Leica D-LUX 3 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) | 
| Brand: Leica
This item is no longer available
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 15789
Color: Silver
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Optical Zoom: 4
Display Size: 2.8
Maximum Focal Length: 25.2
Minimum Focal Length: 6.3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 4.2 x 2.3 x 1
MPN: 18308
Model: 18308
UPC: 411378015525
EAN: 0799429183080
ASIN: B000J6FTVA
Release Date: November 1, 2006
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| Features:
| • | 10-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 18 x 24-inch prints | | • | Unique manual setting options give you the freedom to create images that express your own style | | • | High-quality Leica lens takes in stunning shots from the wide-angle to the telephoto range | | • | O.I.S. optical stabilization technology and ultra fast processing | | • | Pure, discreet, timeless design in a housing of high-quality aluminum |
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Product Description
Every picture taken with the LEICA D-LUX 3 has a story to tell. The unique manual setting options give you the freedom to create images that express your own style. Use the high-quality Leica lens to take stunning shots from the wide-angle to the telephoto range. With O.I.S. optical stabilization technology and ultra fast processing, the LEICA D-LUX 3 sets new standards in its class. Choose between 3 picture formats, achieve first-class image quality with the camera's 10 megapixel sensor and assess your shots on the wide-screen display. Small and elegant, the LEICA D-LUX 3 is always ready to make your personal view of the world reality. The design of the D-Lux 3 is totally in keeping with Leica tradition: pure, discreet, timeless - in a housing of high-quality aluminum. The D-Lux 3 is so light, compact and unobtrusive that there's no reason why you should leave it at home. Small as it is, it's a great performer: three file formats - from simple JPEG to the RAW format rarely offered in this class of camera - ensure optimum image quality for further processing as well. The image stabilizer (O.I.S.) leads to sharply focused images even in situations where there's not really enough natural light. The camera is also perfect for digiscoping - taking photographs through a spotting scope - to capture the fascination of nature at close range. The D-Lux 3 still gives the photographer the freedom to create his own view of the world without any automatic settings. The 16:9 picture format with the full resolution of over 10 megapixels produces fantastic images for frame-filling viewing on HDTV equipment. The brilliant 2.8" display also has an aspect ratio of 16:9.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Worthy Successor to Leica's D-LUX 2 November 11, 2006
John Kwok (New York, NY USA)
53 out of 57 found this review helpful
The brand new Leica D-Lux 3 is a stylish update of the popular Leica D-Lux 2 which was available in limited release late last year. It carries on the now grand tradition of Leica digital point and shoot cameras with improved optical image stabilizing and enhanced Leica-designed firmware for ultimate image quality. I had the chance to use this camera briefly twice recently, and was extremely impressed with both its easy handling and superior image quality. Like its predecessor it offers three different types of image formats. But, best of all, you don't need to rely on the camera manual to pick it up and use it immediately (EDITORIAL NOTE: I had the opportunity to use the camera from 11/20/06-11/30/06 primarily to photograph some of the most impressive Christmas store displays here in New York, NY, and to photograph fellow Brunonian - and former classmate - author Rick Moody at a private reception held in his honor prior to a public event featuring him at the venerable 92nd Street Y. I'm greatly impressed with both the image quality and the realistic color saturation of the images I took using the least amount of .jpeg compression at a maximum pixel size of 8.5 Mb. I am grateful to Leica Camera USA for allowing me to borrow a current production version of this camera.). Although the Leica D-Lux 3 is available in a superb black finish, I am more than a bit partial to chrome, since the chrome version reminds me more of such classic Leica M-mount 35mm rangefinder cameras like the M3 and M4.
The Leica D-Lux 3 has approximately the same dimensions and features as its illustrious predecessor (Dimensions (WxHxD) - 4.2 x 2.3 x 1 inches (105.7 x 58.3 x 25.6mm) Weight - 6.5oz / 7.8oz (185g/220g) (without/with battery, memory card and lens cap)). But it is replete with an extensive list of features that weren't available in the D-Lux 2. For example, I believe there is more opportunity for creative manual control via its manual control features. There is also ample flexibility in available apertures for different kinds of photography from wide angle to telephoto (Aperture - F2.8-F8.0 (wide angle) F4.9-F8.0 (telephoto)). There is also a flexible array of flash options ranging from red eye reduction to second curtain synchronization modes. And then there is a flexible in image format modes. There is a video recording mode in which you can choose between 16:9 and 4:3 formats: - In 16 - 9 format a choice between 1280 x 720 pixels 15 fps or 848 x 480 pixels 30 fps/ 10 fps; in 4 - 3 format a choice between 640 x 480 pixels 30 fps/10 fps or 320 x 240 pixels 30 fps/10 fps. Your only limitation is the storage capacity of the SD card you use. Images can be stored in the following file formats: Still - RAW, JPEG (Fine/Standard), Movie - QuickTime Motion JPEG. Last, but not least, you can dictate the type of digital photography being done and let the camera handle the rest via these scene programs: Portraits, sport, night scenes, night portraits, fireworks, parties, snow, self-portraits, food, high-sensitivity mode, Baby 1, Baby 2, soft skin, candlelight, starry skies, landscapes, print . Quite simply this camera offers so much at a relatively reasonable price for a digital Leica - or indeed any other digital - camera in this class.
