Evaluation:  
Conclusion: Get the Panasonic equivalent instead
Review: The only thing that satisfies me on this purchase is the Leica dot... that I can say that Ive owned a Leica for once in my life.
Otherwise, the picture quality is not worth the price (I bought mine Hong Kong two months ago for, equivalent to 780 USD). Try to tinker with white balance, try shade for example, and even with ample light, shots will exhibit noise and aberration. A simple sun reflecting on a calm beach, this camera will meter wrongly.
Buy the Panasonic equivalent instead. It still has a 'Leica' label around the lens!
Then spend the differemce on say the Olympus shockproof/waterproof for your snorkeling/scuba trips. I discovered just two weeks ago that Olympus has this model. I could have gone with this combination if I knew that Olympus has this early on.
Ah that red dot is expensive.
Evaluation:
Conclusion: Highest Rating In Market Niche
Review: ...the leica d-lux 3 is probably the best current camera for its intended market niche...as an extremely portable/travel/back-up digital camera for your primary digital and/or film camera...
...high points: the lens is typical leica (camera purist will understand what this means)...16:9 aspect pictures...wide viewing screen...full manual controls...anti-shake stablizer...28mm - 105mm vario elmarit (2.8 - 4.9)...low-light photography potential...
...no, the d-lux 3 will not out-perform a canon d5 or nikon d200, or for that matter, a leica digi2 or digi3...but then again, it was never intended to as a $600 pocket digital...
...but then again, the d-lux 3 has created a photographic genra in its own right...the use of grain as an artistic counter-part to the use of shallow depths of field...
...an outstanding little digital camera that now travels with me everywhere...
Evaluation:
Conclusion: Best in-pocket-always-with-me-camera-yet
Review: The D-lux 3 is a major step for compact cameras. the wide angle alone is worth the price of admission, and the 16:9 format (selectable) is outstanding. It is small enough to keep with me at all times and quick and easy enough to use.
I always shoot RAW which allows amazing flexibility after the shoot. Like all compact cameras I've owned before, getting a stable shot is tricky - my digital SLR I can pull out and snap and generally get a sharp shot. Rarely so with a compact. I have to take more care to steady the camera to make sure, and take a few shots to make sure I get what I want. Small price to pay, a little caution and extra shooting and I always get what I want.
Video is better than most cameras, if you want true HD or zooming while shooting, by a camcorder. If you get hung up by the lack of live shooting zoom, well, zooms are annoying in home and professional videos anyway, teach yourself to avoid it, it helps!
This is the best compact camera I've ever owned. I shot 4000 pictures on it for a timelapse sequence just before christmas - in one day - and loved the results. I have shot another 4000 in full size raw mode and have a number of professionally used images that paid for the camera.
It is a seriously excellent compact camera.
Evaluation:
Conclusion: Everything it's cracked up to be!
Review: After taking a few trips overseas with my wonderfull Nikon D200 10.2 MP digital SLR, I beagan to feel the weight (and bulk), to say the least. Still, the capabilities I could enjoy with this cam and its 18-200mm zoon lens were just too good to give up in favor of a pocket-size. Nonetheless, I started researching like crazy and finally wound up somewhere between the Panasonic and this Leica, which is modelled on the Panasonic (yes, not the other way around). In the end, I couldn't resist the idea of owning a genuine German Leica for just under $600! After having it for a few weeks, I have some simply spectacular pics in the 16:9 format at the full 10 MP. It really helps to take some just awsome images (and I am not in the obnoxious habit of overusing the word "awsome", BTW). The camera's heft and feel is one of sheer quality, as is the look, and use of it is simple, fun, and gives an amateur like me both a killer backup cam to the D200 AND a stand-alone that I can take pretty much around the word knowing I will miss very little and carry even less. It has literally contributed to making me happy in a way that few possesions ever have. But then, that's because I love to take pictures so much. This baby is everything it's cracked up to be, and more!
Evaluation:
Conclusion: Not a good cam at all.
Review: Not as I expected for a name like Leica's. the cam is expensive for nothing important. When you use the video recording, you can not change the zoom at all. The only advantage I noticed in this cam is the ability to take wide pictures. But still, this is not worth 600$. Besides, the cam is big. Compared to Canon cams, half the price for almost all the capabilities.
My advice: Do not buy, get a Canon for 200$. In that case if you want to get another cam after 2 years, you wont feel bad for the money you paid.
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