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: Best compact camera in the market
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using it since it came out. I will just echo what has been said already. This is best compact camera in the market right now. This picture quality is really good, especially low light. I love the manual control. The construction quality is superb. I dropped this camera on a concrete floor and it has a huge dent in one of the corner. The camera still works as when it was new!
My wish for future models. Please keep the megapixel the same and make the low light even better!
Digital camera Review: Best for low light and general purpose, great for creative lighting too
Summary: 5 Stars
After using Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3S (for Silver) for a while, I am impressed of its capability and quality.
Build Quality and Control
LX3 has very good build quality. It feels tough, scratch and the size is smaller and lighter than its competitor Canon G series. It fit in my winter coat easily. The silver version I have looks very classy and shiny.Like other advanced compact cameras, LX3 allow users to set aperture, shutter speed and focus manually. Like digital SLR camera, we have aperture priority (A), Speed priority (S), iA (inteligent auto mode), SCN (Scene selections), Movie mode, Automatic without flash (P) mode, two custom settings and off course full manual mode.
The intelligent mode (iA) is great to recognize the scene and adjust the setting automatically for us. For example, when I am shooting at night, the mode dial automatically adjust to night scene. The image comes up great without blown highlight unlike other entry level compact camera.
The other great thing the camera has to offer is the ability to choose aspect ratio for image and also video. For me it is a great creative tools for any photographers. The aspects ratio we can choose for image is 4:3, 3:2, and 16:9. For movie: 4:3 and wide screen 16:9.
Image Quality and Video Quality
The main difference between this camera with Canon G series or other compact cameras is the famous leica lens is able to go down to f/2-2.8. This big aperture ensure the camera to take picture in dim light with lowest iso sensitivities as possible. The result is cleaner look.
Even when I took picture in very big aperture of f/2, the depth of field remain very large. This is because the relatively smaller sensor compared to digital slr camera. I feel this is one of great advantage over digital SLR camera where the depth of field was so shallow in lower aperture lens. The lens is also wider than other advanced compact out there (24mm). It is superb for low light indoor large group picture.
In addition, MEGA OIS (optical image stabilization) help to combat hand shake. I am able to take picture without blur up to 1/15 shutter speed easily.
About the noise, The result is relatively clean up to iso 400 which is about equal to iso 800 in dslr camera. In iso 800, the noise start to be a problem. It is about equal to iso 2400 in dslr camera.
Regarding to movie mode, I haven't try it extensively but looking at samples that other took, It was very clean and smooth. The built in microphone did the job well too.
The Downside
The not so good about this camera is the lens cap. Not like other compact, that have built-in lens cap. The LX3 lens cap could be annoying. Also some of the buttons and joystick might be too small for people with a large finger (fortunately I have thin and small fingers).
Built-in flash is provided but the result of the image with flash is not good. Luckily it has hot shoe for external flash.
There is no viewfinder (external viewfinder is optional but very expensive aprox. $140) but the hi-res 460k LCD screen are sharper than any entry-level dslr camera out there.
The last one is the zoom, it is limited from wide to standard length). So users that interested on taking picture from a far (wild life, airplane, candids) will be disappointed.
In conclusion
This camera certainly is a very unique camera because it is superior for low light (compared to other compact cameras) and have a very wide angle (24mm) which is the best for landscape, large group picture and indoor.
For beginners: if you love to take wide angle pictures and don't like to take telephoto pictures then take this cameras. You'll love it. It has many useful application such as family events, travel landscape and even macro.
For Digital SLR users and hobbyists: Because its portability, there is no excuse on not to take this camera around with you in anytime. You will be surely do not miss the moment. While the image quality is not up to par to digital slr camera with "PRO" grade lens, but this camera do produce sharp pictures for regular print or web.
In addition, for all users, the movie mode it provide will be very handy to capture some high quality video clip. Please check out my blog radiantlite dot com for more review and general photography information. Thanks!
Digital camera Review: Best little camera you can buy. Period.
Summary: 5 Stars
So everyone knows DSLR's are fantastic these days, and the images you can get with these (provided you use expensive glass) can be downright amazing, but what if you just want a really usable (and I mean usable) camera you can bring with you wherever you go?
This is that camera. There IS a catch. You have to get decent at RAW editing to get anywhere near the results you can get out of this camera. Yeah, the dynamic B&W mode is pretty good, and I've shot low light jpgs at shows (no flash), but to get real results from the camera, you're going to have to get your hands a little dirty. The results I can get from this in RAW are just simply amazing for a camera this small. Yes, amazing. I don't throw that word around; but the color depth and sheer detail you can get in 5 minutes worth of work will just make you all smiles.
What I don't like about the camera: Not much, but there are a couple of things I could point at that might make it a bit more usable.
1.) It doesn't have much of a zoom. Ok, lame complaint, because I actually do understand somewhat that the laws of physics dictate how much of a zoom range you can have on a lens of a given size, without having image quality suffer. This is silly; if you need a zoom camera, this isn't what you should be looking at.
2.) No viewfinder, save an aftermarket one. Ok; this actually bothers me sometimes. In bright sunlight, or very low light, a cheesy optical viewfinder would be helpful. Yes, it would also make the camera larger too.
