The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 features 10.2MP
resolution, a 28-112mm (35mm equivalent) 4x optical
image stabilized zoom in a 16:9 aspect ratio,
a large 2.8-in high resolution (207K pixels) LCD,
and fast performance. It can be carried in a large
trouser pocket though it would be more comfortably
carried in a coat pocket since its lens juts out
about 17mm (0.7 in.). It uses the Secure Digital
(SD) memory card.
The camera comes in silver and black body, and
I believe it looks much better in all black than
in silver. The camera has a "clip" that
serves as a finger grip. On startup, the lens
extends approx. a further 25mm (1 in.). At max
telephoto, the lens has extended a further 13mm
to about 38mm (1.4 in.).
Performance is great: startup time is less than
1 sec., shot to shot times about 1 sec., and there
is no practical shutter
lag. Autofocus is fast and precise.
STYLE
-
Colours: silver or black
-
Looks: the black body looks much more
professional
FEEL
-
Good "handgrip" (finger
grip)
-
Controls are well positioned and spaced,
and intuitive to use
DIMENSIONS &
WEIGHT
-
Medium Compact
-
Dimensions: 105.7 x 55.8 x 26.3 mm
/
4.16 x 2.20 x 1.04 in. (Not including
protruding parts)
-
Weight: 187g / 0.41 lb (Body)
217 g / 0.48 lb (with Battery and SD
Memory Card)
Startup with no lens extension and
LCD turning on in less than 1 sec.
-
Shot to shot time approx. 1 sec.
-
No practical shutter lag
Included in the box is a rechargeable Li-ion
battery that can take about 300 shots with LCD
on (CIPA standard) on a fresh charge and a Battery
Charger DE-A11 that will recharge a new battery
in approx. 130 min. The Battery Charger is of
the type that plugs directly into a wall electrical
socket.
Controls
The top of the camera has, from left to right,
the Flash Open switch, the Mode Dial, the Shutter
Release Button, the Zoom Lever around the Shutter
Button, the Optical Image Stabilizer button and
the Power ON/OFF switch. The Mode Dial has SCN
(Scene Mode), AUTO Mode, Playback, the usual PASM
modes, plus Movie. On top of the lens barrel is
the Aspect Ratio Switch: 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9.
Press and hold the Image Stabilizer button down
to bring up the 3 possible options: set it to
OFF when putting the camera on a tripod; MODE1,
if you want to see the effect of image stabilization
at all times; MODE2, for the most effective stabilization,
which takes place just before the image is taken.
Burst Mode allows you to take up to 3 or 5 images
(depending on Quality selected) at 2fps in High
Speed mode and 1fps in Low Speed, and an unlimited
number of images (depending on the space available
on your memory card) at approx. 1fps in Unlimited
mode.
The Mode Dial rotates easily using your thumb.
It clicks positively in place and I've not had
any problem where the setting on the Mode Dial
is inadvertently changed.
The Zoom Lever is around the Shutter Button and
it takes about 2.5 sec. to zoom from wide to tele.
I counted 21 intermediate steps, which is excellent
(other digicams typically give you only 9 or 10).
The pop-up flash is manually opened and will
not automatically pop up when needed. Advanced
photographers will welcome this implementation;
beginners must remember to lift up the flash if
they want to use it.
You select AF, Macro and MF on the lens barrel.
When in Manual Focus, there are two Manual Focus
Assist modes (SETUP - MF ASSIST): MF 1 will enlarge
the central portion of the screen and MF 2 will
enlarge the whole screen. The enlarged portion
provides a pretty clear view of what you are focusing
on. Do note that, unless your camera is rock steady
on a tripod and your subject is not moving, it
can be quite challenging to manual focus. A Manual
Focus Assistant pops up briefly with distance
markings.
When the AF Mode is one-area focusing or one-area
focusing (high speed), you can select the AF area
from up to 9 areas: move the joystick to select
AF AREA (it will be highlighted in yellow); press
the joystick to display the 9 AF areas; move joystick
or arrow buttons to select an AF area; press joystick
or MENU/SET to set the AF area.
I love the joystick idea but find it a bit tricky
when trying to engage AF AREA: after I've highlighted
AF AREA, I press the joystick and 2 times out
of 3, I get a different option instead of the
9 AF AREAS displaying on screen. Perhaps, it's
just a matter of practice, but I suggest you give
the joystick a try before purchasing. Besides
AF AREA, you use the joystick as a FUNCTION button
to set Metering mode, WB, ISO, Picture Size, and
Quality (incl. RAW).
