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Leica Digilux 3

 
Leica Digilux 3 front
 
  • 7MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 606g - 146 x 87 x 77mm
  • Introduced September 2006
  • Read full specs
  • Alternatives
  • Lenses
  • Size Comparison
  • FAQ
Portability
65
Imaging
41
Features
38
Overall
39

Leica Digilux 3 overview

Leica Digilux 3 is Leica's Advanced DSLR digital camera first revealed on September of 2006. It has got a 7 MegaPixel, CMOS Four Thirds size sensor with a peak resolution of 3136 x 2352.

The Digilux 3 is rated #83 out of 92 in Advanced DSLR cameras & all around #750 out of 1465 for cameras in our list. You can check our Advanced camera finder to find camera ratings based on your customized criteria.

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Below is a graph of various criteria used in the scoring system.

Leica Digilux 3 Pros and Cons

Here is a list of good and bad points of the Leica Digilux 3 based on criterias that are usually seen as important in a digital camera.

exports RAW formats
focusing manually
good min ISO (100)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
has built in flash
has phase detect autofocus
lighter than competition in class (606 grams)
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
doesn't have external microphone jack
doesn't have HDMI support
doesn't have headphone jack
doesn't have Timelapse mode
does not have image stabilization
low resolution sensor (7MP)
no articulating screen
no video
pixelated screen (207 k dot)
screen is not selfie friendly
slow fps (3.0 frames/s)
small screen (2.5")
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Leica Digilux 3 Sensor information

The spec of the sensor on the Leica Digilux 3 is 17.3mm x 13mm (Four Thirds). The 225 mm² sensor has the ability to resolve 3136 x 2352 pixels with aspect ratios of 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9.

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The CMOS sensor has 7MP and provides a standard ISO range of 100 to 1600. RAW files are supported which means that the user has more room to maneuver in post.

The image below illustrates the Digilux 3's sensor size in comparison to other popular sizes. The Digilux 3 sensor has a crop factor of 2.1 and is pointed out in green.

Leica Digilux 3 sensor size Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

To get a sense of different aspect ratios, you can refer to the graphic below.

Camera sensor aspect ratios

Leica Digilux 3 dimensions

Leica Digilux 3 weighs 1.34 pounds (606 gr or 21.38 ounces) & has outer size of 146mm x 87mm x 77mm (5.7" x 3.4" x 3.0"). The weight of general Advanced DSLR camera is 776 gr and the Leica Digilux 3 is lighter than other competitors.

Photography Glossary

Below is a photo of the Leica Digilux 3 with a soda to help you get a sense of its size.

Leica Digilux 3 dimensions scale

The top view directly below will show the button layout on the Digilux 3.

Leica Digilux 3 topview buttons dials

Leica Digilux 3 Lens information

The Digilux 3 fits the Micro Four Thirds mount and has 162 lenses that are available. Here is some of the lenses we have in our collection that will work with the Digilux 3.

ModelVisualizeFocal LengthApertureStabilizedWeight
Samyang-100mm-F2.8-Macro-MFT-Mount lensSamyang 100mm F2.8 Macro100mmf/2.8720g
Olympus-M.Zuiko-Digital-ED-14-150mm-F4-5.6-II lensOlympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-150mm F4-5.6 II14-150mmf/4.0-5.6 284g
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Olympus-Zuiko-Digital-ED-70-300mm-f4.0-5.6 lensOlympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300mm f4.0-5.670-300mmf/4.0-5.6 620g
Samyang-Reflex-300mm-f6.3-ED-UMC-CS-Micro-Four-Thirds lensSamyang Reflex 300mm f6.3 ED UMC CS300mmf/6.3 318g
Olympus-Zuiko-Digital-ED-12-60mm-f2.8-4.0-SWD lensOlympus Zuiko Digital ED 12-60mm f2.8-4.0 SWD12-60mmf/2.8-4.0 575g
Olympus-M.Zuiko-Digital-ED-12mm-f2 lensOlympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f212mmf/2.0 130g
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Olympus-M.Zuiko-ED-75-300mm-f4.8-6.7-II lensOlympus M.Zuiko ED 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 II75-300mmf/4.8-6.7 423g
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Leica Digilux 3 Connectivity

The Digilux 3 has the following connectivity:

  • USB Yes

Cameras that come with NFC or Bluetooth support can be used wirelessly by smartphones. You are able to send files and sometimes adjust camera settings with no need to connect directly with the camera.

Certain apps also stream a Liveview and press the shutter if you aren't near the camera. If the camera contains a HDMI port, it can be attached to an external screen. A good number of cameras will allow you to recharge the battery through the USB port.

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Leica Digilux 3 Video information

Leica Digilux 3 does not record video. If you are wanting a digital camera to shoot just photos, it might not be a concern.

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Leica Digilux 3 Weather Sealing

There is no weather sealing for the Leica Digilux 3 so you have to be cautious in rainy and dusty situations.

Leica Digilux 3 Screen and Viewfinder

The Leica Digilux 3 has got a 2.5" fixed screen with a resolution of 207k dots.