3.) The onboard flash sucks. It's cool that you can throttle it down, but if it could tilt up to be a bounce flash, it would be really, really useful. As it is, it always seems to be either too bright, and washes everything out, or too dark. It's a good thing this camera has good ISO performance at 400, and acceptable at 800; with the f2.0 aperture, it can take pictures in VERY low light, and still look great. Oh, and the hotshoe mount will accept a full sized flash :)
4.) Lack of a focus ring. Of course, without a decent viewfinder, that wouldn't be of much use, and we're moving away from what the camera is, so I understand the lack. The manual focus on the camera is quite decent, I should mention.
4.) That's it. Nothing else not to like about the camera. If you need a zoom lens, or the lack of a viewfinder is a deal breaker for you, go with the larger Canon G10/G11. The DMC-LX3 works better for my needs, being a 24mm f2.0 lens, and having unbelievable RAW data to work with.
What I do like about the camera
1.) It's small; purpose built. You won't draw crowds using this camera. It's almost friendly. It looks quite nice too. I can stroll through the city, taking pictures of folks, and they just don't seem to mind as much as when I'm doing the same with a DSLR. So for low key urban photography, this is actually BETTER than a DSLR (what, a compact camera does something better than an DSLR?).
2.) Fantastic lens. Can't say enough about it, for the price point, and camera size, it's awesome. Really wide angle, if you like landscape or urban photography, it's the perfect focal range.
3.) Best low light compact camera on the market, period. Yep, I'll stand by that. It SMOKES the G10/G11 in low light; I love going to see local bands in small clubs; these venues aren't very well lit, but you can get right by the stage. This thing takes fantastic pictures in low light. I don't care what the reviews say either about ISO 400 or ISO 800; check the images out in RAW, and then say ISO 800 isn't usable. Speaking of which;
4.) ISO performance. ISO 800 is a little bit grainy; but the best thing is, that it is a usable grain, not some watercolor chromatic that just ruins everything. I say ISO 800 is just fine for color photographs; it can even make gritty B&W images look better (cleaner is NOT always better)
5.) Ridiculous RAW performance; the camera is fast and responsive, even when shooting full sized JPEG and RAW. Never seems to really bog, and when it does; it still will buffer what your doing. Really amazing for a camera this size, and it makes RAW the only image format I even think about using. The amount of detail; color, edge retention, contrast; try this camera out with Adobe Lightroom, and you'll see what I mean, and you'll have a blast to boot.
6.) Multiple image formats; at first, reading it on paper, I thought it was just a gimmic; 4:3,3:2, & 16:9 formats didn't seem like they'd be that useful. But I was completely wrong, and that is the most used switch on my camera; it actually does change the way you'll compose photographs; what was one photo at 16:9 is completely different @ 4:3 or 3:2, landscape vs portrait, etc. Another fun feature : )
So, obviously, I like the camera; I've owned it for almost a year now. Best small camera ever made, IMO; this will probably be the benchmark classic folks talk about for years. Yes, I'm quite serious about that, I don't believe these days digital cameras are outdated every 6 months; this one will be quite current for years. If you need a low light, low key, wide angle camera with awesome RAW performance, just pull the trigger. 2 thing's I'd get while buying; a fast 8GB or higher card, and an extra battery (the generic one they sell here is just fine), and you're good to go.
Digital camera Review: Best small Camera in the Market (as of Jan 2009)
Summary: 5 Stars
This camera is awesome. If you love the versatility of a SLR, but don't like the bulkiness then this camera is purrfectt for you ! It is the highest end compact camera that you can get. Only other that comes close is the Canon G10; Which has problems with poor LCD quality and average sensor.
The sensor on this camera is HUGE and is of the top quality. This camera is so feature rich, there is no comparison to any cameras available in the market. I have owned it for a few months and comprehensively evaluated it.
1. I did a test on the sensor and it has excellent dynamic range which is the contrast between bright and dark areas.
2. The camera has superb color reproduction. It was surprising to see the colors retained even in low light situations.
3. The most interesting feature for me was availability of manual focus ! I have not come across any other compact camera that even has that feature. It is also very easy to use.
4. Overall the camera menu and user interface is excellent and very logical.
5. There are a tonne of standard modes for capture that any amateur or enthusiastic photographer will find useful.
6. The camera is also capable of capturing High Definition video in 16:9 mode, which is great if you have a HD TV. (sound quality though was not to impressive)
7. One of the very few compact cameras that allow you to capture images in RAW format.
8. There is an intelligent mode which adjusts the camera automatically with the conditions. I will admit to have tried it when I am too lazy and it works quite well
Things I don't like:
None that really bother me.
1. However, it is annoying to have to remember to put lens cap ON everytime you turn it OFF. I am used to canon cameras that have automatic lens covers when the camera is shut down. However the lens in this camera is HUGE compared to any Canon camera (compact) I have used.
2. The other annoyance is that movies are shot in .mov format, which is not the most versatile format. However, with little search you can find programs that could convert then to avi or wmv files.
3. The Panasonic software is average, but again there are so many other softwares that you can use, why even bother.
4. If you are very SLRish, you will notice that the "RAW" images appear to be slightly processed since there is some image processing that occurs on the sensor board.
Bottom line: This is a great camera for most SLR replacement or learning more advanced photography.
Digital camera Review: Biggest bang for the buck
Summary: 5 Stars
Just a great all around camera, offering both auto and manual modes for getting more creative...great macro, clean vid mode. I bought the adapter and wide angle lens and it serves me very well for my real estate sales needs! Great wide shots with minimal barelling.