Leica D-Lux 8 Hands-On Review:
Possibly the shortest distance between your idea and your picture
The Leica D-Lux 8 has one often overlooked feature when we look at the latest and greatest in cameras: It is very easy to take pictures with
With easy, I do not mean, "does it all by itself" as in Automatic or Artificial Intelligence. No, rather I mean it is like the old days when photography was something you learned to do, and it was fun and simple because it made sense."
Leica D-Lux 8 (2024). A great camera to hand out to others who want to make photos, but think they don't know how to.
Leica D-Lux 8 vs Leica D-Lux 7 Review by Thorsten Overgaard (video):
As easy as this
This is about the most laissez-faire review I have ever done, because the Leica D-Lux 8 doesn't invite to compare technical features with other cameras.
You grab it in your hands, and the first thing you notice is that it is extremely light. You turn it on and look at the buttons and the menu, and you think, "This is very simple. I can figure this out", and then you put the camera in front of your eye, and you realize you can zoom from 24mm wide angle to 75mm tele photo and take the photo.
As you progress, you discover that this is the only camera (I know of) on the market where, when you use the Auto Focus, it briefly zooms in on where you focused, show make you see that you did get the focus. And if you didn't grab what you wanted, you know and can focus again. With other cameras, you presume the AF got the focus, only later to find out your image is a blur or the AF picked a spot in the background. What a thrilling useful feature this is, because it puts you in control of Auto Focusing!
The Leica D-Lux 8 is also a manual camera, if you like
As you progress further witht the Leica D-Lux 8, you may discover that all on this camera can be used manually. Manual focus, manual exposure, and if you are old enough, you recognize the logic and simplicity from when you had a SLR camera back in the 1980's or so. Finally a camera that works as simple as a real film camera.
With 40+ cameras at my disposal, half film and half of them digital, and having taken millions of photos in my life, I am permitted to say that: this is a real camera.
Why so?
A real camera is one that takes pictures, and in this case you can take pictures without knowing much about the technological wonders that some of the mirrorless high-tech cameras can do.
Most likely, you started photographing because you wanted pictures, and here you get them. And if you hand over the camera to friends, kids, spouse or colleagues, they can actually take pictures with it as well, without any further instruction.
This is how short and sweet it can be said. In my personal opinion, features matter very little with this camera. Nobody is going to buy this camera for the megapixels or ISO. They are going to buy it because of the desire for a simple camera that can take pictures. And yes, besides that, it has enough of all the technical stuff.
Panasonic inside, Leica feel and soul, and your make the pictures
Let's not fool ourselves. Let me agree with the cynical user for a moment: The Leica D-Lux 8 (2024) is fundamentally the same as the Leica D-Lux 7 (2020) and the sister camera Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100 (2018), with a few updates and upgrades technologically.
When the Leica D-Lux 8 was introduced, Panasonic released their Panasonic S9, which is a departure from 'being the same as the Leica'. The Panasonic S9 is a full-frame camera where you can change the lenses and use any L-mount lens. Very tempting in terms of "more features," and that is the whole idea of offering so many features you go bling and feel you have all you will ever need.
But can you see the pictues for features? My point of this review is that you want a simple camera that can take pictures, not an advanced system. As you know, the best camera is the one you have with you, but moreover the best camera is also the one that you want to take with you, and which you will be using.
Leica D-Lux 8 reintroduce the classic camera controls readily available
The Leica D-Lux 8 (2024) has the great advantage that it is Leica simplicity in button layout and menu control. It also has a low light zoom lens that starts at f/1.7 for wide angle, and f/2.8 for tele.
Also, the aperture dial is on the front of the lens like in classic cameras; which is another choice the user can control the light with. As such, the Leica D-Lux 8 is in many ways operated like a Leica M or Leica Q.
