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 fantastic camera in a compact, well built package!
Summary: 5 Stars
I would highly recommend this camera to anyone who wants a portable, pocket-able, camera that enables them to experiment in digital photography and gives them the ability to take some fantastic pictures.
I have had my LX3 (purchased through Amazon at $417) for about a month now and just LOVE IT.
First impressions:
Very well made camera- good solid construction with a perfect weight. Made in Japan - many of its competitors are manufactured in China.
Beautiful design - you are basically getting a Leica D-LUX4 in terms of looks and almost in terms of quality too. I just love the retro styling and it feels great in the hand too.
Lovely lens - enables great indoor photos due to its fast f2.0 lens at 24mm. Sometimes it would be nice to have a little bit more of a zoom but it often means you should just walk closer to the subject. My previous camera was a Canon S5 with a very long zoom so it will take a bit to get used to not having that option. I do love the wide angle lens for landscape photography and it seems to be really useful for capturing big family groups clustered around a table etc.
Very fast burst mode - About 2.5fps which is really good for a point-and-shoot.
This camera just totally inspires me to want to get out and take pictures.
Cons:
Movie mode - not too impressed so far. Movies aren't as good quality as my old camera even though there is the 720p 'High-Def' option. One thing about the movie mode that is of poor quality is the audio due to a single microphone on the LX3 compared to dual mics on my old camera that allowed for stereo sound of much higher quality.
The lack of a dedicated movie capture button. Instead you have to cycle through to the movie option and then press the capture button.
The separate lens cap is a little annoying although, in my opinion, is not nearly as bad as some reviewers' thoughts. It is definitely not a deal breaker.
I would love it if I could use AA batteries with the LX3 although that just doesn't seem to be an option on most digicams anymore.
All in all, very few cons - a wonderful camera, you really can't go wrong with the Panasonic Lumix LX3.
Digital camera Review: A great DSLR alternative, with some obvious concessions.
Summary: 5 Stars
Bought this to replace the DSLR I was sick of lugging around. A bit on the noisy side at anything above ISO 100, but other than that a great all around shooter with more features and settings than one could shake a proverbial stick at. Awesome, awesome macro capability, even in HD movie mode. Speaking of which - nice to have the 720p video, but it is mostly a novelty, as it is limited to 24fps. Overall I am quite pleased, and would love to pick up a GF1 sometime once the price dips a bit more - the Lumix menus and interface are pretty intuitive and the build quality of their cameras is quite impressive, especially when my previous camera was a plastic-bodied entry level DSLR.Digital camera Review: A great camera for control freaks and pointy-shooters alike
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this camera about a week before my honeymoon, on the strength of its specifications and the positive reviews. We wound up getting some great indoor and outdoor pictures of Barcelona, and couldn't be more pleased with the camera. My wife, who isn't interested in fiddling with aperture and shutter speed, used the excellent Auto mode; I was able to get some nice results with the aperture and shutter priority settings.
This camera has an excellent lens - the wide-angle end is as wide as you're likely to need, and the zoomed-in end is sufficiently tight for most uses. The maximum aperture of f2.0 gives you more flexibility with exposure time than any other point-n-shoot of which I'm aware. Coupled with a sensor that's usable at reasonable ISO, and with auto-stabilization, the fast lens lets you take fantastic indoor shots with available light. The included flash is pretty powerful, but I almost never used it.
The only things I didn't like about this camera were its lack of an optical viewfinder (you can purchase one that fits in the hotshoe) and the need for a lens cap. Otherwise, this is a fantastic camera, and arguably the best current-generation camera in its price range.
Digital camera Review: A real gem of a camera ... but don't expect image quality miracles
Summary: 5 Stars
In the last 6 years I've used a couple of compacts which I've since got rid of after upgrading to DSLRs (Canon XT and then 40D). For a while I was waiting for a compact that I could carry with me anywhere I want, and particularly to parties and other social occasions where bringing a DSLR is really not an option.
When this camera was announced it really looked like a dream compact for me. Fast, wide and optically stabilized lens is ideal for low-light indoor shots. The design is stylish and beautiful, the camera is quite compact and it has all the controls an advanced amateur would need.
Further the sensor is essentially as big as they get in compact cameras and with almost reasonable 10mp (still about 5mp too many but not as bad as 12-15mp you would get in any other compact with a comparable sensor).
I've had the camera for a couple of weeks now (and shame on Amazon for not having it in stock a month after it appeared in some other big stores). I like it a lot and the camera delivers on most of Panny's promises. Here are some of the experiences.
1. The image quality is certainly and noticeably better than the ulracompact cameras (like Panny's own FX series). It is however still a compact camera ... meaning there is visible noise even at ISO 80 and lots of noise at ISO 400. However noise reduction algorithms seem to be doing quite a good job and ISO 80 pics look very nice ... sometimes almost like a DSLR. And even at ISO 400 most shots are good enough to keep. In general the output from this camera is comparable to my 40D at 8 times the ISO (that is 80 on LX3 is about 640 on 40D and 400 LX3 is a bit better than 3200 on 40D). Fortunately, with fast lens and image stabilization I almost never need to use ISO above 400.
2. The camera is very responsive and the autofocus is fast and seems accurate.
3. Changing ISO through the menus is a bit of a pain but a variety of useful ISO regimes are provided. In general controlling all the options is not very easy ... but I guess that's the compromise you get with such a small camera with a large LCD.
