Panasonic Lumix LX5 compact review (part 3) – verdict and specs

Image quality

For a compact camera, we were very impressed with the output of the LX5. Its new 10.1 MP sensor delivered distinictive improvements over its predecessor, with an enhanced dynamic range controlling burnt out highlights and more shadow detail being visible.

Bloomsbury Festival 2010, Program mode, f2.8m 1/400s, 24mm setting

Noise was kept to a minimum when shooting at 80-200ISO, with only a small drop in resolution spotted at 400ISO and the camera produced usable images up to 800ISO.

As you might expect, at soon as you scale the heights of 1600ISO and above, ‘smudgy’ noise reduction artefacts become more and more noticeable.

The camera’s auto white balance setting proved to be a pretty good performer too, and only needed the occaisonal nudge on the rare times it got it wrong.

Straight out of the camera, JPEG files were punchy, with natural colours and good levels of saturation and contrast, with 6 colour film types and 3 monochrome types which also work in movie mode, These are Standard, Dynamic, Nature, Smooth, Vibrant, Nostalgic, Standard B&W, Dynamic B&W and Smooth B&W.

There’s also an interesting Multi-Film Mode feature which applies up to three different film modes at once so you could, for example, produce both color and black & white photos simultaneously.

Walking the London Loop, 2010. ISO 80, f4, 1/500s, auto mode.

Video

The LX5 can capture HD movies at 1,280 x 720 pixels, which can be saved in both motion JPEG and the space saving AVCHD Lite formats. Unlike most of its rivals, it’s also possible to zoom when recording movies too.

To be honest, we’re not really big on videos, but the few ones we rattled off looked great – if you want to see them, give us a nag and we’ll post it on to YouTube.

Flash and drive modes

Alrthough it’s a wee little thing with a modest affair affording coverage of 0.8 – 7.2 m (Wide / ISO Auto), 0.3 – 4.4 m (Tele / ISO Auto), the flash comes with some useful optins in the shape of Autoflash, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync/Red-eye Reduction and Flash Synchro; 1st/2nd.

With its limited telephoto range, the LX5 isn’t pitched at sports photographers, but comes with decent enough full-resolution 2.5 frames/sec continuins shooting up to 5 images and a High speed Burst mode offer “approx 6 frames/sec (image priority), approx 10 frames/sec (speed priority).”

The verdict

The high end compact camera market is particularly competitive, with the likes of Canon, Samsung and Nikon all offering excellent cameras with enough features and manual modes to satisfy even the pickiest enthusiast and perfectionist pro snapper.

Perhaps the two main rivals come from Canon, with the Powershot S95 packing a lot of similar functionality into a bijou package, while the tougher, more pro-orientated PowerShot G12 offering near SLR-like controls at the expensive of a bulkier body.

There’s also competition from Lumix itself, with its new, smaller GF-2 Micro Four Thirds camera offering a more versatile package for a fairly modest extra investment.

Small, fast and most excellent

However, where the Lumix LX5 scores points is in the overall package: it’s small enough to put into a (large) pocket, has enough physical controls to make it speedy to operate, comes with a fast and flexible wide angle zoom and produces very decent pictures, right up to 400ISO.

For us, the blend of the manual controls, 24mm wide angle zoom and rugged, rangefinder-esque looks make the Lumix LX5 the most compelling high end compact camera around – just make sure you shop around and get it a decent price.

It’s currently a very competitive £325 on Amazon.

Specs galore:

Back to Part Two of the review