Instead you frequently find yourself switching the camera on just to view an image and having it chastising you for leaving the lens cap on before the play button becomes active. Alternatively you can press and hold the play button while you flick the power switch to power-up directly into playback, but again it would be easier if you could just do it by pressing and holding the play button alone.
That said, the play button and especially the thumb wheel are very welcome improvements over the LX3. This is approximately one third more than its predecessor from a pack with only mAh extra capacity. We prefer the tripod thread on the Canon S95 which is in line with the optical axis of the lens. The lens has always been a highlight on previous LX cameras, offering wide angle coverage and a bright focal ratio. The new Lumix LX5 continues that tradition while upping the game over its predecessor.
The earlier LX3 featured a 2. The new LX5 keeps the 24mm wide angle coverage with its maximum aperture of f2. Unsurprisingly the aperture when fully zoomed-in is a little smaller than the LX3, but at f3. The benefit of a large aperture small f-number is the ability to gather more light while also minimising the depth-of-field. A lens at f2. The lens extends by 23mm from the housing when powered-up, with the LX5 ready for action in about 1.
The motorised zoom control is pretty fine with 18 steps between the shortest and longest focal lengths. Activate the new Step Zoom option and the LX5 will jump between preset focal lengths of 24, 28, 35, 50, 70 or 90mm as you nudge the zoom control — this may be nice for anyone wanting to match classic 35mm focal lengths, but we preferred having the finer increments in normal operation.
The 90mm coverage of the LX5 may still be way too short for capturing distant subjects in any decent detail, but by zooming half as close again as its predecessor gives you much more flexibility in practice. Crucially it means the LX5 is now equally suited to head-and-shoulders portrait work as its predecessor was for expansive landscapes or architecture.
The optical quality is also very good with crisp details and minimal aberrations to worry about — although the camera may of course be performing some corrections itself. In our tests at three focal lengths, the LX5 delivered very respectable results even with its aperture wide-open. At the maximum apertures there was some softening in the extreme corners, but the rest of the image looked pretty good. Closing the aperture by one stop resulted in a boost in contrast and sharpness across the frame with a reduction in corner softness.
Closing the aperture to f4 produced a fractionally less contrasty image due to diffraction beginning to kick-in, but it was often worth it for better corner performance. At apertures of f5. Arguably its biggest rival is the Canon PowerShot S95 and to a lesser respect, the PowerShot G12; these employ lenses with mm and mm equivalent ranges, and f2. Looking at the focal ratio, the PowerShot S95 shares the same f2.
This allows both cameras to gather twice as much light as the G12 or other cameras at f2. At the other end of their zoom ranges the LX5 would seem brighter at f3. The Lumix LX5 only offers its maximum f2.
It closes a fraction to f2. The PowerShot S95 only offers it maximum f2. It closes to f2. Looking at some of those cross-over focal lengths, the LX5 and S95 operate at a maximum of f2. So while both the LX5 and S95 start their focal ranges at an impressive f2.
Where the LX5 also scores over the S95 is the ability to mount optional lens accessories. Like most adapters and converters though, they greatly add to the size of the camera. The cap also adds extra thickness to the lens barrel, making it quite a bit chunkier than the S95 when powered-down, but the counter-argument is the cap will offer better protection than the sliding shutter on its rivals.
Like all Panasonic cameras, the Lumix LX5 employs optical image stabilisation. The default Auto option switches between them depending on conditions. The Panasonic Lumix LX5 is equipped with a 3in screen with k pixels.
Like its predecessor, the screen shape is , which is a little wider than the shaped screens on most other compacts including the Canon PowerShots S95 and G When shooting in , the image on the Canon S95 certainly looks larger, but again the advantage of the LX5 is when switching to wider aspect ratios at which point more of the screen is wasted on the PowerShots.
We tested the Lumix LX5 alongside the PowerShot S95 and found both screens looked great in most conditions, but both could become hard to view in harsh direct sunlight, especially if viewed off-axis with the cameras held at high or low angles.