Fundamentally the Leica D-Lux 8 features a high quality Leica lens as well as a sensor that produces high-quality images with 13 stop dynamic range (the top-of-the-line Leica M11 has a 14 stop dynamic range). The dynamic range is how well the camera's sensor can capture highlight and shadows at the same time; but more importantly an expression for how well the camera can capture tonality and colors across the spectrum, and with details.
Leica D-Lux 8 has classic camera controls.
Manual Focus with Leica D-Lux 8
The Leica D-Lux 8 has a focusing ring on the lens that works when in Manual focusing mode. You can make it zoom in automatically if you set up Menu > Focusing > Focus Aid > Auto Magnification > On.
When you are in Manual focusing mode (set on the left side of the lens to MF) and focus, the camera will zoom in so you can see the focusing more precise. You can turn the thumb wheel to increase the magnification to 10x or 5x or 1x.
Turn off the red Focus Aid outline: he The red outline you sometimes see in cameras, to help you focus, you should turn off. It makes the viewfinder glow of red and makes you unable to see what is actually in focus. When you turn it off, it is very easy to see what is in focus by the clarity of the overall image. You don't need electronics to help you see. To turn off the red outline: Go into Menu > Focusing > Focus Aid > Focus Peaking > Off. So far the features and buttons.
Here is an overview of Leica D-Lux models, including which battery for Leica D-Lux. Which to buy? Well, for me the Leica D-Lux 8 would be my choice, but if you are looking for a second-hand and less expensive camera, the Leica D-Lux 6 ($400-$500 second-hand) stands out with an excellent lens:
Bonus when you edit your photos in Capture One:
It's a 19mm - 75mm zoom
In Capture One, you are able to see the full frame when you hit the Crop tool. As in this 24mm photo, that is just wider in the file. So you can go 19mm and get more than you saw in the viewfinder, and either expand the image, or move the frame. A similar thing is seen in the Leica Q3 where you have 24mm instead on the specified 28mm.
In Lightroom, the specified crop from the camera (24mm) is transferred to the software, and nothing extra is to be found. There's workarounds, but the easiest one is to use Capture One.
The USB-C connection of the Leica D-Lux 8 is found on the side of the camera, behind a door. It is basically how you can charge the camera, and the Leica D-Lux 8 doesn't come with a battery charger. You may buy one, as well as an extra battery, but mostly you may do with just connecting the camera to a computer or charger via USB-C and it will be ready again soon.
The USB-C port also serves as a way to offload images if you don't want to take out the SD-card. Or you can simply connect wirelessly to Lightroom Mobile or the Leica Fotos App and copy images to devides that way (though you have to delete them in camera yourself once they have been tranfered).
I have made a few essential Presets for Lightroom that does minor adjustments to the Leica files, so as to get the tones the exact way I want. To get the "Leica look", rather than a “digital sensor look”.
The correct exposure on a camera is ensured by three parameters that match so that the image you record looks like what they eyes saw. Now darker, not brighter. Just exact the correct exposure.
It's sometimes referred to as a triangle. Not because it's part of a conspiracy but because it has tree elements you can adjust: Aperture, ISO and Shutter Speed.
Keep in mind that a camera is a dark box that doesn't let any light in, because photography is "painting with light" (which is the meaning of the words photo=light and graphy=drawing). So, when you take a photo, you are letting light in to draw the picture on the sensor. And the amount of light has to be exactly right. Too much light makes a white, overexposed picture, and too little light makes a too dark picture.
This is the fundamental of photography and how it's always been. It never changed, which is why I applaud any camera that keeps the controls and features of a camera to those simple few that enables you to just getting the right exposure.
It's all about light and there are just 3 controls for you to take control of so the picture looks right.
Aperture
The aperture is a Latin word meaning “to open”. If you change the aperture ring, the ring inside the lens (made of metal blades) narrows the lens opening from wide open to small. When the aperture is wide open at 100% the maximum amount of light passes, and when “stopped down” the amount of light becomes as small as 2%. You can see the aperture blades inside the lens on the photo above.
