I'll start with my continuing review of the DLUX8; the small, agile and surprisingly good micro four thirds, compact camera from Leica. Like almost all new cameras in 2025 the files are more than satisfactory for any use you might have on the web. I included a black and white conversion from a .DNG color file above for one particular reason. The original file, exposed for bright sun on a white sign, plunged the bottom half of the frame into deep shadow. The people in the bottom third of the frame were in the shadow of the building to the left and this was taken in the last afternoon when the late Autumn sun is lower in the sky here. With a few clicks in post processing I was able to bring up a remarkable level of detail in those shadows. I used a brush tool in the selections menu to select the shadow areas. It was a big brush with lots of feathering. With the area selected I brought up the shadows and the overall exposure in this selected area. I used the clarity slider to bring back some of the missing midrange contrast. That's it. Three minutes of post.
I expect this sort of shadow recovery potential from full frame cameras with BSI sensors but it still surprises me to see just how much can be realized from a smaller, older sensor when the camera maker optimizes internal software correctly.
The second image down from here is the same scene in the original color but with all the other tweaks made. My preference is almost always for the color images instead of the black and white images with the exception being in classical portraiture where color seems to me like more of a distraction. For street scenes it seems to me that color adds more information to the overall mix and so more to chew on.
Just a note. These images were fun to take and are part of my near constant practice of taking photographs under different conditions and in different formats. They were not and are not intended to be portfolio pieces nor am I requesting critiques of the content and style. I'm adding them to this blog to show various technical features that we can use in our more serious work. This is like an afternoon of golf, but for photographers instead... Practice at the driving range of life.
The DLUX8, like its older Panasonic cousin the LX100ii, is a fun camera to carry around because it weighs so much less than a full frame camera with an attendant interchangeable lens. It's small and unobtrusive and, if you are Veblen-Paranoid you can always put a very small piece of black tape over the tiny red logo and everyone will most probably assume that you are carrying around a very cheap, entry level camera. But really? Nobody gives a shit about cameras anymore. Not out on a tourist street on a sunny day. There's so much else to look at. And all those people you think are judging you based on your camera? They are not. They are too busy thinking about their credit card balances at 19% or what they are going to have for lunch. Or that their shoes hurt their feet. But really, not about your camera.
Color version of top image.
While I tend to reflexively use the 70mm (e) end of the camera's built in zoom lens it's nice to have a 24mm (e) end of the lens for those times when a wide angle is actually just right. I used the 70mm for the above images but when I, like a groundhog, saw my shadow I zoomed to the wide end to include the entire scene. Sometimes it's fine to shoot at 24mm (e) as long as you have stuff you want to include in the frame.
I am currently appreciative of the Austin Motel. It's right in the middle of the prime shopping road in South Austin. Just south of Lady Bird Lake/The Colorado River and downtown. It used to be a seedy refuge for drug dealers and prostitutes but that was thirty or forty years ago. Now it's a lively and respectable hotel for hip tourists and was, this past Summer, the Austin epicenter for a Nikon product rollout and played host to a bevy of tattoo'd and pretentious "influencers." At the same time the Austin Motel has a very egalitarian feel to it. Rocky's walk up bar in the courtyard is funky and cool and only open til 10pm. Everyone is welcome to drop by and snag a mojito or some other fun beverage at the bar and then lounge on one of the outside sofas, sit around on puffy chairs or sit at umbrella crested tables and chill with friends. No pretention. No brand-checking involved.
I'll be back here after the Thanksgiving weekend to see the Motel's yearly forest of fake Christmas trees while taking random photos and sipping a mocha from Jo's next door. A fun way to experience S. Congress.
What I really like is what the Motel has done with the pool. They've turned a big, kidney shaped pool from a Texas motel staple into a "swim club" where anyone can buy a day pass, float in the cool water under the Texas sun and get refreshments from the bartender at the poolside bar. Last I checked a day pass was a measly $10. USD. So slow down on plans to build that pool in your back yard. You'll probably meet more interesting people here.
A camera note: The eye detect AF on the DLUX is actually quite good. While I was using it yesterday I noticed a hit rate for the camera of over 90%. Sure, it's wedded to a contrast detect AF system so it's not lightning fast but it's certainly fast enough for most work with happy humans. As far as metering goes I've come to expect that Leica have engineered in a little bit of underexposure in order to protect from the highlights burning out. It usually works just fine but once in a while I do find myself tweaking the exposure to a plus one third stop. It's a habit to try and nail exact exposure but since I like to shoot the camera in the raw mode it's really not necessary.
