S$690
Product Summary
7.4
out of 10View score
The bad: Generally soft photos; mediocre movies; no optical viewfinder.
The bottom line: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 is a good choice for an enthusiast looking for a powerful camera that can fit into a jacket pocket.
Read full review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 »
Average User Rating
from 5 users
8.8
out of 10CNET Asia Review
Just as Canon decided to drop RAW-format support from its compact enthusiast model, the PowerShot G7, Panasonic comes along and decides to add that very feature to its G-series competitor, the Lumix DMC-LX2. It's just packed with other amateur-oriented features as well, including a variety of focus modes, all of the essential metering and semi-manual exposure options, a wide-angle lens, and an overstuffed information display.
Design And Features
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 also uses a 10-megapixel CCD as the G7 does. There's one significant difference in the implementation, however: The LX2's sensor has a native 16:9 aspect ratio instead of 4:3. To produce 4:3 or 3:2 aspect photos, the LX2 simply uses the relevant fraction of the sensor. This enables the LX2 to produce higher-resolution 16:9 images than would be possible with a standard 10-megapixel sensor. (It would require a 13-megapixel 4:3 aspect sensor to generate 10-megapixel 16:9 images.) Conversely, the resolution of the LX2's 4:3 images is only 7 megapixels.
Which all begs the question: What do we gain by jumping to 10 megapixels? These are extremely small pixels, which equal extremely high noise. Panasonic's noise-suppression algorithms work pretty well at high ISO speeds--400 to as high as 1,600--but at low ISO sensitivities such as 100, the images are quite noisy. The good news is that they print better than they look onscreen, though you'd be well-advised to avoid serious crops.
Image Quality
In all other respects, the LX2's photos are quite decent, with excellent white balance, exposure, dynamic range, and color saturation. There are few optical artifacts, most notably fringing, and though there's a bit of lens distortion at the wide end of the 28mm-to-112mm-equivalent, 4x zoom lens, it's relatively symmetrical and fairly unobtrusive. Movies don't quite measure up, though. They're full of compression artifacts, and you can't zoom while you're shooting.
Performance
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While the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2's performance won't induce profanity, it definitely lacks the responsiveness of the G7, always taking a fraction of a second longer than I could spare when shooting animals and children. A 0.7-second lag in typical lighting is just a bit too slow, though 1.1 seconds in dim light is pretty good. It takes 2.2 seconds between shots under the best conditions, and the flash recycling adds little overhead--a mere 0.5 second. RAW shooting takes a relatively slow 5.1 seconds between shots. And though the LX2's continuous-shooting speed is a decent 1.3fps to 1.5fps, it can take only a few shots before stopping to process.
At least the camera's interface won't slow you down so much. There are a few settings which I'd prefer on the outside rather than in the menus--white balance, ISO sensitivity, metering, and AF mode spring to mind--but most shooting options can be accessed from the well-laid-out array of buttons, dials, and switches. You will want to skim through the manual, however, or you'll encounter some mystifying options. For instance, there are five different AF modes: Nine-area, three-area high speed, one-area high speed, one-area, and spot. They're pretty hard to figure out from the icons if you don't know they exist. Thanks to the bright, large, 2.8-inch wide-aspect LCD, though, they're pretty easy to read. But no matter how good an LCD is, I still miss having an optical viewfinder.
At 215g, the metal-clad, sturdily built Pansonic Lumix DMC-LX2 is no lightweight. But if you're looking for a compact camera that fits more comfortably in your jacket pocket than the smallest dSLR will, it's an attractive alternative.
Rate It Now
User Reviews
40yrs experience....this is the Best camera I've ever used
Apr 12, 2008Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
Pros: Very sharp lens, easy to use, fast re-cycle time
Cons: slightly smaller than I would have liked
Opinion:
Most reviews cite excessive noise....I mostly take scenics, macros, and portraits, and haven't noticed any problems yet.
The camera is a pleasure to use. It's a Leica D-LUX3 without
the Leica price & logo. The only difference is it has only
13mb internal memory vs 64 for the Leica version. And it has
a small grip vs none on the Leica. Otherwise, they are one & the same camera.
Noisy pics? You be the judge. I'm happy. =)
super movie playback!
Mar 25, 2008Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
Pros: I personally like the movie play back
Cons: a little bit bulky
Opinion:
i dont really agree with the mediocre video playback because, at 16:9, the video play back is so much more better that cannon ixus 860is!
A fantastic compact camera
Oct 4, 2007Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
Pros: 28mm wide angle - RAW ability - well build
Cons: Flash could have been more powerful
Opinion:
Had the LX1 and alos the LX2 - one word is getting better and better.
Can serve it on fully auto and let begainers snap pictures or set it to full manual and you be in total control of the captured shots.
Ability to have manual over ride on white balance is great, this function use to be avail only on DSLRs.
Is compact size allows users to slip it in to their jackets instead of lugging around their precious DSLRs.
Picture qualities is sharp. Even at maximum optical zoom there is minimum barrel distortations avail to the naked eyes. A fine well build compact camera.
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Leaving it on stands and taking night scenery with delayed shutter captures beautiful and detailed photos. A trend not found in many compacts by other makes.
What i really like it it's ability to do lots of manual overrides just like a DSLR. Is a canera that ... Read more
