The Digilux 2 is equipped with a 5.0 Mega pixel sensor.
1900X2560 individual CCD sensor elements are ar-
ranged in an area array. At its most simplistic level of
function, the individual sensor elements may be com-
pared to individual analog light meters. Light passing
through the lens energizes individual sensor elements
which create analog voltage signals. These signals are
translated to digital values via an integrated A/D con-
verter using a linear transformation at 12bits per pixel.
This means that each individual sensor element signal
may translate to any of 4096 individual tonal values
from light to dark per color channel.
Color information is gathered at capture via a matrix
of primary color filters on the surface of the sensor.
This color information is applied to the original capture
data via a complex algorithm that interpolates color in-
formation and assigns color values to each pixel. While
digital cameras are generally compared by how many
pixels are on the sensor, very few digital photographers
realize that the real quality lies in optical design, and
the quality of software engineering applied to the raw
sensor data.
When shooting in any of the three JPEG file format
modes, the captured data is temporarily stored in an
internal memory buffer as the color matrix data is
processed internally.
When you perform a custom white balance, image
sharpening, or other in camera image adjustments;
the sensor data is altered as the cameras internal color
LUT is remapped to the sRGB color definition, and JPEG
data compression occurs. Once the image processing
occurs, the data is written to the removable media and
the internal memory buffer is cleared for the next ex-
posure. This entire process takes place in the moments
after you take a picture.
When shooting in JPEG mode your in-camera processing
choices directly affect your final image quality and are
irreversible. JPEG compressed image files may deliver
excellent results with careful attention at capture.
The downside of the JPEG format is that in-camera
mistakes in exposure and color balance that require
editing on the computer may quickly degrade the
ultimate image quality.
When capturing images in the raw file format, sensor
data and other descriptive information is saved in a
high bit-depth TIFF file format with no compression.
One would think that with no processing overhead, this
would actually be a faster process, but the fact is that
the data is written directly to the memory card from
the camera memory buffer. Essentially your camera is
copying a 12MB TIFF file to your storage medium. This
lag time is the same as if you copy a raw file to your
desktop computer from the storage medium.
Getting to Know Your Leica Digilux 2 Camera
How your camera works
Before we begin to explore the features and operation
of the Digilux 2 camera, it is best to understand the un-
derlying process of how the camera creates, interprets
and stores digital images. Very few digital photogra-
phers take the time to consider the process of capture
and therefore place too much emphasis on post-cap-
ture editing on the computer. In this brief overview
you will quickly learn that a high quality digital image
starts in camera, not in your computer. Once you famil-
iarize yourself with the camera functions, you will be
amazed at the quality that may be achieved with little
or no editing on your computer.
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