You can record movies with sound (until the memory
card is full -- when using a super high-speed
SD memory card) at either 848 x 480 (16:9 aspect
ratio) or 640 x 480 or 320x240 pixels (both at
4:3 aspect ratio) at 30fps or 10fps. Movie at
3:2 aspect ratio is not available. You cannot
zoom during movie recording. Sound is always recorded.
You cannot use MultiMediaCard (MMC).
Video Storage Capacity
1GB
16:9
848x480
30fps
9m 44s
10fps
29m 02s
15fps
8m 31s
4:3 VGA
640x480
30fps
11m 21s
10fps
33m 48s
4:3 QVGA
320x240
30fps
33m 48s
10fps
1h 38m 16s
As you can see, even on a 1GB SD card, you can
record only about 9m 44s at 16:9 VGA 30fps. We
recommend using a 2GB or 4GB high-speed (at least
10MB/s) SD memory card.
FUNCTIONS ACCESSIBLE
BY CONTROL BUTTONS (top to bottom starting
from the AF/AE Lock button)
-
The AF/AE LOCK button can be customized
in Menu to either lock Focus only, lock
AE only or lock both Focus and AE when
it is pressed.
-
JOYSTICK. The Joystick acts as a
FUNCTION button and provides a shortcut
for setting the following 6 items:
AF mode, Metering mode, WB, ISO, Picture
Size, and Quality (incl. RAW).
I loved the joystick on the FZ7,
but this one seems to be a bit different:
there does not seem to be any "give"
when you press it any direction --
somewhat similar to the IBM Thinkpad
"mouse stick" in the midst
of the keyboard.
-
DELETE button. I've always loved
the way the Delete function is implemented
on Panasonic digital cameras. Press
once to delete image displayed; press
twice to invoke Multi Delete/All Delete.
No need to access the Menu.
-
CURSOR buttons. UP ARROW (Exposure
Compensation, Auto Bracket, Flash
Output Adjustment/Backlight Compensation);
RIGHT ARROW (Flash); DOWN ARROW (REView);
LEFT ARROW (Self-timer 10s, 2s).
Though Playback is on the Mode Dial,
the REView button [DOWN Arrow] is
more convenient to use. It allows
you to review all your captured images
and even allows Multi Delete/All Delete.
When in REView, a touch of the Shutter
Button takes you quickly back to shooting
mode.
Note: To play back your movies, you
must rotate the Mode Dial to
Playback.
MENU SET button in the middle calls
up the Menu; use CURSOR buttons to
navigate the Menu screens; press MENU
SET again to accept a screen choice.
-
DISPLAY/LCD MODE. Press button repeatedly
to cycle through: Normal, add Histogram,
add Grid Lines, No Info displayed. Press
and hold button for more than 1 sec.
to activate Power LCD or High Angle.
-
DRIVE/DELETE. In Recording mode, select
Single or Burst (High Speed, Low Speed,
Unlimited). In Playback mode: delete
one, multiple or all images.
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
-
Exposure Compensation is accessed
with the UP ARROW
-
Once set, the Exposure Compensation
Indicator conveniently stays displayed
on screen until it is reset to "0"
-
Range: -2 EV to +2 EV (13 steps in
1/3 EV increments)
-
The screen brightness will increase
or decrease to reflect the value you
use
-
Note: the exposure compensation value
selected is retained even when the camera
is turned off. So remember to reset
to "0" after using it or the
next time you turn the camera on, your
shots may be over- or under-exposed.
-
Press UP ARROW repeatedly to cycle
thru the other available options: Auto
Bracket, Flash Output Adjustment
SHUTTER SPEED RANGES
-
P: 1 - 1/2,000 sec.
A, S: 8 - 1/2,000 sec.
M: 60 - 1/2000 sec.
Starry Sky Mode: 15, 30, 60 sec.
LCD & Menus
There is no viewfinder but a large 2.8 in. LCD
monitor with a high 207,000 pixels resolution.
The LCD has a fast enough refresh rate for a smooth
display. The LCD monitor's brightness can be adjusted
in MENU/SETUP. The LCD gains up slightly in low-light.
There is a very effective AF-assist Illuminator
and I've found auto focusing to be quite fast
and precise in low-light situations.
The menu structure is very easy to understand
and use, and one of the best we've seen. Where
necessary, the menu becomes transparent to allow
you to see the effect of your choices (e.g. for
WB and Color Effect). There are 4 RECord and 5
SETUP pages worth of menu settings.
