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I have had my LX5 for 10 days now. I bought it to replace my Ricoh GX100 as a take anywhere camera with sufficient options to allow creative clicking rather than just point and shooting.
First Impressions
The look and feel of the LX5 is joyous; this is a lovely camera and straight out of the box it exuded retro cool. It has a decent weight to it, is sturdy in the hand and the central positioning of the lens gives it a comfortable balance. All of the expected dials and buttons are present and it is here where things start to look a little cluttered and possibly fiddly for those with fatter than average fingers, especially on the rear panel. Saying that, however, the mode dial is well positioned and on the front of the camera, around the lens housing, rest the aspect ratio and focus mode switches. These are easily accessible and there is no need to ‘faff’ about in menu systems trying to find them. The 16:9 and 1:1 ratios are good fun to shoot in. The zoom feels a little short compared to other compacts but at its widest angle, it really rocks. The focusing is quick and accurate and the ability to select your focus point is a very fine addition to this camera’s repertoire.
Images (all straight from camera)
Have not had much of an opportunity yet to really road test for pics but have been toying with the macro, the wide angle and shooting in low light and have been quietly pleased with the results.
Macro
By chance this was the first road test for the camera; my son wanted to go out and photograph spiders in the garden (his current obsession) and there were some particular horrible specimins clinging to their web despite the rain. This image I shot in Aperture Priority with a view to seeing its shallow dof capabilities. It did not disappoint! The sharpness of the spider is very pleasing and Archie and I liked the fact we could see the water droplets on the spider.
Spider by Spooky 173
The same afternoon we went out for a wander in the woods, which is where we found these mushrooms. I do not do much macro work but was again really impressed with the clarity produced by this camera.
Mushroom Macro by Spooky 173
By the way... here is Archie, he is 6 and loves taking photos - like his daddy! He was desperate to have a camera of his own and pleaded for a VTEC thing last Christmas. I toyed with the idea of buying him a toy camera and in the end opted for a cheapish and very cheerful compact from Tesco. He loves it!
Archie by Spooky 173
Wide Angle
This was shot in the landscape mode; I wanted to see what kind of a job the camera would do by itself thinking it would not do justice to the sky, clouds and stone work of the church. The colours look accurate and the camera has done a very good job of exposing the different tones, with no abundance of blow outs (something my Ricoh was notorious for doing)
church wide by Spooky 173
Low Light
I was shooting production photos for our local theatre and was intrigued to see if this little camera could do the job sufficiently well. The results are OK but I think I am biased as I was looking at them alongside those coming out of my D700. At 800 ISO noise is evident, even when looking at the images in the viewfinder.
at 800 ISO by Spooky 173
Results were better at 400 and still leagues ahead of my previous compact but I am not yet convinced I would shoot an entire show on it – especially one with a more challenging lighting design – for me the sharpness I am used to is missing.
at 400 ISO (2) by Spooky 173
I did go out and pap the spider again – this time at night and with an ISO of 800 set. Noise is passable in this shot, I think - will be in next post
In conclusion
This really is an enthusiast’s compact and a superb replacement / upgrade. I feel confident it will serve me well and that my wife will also be able to use it – and maybe I will start making it into family albums. It is clever enough to be left in Intelligent Auto mode and produce accurate and pleasing results, but it also packs enough to keep this creative snapper happy.
As I type I am thinking of trying long exposures and some candid style street snaps. I will post these in due course.
For now, the Panasonic LX5 gets a big thumbs up from me!
First Impressions
The look and feel of the LX5 is joyous; this is a lovely camera and straight out of the box it exuded retro cool. It has a decent weight to it, is sturdy in the hand and the central positioning of the lens gives it a comfortable balance. All of the expected dials and buttons are present and it is here where things start to look a little cluttered and possibly fiddly for those with fatter than average fingers, especially on the rear panel. Saying that, however, the mode dial is well positioned and on the front of the camera, around the lens housing, rest the aspect ratio and focus mode switches. These are easily accessible and there is no need to ‘faff’ about in menu systems trying to find them. The 16:9 and 1:1 ratios are good fun to shoot in. The zoom feels a little short compared to other compacts but at its widest angle, it really rocks. The focusing is quick and accurate and the ability to select your focus point is a very fine addition to this camera’s repertoire.
Images (all straight from camera)
Have not had much of an opportunity yet to really road test for pics but have been toying with the macro, the wide angle and shooting in low light and have been quietly pleased with the results.
Macro
By chance this was the first road test for the camera; my son wanted to go out and photograph spiders in the garden (his current obsession) and there were some particular horrible specimins clinging to their web despite the rain. This image I shot in Aperture Priority with a view to seeing its shallow dof capabilities. It did not disappoint! The sharpness of the spider is very pleasing and Archie and I liked the fact we could see the water droplets on the spider.
Spider by Spooky 173
The same afternoon we went out for a wander in the woods, which is where we found these mushrooms. I do not do much macro work but was again really impressed with the clarity produced by this camera.
Mushroom Macro by Spooky 173
By the way... here is Archie, he is 6 and loves taking photos - like his daddy! He was desperate to have a camera of his own and pleaded for a VTEC thing last Christmas. I toyed with the idea of buying him a toy camera and in the end opted for a cheapish and very cheerful compact from Tesco. He loves it!
Archie by Spooky 173
Wide Angle
This was shot in the landscape mode; I wanted to see what kind of a job the camera would do by itself thinking it would not do justice to the sky, clouds and stone work of the church. The colours look accurate and the camera has done a very good job of exposing the different tones, with no abundance of blow outs (something my Ricoh was notorious for doing)
church wide by Spooky 173
Low Light
I was shooting production photos for our local theatre and was intrigued to see if this little camera could do the job sufficiently well. The results are OK but I think I am biased as I was looking at them alongside those coming out of my D700. At 800 ISO noise is evident, even when looking at the images in the viewfinder.
at 800 ISO by Spooky 173
Results were better at 400 and still leagues ahead of my previous compact but I am not yet convinced I would shoot an entire show on it – especially one with a more challenging lighting design – for me the sharpness I am used to is missing.
at 400 ISO (2) by Spooky 173
I did go out and pap the spider again – this time at night and with an ISO of 800 set. Noise is passable in this shot, I think - will be in next post
In conclusion
This really is an enthusiast’s compact and a superb replacement / upgrade. I feel confident it will serve me well and that my wife will also be able to use it – and maybe I will start making it into family albums. It is clever enough to be left in Intelligent Auto mode and produce accurate and pleasing results, but it also packs enough to keep this creative snapper happy.
As I type I am thinking of trying long exposures and some candid style street snaps. I will post these in due course.
For now, the Panasonic LX5 gets a big thumbs up from me!
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