The Leica D-Lux 7 is a high-end compact camera with a Micro Four Thirds sensor that can capture images in several aspects and 17 megapixels.
In addition to these capabilities, the D Lux 7 records UHD 4K video at 30 or 24 frames per second, has a 24-75mm f/1.7-2.8 3.1x Leica lens, an electronic viewfinder with 2.76 million dots, a touchscreen LCD monitor with 3.0 inches and 1.24 million dots, 11 frames per second burst shooting, built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, 4K photo modes, a hot shoe-mounted external flash, and in-camera battery charging.
Black and silver versions of the D Lux 7 are currently on sale for £999, €1099, and $1195 in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, respectively.
Find out how well this high-end compact camera performed by reading our comprehensive evaluation of the Leica D-Lux 7 digital camera…
Leica D-Lux 7 Build Quality
The new Leica D-Lux 7 is a fixed lens, small travel zoom camera that manages to pull off the trick of being both luxurious and reasonably inexpensive. The answer is in the ‘D-Lux’ (read: deluxe) designation, which indicates that the camera is an exclusive model.
However, considering that it’s a point-and-shoot camera that fits in your pocket, it’s not cheap. You could, instead, purchase yourself a decent performing interchangeable lens mirror-less camera from one of the other leading manufacturers for the current asking price of £995 in the UK; yet, it still wouldn’t have the perceived cachet that comes with owning a Leica.
You could alternatively get the very identical Panasonic LX100 II that this product is based on, of course, which retailed for about £849 upon its introduction in the late summer of 2018, and in doing so, save yourself £146.
Arriving after recent stealth models aimed at street photographers and photojournalists that hide Leica’s normally covetable branding, the D-Lux 7 breaks rank and displays that red Leica logo proudly tops right of the lens, even though these stealth models were aimed at street photographers and photojournalists.
However, in addition to its strengths as a camera for taking snapshots and street photographs, this particular model also has a lot of potential as a camera for other types of photography.
When held in one’s hand or tucked into a jacket pocket, which also fits securely and conveniently, the mostly metal-built D-Lux 7 feels as sturdy as we’d anticipate from a Leica product because of its build.
The Four Thirds CMOS sensor has a resolution of 21.77 megapixels, coupled with a lens with the equivalent reach of a wide-angle 24-75mm lens in 35mm film. The camera’s solution, which is relatively modest at 17 megapixels, is one of the most important features to note here.
Leica D-Lux 7 Image Quality
The Fine JPEG option, which produces photographs with a resolution of 17 megapixels and a size of around 6 megabytes on average, was used to capture each of the sample images included in this study.
It should be no surprise that the Leica D-Lux 7 is unique this time for, much like its near-identical counterpart, the Panasonic LX100 II, packing a Four Thirds sensor into a relatively tiny chassis. This type of sensor is often seen in interchangeable lens mirror-less cameras.
You could conclude that this would immediately deliver an image quality that is noticeably better than the typical compact camera that has a physically smaller imaging chip, and you might be right. However, you must take into consideration the fact that said sensor is, in this model, out of necessity, married to a Leica-manufactured lens that is relatively modest in terms of size.
Because of this, the results are not, in our opinion, as crisp as those produced by an interchangeable lens mirrorless camera with the same sensor or by an APS-C DSLR, both of which are available at a comparable price point.
However, low light performance is outstanding for a camera of this size, with softening of detail to reduce the appearance of picture noise only truly noticeable at the very top two ISO levels, as long as you can avoid the impacts of camera movement when shooting handheld (ISO 12500 and 25000 equivalent).