The smaller the aperture "hole through" is, the more depth-of-field there is. The moew wide open, the more narrow-depth-of-field you have, and what some would say "a dreamy" or "artistic" look.
Shutter
The razor-thin metal curtain that separates the dark and the light is named after the shutters in front of windows that keep the sun out. In some cameras it's a curtain just in front of the sensor, in others (as the Leica Q2) the shuitter curtain sits inside the lens.
Shutter speed is how long the curtain is open and the sensor can be exposed to the light that goes through the lens.
The rest of the time, the curtain is closed and the sensor rests in the darkness. In the beginning of photography, the photographer's hand in front of the lens acted as the shutter to keep it all in the darkness.
ISO
ISO is a strange word because it is short for International Standard Organization. It's simply a measurement for how sensitive to light, something is. It goes from 100% to 50,000% (500 times more sensitive) in the Leica Q2. When you say 100 ISO, you are referring to an international standard of sensitivity to light.
1:2/50 the description says. But what does it mean?
1: - Basically means 1 divided with. But why is it on the front of the lens? If you look close, a lens will often say 1:2/50mm on the front, meaning it is a 50mm lens with an f/2.0 apterture. The 1: itself is a ratio, that indicates that the aperture diameter (25mm) is the ratio of 50mm divided with 2.
It's a strange way of writing product information on modern products, but here's how it's right:
a) A lens is called a 50mm lens because there is 50mm from the sensor to the center of focus inside the lens.
b) A lens is f/2.0 when the widest opening is 50mm divided with 2 = The lens opening is 25mm in diameter at it's widest. Had it been an f/2.8 lens (1:2.8/50), the widest aperture opening would be 50mm divided with 2.8 = 17.8mm.
AF = Auto Focus. The idea is that the camera does the focusing itself (the word auto comes from Greek "self").
Aperture = The f/ stop on the camera that regulates how much light passes through the lens. On a f/1.7 lens the lens is fully open" at f/1.7. At f/2.0 the aperture inside the lens make the hole through the lens smaller so only half the amount of light at f/1.7 passes through. For each f/-stop (4.0 - 5.6 - 8.0 - 11 - 16) you halve the light. The aperture of the lens is basically the focal length divided with the f/-stop = size of the hole (28mm divided with f/1.7 = the hole is 45 mm). ORIGIN: Late Middle English : from Latin apertura, from apert- ‘opened,’ from aperire ‘to open’.
The camera in Aperture Priority Mode
Aperture Priority Mode. When the shutter speed dial on top of a Leica camera is set to A, it is short for “Aperture Priority” and allows the user to set a specific aperture value (f-number) while the camera selects a shutter speed to match it that will result in proper exposure based on the lighting conditions as measured by the camera's light meter. In other words, you set the aperture as priority (f/1.4 for example), and the camera calculates a shutter speed (1/250 of a second) that matches that. If you change the aperture to f/2.0 by changing the aperture ring on the lens, the camera will re-calculate the speed to 1/125 so as to get the same amount of light to hit the sensor (f/2.0 is half the light through the lens as f/1.4 and 1/125 if twice the amount of light on the sensor as 1/250).
spherical (ball)
a-spherical (non-ball)
ASPH = (Aspherical lens) stands for "aspheric design".
Most lenses have a spherical design - that is, the radius
of curvature is constant. These are easy to manufacture by
grinding while "spinning" the glass. This design
however restricts the number of optical corrections that can
be made to the design to render the most realistic image possible.
ASPH lenses (a-spherical, meaning non-spherical), however, involve usually 1 element that does
*not* have a constant radius of curvature. These elements
can be made by 1) expensive manual grinding, 2) molded plastic,
or 3) Leica's patented "press" process, where the element
is pressed into an aspherical ("non-spherical")
shape. This design allows Leica to introduce corrections
into compact lens designs that weren't possible before. Practically,
the lens performs "better" (up to interpretation)
due to increased correction of the image, in a package not
significantly bigger than the spherical version.
