Leica Announces D-LUX 4 and C-LUX 3 Compact Digital Cameras

Leica has been a household name in optics and photography for many years, so it's no wonder that, just like most of the other major players in the industry, it is preparing its "bag of goodies" for Photokina. Over the past few days, the company has made quite a lot of announcements, one of the most interesting being related to the D-LUX 4 and C-LUX 3 compact digital cameras, which, despite featuring a rather "classical" external design, provide a very comprehensive set of features and specifications.

The LEICA D-LUX 4 comes equipped with a 1/1.63-inch CCD, 10.1 megapixel resolution image sensor, as well as a high-speed LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMICRON 5.1-12.8 mm f/2.0-2.8 ASPH. lens with a focal length range of 24 to 60 mm in 35 mm format. This lens is particularly interesting, since the fast speed makes it suitable especially for low light exposure, while the ultra-short initial focal length of 24 mm opens up all sorts of interesting creative options for photographers.

Additionally, the device packs an integrated image stabilizer, as well as a black viewfinder with 24 mm brightline frame that can be attached to the flash shoe of the D-Lux 4, enabling the photographer to view the subject without draining battery power. A slot-on compact flash unit LEICA CF 22 is also available for the LEICA D-LUX 4. Another option is an additional handgrip that makes the camera easier to hold.

The Leica C-LUX 3, on the other hand, is equipped with a 10 megapixel, 1/1.63-inch CCD sensor, accompanied by the LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT 4.4-22 mm f/2.8-5.9 ASPH. lens, which provides a wide focal length range from 25 to 125 mm (35 mm format). Another important feature is the 5x optical zoom, which significantly enlarges the camera’s telephoto range.

It's also interesting to mention the fact that the LEICA C-LUX 3 also integrates innovative automatic functions, which allow the camera to automatically combine the many individual functions to suit the subject and the photographic conditions, controlling the O.I.S. image stabilizer, the automatic ISO control, the face recognition, automatic contrast compensation and automatic choice of scene mode.

The LEICA D-LUX 4 will arrive in stores in October 2008 at an estimated retail price of around 600 pounds sterling (1,072 US dollars), while the C-LUX 3 is just a little bit more affordable, at 420 pounds (753 US dollars).