Review: Panasonic DMC-LX3 Digital Camera

 

Panasonic DMC-LX3-K

Panasonic DMC-LX3-K

One of these just arrived at eCods’ Australian HQ, to replace both an older Canon G3 and a rather old Canon Ixus 400 compact, and to be the pocketable/handbaggable junior partner to a Canon 40D DSLR.

In lieu of actually doing some work and investing some thought and energy in our own review, here’s some links to reviews done by DPReview and then some initial impressions.

Specifications & Someone Else’s Review

I’ll spoil the ending of that comparison:

Ratings and recommendations

With such a varied group of cameras it’s impossible to pick a single camera we’d recommend to everyone – if you want lots of telephoto reach you probably won’t want the Panasonic LX3, for example, and if you want something pocketable the Canon G10 and Kodak Z8612 IS will be off your list. There are a couple of cameras we’d struggle to recommend to anyone – the Ricoh R10 is a lovely, well specified camera, but it just doesn’t take very good pictures, and one or two we’d suggest exercising caution over (such as the Nikon P6000, which isn’t as good as it thinks it is). The Kodak Z8612 IS offers an awful lot of camera for a remarkably low price, and would make a good ‘starter camera’ for a teenager wanting to learn a bit more about photography, but the image quality isn’t good enough for more serious applications.

The two real high end cameras here (the Canon G10 and Panasonic LX3) offer very different approaches to the concept of a compact SLR replacement, with the LX3 easily our preferred choice; given the choice we’d choose a smaller body and wider lens over more bulk and more telephoto every time.

If you do want telephoto capabilities and don’t want the bulk of an SLR (which will give you far faster focus at long focal lengths) or one of the many ‘SLR like’ ultra zoom cameras on the market, the compact super zooms offer a good compromise between performance and portability. There’s little to choose between the Canon SX110 IS and the Panasonic TZ5 (not to forget the Sony H10, reviewed here) – it’s more a matter of preference (the TZ5 gives you better wideangle and the SX110 gives you better telephoto and more manual control).

And the ‘winner’ (YMMV)…

Overall winner: Panasonic LX3

The Panasonic LX3 gets so many things right that we knew before we started it would be the camera to beat in this group. It’s not that it has the highest measurable resolution (the Canon G10 wins that one) or the biggest zoom range (in fact its one of the smallest here), or even that it offers the most intuitive controls (never going to be the case with a camera so small). No, what’s so impressive about the LX3 is that Panasonic has actually produced a camera aimed at photographers, not one designed by a marketing department. So instead of going for the easy option of adding even more megapixels and beefing up the other headline specs, the designers concentrated on the things that actually matter to a photographer.

Thus we get a fast zoom with a real wideangle, a superb screen and excellent image quality, including high ISO performance puts most competitors to shame. The LX3 is positively understated compared to some of its competitors, which loudly proclaim the ‘bigger is better’ rather than ‘less is more’, and it’s a far, far better camera for it. It’s small enough to carry anywhere, fast and subtle enough for street photography and good enough to produce a decent 8×10 without the need to use raw.

Of course it’s not perfect; the controls are pretty fiddly (as it’s so small) and there’s no telephoto to speak of, but if you want telephoto you’re not going to be considering this camera. If you want more SLR like controls and a longer zoom – and don’t mind the bulk – go for the Canon G10. Me personally? By that point I’m using an SLR. For a carry anywhere ‘walk around’ camera I’d go for the LX3 every time.

Initial Impressions

First impression 
Wow, it’s small, in a good way.

Second impression
I don’t think I’ll be too worried by the small zoom, and I really like the 24mm wide angle.

Third impression
Surely they can’t fit all those features in such a small piece of kit. 
It’s smaller than an iPhone 3G in width and height, with the body being about an inch thick, and the lens another inch on top of that. Eminently pocketable for a bloke, easily handbaggable for a lady.
Obviously not in the same ‘invisible’ class as a Canon SD, but significantly smaller than my old Canon G3. According to DPReview, the G3 = 121x74x70mm, the G10 = 109x78x46mm and the LX3 = 109x60x27. I think the “x27″ is a furphy though, if thickness is defined as = camera back to lens front. I’d say it’s more like 109x60x46mm; so, a little smaller than the G10, but not much.

Capping and Strapping…
I’m not a huge fan of a removeable lens cap, as I reckon it’ll be more easily lost on a pocketable camera than on an SLR, due being used in different, more informal, settings. Also not a fan of neck straps in general (it comes supplied with a neck strap). Next steps then are to transfer the Op/Tech wrist strap off the G3 and onto the LX3, and also order an “Auto Lens Cap” designed for the Ricoh LC-1 camera. This lens cap, with the addition of a few bits of (invisible) padding, basically self-threads onto the LX3, and gives lens protection without the need to remove and replace a lens cap. More at this bloke’s site. Of course, a picture is worth a thousand words (pun intended), and a video probably adds at least three more words:

LX3 Lens cap modification

Lens Mod – LX3 – YouTube

Posted on February 11, 2009 at 17:11 by ecods · Permalink
In: Cool Kit, Dad Stuff, General Nerdery, Hardware, Review · Tagged with: , , , , ,

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