There is another Aspherical lens manufacture technique: an uneven coating layer is applied to a spherical lens. The coating is thicker on the edges (or on the center, depending). Canon "Lens Work II" calls these "simulated" aspherical lenses. Simulated and Glass-Molded (GMo) asphericals show up in non-L Canon lenses, while the L lenses have actual ground aspheric elements.
A- means non, or without.From Latin, ex.
Sphere: ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French espere, from late Latin sphera, earlier sphaera, from Greek sphaira "ball".
Normal spheric lens (grinded)
ASPH (note the shape of the glass as result of pressing rather than grinding)
Auto- means “self”. The idea is that when a camera has auto-(something), it does that (something) by itself.
Auto Focus = The idea is that the camera does the focusing itself (the word "auto" comes from Greek "self"). Ironically and factually, it does not work that easily, which is why many types of Auto Focus have been added to this feature. Ironically, it was supposed to make it easy for the user to get sharp photos but has become a filter of focusing complexities in front of the user with a variety of made-up fancy names: Face detection, iAF (Intelligent Auto Focus), AFc (continuous), Tracking AF, Multi-Field AF, Eye Detection AF, Zone AF, and more.
Bokeh = The visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens: It's a matter of taste and usually photographers discuss a 'nice' or 'pleasant' bokeh (the out-of-focus area is always unsharp, which is why the quality discussed is if one likes the way it renders or not by a particular lens). The closer you get to something, the 'more' bokeh' you get (in that the focus becomes less for the background and foreground at close distances than at long distances). ORIGIN from Japanese 'bo-ke' which mean 'fuzzines' or 'blur.'.
Camera -is today’s short name for Camera Obscura (meaning “a dark room”). CamerameansChambre and was used only as a Latin or alien word, actually only for Spanish soldiers’ rooms, until popularized in connection with photography in 1727: “Camera Obscura”. In 1793 the slang term “camera” was used by Sterne Tr. Shandy: “Will make drawings of you in the camera” and by Foster (1878), “The eye is a camera”. Camera Obscura was described by Iraqi scientist Ibn-al-Haytham in his book, “Book of Optics” (1021) and by Leonardo da Vinci in 1500; popularized and made widely known in 1589 by Baptista Porta when he mentioned the principle in his book “Natural Magic”. Johannes Kepler mentions Camera Obscura in 1604.
Camera = chambre (room), Obscura = dark (or cover).
Why is it called a "camera"..?
The word Camera is today's short name for Camera Obscura (which originally means “a dark room”).
Origin of the word Obscura means "dark" or "covered", and the word Camera meansChambre and was used originally only as a Latin or alien word, actually only for Spanish soldiers' rooms, until popularized in connection with photography in 1727: “Camera Obscura”.
In 1793 the slang term “camera” was used by Sterne Tr. Shandy: “Will make drawings of you in the camera” and by Foster (1878), “The eye is a camera”.
Ibn-al-Haytham mentioned Camera Obscura in his "Book of Optics" in 1021.
The concept of Camera Obscura was described by Iraqi scientist Ibn-al-Haytham in his book, “Book of Optics” (1021) and by Leonardo da Vinci in 1500; popularized and made widely known in 1589 by Baptista Porta when he mentioned the principle in his book “Natural Magic”. Johannes Kepler mentions Camera Obscura in 1604.
Camera = chambre (room), Obscura = dark (or cover).
CMOS sensor (as used in Leica D-Lux 8, Leica CL, Leica T/TL/TL2, Leica M11, Leica S Typ 007, Leica SL3, Leica Q3, Leica Q2, Leica M10, Leica X, etc.) = (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) chips use transistors at each pixel to move the charge through traditional wires. This offers flexibility because each pixel is treated individually. Traditional manufacturing processes are used to make CMOS. It's the same as creating microchips. Because they're easier to produce, CMOS sensors are cheaper than CCD sensors. CMOS allow Live View and use less energy than CCD.
