Are you looking for Leica D-Lux 7 portraits? You are in the right place. I’m Sven the Leicaphile and here’s 8 things you need to know about using that camera for portraits, with image samples.
Leica D-Lux 7 Portraits review
I won’t mince words, I absolutely LOVE the Leica D-Lux 7. It’s a great digital camera that has so much to give and is in a stunningly portable package. And the good news is, it’s wonderful for portraiture, let’s find out why.
1. Perfect zoom range for portraits
The built-in lens of the camera is a 24mm to 75mm. It has a maximum aperture of f1.7 on the wide angle end and goes to f2.8 on the telephoto end. This is great because at the wide angle side of things, this camera is perfect for environmental portraits where the image is about the person and the location they are living in.
The wide focal length provides a subtle epicness to those kinds of portraits. On the telephoto end, at 75mm, this is one of the most desirable focal lengths for portraits because telephotos tend to compress distance and that makes portraits oh so much more pleasing.
Leica D-Lux 7 portraits is convenient then because you can have different styles of portraits at a twist of the lens.
2. Large enough sensor for Bokeh
When it comes to Leica D-Lux 7 portraits, I know this is the question you want to know then answer to. Can the Leica D-Lux 7 bokeh? Yes it can at the telephoto end. When it comes to depth of field:
| Shallow DOF (more Bokeh) | More DOF (less Bokeh) |
|---|---|
| Larger sensor | Smaller sensor |
| Higher apertures (like f2.8) | Smaller apertures (like f/8) |
| Telephoto focal length | Wide angle focal length |
The Leica has all the ones on the right. It has a large enough sensor (that’s why it’s so small!) for shallow depth of field and can go all the way to 75mm f2.8 which is wonderful for Bokeh portraits. Look at it yourself:
3. All around portrait kit
So what does that mean overall? That the Leica D-Lux 7 is one of the best portrait kits you can get. Not only in terms of size but also of price. It is cheaper to get the D-Lux 7 rather then an mu43 camera and the equivalent lens.
The bulk is something to be reckoned with as the weight of the D-lux is only 0.88 lb / 403 g. With Panasonic’s own lens, the total weight with a body is around 800 grams or about 1.77 lb.
You won’t find any other camera so capable for portraits, that has that zoom rang and can blur the background so small and light.
4. Low light prowess
Just in case you want to shoot portraits at night, the Leica is perfectly suited. It can go high ISOs and still keep the image clean. You can comfortably go from ISO 100 to ISO 1600, and the grain starts at 3200, better avoid ISO 6400.
But the treat here is of course the fast lens, it is respectably fast even at the telephoto end. And let’s not forget that there is stunning stabilization when it comes to the D-lux 7. While video shooters will enjoy silky smooth videos, photographers can enjoy shooting wide open and have sharp shots up to about 1/10th of a second, but your mileage may vary.
So even in low light situations, where the ISO is maxed out and the lens is at maximum aperture, the Leica shines because of the stabilization.
5. Get that perfect moment
One of the most annoying aspects of portraits is that you often miss the perfect moment. The moment you shoot, you see the split second after that was an even better portraits (even tho you told them to stay still!) and the moment is forever lost.
Not with this tiny portrait beast. You have 11 frames per second to shoot! So keep pressing the shutter and you won’t miss the perfect frame, no need to worry about blinking eyes and missed moments.
Plus this camera focuses really fast, half press and by the time you even realize it already found the focus.
6. Enable cheat mode
Call me old school, I’m not a fan of this, but if you want you can enable “cheat mode”. What is that you ask? Well the Leica allows you to shoot in 4k video mode, and renders a high resolution video. Instead of shooting Leica D-lux 7 portraits, you would shoot a video while the person is posing.
Afterwards you can, in-camera view the video and extract stills from it. These would be JPGs but if your exposure is spot-on, it’s basically fps on mighty steroids where you extract the best shot from a video.
7. Dynamic range
The D-lux 7 has great dynamic range both in the shadows and the highlights. Shoot raw and even when you blow your exposure you’ll find yourself able to recover some details because of the color channels.
8. Post Processing
If you like to cook your portraits to add a little boost of contrast or saturation, the Leica D-Lux 7 portraits can really take a beating. It holds up very well any manipulation you throw at it, like clarity and custom color changes.
Even when it’s over or underexpose you’ll always find some details that you can recover. And if you like doing black and white portraits, this camera’s blacks are rich and dark, even right out of the camera.
Conclusion
I hope you liked this article about Leica D-Lux 7 portraits. The combination of zoom range and fast aperture allows you to do portraiture in any way you want it from headshots to more environmental. Plus the strong RAW files make it so that the images you get can withstand a lot of post processing for those who want it.
The Bokeh at the wide end is excellent and makes for a great all around portrait kit that is highly recommended. Click here to launch price checker.