Leica D-Lux 5

The Leica D-Lux 5 ($799 list) is a high-end compact point-and-shoot camera with a high price that's aimed directly at enthusiasts. If its specifications remind you of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 ($499.99, 3.5 stars) don't be surprised?from a hardware standpoint the two cameras are identical. Leica has put the LX5 in a different casing, bundled the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 ($299, 4.5 stars) and included a longer 2-year warranty. The camera's internal software has changed as well, to the point where the images it captures are much sharper than those from the LX5. The price point is not too bad if you aren't already a Lightroom owner, but our Editors' Choice high-end point-and-shoot, the Canon PowerShot S100 ($429.99, 4.5 stars) is still a better overall value.

Design and Features
Identical in size to the 2.6-by-4.3-by-1.7-inch Lumix LX5, the D-Lux 5 weighs 0.2 ounces more, tipping the scales at 9.5 ounces. The outer stylings are a bit different?the Lumix has a small hand grip on the front of the camera, while the D-Lux 5 has none. The flush front and matte black finish give the camera a bit of a retro look, which should be appealing to aesthetically-conscious consumers. Both are larger than the Canon S100, which is relatively small at 2.3 by 3.9 by 1.1 inches. The D-Lux 5 does manage to squeeze a hot shoe into its body, which the Canon lacks. You can use it to add an external flash, electronic viewfinder, or other accessories. The Canon, on the other hand adds a GPS, which the Leica lacks, making this camera a non-starter for geotagging enthusiasts.

The lens covers a 24-90mm (35mm equivalent) zoom range, which is a 3.75x range. It lets in quite a bit of light, opening up to f/2 at the wide end and managing to drop only to f/3.3 at the long end of its range. It isn't as fast or long as the 28-112mm f/1.8-2.5 lens found on the Olympus XZ-1 ($499.99, 3.5 stars), which remains the fastest in this class. The camera's rear LCD is 3 inches in size and is quite crisp and bright. Its 460k-dot resolution is quite nice to look at, but it isn't on par with the 920k-dot screen found on the Nikon Coolpix P7100 ($499.95, 4 stars).

The camera isn't lacking for physical controls, which should keep advanced shooters happy. You'll find the mode dial, zoom rocker, shutter release, and movie record button on the top plate. A standard four-way control is located on the rear, along with an AF/AE lock button, a control wheel, playback and display controls, and the menu button. Leica has also placed a few controls on the lens itself?you can toggle between standard, macro, and manual focus modes and adjust the image aspect ratio via switches on the left and top of the lens.

The camera takes a two-tiered approach to its menu system. The Q. Menu button brings up an overlay menu that allows you to adjust specific options quickly. From here you can change the film mode, flash output, drive mode, metering area, and other basic functions. The actual menu is much more detailed, providing six pages of options just for recording photos?if you are in the mood to change a more obscure setting, you'll be able to do it from here.

The film mode setting is unique to the D-Lux 5. You can select from a number of different processing options to capture images with different looks. Several options are available, making it possible to give your photos a natural, high contrast, or low contrast look. You can even choose from several different versions of black and white. Of course, this only applies to shooting JPG images. The camera can also grab Raw files, which is where the bundled Lightroom software comes in. It lets you develop Raw data and turn it into a usable image that can be shared online or printed. Sure, Lightroom can also tweak JPG files, but you won't have nearly the latitude to adjust exposure, contrast, sharpness, and dozens of other variables as you will when you work with Raw data.

Performance and Conclusions
The D-Lux 5 is a speedy camera, but it's not the fastest kid on the block. It can start up and grab a shot in about 2 seconds, only requires you to wait 1.2 seconds between photos, and records a 0.4-second shutter lag. The Nikon Coolpix P7100 beat it out in speed tests, starting in 1.6 seconds, recycling in 0.9-second, and recording a minimal 0.1-second shutter lag.

I used the Imatest software suite to measure the quality of the images captured by the D-Lux 5. Imatest measures image sharpness, expressed in lines per picture height, and noise. A score of 1,800 lines per picture height denotes a sharp image, and the D-Lux 5 came in well above that, scoring 2,231 lines on a center-weighted test. Even though it has the same hardware, the JPG files created by the Panasonic LX5 scored a mere 1,626 lines. This advantage can be nullified by setting the LX5 to record Raw files rather than JPG, but there is some convenience lost by doing so.

Imatest also measures image noise. As you increase a camera's sensitivity to light, measured numerically as ISO, the amount of noise in an image increases as well. Once an image is made up of more than 1.5 percent noise it is deemed to be noticeably grainy. The D-Lux 5 is able to keep noise below this threshold through ISO 1600, which should allow you to shoot clean images in dim environments. The PowerShot S100, did only slightly better in this test, keeping photos clean through ISO 2000.

Video is recorded in AVCHD format at 720p30, and looks quite nice. Details are crisp and colors are vibrant. There is a bit of noise as you zoom in and out when recording, but none when the camera changes focus. You can connect the camera to your computer via a proprietary USB interface, or to an HDTV via a standard mini HDMI port. There is a tiny little bit of internal memory, enough to record a few photos, but you'll want to use an SD, SHDC, or SDXC card to record files.

The Leica D-Lux 5 is a very solid camera, although most will be scared away by its shocking sticker price. You could buy an entry-level D-SLR like the Nikon D3100 ($699.95, 4 stars) or a fully loaded compact interchangeable lens camera like the Sony Alpha NEX-5N ($699.99, 4.5 stars) for less money. Neither of those cameras can slide into your pocket, nor do they come with a software bundle that will cost you $300 if you bought it separately. You also have less-expensive options that are just as good in the enthusiast compact market, like our Editors' Choice Canon PowerShot S100, which is only $430 and includes a GPS, or the D-Lux 5's $500 fraternal twin, the Panasonic LX5. If you are considering the LX5 and plan on shooting in Raw format?and need a copy of Lightroom?the D-Lux 5 does make financial sense, especially when you consider the extra year of warranty service. But for most of us it's tough to lay out $800 for a point-and-shoot camera, even a very good one.

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