Contrast - The degree of difference between tones in a picture. Latin contra- ‘against’ + stare ‘stand.’
Depth - Distance between front and back. Distance from viewer and object.
Digital Shutter = A digital shutter is simply "turning on/off the recording of the sensor. In the "old days" this had to be done with an actual mechanical shutter curtain; a metal curtain in front of the sensor (or film) that goes up for 1/125th of a second, for example. In the Leica TL2, there is a mechanical shutter curtain from 30 sec. to 1/4000 shutter times, and digital shutter from 1/4100 to 1/40,000 shutter times. In the Leica D-Lux 8 there is a mechanical shutter to 1/2000, and then digital shutter from 1/2001 sec to 1/16000 sec.
Diopter adjustment = Adjustment in a camera viewfinder to fit to the eye's ability to focus. Often a camera has a little dial too adjust for eyesight less than perfect.
The Leica Q3 has a -4 to +2 possible adjustment so that the electronic viewfinder will look sharp by moving the focus distance to the screen so it fits the eye.
Lens distortion looks like this. The lines are not straight. Our eye uses distortion correction. Lens designers can design lenses so they have very little distortion, or they can make less complicated lens designs and "fix" the distortion in software.
Distortion = In photo optics/lenses: When straight lines in a scene don't remain straight because of optical aberration.
Lens designers can correct for distortion to a degree so the whole image field is perfect corrected and all lines remain straight. In modern lens design many designs rely on Software Distortion Correction (SDC).
The eye adjusts for distortion so we always see vertical and horizontal lines straight when we look at things. Even when you get new prescription glasses (if you use such), you will often experience distortion in your new glasses. After a few days they eyes have adjusted for the glasses and the distortion you saw to begin with is now gone. Software Distortion Correction (SDC) is far behind what the human eye can perform of adjustments. (Also see my definition on Perspective for more on the eye and optics)
DNG = Digital Negative, an open standard developed by Adobe. It is a single file that contains the raw image data from the sensor of the camera as well as date, time, GPS, focal length, settings, etc.
The alternative is a RAW file + XLM file where the RAW file contains the image information and the XML contains the rest of information about where, how and when the picture was taken.
A Camera Raw profile (that is specific for that camera) in the computer helps the software program, for example Adobe Lightroom, to translate the RAW data into the image.
A raw file (or DNG) is simply the full recording of digital data (1's and 0's) from the sensor. In the computer, the sensor data is translated into the exact colors, via a camera profile.
DOF = Depth of Field. This is how much of the image will be in focus or "acceptable sharp". The DOF is determined by the subject distance (the farther away, the larger area is sharp; the closer the focus is, the less of the lage is sharp), the lens aperture (the depth of field is narrow at f/1.4 and larger at f/5.6) and the focal length of the lens (tele lenses has very narrow depth of field whereas wide angle lenses has a wide depth of field) and film or sensor size (small-sensor cameras has a wide depth of field wheras medium format or large format cameras has a very narrow depth of field). As an example, a Leica 21mm Super-Angulon-M f/3.4 lens is sharp all over the focus field from 2 meter to infinity when set at a distance of 3 meters at f/3.4. The DOF scale measurement on top of the Leica lenses shows lines for each f-stop that indicates from which distance to which distance the image will be sharp. Shallow DOF is a generally used term in photography that refer to lenses with very narrow focus tolerance (which can be used to do selective focus; making irrelevant subjects in the foreground and background blurry so only the subjects of essence are in focus and catches the viewers eye).
Depth Of Field scale from Fujifilm.
Dynamic range. The grade of ‘contrast range’ (or number of tones) a film or sensor, or simply a photograph, possess between bright and dark tones. The human eye is said to have a dynamic range of 10-14 ‘stops’ (but because we scan area by area and compile a concept of the overall scene, they eye is often thought to have a much higher dynamic range), Film used to have 7-13 ‘stops’ and some modern sensors have up to 15-17 ‘stops’.