Specs
| Sensor Resolution | Actual: 21.77 Megapixel Effective: 17 Megapixel (4736 x 3552) |
| Aspect Ratio | 1:1, 3:2, 4:3, 16:9 |
| Sensor Type | Four Thirds MOS |
| Image File Format | JPEG, Raw |
| Image Stabilization | Optical |
Lens
| Focal Length | 10.9 to 34mm (35mm Equivalent Focal Length: 24 to 75mm) |
| Optical Zoom | 3.1x |
| Digital Zoom | 4x Maximum (12.4x Combined Zoom) 6.2x Optimized (19.2x Combined Zoom) |
| Maximum Aperture | f/1.7 to 2.8 |
| Minimum Aperture | f/16 |
| Focus Range | Normal 1.64′ to Infinity / 50 cm to Infinity Macro 1.18″ to Infinity / 3 cm to Infinity (Wide) 11.81″ to Infinity / 30 cm to Infinity (Telephoto) |
| Optical Design | 11 Elements in 8 Groups |
| Filter Size | 43 mm |
Exposure Control
| ISO Sensitivity | Auto, 200 to 25600 (Extended: 100 to 25600) |
| Shutter Speed | Mechanical Shutter 1/4000 to 60 Seconds Electronic Shutter 1/16000 to 1 Second 0 30 Minutes in Time Mode |
| Metering Method | Center-Weighted Average, Multi, Spot |
| Exposure Modes | Aperture Priority, Manual, Program, Shutter Priority |
| Exposure Compensation | -5 to +5 EV (1/3 EV Steps) |
| White Balance | Auto, Cloudy, Color Temperature, Daylight, Flash, Incandescent, Shade, White Set 1, White Set 2, White Set 3, White Set 4 |
| Continuous Shooting | Up to 11 fps at 17 MP Up to 30 fps at 8.3 MP |
| Self-Timer | 2/10-Second Delay |
| Internal Recording Modes | MP4 UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.98/29.97 fps [100 Mb/s] 1920 x 1080p at 29.97/59.94 fps [20 to 28 Mb/s] 1280 x 720 at 29.97 fps [10 Mb/s] AVCHD 1920 x 1080p at 59.94 fps |
| Recording Limit | Up to 30 Minutes |
| Broadcast Output | NTSC/PAL |
| Audio Recording | Built-In Microphone (Stereo) |
| Audio File Format | AAC, Dolby Digital 2ch |
Viewfinder
| Type | Built-In Electronic |
| Resolution | 2,760,000 Dot |
| Coverage | 100% |
| Diopter Adjustment | -4 to +3 |
Monitor
| Size | 3.0″ |
| Resolution | 1,240,000 Dot |
| Display Type | Fixed Touchscreen LCD |
Flash
| Built-In Flash | No |
| Flash Modes | Auto, Auto/Red-Eye Reduction, First-Curtain Sync, Forced On, Forced On/Red-Eye Reduction, Off, Second-Curtain Sync, Slow Sync, Slow Sync/Red-Eye Reduction |
| Effective Flash Range | ISO Auto 2 to 46′ / 0.6 to 14.1 m (Wide) 1 to 27′ / 0.3 to 8.5 m (Telephoto) |
| External Flash Connection | Hot Shoe |
Interface
| Media/Memory Card Slot | Single Slot: SD/SDHC/SDXC |
| Connectivity | HDMI D (Micro), Micro-USB (USB 2.0) |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi Bluetooth |
| GPS | No |
Physical
| Battery Type | 1 x BP-DC15 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion, 7.2 VDC, 1025 mAh |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 4.6 x 2.6 x 2.5″ / 118 x 66 x 64 mm |
| Weight | 14.22 oz / 403 g (With Battery, Recording Media) |
Packaging Info
| Package Weight | 2 lb |
| Box Dimensions (LxWxH) | 6.5 x 6 x 4.7″ |
Leica D-Lux 7 Conclusion
Yes, $995 is a lot of money to spend on a pocket-sized travel zoom, but on the other hand, when compared to what else is on sale from Leica, it’s not such a lot to pay to acquire the coveted red manufacturer badge in return.
Thankfully, the Leica D-Lux 7 is a model that has a full feeling and is filled with features that go some way toward justifying the expensive price tag it carries. In addition to this, we make use of a wide-angle zoom lens that is particularly large for its category (and dimensions) Four-Thirds sensor, fast f/1.7 maximum lens aperture, 17 megapixels full resolution, 1.24 million dot resolution touch screen LCD, 2.8 million dot eye-level electronic viewfinder, as well as 4K video capture at a respectable frame rate of 30fps. These are just some of the features that this camera offers.