My last thought (today, at least) about the DLUX is about power. Not the power of infinite vision but the power of the battery and the camera's use thereof. The batteries the camera uses are small, about 1000 mAh. But the camera seems parsimonious when it comes to power use. And, of course, you can enable extra battery stinginess in the power saving menu. Since most mirrorless camera use includes "pre-chimping" or getting your shot set up on the LCD screen or in the EVF the need for post shot chimping is negligible. Yesterday afternoon I shot about 350 raw files over the course of two hours. When I got back home the battery indicator in the camera menu showed over half full. That's great. That means, for me, that even on a long day of spirited shooting I need only bring along two small extra batteries to be confident of getting through the entire day without having to shut down for lack of power.
For the archly paranoid about battery use I should mention that the camera can be charged and powered via the USB-C socket on the camera's side. If you are going from location to location in a car it's easy enough to top off the in camera battery during travel.
I included the image above not (just) because I like the disjointed look of the wooden arms against the white plastic head and torso but because there was, when I took this image, a bunch of bright reflections in the window, one of which covered about 25% of the top and right hand side of the mannequins head.
I'd read about the reflection erasing feature in Lightroom and gave it a try. Amazing that with one click all those distracting reflections were deleted and replaced with believable reconstructions of the underlying details. Same with the image just below....
And, of course, I am a sucker for images with large swaths of red or blue...
Take a look at the black and white image directly above and the color image directly below. The lower image is the color original. But it started life with the same horizontal reflections that you seen in the black and white photo. I used the same Lightroom "reflection eraser" on the color image but not on the black adn white image. Mostly so I could show off the difference. And because reflections in a black and white image don't seem to bother me as much as reflections in color images. Who knew?
And, by the way, the images just above were shot at f2 with the lens at 70mm's equivalent.
I think the bokeh, especially obvious in the color image, is calm and beautiful. Who
knew it would be so smooth in an m4:3 compact camera?
The two images directly below are the same frame. The top frame had the reflection deletion tool enabled while the bottom one did not. Again, not for the portfolio but to facilitate thinking about software tools and their potential applications for various kinds of photographs. Note the decluttering on the left hand side of the frame...
No editorial content. Just for fun.
Same.
And one more time...
there are things I like about the color image just above and things I like about the black and white version of the same image, just below. I'm happy to shoot in DNG+L. Jpeg (mono). I like having the choice but my personal preference, more and more, is for the additional information color provides.
Yesterday it was a bit chilly. I stepped out of my "coffee comfort zone" and ordered a mocha instead of my usual, boring drip coffee. It was delicious. Too much sugar but delicious. A splurge in the middle of a fine afternoon of photos.
I was hoping to run into my friend, David, while I was downtown. I was not disappointed. He showed up at dusk at Jo's Coffee and we proceeded to catch up on events and share whatever insights we could muster. David shoots stuff with a Canon R5 and mostly the Canon 85mm f1.4 lens. It's a fast focusing combo with great color. Today he brought along a Westcott Ice Light. The long, bright LED light you can see right across Hope's dark shirt. He uses the Ice Light to add just a bit of fill to images taken late in the day and early into the night. After watching him use the device for a few random portraits, and then reviewing the results with him, I thought I might snag one myself. Then I stopped. As good as the device is (and it IS good) it's David's style of shooting but not mine. Still, it's fun to see a really great portrait photographer in action. He's got a way of disarming strangers and making them comfortable with the process of being photographed on the spur of the moment. It's a rare talent and I consider every encounter with David, when he's got a camera in hand, as a master's workshop in rapport.
Now stumbling towards the Thanksgiving Holiday. Ben is still in Tokyo. B. and I are planning to have dinner with her extended family. I'm already picking out a formal, holiday camera. Something nice that will go with my outfit.
One thing all those forays into camera and lens research has taught me is how to patiently and thoroughly learn just about everything about anything. My latest challenge? Medicare. I originally signed up for an Advantage Plan five years ago. The plan just got cancelled in our area. It's gone at the end of the year. We didn't see this as a downside, rather, all my experts (Ben spent two years with an AI company that specializes in providing data etc. about healthcare to the U.S. Government) had long ago advised us to go with the traditional Medicare and add a supplemental policy. We didn't listen. But since out Advantage plan was cancelled we had one more chance to go traditional while adding a supplement plan without having to undergo medical underwriting. Also, one more chance to get a plan D drug plan without penalties. We have now mastered the paperwork and have joined the ranks of traditionalists.
Took some research and the deft guidance of a professional. At least we prevailed before the deadlines.
All good here.
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