EVF = Electronic ViewFinder. A viewfinder where you look at a small screen through optics/prisms. The advantage is that you see what the sensor sees.
f- (focal length). Often given in mm, for example 90mm. In the past they were often given in cm or inch, for example 9.5 cm or 3.2 inch.
f-stop = the ratio of the focal length (for example 50mm) of a camera lens to the diameter of the aperture being used for a particular shot. (E.g., f/8, indicating that the focal length is eight times the diameter of the aperture hole: 50mm/8 = 6,25 mm); or the other way around, the hole is the focal length divided with 8).
ORIGIN early 20th cent.: from f (denoting the focal length) and number.
One f-stop is a doubling or halving of the light going through the lens to the film, by adjusting the aperture riing. Adjusting the f-setting from f 1.4 to f.2.0 is halving the light that goes through the lens. Most Leica lenses has half f-stops to enable the photographer to adjust the light more precicely.
The aperture blades inside the lens is clearly visible in this photo by Eolake Stobblehouse.
Flare = Burst of light. Internal reflections between (and within) lens elements inside a lens. Mostly, flare has a characteristic "space travel" look to it, making it cool. Particularly in older lenses with less or no coating of the glass surfaces to suppress this, it can be a really cool effect. In newer lens designs, the coatings and overall design try to suppress flare and any reflections to a degree, so that there is seldom any flare to be picked up (moving the lens to pick up a strong sunbeam), but instead a "milking out" (or "ghosting") of a circular area of the frame; meaning simply overexposed without any flare-looking flares.
Sunlight creating (fairly supressed) flare in the bottom right quadrant of the image of a modern lens.
Fn = Short for Function. It's a button you can program. Usually, if you hold down the button for a few seconds, the screen shows a selection of things you can select this button to perform, and you choose the one you want. On the Leica D-Lux 8, the button on top right, 'inside' the thumb wheel, is the ISO selection by default.
A 28 mm lens has a 74° viewing angle
Focal length = On the Leica D-Lux 8 you have a zoom that performs focal lengths from 24mm to 75mm. It originally referred to the distance from the sensor (or film in older days) to the center of focus inside the lens. Nobody uses that measurement, except those who construct lenses! For users of lenses, focal length refers to how wide the lens sees. The viewing angle, which is often given in for example 90° viewing angle for a 21mm lens, 74° viewing angle for a 28mm lens, 6° viewing angle for a 400mm lens, etc.
Each human eye individually has anywhere from a 120° to 200° angle of view, but focus only in the center.
Focus, in - Sharp and clear in appearance. Focus - “The burning point (of a lens or mirror)”. In Latin the word focus meant fireplace or hearth. The word was probably first employed outside of its Latin literal use as “the burning point of a lens or mirror” in optics, and then came to mean any central point. The German astronomer Johannes Kepler first recorded the word in this sense in 1604.
Full Frame (FF) = The size of the sensor is 24 x 36mm which is the format Oskar Barnack and Leica Camera AG invented with the first Leica that was introduced in 1925. Many other formats invented since, such as APS, APS-C and all usually refer to Full Frame ratio, by which it means what size they have compared to Full Frame.
Full Frame is "king of photography"
The 24 x 36mm Full Frame format is so "king of photography" that it has continued to be the ideal for all cameras. Besides this, there exists Large Format cameras such as 4x5" (100 x 125 mm) and Medium Format 6x6 (60 x 60mm amongst other sizes in that area).
Hue = A color or shade depending on the dominant wavelength of red, green or blue. The word Hue comes from Swedish hy which is "skin complexion". It is independent of intensity, so often (in computer editing programs for example), Hue is an adjustment along Saturation which is (intensity of color as compared to white).
iAF is "Intelligent Auto Focus," and when on, the camera supposedly uses AFs (Auto Focus Single) until it detects that the subject moves, at which point it switches to AFc (Auto Focus Continuous). Generally, with any camera, I would either manually focus or use AFs, where the autofocus locks onto what I've decided it should focus on (remains stable and does not change). This way, I have a clear understanding of what the camera is doing. With iAF, I don't know when or why the camera changes its focus. After all, I am the one taking the photos, not the camera.