While shooting, the Display button switches between three modes: a clean view of the image, one with alignment guides switchable between a grid, cross or adjustable intersecting lines , and shooting information with either the remaining shots or the remaining video recording time depending on which has been selected in a Setup menu. A live histogram can also be enabled in the Setup menus if desired, as can a mask indicating the coverage should you start filming a video.
Menu button. Pressing the left and right buttons highlight particular headings, after which you use the up and down buttons to select the desired option from a drop-down list. In the Program mode, the Q. It does however maintain the ability to apply fine rotation to images in playback. Sony ZV-1 Review. Fujfilm XV Full Review. Top 17 Best Cameras For Kids Micke The two cons are easily solved: 1. I have been thinking about getting rid of my A55 and lenses, the weight and inconvenience is the decider unless you need the long zoom or regular low light photography.
But I do realise the A55 with decent lenses gives you things the compacts cannot, it is 'horses for courses'!
Popping up the flash makes me wonder what they were thinking, because the flash always hits the finger I'm using to actuate the release slider, so there's one knock; but that's not really a problem: just open it more carefully or learn to like having your finger popped up along with the flash.
One thing the Panasonic LX5 has no deficiency is in its optical image stabilization system. I'm always impressed when using Panasonic's stabilization, but they've outdone themselves with the new Power O.
I got stable images I had no right to get, and often in low light with slow exposures the person in the foreground might be blurry, but it was because they moved, not because of focus or a failure of the IS system. Concentrate on holding the camera still, and the Panasonic LX5 will take your cue. Suddenly the image is perfectly stable.
You can see the camera still moving, but that image onscreen is not. It doesn't float. It just sits. A few times I've had to wonder whether I'd pressed the Playback button. It's the best I've seen. Step zoom. It used to be we criticized cameras whose zooms moved in steps, rather than smoothly following the dictates of our fingers.
Suddenly it's a hot option to have the lens zoom in steps, simulating a camera bag full of prime lenses. I turned the feature on. I'm not sure I get it. The list of options includes 24, 28, 35, 50, 70, and It is nice to have repeatability, but I'd like the option to remove a few of the positions, as this seems too many. Part of what makes the mode annoying is that the Panasonic LX5's otherwise fine lens zooms so slowly.
If this mode increased the zoom speed, it would be worthwhile. But it's sluggish. The advantage to sluggish outside of this Step zoom mode is that you have more time to pick whatever focal length you want, but I'd still like it to move faster.
That could have been done with a two-speed zoom toggle, but instead it's slow to start, taking what seems like more than half a second, and slow to travel once it's started.
The Panasonic LX5 uses the same basic Panasonic menu structure that works well on all of their pocket cameras. My only complaint is that there are so many options, which isn't much of a complaint. There are seven pages of items on the Record and Setup pages, five items per page.
Operation is straightforward. I like the Quick menu, but I'm not sure I would have chosen all the same items that Panasonic chose, especially the LCD backlight control. But again, all that is incidental on any camera. What they have is well-laid-out and works quickly.
Scene modes too are Panasonic's standard set, so I don't have much to say about them. I don't generally use Scene modes except on cameras that do multi-shot tricks that are useful low-light tools. The Panasonic LX5 relies on its fast lens and sensor to deal with low light, which I prefer over a special mode. The Playback menu has one interesting option called Leveling.
A relatively fine grid is overlaid on the image, and you can tilt the image to straighten buildings or match the horizon line. The image is automatically cropped, of course. You can also add text to your images, including things like location, name, date, and time. Pocket changes. As I mentioned, the Panasonic LX5's big advantage is its relative pocketability. Even the lens cap is made well enough that it stayed on in my pocket.
It has very strong springs behind a two-sided cap that really hold well. Cheap lens caps can come off in a pocket or bag, but this one didn't. I don't say that it won't, but it's a lot less likely than most. But there are basic disadvantages to putting the Panasonic LX5 in a pocket, chiefly that two of the key dials change while they're in there. Nearly every time I pulled the Panasonic LX5 from my pocket, either the Aspect ratio slider had moved or the Mode dial had.
