Digital camera development continues apace, shabby economy or no. Hundreds of compact models tempt backpacking photographers (or photo-taking backpackers) from store shelves and internet ads. Folks who want a compact that's a legitimate substitute for a dslr quickly narrow down this supposed field of riches to a relative handful of ambitious compacts. Introduced mid-2008, the Panasonic Lumix LX3 (and its Leica D-LUX-4 twin) deserves serious consideration for membership in this tiny group.
The LX3 is a high-end compact digicam, part of a small but hopefully growing market segment of lightweight cameras that deliver very high quality point & shoot results and still give the shooter significant control over most camera settings. The metal-skinned LX3 has an especially fast f:2.0 wide-angle Leica DC Vario-Summicron lens of modest 2.5x zoom range - a range that must seem particularly loony to anyone impressed with the new twenty-something-times zooms recently dropped on the market. In another notable countercurrent to pretty much every other camera maker, Panasonic retained the approximate pixel count from the previous LX2. Rather than raising the count they chose to enlarge both the chip itself and the size of its photosites. These moves decreased image noise and kept image file sizes small.
Panasonic-Lumix-LX3-01.jpg
The LX3 doesn't share the DP1/2's big-chip ambitions, despite being effectively the same size (if half the price). Its closest true competition is the Ricoh GX200. The Canon G10 is another obvious and popular competitor, but is much larger (half again as heavy and more than twice the bulk) and lacks the LX3's lens speed and wide angle of view, though it reaches much further at the telephoto end. The G10 also has an optical viewfinder. The two are very different creatures, each offering some distinct advantages over the other.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Specifications: Lens, Megapixels, Sensor size, Screen, Shutter, Aperture, ISO, Exposure modes, Metering, Focusing, Image File Formats, Still Image Aspect Ratios, Video modes, HD (16:9 Aspect Ratio), Image Stabilization, Drive modes, Flash, Low-light Focusing Illumination, Storage, Cache memory, Audio Recording, Battery, Battery Life (CIPA standard), Dimensions, Weight, BPL Weight, Colors, Cost, Weatherproof?, Shockproof?, Firmware Version, Notable Optional Accessories
- Description
- The Lens
- Macro
- Of Caps and Straps
- LCD display
- Controls
- Aspect Ratio
- Focus Modes
- Other Items
- Storage and Mobility
- Modes & Such
- Image Performance
- Color and Contrast
- "Mega O.I.S." Steady as She Goes
- LX3 in the Field
- What's Good
- What's Not So Good
- Assessment
# WORDS: 5100
# PHOTOS: 18
# TABLES: 1
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Discussion
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Hi Folks,
I'm pretty excited about this firmware announcement (for those keeping score at home, this is LX3 FW update #4) as it addresses a couple of items of personal interest (e.g., a zoom position memory) and a rather vast additional set of improvements and enhancements.
I'll report back once I've installed and tested it. Early user reports are quite positive.
I can verify the LX3 uses aftermarket batteries with no issues. The camera has no way of knowing what battery is present, as it's not chipped. Many other new Panasonic cameras take chipped batteries and at present only Panny-branded cells. This is a policy of considerable derision amongst user groups, as Panny brand batteries get a high price, e.g., a branded LX3 cell is $40, an aftermarket cell is $10. Shooting jpgs it takes three to four batteries to fill an 8GB card, and I would balk/squawk/rebel at investing $120 in spares. $30, no problem.
Cheers,
Rick
Not to mention that Panny is worldwide backordered on their batteries. Let's see…
1) lock out OEM batteries — check
2) anticipate onslaught of orders for Panny batteries — D'oh!
Good times…
Hi Folks,
Panasonic has pulled the firmware 2.0 update for further development. Some users reported problems that they now have to address. They're promising it will be available later in October.
I hold this forth as an example of the benefits of being a procrastinator (but as a PC user I'm also happy to let others do the beta testing).
Cheers,
Rick
I got an LX3 a couple weeks ago. I've had a chance to play with it a bit. Find it less intuitive than my more or less entry level DSLR.