AFc (Continuous) means that the autofocus constantly checks if the focus has moved, triggering a continuous movement of the autofocus mechanism in the camera. This movement is accompanied by vibration, which can be felt and sometimes heard. At the same time, the preview in the viewfinder or on the screen constantly 'vibrates' or 'breathes.'
AFs (Single) is where 1) you point the focusing spot onto a subject or detail or the subject, and 2) when you touch the shutter release, the camera quickly focus on that spot, and 3) as long as you hold the shutter release half down, the focus is locked on that distance no matter where you move the camera (to recompose for example, or to wait for the right moment), and then 4) when you press the shutter release down, the camera takes that photo without delay (as the focus ia already set). When you move your finger away from the the shutter release, the AF is ready to a new cycle of 1, 2, 3, 4.
ISO = Light sensitivity of the camera sensor is given in ISO (International Organization for Standardization). It's a standard that was used in film and is now used in all digital cameras also. The base ISO for the Leica Q sensor is 100 ISO which means that this is what the sensor "sees". All other levels are computer algorithms calculating the effect as if the sensor could "see" more (hence noise at higher ISO levels).
ISO goes in steps of doubling: When the ISO is raised from 100 ISO to 200 ISO, the camera only need half the amount of light to make a picture. For each step in ISO to 400, 800, 1600, 3200, etc the light sensitivity is doubled for the sensor (and the camera sensor only need half the light of the previous ISO to record the same image).
JPEG = A standard for picture format made in the 1990's by Joint Photographic Experts Group). Mostly referred to as JPG as in L1003455.JPG which would be the name for a JPG file from the camera.
Summilux = Refers to the maximum lens aperture - normally f1.4 , "-lux" added for "light" (ie. the enhanced light gathering abilities). In the Leica Q the lens is a Summilux even it is a f/1.7 and not f/1.4.
Leica = A compound word derived from " (Lei)tz" and "(ca)mera". Apparently they were originally going to use "LECA", but another camera company already used a similar name in France, so they inserted the 'i' to prevent any confusion.
Light = Tiny particles called photons that behaves like both waves and particles. Light makes objects visible by reflecting off of them, and in photography that reflecting off of subjects is what creates textures, shapes, colors and luminance. Light in its natural form (emanating from the sun) also gives life to plants and living things, and makes (most) people happier. So far, nobody has been able to determine exactly what light is. The word photography means “writing with light” (photo = light, -graphy = writing). Read more about light in my book Finding the Magic of Light.
Live View = This is the ability to see the image the sensor see, live, via the screen of a digital camera, or via an electronic viewfinder (EVF).
MACRO = Macro lens. The Leica D-Lux 8 can be turned to Macro which enables you to go close so as to enlarge smaller subjects. The word macro comes from Greek makros ‘long, large.’
Megapixel (or MP) - Millions of pixels. See pixel further down. How many units of RGB is recorded by a given sensor by taking height x widt. A Leica M10 delivers a 5952 x 3968 pixel file = 23,617,536 piexls. On a screen the resolution you choose determines the size of the image. Say you have a 5000 pixel wide file and your screen is set for 8000 pixels wide. Then the image will fill only the 5000 pixels fo the 8000 and the rest will be empty, If you then change the screen resolution to 5000 wide, the image would be able to fill out the whole screen.
mm = millimeter(s), as in a 50mm lens. (Earlier in lens history lenses focal length was given in cm = centimeters; as in a 5 cm lens). For anyone used to centimeters and millimeters, it’s no wonder. But if you grew up with inches, feet and yards, you may have had a hard time grasping what a 50mm lens was. But as lenses were designed first in Europe, the metric system with centimeters and millimeters was used to describe lenses.
