Amateur Photographer - UK (2021-01-16)

The Leica Digilux 2

Compared to a modern digital camera, the

Digilux 2 is not great. At 8.8x6.6mm, its

2/3-inch CCD sensor is a fraction of the size

of today’s equivalents, and it delivers a mere

5MP. It won’t accept SD cards above 2GB, the

LCD display is low-resolution and the

electronic view nder is pretty much useless

in bright light. Autofocus is sluggish, shutter

lag is noticeable and ISO is restricted to

100-400. And yet...

Despite being bolted together by Panasonic,

Leica’s retro design in uence is all over the

Digilux and it has a good deal of Leica

 rmware on board too. The case is all metal,

 nished in a satin chrome look along the top

and wrapped in a tactile rubber coating. In

short, it looks like a Leica, it feels like a Leica

and it behaves like a Leica.

Turn off the automation and the Digilux 2

performs like a classic  lm camera. The

7-22.5mm (28-90mm 35mm

equivalent) f/2-2.4 Vario-Summicron

introduction of the 1.5MP Digilux. That was
followed by the 1.5MP Digilux Zoom and then
the 2.4MP Digilux 4.3 in 1999 and 2000.
Each featured a vertically styled body with the
lens and  ash at the top of the front and the
LCD screen at the base of the back. But they
weren’t really Leicas. All three were made by
Fuji lm, then rebadged with a few cosmetic
changes by Leica.
Then came the Digilux 1, launched in 2002
and marking Leica’s  rst collaboration with
Panasonic, an association that continues
today. Made from magnesium alloy with black
and brushed chrome panels, the camera must
have seemed retro even when new. It was a
4MP model with a 7-21mm f/2-2.5 Vario
Summicron lens coupled to a variable view in
the all-glass view nder. There was a 2.5in LCD
screen on the back and the layout of controls
was intuitively simple. The Digilux 1 came
close to being a classic, and might have been
the star of these pages, had it not been for
the camera Leica launched in 2003.

From then till now:

The natural link between a

1954 Leica M3 rangefinder

camera (left), the Digilux 2 and

a modern Leica D-Lux 7 (right)

Left: Almost a classic: the Digilux 1

that preceded the Digilux 2 by a year

View from the top,

showing the Leica’s

traditional approach

to zoom, focus and

apertures on the

lens, as well as the

shutter speed dial on

the top plate

From the rear, the Digilux 2 has a large 2.5-inch LCD

screen and neatly arranged push-button controls

Maybe it’s a Leica thing, but monochrome

photography seemed more appropriate when

shooting these subjects with the Digilux 2