Unfortunately the screen isn't a touch screen.

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The View Finder details for Leica Digilux 3 are below:

  • ViewFinder Optical (pentamirror)
  • Coverage 95 percent
  • Magnification 0.47x

For bright outdoor situations that make the camera screens washed out and challenging to see, viewfinders will be quite valuable.

Leica Digilux 3 Shutter information

Leica Digilux 3 has the ability to shoot continuously at 3.0 frames/s. The highest shutter speed is 1/2000 sec.

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Leica Digilux 3 Flash and Hot shoe information

Leica Digilux 3 has both inbuilt flash along with external flash ability. The maximum flash sync speed is 1/160 sec.

Leica Digilux 3 Autofocusing information

Leica Digilux 3 has both Phase Detect Autofocus as well as Contrast Based Autofocus. Phase Detection focusing is a lot more faster and accurate than Contrast Based focusing.

It has got 3 focus points to choose from. Leica Digilux 3 has got manual focusing when needed in low light occasions or you want to have more precise focusing control.

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Leica Digilux 3 Battery life

The typical Advanced DSLR camera battery life is 909. Nikon D780 offers the highest (2260) battery life in this type of cameras.

Following is a collection of Advanced DSLR cameras that have the strongest battery life:

Leica Digilux 3 for various forms of photography

The following illustration indicates a summation of the Leica Digilux 3 for various forms of photography. To see more, scroll to the specific paragraph below.

Leica Digilux 3 Portrait photography details

The Leica Digilux 3 gets a rating of 54 which is reasonable, and means the camera is reasonably suited to use for portraits. Taking portrait images favors greatly towards sensor dimension, support for RAW files along with the flexibility to use off-camera flash.

Photography Glossary
focusing manually
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
low resolution sensor (7MP)

Leica Digilux 3 Street photography highlights

Getting a modest rating of 58, the Leica Digilux 3 is relatively acceptable to use in street photography. A very good street photography camera offers a fine balance of picture quality plus portability.

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nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
lighter than competition (606g)
no moving screen
lack of image stabilization

Leica Digilux 3 Sports photography details

A bad sports photography points total of 40 suggests the Leica Digilux 3 is just not very good for taking pictures of sports. A camera needs great autofocus plus fast shutter speeds for sports photography.

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sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
comes with phase detect auto focus
max fps very slow (3.0 fps)
no image stabilization
MP count low (7 megapixels)

Leica Digilux 3 Travel photography details

Portability is very crucial in buying a travel camera. Over-all, the Leica Digilux 3 gets a decent 50 for a travel camera which makes it relatively adequate to take with you on your journeys.

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lighter than competition in class (606g)
flash built-in
lack of Time Lapse mode
low megapixels (7MP)
screen isn't selfie friendly

Leica Digilux 3 as a Landscape photography camera

In case you're planning to purchase a camera for landscape photography, the most critical aspect will be image quality. The Leica Digilux 3 at it's decent score of 47 as a landscape camera is somewhat appropriate compared to it's competitors.

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you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
screen is somewhat small (2.5")
no image stabilization
low resolution (7MP)
missing Timelapse mode

Vlogging with Leica Digilux 3

A camera for vlogging should really offer a moving display screen, mic input and ideally image stabilization. Considering all things, the Leica Digilux 3 is just not very good as a vlog camera as it gets a bad rating of 9.

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can't shoot video

Leica Digilux 3 Alternatives

If you are searching for replacements to the Digilux 3, below is a selection of the highest rated cameras which fall in to the class of Advanced DSLR.

The chart below shows you a bird's eye view of the Digilux 3 vs it's highest rated rivals suggested previously.

These are various other cameras you might consider as alternative options. To look at a thorough comparison, simply click the "compare" link.

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Specifications

General Information
Company
Leica
Model type
Leica Digilux 3
Type
Advanced DSLR
Introduced
2006-09-14
Body design
Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Sensor type
CMOS
Sensor size
Four Thirds
Sensor measurements
17.3 x 13mm
Sensor surface area
224.9mm²
Sensor resolution
7 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio
4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution
3136 x 2352
RAW images
Maximum native ISO
1600
Lowest native ISO
100
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points
3
Lens
Lens support
Micro Four Thirds
Amount of lenses
45
Focal length multiplier
2.1
Screen
Screen type
Fixed Type
Screen diagonal
2.5"
Resolution of screen
207k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type
Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage
95 percent
Viewfinder magnification
0.47x
DXO scores
DXO All around rating
not tested
DXO Color Depth rating
not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating
not tested
DXO Low light rating
not tested
Features
Lowest shutter speed
B+ seconds
Highest shutter speed
1/2000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed
3.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation
Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash settings
Auto, Red-Eye Auto, On, Red-Eye On, Red-Eye Slow Sync, Off, Slow Sync (1&2)
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync
1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Maximum video resolution
None
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless
None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS
None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight
606 grams (1.34 pounds)
Physical dimensions
146 x 87 x 77mm (5.7" x 3.4" x 3.0")
Other
Self timer
Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage
SD/MMC card
Storage slots
Single
Cost at launch
$1,999