The reason a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens is that there is 50mm from the focus plane (the film or sensor) to the center of focus inside the lens. When photography was a young subject, it was engineers who made it all, and the users were expected to understand. The engineers were so into the making of the lenses, that it apparently never dawned upon them that today’s users would think of a 21mm lens as a wide angle lens rather than a lens where there is 21mm from the sensor to the center of focus inside the optics.
PASM in the menu is most likely is made up from the letters of a mode dial on a traditional camera. Nobody knows for sure.
PASM (screen mode) = Basically means that you are in control of the camera and haven't selected any of the Screen Modes available in the Leica Q menu. PASM is most likely short for P = Program Mode / A = Aperture Priority / S = Shutter Priority / M = Manual Control (... what Moron comes up with those silly abbreviation; and then don't explain them in the manual?).
Pixel - Made up word from Pix (picture) and el (element). A pixel is the smallest full-color (RGB) element in a digital imaging device. The physical size of a pixel depends on how you've set the resolution for the display screen. The color and tonal intensity of a pixel are variable, meaning that each pixel contains RGB. This is different from a camera sensor's small eyes (photosite) that are an intensity of either red, green or blue. You could say that the digital sensor's photosite (where each unit collects just one color; red, green or blue) is the input technology, whereas the pixels on a screen (where each pixel contains red, green and blue) is the output device. So while sensors are measured in megapixels (mega = million), it's their output unit of pixels, and not the input unit of photosites that is measured and stated. See illustration below.
Saturation: How colorful, intense or pure the color is. Less saturation would be less colorful, more saturation would be more colorful. In today’s photography, de-saturating a photo on the computer will gradually make it less and less colorful; and full de-saturation would make it into a black and white photo.
Sensor = A device that detects a physical property (like light) and records it. A camera sensor is a plane plate with thousands of small “eyes” with (photosites) a lens in front of each (CFA, Color Filter Array), which each individually records the amount of red, green and blue light rays that comes through the lens. Together, Red, Green and Blue form all colors of the spectrum, which becomes a pixel. Sensor comes from Latin sens- ‘perceived’.
Shutter speed dial - The dial on top of the Leica M where you can set the shutter speed manually. It can also be set to A which stands for Aperture Priority (where the camera suggests a shutter speed; or when you move the dial away from A, the camera will show arrows in the viewfinder, suggesting which direction to change the Aperture to, to get the correct exposure).
A shutter speed dial set to 1/1000 of a second.
Summilux = Refers to the maximum lens aperture - here f1.4 , "-lux" added for "light" (ie. the enhanced light gathering abilities). In Leica terminology a Summilux is always a f/1.4 lens and a Summicron is a f/2.0 lens. In the Leica Q2 the lens is f/1.7 but is called a Summilux because it is closer to f/1.4 than f/2.0.
Three-dimensional = Having the three dimensions of height, width and depth. In photography and lens design, three-dimensional effect is also the perception of even small micro-details; the texture of skin can appear flat and dead or three-dimensional and alive. Also, selective focus (foreground and background out of focus) can change the perception of depth. Also see Perspective.
(The three items illustrated below)
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Thorsten von Overgaard is a Danish-American multiple award-winning photographer, known for his writings about photography and Leica cameras. He travels to more than 25 countries a year, photographing and teaching workshops to photographers. Some photos are available as signed editions via galleries or online. For specific photography needs, contact Thorsten Overgaard via email.
You can follow Thorsten Overgaard at his television channel magicoflight.tv.
I am in constant orbit teaching
Leica and photography workshops.
Most people prefer to explore a
new place when doing my workshop.
30% of my students are women.
35% of my students dotwo or more workshops.
95% are Leica users.
Age range is from 15 to 87 years
with the majority in the 30-55 range.
Skill level ranges from two weeks
to a lifetime of experience.
97% use a digital camera.
100% of my workshop graduates photograph more after a workshop.
Bokeh: The visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image. Photo at Bar del Fico in Rome. 
The aperture blades inside the lens is clearly visible in this photo by 
