The premium compact camera market is slightly more crowded today, as Leica’s newly announced D-Lux 8 has officially launched.
It may not be any easier for photographers to get their hands on a compact camera, though, as the D-Lux 8 has already joined the ranks of the Ricoh GR III series and Fujifilm X100VI by being sold out. Users can sign up for notifications on the official Leica store or put in their preorder at B&H, at least, but the compact camera shortage looks poised to continue despite an expanded selection of options.
There is quite a bit to like with the D-Lux 8, which may make the wait, however long it ends up being, worth it — or more excruciating, depending on one’s perspective.
In any event, the D-Lux 8 sports a 22-megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS image sensor — which captures 17-megapixel images. This sensor is paired to a 10.9-34mm f/1.7-2.8 DC Vario-Summilux lens, delivering an equivalent focal length of 24-75mm. This primary imaging pipeline is unchanged from the D-Lux 7, which launched back in 2018. Although photographers may have hoped for some progress here, the existing architecture is at least very good.
That isn’t to say there aren’t changes with the D-Lux 8. The camera has undergone a significant facelift in terms of its outward design and its user interface, bringing the D-Lux series into line with Leica’s Q3 camera, the company’s excellent (and expensive) 60-megapixel full-frame all-in-one camera. By the way, the Q3, despite being more than a year old, is still sold out. Hopefully, it’s not a sign of things to come for the D-Lux 8.
Back to the D-Lux 8, it features a new 2.36-million dot OLED viewfinder. While offering fewer pixels than the D-Lux 7’s display, the new viewfinder promises an improved user experience. It also has more magnification (0.74x versus 0.7x), which is a subtle but welcome improvement.
The rest of the camera’s rear is quite different, too, with a streamlined design with fewer physical controls and buttons. These control changes come with a redesigned user interface, which matches the Q3’s in terms of look and feel.
The Leica D-Lux 8 is an intriguing new compact camera that, while not perhaps the wholesale revision that some photographers may have hoped for after six years, promises to be a delightful camera for travel, street, and general photography.
It’s available to order now for $1,595, and, according to Leica, has officially started shipping. However, it’s not evident how quickly someone who orders today can get their hands on Leica’s new all-in-one camera. This is becoming an all-too-familiar situation for photographers.
Image credits: Leica