Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week. Me? Not bad thanks for asking. This week I'm making a big change. I'm upgrading my EDC (Every Day Carry) camera. As you know if you've been following me for a while my EDC camera is a Canon G7XII point and shoot that I bought in 2018. I originally bought it to carry with me when my wife and myself went to Washington DC and I didn't want to carry all my camera gear and just take the little point and shoot. I took it with me and really enjoyed shooting it and got some great shots. That's why it became my EDC in the first place. I have used it as a backup camera on photography trips and of course every day when I go somewhere. But lately like everything else my eyes aren't as good as they used to be. Using a camera without a viewfinder is really a deal breaker now. I really wanted a point and shoot with a viewfinder. Especially in conditions of bright light the back screen can be very hard to see clearly. And I'm old school and like using the viewfinder like I did in the film days. You can read all about the Canon G7XII camera at this link. What's your EDC 

So I started a hunt for a point and shoot that had a viewfinder. I also wanted a zoom lens not a fixed focal length lens. Now I could find cameras with viewfinders like the Fujifilm X100 series of camera's but they come with a fixed 35mm full frame equivalent. But all the ones that had a zoom lens did not have the view finder like I wanted. I did find some older Fujifilm camera's that came out in 2012 that had what I wanted. I looked them up on my usual used camera places and they were still expensive and they had some age on them. I found some Panasonic Lumix LX 100 series camera's that had a zoom lens and viewfinder but they were at 1400 dollars and they were 7 years old. If I'm going to spend that kind of money for a camera I want newer technology . Now Leica and Panasonic teamed up to make the LX 100 Panasonic cameras until 2022 and Leica would just rebrand them with their logo on them. They had Leica lenses on them. Panasonic decided not to make the LX 100's point and shoots anymore. Panasonic would have there name Lumix LX100 and Leica would have the D-Lux models with the Leica brand on them. But Leica decided to make another model after Panasonic backed out. But when they made theirs they put the Leica magic in it. They simplified all the buttons and dials to look like their famous Q and M models. They put their processor in it they also put their Menu and operating system in it to make a a unique Leica point and shoot. The Leica D-Lux 8.

Now if you've been a photographer for a time you know Leica brand is known for its unmatched quality in camera's and lenses since the early 20th century .  Leica is mostly known for journalism and street photography. With premium quality come premium prices. For a Q  or M body you can pay up to 6000 dollars. They do make SLRs but are most famous for range finder type of cameras. Leica lenses can be thousands of dollars. The company have a cult following much like Harley Davison, Apple, and Pepsi or Coke. When people like these companies they are loyal to the company.  Owing one of these camera's since they are really niche camera's is only a dream for most. I am one of them. The Leica D-Lux 8 is the entry camera into the Leica brand. Kind of the gateway drug,  relatively cheap compared to their other cameras. This is the camera that I was looking at and I decided to sell my beloved Canon G7XII and a lens that I don't use anymore to pay for this camera. I got more for my Canon G7X than what I paid for it when I got it new. That's how much in demand it is. So using MPB the used camera company I did the trade so now I'm going to be a Leica owner! LOL

Let me give you some specs of this camera. I'll do another in-depth look at the camera in a later blog. This camera has a 24 to 75 mm full frame equivalent lens with a f/1.7-2.8 Maximum aperture Leica Summilux lens. So a very sharp lens. It has a 21megapixle micro 4/3 sensor . The sensor is bigger than the one on the Canon EDC I've been using. It has a modern EVF (Electronic View Finder) and a nice screen on the back. Leica's operating and Menu system and processor. It is shaped like the traditional Leicas and is called a "Baby Q". So it's pretty Sexy looking ! For a camera that is. It's a simple looking camera with an aperture ring on the lens, shutter speed dial on top and some programable buttons and knobs. My Canon didn't have any buttons or knobs that could be customized you got what you got. It Leica is very minimalist old school looking which I really like. It has been a very popular camera and is currently on backorder almost everywhere. It came out in 2024 so only a couple of years old. 

I haven't received it yet but maybe by the time this blog comes out I will have it in hand. After I shoot it a while I'll give you a full detailed review on the Leica D-Lux 8. Until then get out and shoot! I will be!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 posts there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link