New found love Leica D-Lux7 — Pablo De La Hoya

Two weeks with the Leica D-Lux 7 has me giddy about taking photos again - so much so I’m reviving this page.

I finally bought a Leica! Now I know the sound of that brand name strikes fear in the wallets of many (including my own), but I went with their point and shoot D-Lux 7. At a relatively affordable price I have been surprised at the quality of images I am already capturing. In this blog I will detail what I’m loving about the camera so far and where it can be improved in a future iteration. In short - this camera has me excited to take pictures again and I haven’t felt this way in a very long time.

What do I love about the Leica D-Lux 7?

It’s a Leica…

Now I know what you might be thinking, so what? It’s still a point and shoot! Yes you’re right - this will not be replacing my more pro level set up that will be used for shoots that require me to be quick and accurate. However, it is still a Leica and has a lot of qualities that you expect out of a Leica camera. First, the build quality is amazing and feels very sturdy in the hands despite the lack of a grip and how lightweight it is. Honestly, it feels like a paperweight which may be a good thing to some but a bad thing for others. For me, it’s perfect!

I bought this camera in preparation for my first ever trip to Europe. I’ll be in Italy, walking a lot and the idea of carrying my backpack with different lenses and an X-T3 around my neck was not very appealing. I was torn between a few point and shoot cameras but once I discovered the Leica I knew this was my chance to finally have this coveted brand in my gear bag. I couldn’t be happier with this purchase!

As soon as I got the battery charged up a spent about an hour going through the settings to familiarize myself with where everything is and also set up the D-Lux with my preferences. It took some getting used to the menu screens but coming from a Fujifilm body made it easier as they are actually pretty similar. Once the camera was set up - it was time to go out and snap some photos. In true Leica fashion I decided to first shoot some shots in monochrome in Old Town Pasadena. When reviewing the photos on camera I was initially concerned, the quality wasn’t all that great it seemed. I quickly realized that had more to deal with the screen on the back of the camera as when I downloaded the images using the Leica Fotos app I was truly surprised. The details in each shot were so crisp and I can zoom in so deep while still maintaining great quality.

So although it’s still early with the camera I am already really enjoying it, so what’s not great about the camera?

What do I dislike about the Leica D-Lux 7?

There are two items that really stick out to me as something that can be approved upon in order to make this camera even better. The first, a better method for autofocusing an image. A simple joystick on the back of the camera to adjust the area of focus would do the trick here and solve the small aches I’ve been facing with getting focus. The second is related to the first in that action shots are very difficult with this camera. I may be putting a lot of expectations on this and I know this may not be it’s strong suit but if focus can be quicker then I can see myself using this camera for some of my professional work as well.

Why am I so excited to shoot again?

This camera made me feel like I was back in my teens after picking up my first camera, the Nikon D3000. The joy of what’s to come alongside the fear of exploring such a new and complex system has me falling in love with all aspects of photography all over again. There’s something about how the external dials make you slow down before snapping your photo - something I’m already familiar with thanks to Fujifilm and how somehow this small little point and show requires more of my attention than any other digital camera I’ve ever used. I’m finding myself excited to go out and find new images even in my own neighborhood thanks to this camera and that is something that I’m going to hold onto for as long as possible.

It was never my attention to make this a review of the D-Lux 7, but instead a thank you note. Thank you for bringing me back to something I’ve missed and loved so dearly for more than 15 years.