Panasonic DMC-LX3 10.1MP Digital Camera with 24mm Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) by Panasonic
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Digital camera reviews of Panasonic DMC-LX3 10.1MP Digital Camera with 24mm Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)
Digital camera Review: A JOY!
Summary: 5 Stars
Finally found the digicam to replace my DSLR. No, it doesn't have high ISO performance equal to any DSLR but the f2.0 lens and image stabilization more than compensates. I also got the Panasonic 18mm wide angle lens. Well worth the money.
In all, a great little system that's good enough to have me selling off my DSLR for our needs.
The greatest surprise? How well that tiny little flash works. It's far more powerful than I anticipated and works great even in mid day fill flash. A remarkable camera.
This camera is just a joy to use.
Digital camera Review: A Terrific Advanced Compact Camera (Thank You Panasonic!)
Summary: 4 Stars
The Panasonic LX3 is a great advanced compact camera for the photo enthusiast. The photo quality is terrific, the build quality is great, the size is perfect, and it has all the manual and automatic controls you could ever need.
First let me start by saying that I have always wanted a Panasonic digital camera, most Panasonics have always had great lenses, a good interface, great built quality, and image stabilizers. I never bought one, though, because photo quality was subpar, with lots of image noise and noise reduction mushiness. The LX3 is the first Panasonic camera I have bought and I love it.
The best aspect of the camera has to be that lens. It's super-wide at 24mm and is great for indoor shots, and landscapes. Moreover, the maximum aperture of the lens is f2.0 to f2.8 and really helps in low light allowing a faster shutter speed and avoiding the flash, while macro shots benefit from the greater depth-of-field. The lens is also sharp from corner to corner, and the jpeg processing removes any barrel distortion and fringing. The only downside to the lens is the 60mm reach; so take that into consideration before buying.
The rest of the camera is no slouch either. The sensor is a bit bigger than most point and shots and has a modest 10-megapixel resolution. Panasonic claims to have kept the megapixels at 10 to increase sensitivity and decrease noise, and it has worked to an extent. If you don't expect SLR quality at higher ISO speeds you'll be pleased. From ISO 80-200 I have no complaints with image quality. There is plenty of detail, good exposure, and natural looking colors. Above ISO 200 to about ISO 400 it's still plenty acceptable and depends on the subject matter and lighting. Anything above ISO 400, in my eyes, is for emergency use, or photos that are not very important. At that point most of the detail is mushed away and noise is pretty high. Of course, if you prefer to do the processing yourself you can always shoot RAW.
The camera is a good size, not large, but definitely not a pocket camera either, the protruding lens sees to that (see my included picture). Build quality is great; most of the camera is made of metal (even the front of the lens cap). The 3" screen on the back is bright and clear with a high resolution. There are manual controls for pretty much every function, two custom white balance settings, and two custom setting on the mode dial. Of course there is also a fully automatic mode and plenty of scene modes as well. I especially like the different film modes to tweak your results, and the two custom film modes, which even give you control over noise reduction. The aspect ratio switch on the lens let's you shoot in 4:3, 3:2, and 16:9, and the camera also allows you to bracket in the three ratios.
The only minor negatives I have about the camera is as follows: 1) The lens retracts too quickly when you switch into review mode, delaying the next shot, 2) The lens cap can be finicky to put on, the release buttons are quite small, 3) There is no sensor to prevent the camera from extending the lens when the cap is on, I always turn it to playback mode when I turn it off just in case, 4) The battery door, and playback/record switch don't feel as sturdy as the rest of the camera, 5) The flash release switch is small, 6) The camera can be slow when going from record to playback.
All in all... despite the few flaws it's an awesome camera, and a great companion for my digital SLR.
03/23/09 Update: Still love this camera. I'm able to get sharp photos when shooting at 1/4 seconds at wide angle. The stabilizer is very effective. My initial impressions remain for the ISO speeds, I rarely go above ISO 200.