Update: it is possible to simplify ISO changing by reassigning a button for this purpose. The drawback of this is that now reviewing pictures becomes more cumbersome.
4. Aspect ratio switch on the lens is more useful than I thought ... saves quite a lot of cropping.
5. Shooting in RAW+jpeg is fast enough to be usable.
6. The camera is quite a bit bulkier than it might seem (and the given dimensions are misleading since they do not include the lens and other protrusions from the main part of the body). It is not shirt-pocketable both because of its size and weight ... but fits fine in a jacket pocket or purse.
7. The macro capability of the camera is really excellent.
8. Having user customizable preset regimes on the dial is very useful and quite a luxury not present even on Canon XSi DSLR (shame on Canon!)
Overall it's a great compact camera: in my opinion certainly the best on the market by a margin (I've studied the market very thoroughly). It is in the same league as Canon G-series (which I owned back when they were the best and liked a lot) but fits my current needs much more than a Canon Gx. I also think it's a real bargain at around $400.
But it is still a compact camera with a sensor 1/8 area of most DSLRs and 1/20 of full frame (mostly pro) DSLR. So those expecting miracles like close-to-DSLR quality or usable ISO 800+ might be disappointed.
A quick update in response to a comment:
1. At widest setting of the zoom there is quite significant distortion especially noticeable in 16:9 regime. There is also noticeable loss of sharpness in the corners. This might not look good in some shots (like if a straight like or someones face is close to the border) but nothing too bad for most of the shots.
2. HD video is very good for a compact. There is no zooming, no auto focus and sometimes exposure adjustments are not very smooth. So I'd not recommend to treat it as a camcorder. But overall it gives detailed and reasonably smooth video (well not quite 30fps smooth). I've just made a quick comparison with Canon HF10 dedicated compact camcorder (which is as good as they get these days). In bright light LX3 cannot quite match the 1080p detail of Canon. But in relatively dim light it is about as good. Also LX3 has a huge advantage in wide angle. All dedicated consumer camcorders have widest angle around 40mm which is much worse than 24mm of LX3.
Another impression which I have with LX3 and certainly did not have with other compacts is that it is a tool worth learning and investing some time and experimentation. My pics with this camera keep improving even the first ones were already decent.
For anyone interested in sharpness and noise level comparisons with some cameras you can check out
http://www.dkamera.de/testberichte/panasonic/lumix-dmc-lx3/bildqualitaet
Update Dec 17: Finally Photoshop and Lightroom started to recognize LX3 raws. The quality of my pictures is now even higher: colors much more pleasing and noise reduction less "blotchy". Overall this camera gives results well beyond what I thought to be possible for a compact camera. So it still has my highest recommendation.
Update Jan 27, 2009.
The single most annoying thing about this camera is its lens cap. Having to remove it slows you down. Attaching via a string leaves it dangling ... which detracts from the aesthetics of the camera and can add a bit of extra shake. Without the string it's likely to get lost ... and I have not seen any replacements on sale. Anyway, fortunately, creative peoples found out that Ricoh LC-1 lens adapter can be easily modified to be used on this camera. I've did this and it works much better than the original cap. I've uploaded some pictures of the result to the product images. Use google to find the modification instructions.
Digital camera Review: A stylish way to get it all with wide angle
Summary: 5 Stars
It is an estimable camera at the top of the heap in its class. I bought it for the f2.0 fast lens, the wide angle, the build quality, the Panasonic processing software in the camera itself, the accessories like even more wide angle with an accessory lens or the 24mm optical finder. I have done some photojournalism in my life and this is what I wish I had back then.
I have gone through at least four digital cameras since I decided to leave my Nikon film SLR on the shelf a few years ago. I have never looked back. But this beauty allows me to do the photography I like best, to be inconspicuous, to be quick, to feel like taking it along because of its relatively light weight and size, to not spook people who are shy when an SLR is around. It looks like any P&S, but I'm thankful it isn't.
I've seen minimal barrel distortion, maximum sharpness and contrast, easy menus, abundant automatic as well as full manual features.
You can go with the much less costly extra batteries (under $15.00) and other items. A tip about non-Panasonic brand batteries: remove the stick-on label because it is just thick enough to make it difficult to remove these after market batteries. When I did this, they fit just as well as the Panasonic batteries. Get the S005 battery. These aftermarket are just as good as maker branded batteries. Get a few of them. They charge up in just 45 minutes or so.
I have used the 720P HD video (use the wide 16:9 format at the right side of the lens barrel selector switch) and am impressed at the quality. Certainly a dedicated 1080P HD videocam would do better, but being able to use a 24mm wide angle lens is a real plus. On my digital TV and on my computer monitor the results were satisfying. My computer played it with a little stutter the first time but playing it again it was smooth on succeeding times. Go figure. I have a low end graphics card so that may be the cause. My HD videos have been less than one minute so far - I understand there may be a limit of five minutes or so (per file). Don't buy another still camera without HD video!
A tip about what some pros and advanced amateurs do with a quality new camera to preserve its resale value is to cover as much surface on the camera as possible with adhesive plastic (such as the PDA screen protector materiel) to minimise wear (and actually, it gives you a better grip than the stock exterior). This is for a user camera.
Oh, one thing. Do not trust the neck strap. It almost came loose at the camera end while on its first use. Use a sailor's knot there - don't trust the tiny plastic sleive to hold. We don't need any of these hitting the concrete.