Panasonic Lumix DMC LX3
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 is actually the replacement for the Lumix DMC-LX2. That’s why the LX3 has an almost identical body design, same to better performance, but improved photo quality. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 brings its compact and elegant design, and powered by enthusiast-friendly feature set.With its compact to be qualified as the camera that can be counted on when you need something better than a regular DSLR.
The compactness of Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 can be seen from its dimensions. It has 4.3 inches wide by 2.5 inches height by 2 inches deep. And it is only weight 9.1 ounces. It can be comfortably in your jacket pocket. But you should be careful when handling it. There is only a slightly pronounced grip up front and a small, bumpy thumb rest on the back. A firmer grip is required to make it more safe to hold it.
The lack of an optical viewfinder makes Panasonic DMC-LX3 retains its slim design. Instead, it uses an external model, the DMW-VF1, which is quite pricey.
The Controls and Buttons,
The rest of the controls sit adjacent to the bright, saturated wide-aspect 3-inch LCD on the camera back. Though small, the buttons, switches, and joystick are easy to feel and manipulate unless you have really big fingers. Panasonic added an AF/AE lock button over the LX2, but otherwise the layout (though not the feel) is identical. In addition, theres a capture/playback switch, Quick Menu button/joystick, display, and burst shooting buttons. The joystick is impressive, but doesn’t work very well as a button; it requires multiple presses to register and pull up the menu. The four-button navigation pad that surrounds the Menu button has dedicated buttons for the self-timer, flash, and exposure compensation. The fourth button is a user-programmable function button, which you can set to quick review, film mode, ISO sensitivity, white balance, metering, AF mode, or intelligent exposure. Film mode provides a variety of preset combinations of contrast, sharpness, saturation, and noise reduction settings, and you can save two custom sets. Theres also a Multi Film mode, which saves three variations of a single photo with the three user-selected film settings.
The Capabilities,
Some other notable capabilities of the LX3 include Pre AF, which locks focus when it senses the cameras at its steadiest, and selectable grouped AF points. The camera offers all the essentials, including optical image stabilization, as well.
The Bad,
Like other products in this class, Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 is not an exception. It works slowly, even landscapes can change if it takes long enough. It wakes up and shoots in just under 2 seconds, which is reasonable. But 0.6 second to focus and shoot under optimal conditions is less so, and 1.1 seconds for low-contrast scenes is a bit too high for the price. Its 1.9 seconds shot-to-shot performance is good, but most snapshot cameras can do better. With flash it slows to about 2.5 seconds between shots, which is typical, if not terrific. For burst shooting it manages about 1.9fps.
Is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 good enough to buy? That would be your personal decision.
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