Mostly both changes are easy to detect before you commit to your next shot, and the dials make changing the settings back to your preferred ones easy enough, but it would be a lot better if they stayed put a little better. The good news about dials is that the new Rear dial is better behaved.
It's almost difficult to turn by comparison, because it's so well-recessed. I prefer that to the way the Canon S95 handles their rear dial, because Canon again uses a very loose dial that changes Exposure value too easily with an accidental turn--and there's no way to disable it.
The Panasonic LX5's rear dial requires a more deliberate effort to turn, which is good, because turning it in Aperture or Shutter priority modes changes those settings. That can make adjustment a little harder, but it's not bad.
In Program mode it's even better, because you first have to half-press the shutter button, and then you can turn the dial to perform a program shift, where the camera selects a different combination of aperture and shutter speed, yet maintains proper exposure. If you want to make EV changes, just press the dial in, and you switch to that option.
Press it again to switch back. Low light. Most of the low-light shooting I did was inside buildings that were reasonably well-lit, but I also made some shots at a high school football stadium. The biggest problem I had there was with auto white balance. The stadium lights rendered skintones green, making them difficult to recover. In some of my indoor shots, the white balance is right, but the color is muted, even at the lowest ISOs.
The only problem with Silkypix is that Panasonic only bundled the Windows version, and the only PC I use regularly is my netbook, which takes about 50 seconds to batch-process each photo--and that's assuming that a batch-process is going to set everything right, which in my experience is unlikely. It's an extra step that enthusiasts would do well to take, but I don't expect many consumers to do so.
Note that after posting the review, we learned that the Mac version of Silkypix Developer SE is available from the Japanese Silkypix website , and we confirmed that it does work to open and convert the LX5's RAW images--which only takes 10 seconds on a 2.
Saturation trouble. Most of our Gallery shots will appear to be doubled, but that's on purpose. The first file is straight from the camera, the second, marked with an "a" at the end of the filename, is processed through Silkypix with the Memory 1 setting for the film. This increases saturation to a more acceptable level. I experimented with the different film modes on the camera, which appear to be different from the Silkypix modes, to get an idea of what each does, but I find the default settings for each to be a bit dramatic see samples at right.
The good news is that you can create your own custom settings, raising the saturation and contrast if you like, but I still always shoot RAW to make sure I can rescue a good shot from the permanent damage that can be inflicted by noise suppression and JPEG compression.
As I sat holding the Panasonic LX5, I considered the hot shoe, a feature found on few cameras of this size. I'd already tried the Olympus FL flash with some success. I supposed my Dynalite IRT-1 infrared transmitter--effectively a two-channel flash with a red cover on it--would work to fire my studio lights. On the front the handgrip has been slightly enlarged and re-shaped, with a larger textured pad, making the camera easier to grip.
On the back and the top panel the changes are more substantial. The monitor has been moved down by a few millimetres, and the flash hot shoe raised up, to make room for a small socket just above the screen, used to connect an optional electronic viewfinder. There are a few other changes on the back of the camera. Like a lot of older Panasonic cameras the LX3 had a slider switch to select between shooting and playback mode, which meant that if you were reviewing your pictures but suddenly wanted to take a photo, you had to remember to switch it back to shooting mode.
On the LX5 this switch has been replaced by a playback button, and tapping the shutter button now returns the camera to shooting mode. Instead the quick menu is activated by a separate button and navigated via the D-pad, while exposure adjustments are handled by a data wheel mounted on the newly enlarged thumbgrip. Another addition is a dedicated button on the top panel to begin video recording. The LX5 has the same x pixel maximum video resolution as the LX3, shooting at 25fps with mono audio recorded by a built-in microphone, but it now records in the higher quality AVCHD Lite format.
Comparing the two side by side I have to say the improvement is fairly minor. The most substantial upgrade is the lens. The LX3 had a 2. This was great for landscape shots but less than ideal for portraits. The LX5 has a new lens with 3. The front element of the lens is also slightly recessed, making it less vulnerable than the protruding lens of the LX3.
More significant changes have taken place internally.
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