Magnificence is within the eye of the beholder. And there are a variety of lovely cameras in the marketplace proper now. However I feel this one, the Leica D-Lux 8 100 Years of Leica version, is essentially the most lovely digital camera you should purchase.
That is no imply feat, given the caliber of cameras it is up towards within the appears to be like division. There’s the drop-dead attractive (and, for what it is price, equally European-designed and hand-assembled) Hasselblad X2D II.
There are retro cameras styled after classic movie cameras, just like the jaw-dropping OM System OM-3, the coveted Fujifilm X100VI and the head-turning new Nikon Zf Silver Version.
Nevertheless it’s Leica‘s minimalist tackle its bestselling compact digital camera that outshines all of them. Simply take a look at it.
I’ve by no means been a fan of particular version Leicas that do away with the signature brand. In spite of everything, the Crimson Dot is a giant a part of the package deal you are paying for!
Right here, nevertheless, Leica has completed one thing very particular. As a result of in contrast to, say, the Leica M11-D, which is only a flat black slab, right here the model has leaned arduous into the monochrome styling – and into the hipster photographer penchant for pairing a black physique with a silver lens.
The 100 Years D-Lux 8, nevertheless, takes this to a different degree by complementing the silver nostril with silver accents on the shoulder, within the type of the three management dials.
The prospers do not finish there, although. As you’ll be able to see, it is solely the shell of the lens that’s silvered; when digital camera powers up and the zoom deploys, the telescoping mechanism reveals itself as smooth black – persevering with the playful two-tone nature of this very particular D-Lux.
Chatting with the two-tone mono motif, the cherry on high of the sundae is the fantastically designed sizzling shoe – matte black, however with a shiny “100” embellishment within the acquainted font that signifies the one centesimal annniversary of the Leica I that this digital camera commemorates.
In actual fact, the one pop of coloration wherever on the digital camera is on the shutter velocity and aperture dials – the place the A(uto) settings obtain a kiss of Leica pink.
For some photographers, the way in which a digital camera appears to be like does not matter – certainly, it is utterly immaterial. Cameras are instruments, perform not type, whose very objective it to present a literal lens upon which to see the world – quite than objects that benefit being seen themselves.
I perceive that. A digital camera’s main job is to have a look at issues, to not be checked out. However cameras are additionally by nature visible units – and as such, I feel it is vital that they need to be visually interesting. In actual fact, they need to be visually inspiring. A digital camera ought to itself be a piece of aesthetic magnificence, encouraging me to choose it up and take lovely images with it.
Which is strictly what the Leica D-Lux 8 100 Years of Leica does. And hey – does not each photographer have a particular shelf the place lovely cameras take satisfaction of place?
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