- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 17 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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25 out of 25 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"An Excellent Camera!"
Pros: Georgous Leica Lens
Cons: A bit pricey but worth it overall
Summary: The "full review" by CNET of this camera was very accurate. The short video clip review of the woman supposedly critiquing the camera is a shameful joke (as usual). Those knowledgeable about photography will appreciate the ergonomic placement and operation of the features just as they are. Leica & Panasonic collaborated on this camera and Leica has a 50 year history in the proper placement of controls. People knowledgeable about photography will appreciate what they did and why.
I obtained the "grey market" version of this camera and it renders outstanding images. The feature set on this camera is excellent. It has a large 2.5" LCD with over 200,000 pixels for very bright clarity in all conditions. Image Stabilization buys you several more critical F-Stops of hand holding ability. Full manual controls as well as automatic. A 60 second long exposure ability for night shots. I really like the 28mm ability and coupling this with the 16:9 (first in the industry) aspect ratio option really allows for encompassing landscape and interior shooting! The movie mode is excellent as well the first to approach 480P film. An incredible 848 X 480 instead of the now much aclaimed 640 X 480.
On a side note (dpreview.com) also had a very comprehensive review but unfortunately their over-emphasis on the fact that noise begins on this camera at the 100 ISO position instead of the ususal 200 ISO mark, only served to turn off some people. However, even that reviewer clearly noted that the clarity/sharpness/resolution of the Leica lens "more" than offsets the issue of noise-creep at the 100 ISO level. He went on to recommend this camera. Sadly, too many novices hear the word noise and panic! At ISO's of 80 and 100 this camera renders incredibly sharp images folks. However, it is not for shooting at ISO's above 200 unless you want the artistic effects (grain structure) that noise introduces. Even at those levels there are many programs that will remove the noise very effectively with just a bit of post processing (very simple to do). Most people knowledgeable about such matters will not be scared off at all. Take at look at the incredibly good sample images found at the (dpreview.com) site.
All this in a very pocketable package. A camera at home in a bulky bag that sits in a closet is a waste of money. Having a one inch thick gem like this in a pocket or small belt clip will bring back the joy of everyday image making! You'll love this camera folks!
- 6 replies to this review
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To comment or to rate a product in a proper way is difficult. This comment is very accurate in terms of noise level and how it can be solved.
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this is the type of reading i wish there were more of.
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Well, after using this camera for a couple of weeks, I discovered that there are two settings for internal noise reduction, HIGH and LOW. The camera defaults to LOW, which is almost none. If you can find the setting which is buried in the menu system, you can set it to HIGH and it alleviates a most of the problem. So, I guess we should read the manual!
Gene. -
I agree, and I think that the lens is almost worth the price of the whole camera. For whatever reason, Panasonic didn't include much internal noise reduction software, but once you clean it up using decent post-production software the pictures will beat anything at this price range anywhere.
People should keep in mind that most cameras hide their own noise internally using often inferior software. This camera seems designed for serious photographers who do their own post-processing.
Also, the image stabilization is so good that you'll rarely need high ISO speeds anyway. You can shoot at crazy slow shutter speeds without a tripod. -
Firstly I would like to thank you for one of, if not the most, comprehensive yet concise reviews I have read to date. I too bought this camera and marveled at it no doubt for the same reasons everyone else did. Size, design, specs, lens quality but to name a few. I have been most impressed with it thus far and am yet to find a fault worthy of text space. I agree with you that the woman's review in the C|net video was ill informed, ill-prepared and irrelevant for the most part especially the bit about the sole function of the joystick being for zooming! In a word...unprofessional. With regards to the dpreview, yes the noise does creep up dramatically when opting for anything over ISO 100 but then again, in a point n shoot, what does one expect? I Never shoot above ISO 100 on a point n shoot because of the obvious limitations. It seems that every reviewer worth his or her salt feels it incumbent upon them to have to say/invent something negative on an otherwise outstanding product for fear of losing credibility. Well done Darkcobra, very well written review.
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I disagree that potential buyers should ignore the noise issue. Dpreview.com compared this camera with the FujiFilm Finepix F10 - a camera that is $200 cheaper - and the Lumix had MUCH more noise at ISO 400.
The writer of the dpreview.com review says "it's hard to see how the new 8MP chip in the LX1 (aside from its unusual aspect ratio) could ever been seen as 'progress'." The reviewer also writes: "We had real difficulty deciding between Above Average and Recommended for the LX1; it is capable of delivering stunning resolution, sharpness and detail - and is stuffed to the gills with useful photographic features, but for a camera to exhibit this level of noise at ISO 80 in 2005 is pretty unforgivable." This sounds very different from your interpretation of the review.
I know the camera looks great, and because of this people will minimize its flaws to justify the purchase of such a cool product. If people buy flawed products and then recommend them to others then manufacturers have no incentive to improve quality. I'm going to pass on this beautiful looking camera and get one that works better.
Where to buy
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 (silver):
$429.99
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