Vivid Pop
Bright street, travel, food, architecture. 1950s/60s color feel.
Mode
TypeAperture Priority
Shutter dialA
ApertureF4
Exposure
ISOAuto, max 1600
EV+0.3
MeteringMulti-Field
White Balance
BaseDaylight
Fine-tune+1A optional
Golden hour (Belgrade/Novi Sad look)+2Atest
Film Style — Standard/Vivid/Natural, ±2 range
ProfileVivid
Contrast+1
Highlight0untested
Shadow0untested
Sharpness+2 (max)
Saturation+1
Noise Reduction
NR (JPG)Mediumcarried over
NR (Long Exposure)On
iDR–untested
Frame
Aspect ratio3:2 default
Alt4:3 for food/detail
AF meteringMulti-Field
PeopleEye/Face
FilterNone, CPL optional
Notes
- CPL for reflections, bright skies, cars, glass, or extra daylight saturation.
- Eye/Face auto-locks nearest eye. Toggle faces with directional pad.
- NR (JPG) and iDR values here are carried forward, not field-verified — confirm on camera.
Belgrade Fade
Trip temporary — replaces C3
Faded Eastern European film stock. Warm but muted, slightly underexposed, soft.
Status
Set for the Serbia trip and carried into Ireland. Restore C3 to B&W Soft Calm when done traveling with this look — check the tab next to this one for those settings.
Mode
TypeAperture Priority
Shutter dialA
ApertureF4–F5.6
Exposure
ISOAuto, max 1600
EV-0.7 (all conditions)
MeteringMulti-Field
White Balance
BaseCloudy
Fine-tune+2Aunconfirmed
Film Style — Standard/Vivid/Natural, ±2 range
ProfileStandard
Contrast-2
Highlight0untested
Shadow0untested
Sharpness-2was -3, capped
Saturation-2
Noise Reduction & iDR
NR (JPG)Off
NR (Long Exposure)On
iDROff confirmed
GrainNot in-camera
Frame
Aspect ratio4:3 always
AF meteringMulti-Field
PeopleEye/Face for portraits
FilterNone
Best scenes this trip
Kalemegdan fortress walls
Skadarlija cobblestones, any hour
Cara Dušana market faces and stalls
Monastery exteriors and courtyards (Fruška Gora)
Sremski Karlovci baroque square
Any doorway or peeling wall with texture and age
Notes
- iDR Off is deliberate — preserves shadow depth for the aged look. Do not switch it back on for this preset.
- Grain is not achievable in-camera on the D-Lux 8. Only the LUX app's Leica Looks offer a grain slider.
- +2A white balance fine-tune has not been confirmed in the field — check the result and adjust if it reads too warm.
B&W Soft Calm
Default C3 — restore after travel
Soft monochrome. Portraits, quiet street scenes, textures and light.
Mode
TypeAperture Priority
Shutter dialA
Aperture indoorsF2.8–F4
Aperture outdoorsF5.6
Exposure
ISOAuto, max 1600
EV-0.3
MeteringMulti-Field
White Balance
BaseAuto or Cloudy
Film Style — Monochrome / Mono High Contrast, ±2 range
ProfileMonochrome
Contrast-2
Highlight0untested
Shadow0untested
Sharpness-2was -3, capped
Saturationn/a (mono)
Noise Reduction
NR (JPG)Low
NR (Long Exposure)On
iDR–untested
GrainNot in-camera
Frame
Aspect ratio4:3 default
Alt1:1 for graphic compositions
AF meteringMulti-Field
PeopleEye/Face — critical in mono
FilterNone
Notes
- In B&W, tack-sharp eyes carry the whole image once color is removed — don't skip Eye/Face for portraits.
- Grain here means texture from Contrast/Sharpness settings, not an in-camera grain effect.
Quick Compare
| C1 Vivid | C2 Retro | C3 Belgrade | C3 B&W |
|---|
| Mode | A, F4 | M, 1/15 | A, F4–5.6 | A, F2.8–5.6 |
| ISO max | 1600 | 800 | 1600 | 1600 |
| EV | +0.3 | -0.3/-0.7/-1.0 | -0.7 | -0.3 |
| WB | Daylight | Cloudy +1A | Cloudy +2A* | Auto/Cloudy |
| Profile | Vivid | Standard | Standard | Monochrome |
| Contrast | +1 | -2 | -2 | -2 |
| Sharpness | +2 | -2 | -2 | -2 |
| Saturation | +1 | -1 | -2 | n/a |
| NR (JPG) | Medium* | Low* | Off | Low |
| Aspect | 3:2 | 4:3 | 4:3 | 4:3 |
* not field-verified — confirm on camera
Mode Logic
| P | Shutter dial A + aperture A |
| A | Shutter dial A + aperture set to F-number |
| S | Shutter dial set + aperture A |
| M | Shutter dial set + aperture set to F-number |
Not a traditional PASM dial — mode is determined by shutter dial + aperture tile together.
Aperture may be unavailable at the widest zoom. Zoom to ~28–35mm equivalent and retry.
Film Style Menu Path
Main Menu > JPG Settings > Film Style > Film Style Settings
Color profiles: Standard, Vivid, Natural. Mono profiles: Monochrome, Monochrome High Contrast.
Contrast, Highlight, Shadow, Sharpness, Saturation each range -2 to +2 — not ±3.
No Q button or tile-overlay interface on this camera, unlike Panasonic.
Noise Reduction & iDR
NR (JPG) is a Low/Medium/High scale, not a numeric value.
NR (Long Exposure) is a separate dark-frame-subtraction setting — leave On for JPG-only shooting.
iDR (Intelligent Dynamic Range) is its own setting, separate from NR. Off preserves shadow depth (used for Belgrade Fade); otherwise untested per preset.
No in-camera grain control exists. Grain is only available through the Leica LUX app's Leica Looks.
EV Cheat Sheet
Positive EV brightens, negative EV darkens and protects highlights.
Vivid: +0.3 · Retro indoors: -0.3 · Retro outdoors: -0.7 · Retro bright sun: -1.0
Belgrade Fade: -0.7 always — the underexposure is the look.
B&W Soft Calm: -0.3
LUX App (iPhone)
Approximating C2 requires P mode, not A mode, to access manual shutter speed.
Leica Looks in-app offer intensity and grain sliders only — no separate contrast/sharpness/saturation controls.
Bright-Sun C2 Recipe
EV -1.0, Auto ISO capped at 800, F11, ND8 filter in use.
Leica Photos App
Always assume latest app version.
Bluetooth is for pairing/wake only — photo transfer is over WiFi.
Prefer 5GHz WiFi. Selected import beats importing all. JPG-only transfer beats RAW.
Charging
USB-C PD preferred.
Slow flashing green = charging. Solid green = fully charged.
File Format
JPG only. Film Style adjustments (contrast, sharpness, saturation, highlight, shadow) bake directly into the image. No RAW fallback.
Fn Buttons
All Fn buttons remain at factory defaults. Nothing has been remapped.