Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 Easy Camera Review

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 is a compact digital camera with a mix of old and new, paying homage to older classic Leica analog camera bodies with its physical style while providing enthusiasts with a 2.5-inch LCD screen and 16:9 widescreen format for shooting both still images and video clips.  The camera’s non-retractable lens barrel sits above the clean lines of the camera and provides a 4x optical zoom lens replete with an optical image stabilization feature.  The 8-megapixel LX1 can shoot in 4:3 and 3:2 aspect ratios as well as the more unique 16:9.  A number of appreciated manual control options are available in the automatic and scene modes.  The Panasonic LX1 is currently retailing at a rather steep price of $599 and comes with a 32 MB memory card.

The camera measures 2.2 x 4.16 x 1.01 inches and weighs a total of 7.68 ounces; with measurements like these and a protruding lens, the LX1 is certainly not going to slip smoothly into a pocket.  Controls and navigation on this camera are unclear and require an adjustment period to understand.

The LX1 can shoot in 14 scene modes, which is plenty for most users. In addition to three aspect ratios, the LX1 has manual focus, 3 metering modes, manual ISO adjustment, exposure bracketing, manual white balance, and an expansive and partially manual shutter speed range.  Beginners can learn manual control on this camera without feeling overwhelmed by too many options.

 

Overall color reproduction was fairly accurate, although the LX1 over-saturated the red and blue sections of the color spectrum.  The Panasonic LX1 produced high levels of noise, so expect tiny green and purple dots to appear in even the smallest of prints. Despite the 8-megapixel CCD, the LX1 didn’t do well in resolution and sharpness tests so cropping and enlarging should be kept to a minimum.

The Panasonic DMC-LX1 isn’t quick to awaken with 3.67 seconds elapsing from turning the camera on to taking the first shot.  The fastest of the three burst modes averages 3 shots a second for five shots.  If you want a camera that will take a picture as soon as you press the shutter button, keep looking. The LX1’s auto focus system is a bit slow and makes for a shutter lag of about a third of a second at best.

The movie mode is the LX1’s strong point. The camera can take video in resolutions of 640 x 480, 320 x 240, and 848 x 480 (in 16:9 format).  All of these modes are capable of recording monaural audio and can shoot at frame rates of either 10 or 30 frames per second. Movie clips look good and smooth in the 30 fps mode. The optical zoom cannot be used in the movie mode, but the image stabilization is still a great asset.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 is not an inexpensive camera at just under $600, but the price tag gets you a large 8.4 effective MP CCD with image stabilization and a 16:9 format, and these latter two options are what help set this camera apart from the competition. On top of that, the movie mode is tough to beat. If you’re a beginning user whose priorities lay with image stabilization and the movie mode and not with manual control, the LX1 may be a good fit.