LEICA D-LUX4(2009・Safari)
Review and Photo example of the Leica D-LUX4 (Safari-2009ver) digital camera.
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Review
The D-LUX4 is Leica’s compact digital camera with the following features:
- The shooting distance is 30cm to infinity, and it has a macro mode that allows you to get as close as 1cm in front of the lens.
- The recording format is JPEG, RAW (the RAW format is Panasonic’s RWL format).
- Available in 3 colors: black, safari, and titanium.
Compared to the black color that was first released, this matte green color has a more subdued texture and matches well with the red badge. The titanium color released at the same time also has a red badge in titanium color, making it more cool as a tool, and I think the color range of D-LUX4 is particularly good among the D-LUX series.
Leica’s traditional safari color, which continues from the LEICA R3, is the only compact digital camera in which the leather of the LEICA Q has a safari color, but the entire body has a safari color. Leica M type bodies are available in Safari color in M8.2, M, and M10-P.
Its sister model, the DMC-LX3, has a raised body grip, but the D-LUX4 has a flat shape except for the lens barrel, and an optional grip can be attached to improve the grip. Alternatively, you can improve the grip by attaching a leather case (sold separately).
The lens is a 5.1mm-12.8mm 2.5x zoom lens exclusive to this model, which is equivalent to 24mm-60mm in 35mm format. The telephoto end of the D-LUX5 and 6 extends to 90mm, but I feel that the 60mm of the D-LUX4 is sufficient for a compact camera.
Although it is a compact digital camera, it supports shooting in RAW format, and if you shoot in RAW, you will have more flexibility in post-processing. If you use RAW development software that does not support lens correction, you may notice barrel distortion, but with JPEG, distortion is corrected during recording.
I think it has sufficient resolution for both distant and close-up shots, but I feel that it is a limitation of compact digital cameras that the images become noisy as you increase the ISO.
Batteries, which can be difficult to find in compact cameras, are relatively common in compatible products, such as FUJIFILM’s NP-70, Panasonic’s DMW-BCC12, PICOH’s DB-60/65, SIGMA’s BP-41, and PENTAX’s D-LI106/D-BC106, *1 which are available on Rakuten and Amazon as of 2022 as compatible products.
*1:Rakuten Affiliate Link
This camera is Panasonic OEM, and the original OEM is DMC-LX3.
Specification
| Item | Value | Note |
| Number of pixels (Megapixcel) | 10.1 Megapixels | |
| Lens | LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMICRON 1:2-2.8 /5.1-12.8 ASPH. | 8 elements in 6 groups (4 aspherical lenses) 24-60mm equivalent |
| Image Sensor | 1/1.63 inc CCD sensor | |
| Viewfinder | none | |
| Back LCD Panel | 3 inch TFT LCD | |
| Memory card | SD / SDHC card | Supports up to 32GB |
| Battery-type | BP-DC4-J/E | DMW-BCC12 *1 |
| Camera size | W x H x D 108.7×59.5×27.1mm | |
| Weight(g) | 228 |
Model History
| Model name | D-LUX | D-LUX2 | D-LUX3 | D-LUX4 | D-LUX5 | D-LUX6 | D-LUX Typ109 | D-LUX7 |
| 35mm equivalent focal length | 35-105 | 28-112 | 28-112 | 24-60 | 24-90 | 24-90 | 24-57 | 24-75 |
| Number of pixels (Megapixcel) | 3.2 | 8.6 | 10.2 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 12.8 | 17 |
| Image Sensor Size | 1/2.5 | 1/1.65 | 1/1.65 | 1/1.63 | 1/1.63 | 1/1.63 | 4/3 | 4/3 |
| Viewfinder | OVF | none | none | none | EVF1 | EvF3 | Inner- EVF | Inner- EVF |
| Back LCD Panel | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Battery-type | BP-DC6 | BP-DC4 | BP-DC4 | BP-DC4 | BP-DC10 | BP-DC10 | BP-DC15 | BP-DC15 |
| Memory card | SD | SDHC | SDHC | SDHC | SDXC | SDXC | SDXC | SDXC |
| Release date | 2003 | 2005 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | 2018 |
| Body color | Silver | Silver | Black Silver | Black Safari Titan | Black Titan | Black Y100 G-star RAW | Black Gray | Black Silver |
Options
- Leather Case
- Strap
- Dedicated back
- Dedicated grip (#18697)
Reference links
- D-LUX4 Safari product introduction by Impress digital camera-watch
- DCM-LX3 product introduction by Panasonic official
Update history
- 2024.03.06
- 2022.08.24
Affiliate links
- Some external links are advertisements and clicking them may generate income for the site administrator.