I want a viewfinder for the LX3! Do any of you have the viewfinder? What do you think of it? This is the first time where I've considered an optional viewfinder. (I'm not a photography wizard!) Are they somewhat generic or camera specific?
They are generally generic. You can get the Panasonic one or a 21mm made by Voigtländer. Both are not cheap if bought new and work accurately only at the maximum wide angle. Some comments on Flikr:
View Finder for LX3?
Yes, I want it to work maximally. So I will go ahead and order the Panasonic one — keep it simple. Something to consider when buying this camera…are you really going to be happy without a viewfinder? I suspected I wouldn't be but went ahead any way knowing there was an optional viewfinder. But yes, something to factor into the the price of the camera. Doesn't look like they have it available for Amazon Prime. :( Will check again.
It is available for Amazon Prime — if this is the piece in question —
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001GNC7Q0/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
32% off.
Never had such a setup — has to make this camera a lot less "pocketable"?
I recently bought two of whatever was cheapest at Amazon and available for Prime shipping. Been through a couple of cycles of these batteries and the original battery. Don't feel any difference. Note: I'm very much an amateur photog! Maybe there is something else I need to know?
Tohru, thanks for the scoop on the viewfinder. Checked out flickr and the amazon reviews. Looks like a bit of a bummer. Guess if you want a viewfinder, you should buy a camera with a viewfinder. Guess I'll adjust to no viewfinder. :)
I find I don't really miss a viewfinder, the LX-3 has a huge lcd and composing on it is doable in most all situations. I find the grid helps get the horizon straight in landscapes.
The two situations that I think require a viewfinder:
When the camera has a large telephoto lens, and holding the camera into the body while supporting the lens would reduce shake–I can't imagine supporting a long lens comfortably when held out at arm's length.
The second is shooting something that is moving. It's tough to rack the eye's focus from 2 feet to infinity while shooting sports for example. Having both eyes open is a real help.This is where rangefinder cameras excel.
I love the grid!
I'll share my initial experiences with the latest LX3 firmware upgrade, V2.1. V2.0 was quickly pulled when early adopers experienced problems; 2.1 seems fine. I waited awhile on this one, just in case :-)
FWIW Panasonic's process involves downloading a compressed file, extracting the update file, loading the update onto an SD card then uploading to the camera from that card. It takes perhaps ten seconds, once the camera is switched on.
Many will be interested in the new high dynamic mode, which I've not yet tested. It's a jpg emulator of an HDR frameset, with three submodes. If and when I play with it, I'll report back. For now, the key improvements:
* 1:1 aspect ratio. This is a fun addition to the LX3's three preexisting ratios–a feature I was dubious about but am now a huge fan of. For anybody who knows they're shooting for square output (CD cover, perhaps?) it will ease composition. It also ekes out a lot more frames, since the file sizes are much smaller. Selecting it is buried in the menu but it is cancelled by simply moving the aspect ratio switch.
* +/- three stops. Auto exposure bracketing and exposure compensation are now up to a whopping six-stop range. HDR fans take note! Why don't more dlsrs offer this?
* Zoom memory. At last, at the shooter's option the camera can remember its zoom setting, either after being shut down or going into sleep mode. This has the obvious benefit of adapting to your preference and perhaps more importantly, dramatically cuts the on-to-first-shot time, if it's shut down at the maximum tele state. The old default was to open to full wide, which is nice for landscapers but is also maximum lens extension and thus, takes the longest possible time.
* Adjustable guide lines. You can now position the display grid to where you'd like.
* Expanded white balance bracketing. More user control here now.
* Expanded blown highlight flagging on playback. Better ability to review and reshoot over exposed frames. No equivalent blacks display, maybe on the LX4?
You can read the gory details on all the changes here.
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/download/LX3/ftp/DMC-LX3_eng.pdf
I confess to being blown away at Panasonic's lingering support for this camera. They've not only corrected shortcomings, they've added tremendous utility to the camera over the course of something like five firmware updates, some specifically addressing user suggestions and requests. Too bad they were caught flatfooted on production capacity–they clearly didn't expect it to be a best-seller at the pricepoint.
Cheers,
Rick
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