Digital camera Review: A big upgrade from the TZ5
Summary: 5 Stars
I do documentation work in a variety of indoor and outdoor conditions in India. A year ago I purchased the Panasonic TZ5, but soon realized that its poor performance in low-light conditions made it unsuitable for my work. I ended up relying more on a Canon Powershot 590 for good pictures.
The things that I missed most of all in the Panasonic TZ5 were manual control, and a wider aperture range.
I was looking for a replacement for my Panny, and chose the LX3 on the basis of its positive reviews.
The LX3 has the same body dimensions as the TZ5, but the lens of the LX3 sticks out a little bit farther than the TZ5's lens when the cameras are off.
The LX3 has performed much better than the TZ5. I'm quite happy with the performance of its flash, and the quality of images from the LX3 in all conditions. It's performing well with an 8gb Sandisk Extreme III SDHC card.
Digital camera Review: A camera that works
Summary: 5 Stars
I've used a whole range of cameras, and own everything from a 4x5 field camera, to medium format, to SLR, to DSLR, etc. With all my cameras, I make sure each one works as a tool for a specific situation. The one niche I wasn't able to find in digital imaging for my wife or myself was something small, like my old Pentax slr or a rangefinder, that could take a good picture in difficult situations. This did the trick.
I've given my wife a few P&S's and gone through a few myself, but nothing really did the job. What we expect out of a P&S is pretty demanding if you think about it, so I haven't been too surprised that most can't pull it off. Shoot fast, while everything is in motion often, in low light most of the time, with all sorts of mixed light, all in a small package. Even using my pro cameras I would have a difficult time managing that.
This camera gets pretty close, with a fast lens, fast electronics, good size (not too small for my big hands or to induce a lot of shaking). The image quality is good, and the addition of the HD video and variable image formats, make this the camera we never leave behind now.
Digital camera Review: A camera-lover's camera
Summary: 5 Stars
Although my girlfriend bought this camera off of me when I upgraded to a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 12.1MP Micro Four-Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7 Aspherical Lens the camera still holds a special place in my heart- and as it will with most everyone who's ever owned one.
It is one of the most beautiful cameras I have ever held, and it feels solid and well-built to the touch. It's just great, and every time I see it, I still am surprised at just how great it looks and in retrospect, just how amazingly it performed. This camera really starts to blur the line between point-and-shoot and SLR. Will you get the same low-light performance from this camera as you would out of a GF1 outfitted with a Nokton F/1.4 or greater lens? Certainly not. However, for how compact the camera is, how silently the shutter runs, how outstanding the macro functions and how great its photos come out, it's an excellent camera. This is because it chooses to focus on quality over quantity- particularly in its sensor. Where other camera manufacturers try to impress with high megapixel counts- which for point-and-shoot cameras is wholly useless, panasonic chooses instead to use fewer pixels ( don't worry- the megapixel count is more than enough to make a full-sized canvas print if that's what you want to do with it) but make it so that each pixel is more efficiently utilized.
Is it expensive for a point-and shoot? By all means, it is. It's a luxury camera to be certain. One which begins to blur the line between point-and-shoot and an SLR. For those just easing in to photography, I'd look elsewhere- perhaps a Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) . The camera has a dedicated following on flickr, and for good reason. The pictures it takes speak for themselves- particularly on the high-contrast B&W settings.
When I was showing off this camera to an SLR enthusiast wielding a thousand-dollar telephoto lens, she had a similar reaction to the camera. She absolutely loved the way it looked and the pictures it was able to take.
While the camera may not perform quite as well as a DSLR- particularly in low-light, portrait and high-contrast situations, I find that because its so portable you'll have it with you more often, and you'll subsequently take more pictures with it. Its durable, it's beautiful, and it takes great pictures. A note of caution, however. Be careful with this camera when taking it to the beach. its telescoping lens tends to drag sand in to it and can sully the sensor.
Its a great camera. You'll absolutely not be disappointed with this purchase