I recognized that by posting my purchase and comments on the Leica D-Lux 4 might stir the simmering juices of the cauldrons (dictionary definition: "a large vessel used for boiling") which we affectionately refer to as web forums today. Of the various comments I've read so far, Richard Day's reaction is the sanest and most level-headed, to which I owe him a thank you.
Obviously this is my personal post, but I recognize I have to carefully navigate between my personal observations and what might be construed as representative of the thoughts or views of the company. To this end, and not because I was told to do this, I thought I'd share some comments about my D-Lux post and respond to some of your reactions.
To those that say it's incredible (or stupid or worse) that I would acknowledge buying another brand camera, please refer to the camera market chart above. As you can see, the D-Lux falls into a category that we do not participate in. Of course when I'm surfing or near the water, I carry and thoroughly enjoy my W60. Like wise, as you all know from my posts here, I'm very active testing and shooting with our SLR's.
For those of you that are old enough to remember film, my fascination with the D-Lux 4 is very analagous to those days when many working photographers, regardless of whether they shot with Canon, Nikon or Pentax SLR's, also owned a Contax T2 or T3 for those times they wanted to travel light yet still have a camera that gave them very high-quality results.
As I have been active with this blog for several years, I would assume most of you recognize that being an active photographer, I also view it my responsibility to be the "voice of the customer" and really try to understand what drives our passion for photography, as well as truly understand our wants and needs. With this in mind, it's incredibly important for me to understand and evaluate what other companies are doing in the photography market. By acknowledging that I am now shooting with the D-Lux should actually be viewed as a positive. Would you rather have me cloistered in a dark room oblivious to the trends in the market and the direction that our competitors are heading? By comparison, I heard that when Honda starting shipping the Accord, General Motors forbid any of the senior management to drive or own this car. In hindsight, it's clear someone in Detroit should have had their eyes wide-open.
I also realized that my desire for a high-quality compact camera that offered near-SLR quality was probably shared by a few other Pentaxians. After posting this blog entry on the Leica forum of dpreview, it was interesting that several folks have already bought the D-Lux 4 or the Panasonic equivalent LX3. If there was any method to my madness in publishing this post, could it be that I was just throwing a lure out on the calm waters of lake pentax to see if anyone took the bait, or what your interest in this type of product would be?
In closing, I hope that a few of you now recognize the "intent" of my post about the D-Lux 4. At the very least, give me credit for being a "photographer first" and recognize that this passion and knowledge is not necessarily a bad thing if you are in the business of making cameras :-)