Met all my criteria November 20, 2006
aabgoosht (New York)
35 out of 39 found this review helpful
I had three criteria for a camera and the D-Lux 3 fulfilled them all. My criteria was 1. to have a digital camera capable of producing high quality images (The D-Lux 3 has 10 mega pixels and a great lense). 2. to economize on size -basically needed the camera to be small ( no use having a fantastic quality camera sitting somewhere at home because it's too big and I didn't feel like carrying it) and finally 3. I wanted full manual settings. No matter how many modes the camera has, it will never be able to do everything you want, unless you have full manual control, and besides if you, like me, want to wean yourself off the fully automated but ultimately limited Point and Shoots, and move toward creating artistic shots, then you will need full manual settings. The D-Lux 3 has given me everything I needed. Already I am getting more comfortable estimating what a particular lighting will need in terms of aperture and shutter speed. I can take great night shots without a flash. The D-Lux 3 has a 60 second shutter speed! Try getting that on any other P&S! It has a 16:9 aspect ratio on the lens that allows for a very wide Panaramic style image that looks great! With the research I did I couldn't find a single other camera apart from Leica that offered all the above.
Leica got it right November 5, 2006
Jeffrey A. Lindh (Boulder, CO USA)
27 out of 29 found this review helpful
I have to say I've only had the camera for several days so far, but it's all that I expected from Leica. You perhaps pay a bit more for the name, but it's in the details where it succeeds. The screen is beautiful, with the font large and so easy to read. The menu is simple to navigate and the three picture format sizes is perfect, well beyond any other camera for the price. About the only thing that would have been a nice addition would have been a simple case for it since the screen is large and probably easily scratched through normal use. The delay normally experienced with digital cameras when taking a photo is still true with this camera, but is minimal compared to competitive brands.
The Leica D-Lux 3 May 16, 2007
zigzagzilla (San Francisco, CA United States)
23 out of 23 found this review helpful
I recently purchased this item at a brick and mortar store--immediate gratification at the same price. The camera is a beautifully minimalist housing for the high-quality lens, which made opting to pay the extra one to two hundred dollars over the higher-end WorstLie (BestBuy) offerings a no-brainer. I have been pleased with the ease of use--at present I have only used the manual settings in a limited way, but the auto-focus auto-exposure systems work very well, and the ability to set the aspect ratios is proving to work out very well for the various uses, creative and/or practical that I put this camera through.
The downsides are the high cost of peripheral items. The camera does not include a power cable, and the USB does not power the apparatus. Batteries are expensive to replace, and a case runs from $90 to upwards of $300--when in stock at all.
This is certainly a good choice for the upper-end consumer-level material, but the lack of US marketing focus, makes Leica a brand to be pursued, rather than simply "opted-for."
 Very nice, but not perfect. July 17, 2007
Diavolino
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
I purchased a silver one a few weeks ago, and have taken it to a few trips and events and now have the following comments:
1) It is very small and light. This thing really is a point-and-shoot. The good news is that it's more portable than I expected, though one should not purchase this camera expecting it to feel hefty like an M3.
2) It's very pretty, and the fit and finish are of a high standard.
3) The lens is a thing of beauty to behold in all its multi-coated splendor (if you're into that sort of thing). The lens cap feels cheap.
4) Images taken in the near macro to about 30 ft. range are very sharp, clear, contrasty, and beautiful. They are so good, in fact, that you could easily convince someone that they were taken with a hefty SLR system camera rather than a pocket-sized one.
5) Long shots (landscapes, etc.), seem a little bit soft, and this disappointed me a bit, though when I compared it to my Nikon Coolpix S2, it was actually sharper. I will need to perform more tests at infinity focus.
6) The flash is not very powerful and does not have much "reach." This is problematic indoors if your subject is more than 8-10 feet away.
7) The display is gorgeous, and puts my other camera's display to shame.
8) The manual controls are good, and there really is an astonishing degree of manual control for a pocket-sized machine.
9) The lens is a bit soft when wide open, and while this could be nice for portraits and such, if you want to sharpen things up you can use aperture priority and a tripod, and then they're beautiful.
10) One of the strengths of this camera is its large glass and fairly fast lens (for this camera class), and its ability to capture really nice images indoors in available light, though you need a steady subject and either tripod or to rest it on a solid surface to get the most out of it.
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