REC 1 of 4
- White Balance
- WB Adjust
- ISO Sensitivity
- Picture Size
- Image Quality
REC 2 of 4
- Audio Recording
- Metering Mode
- AF Mode
- Continuous AF
- AF Assist Lamp
REC 3 of 4
- AF/AE Lock
- Digital Zoom
- Color Effect
- Picture Adjust
- Flip Animation
- Clock Set
- World Time
- Monitor Brightness
- Guide Line
- Travel Date
SETUP 2 of 5
- Auto Review
- Play on LCD
- Power Save
- MF Assist
- Beep
SETUP 3 of 5
- AF Beep
- Shutter
- Volume
- No. Reset
- Reset
SETUP 4 of 5
- Highlight
- Video Out
- TV Aspect
- Manual Focus (m/ft)
- Scene Menu
SETUP 5 of 5
- Language
LANGUAGE 1 of 2
LANGUAGE 2 of 2
WB
- Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen,
Flash, White Set 1, White Set 2, White Set
(Manual)
WB ADJUST
- Fine manual adjustment of WB
ISO
- Auto, Intelligent ISO, 100, 200, 400,
800, 1600
GUIDE LINE
- Record Info
- Histogram
- Pattern
SCENE MODE 1 of 5
- Portrait
- Soft Skin
- Scenery
- Sports
SCENE MODE 2 of 5
- Night Portrait
- Night Scenery
- Self Portrait
- Food
SCENE MODE 3 of 5
- Party
- Candle Light
- Fireworks
- Starry Sky
SCENE MODE 4 of 5
- Beach
- Aerial Photo
- Snow
- High Sensitivity
SCENE MODE 5 of 5
- Baby 1
- Baby 2
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
- -2EV to +2EV in 1/3EV steps
PROGRAM AE
Top to Bottom, Left to Right:
- P=Program AE, Flash OFF, Multi-Pattern
metering, WB 2, Intelligent ISO, 8M Image
Size, Fine Image Quality, Battery Level
Indicator
- Image Stabilizer MODE 2, Macro ON, High
Speed Burst, Space left for 241 images
- Histogram
- +1/3 EV exposure compensation dialed in
- Note: the Shutter Speed and Aperture is
not displayed until the shutter release
button is half-pressed
PROGRAM SHIFT
- Half-press Shutter Release Button and
move Joystick down to enable Program Shift
- Then move Joystick up or down to shift
shutter speed/aperture combination in tandem
APERTURE-PRIORITY
Top to Bottom, Left to Right:
- A=Aperture-Priority, Flash OFF, Multi-Pattern
metering, WB 2, Intelligent ISO, 8M Image
Size, Fine Image Quality, Battery Level
Indicator
- Image Stabilizer MODE 2, Macro ON, High
Speed Burst, Space left for 241 images
- Histogram
- +1/3 EV exposure compensation dialed in,
Aperture F6.3, Shutter SPeed 2.5 sec.
- Note: the Shutter Speed is not displayed
until the shutter release button is half-pressed
SHUTTER-PRIORITY
Top to Bottom, Left to Right:
- S=Shutter-Priority, Flash OFF, Multi-Pattern
metering, WB 2, Intelligent ISO, 8M Image
Size, Fine Image Quality, Battery Level
Indicator
- Image Stabilizer MODE 2, Macro ON, High
Speed Burst, Space left for 241 images
- Histogram
- +1/3 EV exposure compensation dialed in,
Aperture F4.9, Shutter SPeed 1/100 sec.
- Note: the Aperture is not displayed until
the shutter release button is half-pressed
MANUAL
Top to Bottom, Left to Right:
- M=Manual, Flash OFF, Multi-Pattern metering,
WB 2, Intelligent ISO, 8M Image Size, Fine
Image Quality, Battery Level Indicator
- Image Stabilizer MODE 2, Macro ON, High
Speed Burst, Space left for 241 images
- Histogram
- Manual Exposure Assistance
- Aperture F6.3, Shutter SPeed 1/100 sec.
- Note: the Manual Exposure Assistance is
not displayed until the shutter release
button is half-pressed
LCD MODE
- Press Display/LCD Mode button for more
than 1 sec.
- Power LCD brightens display for outdoors
setting
= High Angle brightens the LCD to the max;
helps when you hold the camera above your
head
A couple of other nice features: the hinged plastic
Terminal door opens up wide to allow unimpeded
access [don't you hate fighting with a rubber
flap?] to the AV OUT/DIGITAL (USB) socket and
DC IN socket. There is a very nice Battery/Card
door and the battery has a latch to keep it from
accidentally falling. You are able to change battery
when the camera is on a tripod. Last, but not
least, the tripod socket is metal but not inline
with the lens.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 has very good
handling for such a compact digital camera. Though
the controls are small and we do recommend that
you try them out (especially the joystick) first
before you purchase, they provide a superb level
of photographic control that advanced photographers
will appreciate.
