was a fine CCD sensor and a wonderful lens. The form factor of the Digi 2 was terrific, too.

    I have the later Digilux 3 that I pull out from time to time. CMOS sensor, 4/3, effective MP 7.5. Not as nice a form factor as the Digi 2, and the sensor, while decent at ISO400, doesn’t have the bite of the 2’s CCD. Still a fun camera. Terrific, though largish, Elmarit zoom. And it, and my other Oly lenses fit on micro 4/3 cameras with an adapter. So not a bad deal in the long run.

  5. The first one is a very nice image with a lot of atmosphere. The other ones are – sorry to say that – ordinary tourist snaps.

    • Hardly “tourist snaps”, at all. Perhaps the one with the bikes is a bit less interesting. But most of these show pretty good composition and eye. Oh, and p.s. – it was a discussion of a camera, rather than a submission of photos for jurying.

  6. I know someone who still works with the Panasonic version of this camera. It’s a camera from another area and unfortunately it shows. A huge amount of noise even at low ISO settings. It’s a nice camera, but technically rather limited and it doesn’t even come close to the ‘look’ or capabilities of a good black and white film. Fun for the occasional shot, but if you have the money, I suggest an upgrade to something newer. Even some compacts a better then this camera.

  9. Have been viewing on a realIy large screen and I think the tonal range is super in them all. They also show that 5MP is fine for this special b&w effect. But while the effect in number 1 is very atmospheric, I suspect the focal length was too short. To me the oversized hands are ugly and spoil the image. Sorry!

  10. I had the Panasonic version for many years. Loved that camera even though I always wished that the sensor was 10 mgpxls., and the shutter lag was nonexistent. The zoom range was perfect.

  11. Thank you for this. A great reminder of what a wonderful camera that D2 was/is. I had mine in hand from the spring in 2004 until late 2006, when the M8 arrived. I have not used it much since, but it was, and is, a truly delightful camera — and the first digital camera I ever felt was as fun to use as the old Olympus OMs and Pentaxes I grew up using.

  12. Digilux 2: the digital camera with the best zoom and analog controls. The XE-1 with zoom is its true successor.

    • Glad to read your comment. I’m tired of missing shots of the winning cars as they drive off the awards platform at the Pebble Beach Concours because the viewfinder image of my (Panasonic equivalent of the) Digilux 2 freezes while it takes sooo long to capture a shot from scratch. Missed some shots of the procession at my niece’s wedding, too. I like the XE-1 very well, as a replacement for my DL2 equiv, but am leery of its autofocus speed, too.

  13. Hi Dro,

    Great post, and I really enjoy the article. As a Digilux 2 user, I actually never shoot at ISO 200 due to the noise. After reading your post, will try BW at ISO 200 🙂

    Thanks a lot for your inspiration !!

  14. Hey Dro,

    The photos are simply amazing,,,, specially the first one!. although there is no sign of ”film effect” The B&W looks gorgeous.

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