Should I Wait for The Lumix LX1?

[alannati]

I've done a lot of research and determined two months ago to get the Panasonic Lumix LX1. Now it keeps getting delayed and I dont know when it will be available. Should I keep waiting or get another. I've already missed too many good picture taking opportunities.

Heres what I need...

Budget - 500-600

Size - Small enough to take to parties and concerts, but not too small you cant use it comfortably (cheat on the side of comfortable use)

megapixels - 5-6

optical zoom - as much as i can get

“image quality” - most important, 10

manual controls - a must

What will you generally use the camera for? - projects, fun, and printing the nice ones as gifts

Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? - occasionally

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? - often i do, need a good low light camera and quck autofocus

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? - sometimes

Are there particular brands you like or hate? - only consider panasonic, canon.. maybe nikon or sony

Are there particular models you already have in mind? Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD) - absolutely must have image stabilization, had it on other cameras and love it.

thanks alot for the help? i've been camera less too long and dont know what to do.

-alan

[alannati]

any advice out there?

[coldrain]

What other cameras did you have image stabilization on?

[alannati]

i had a lumix fz20. it got stolen and im trying to replace it and decided to go smaller so i could take it more places.

[coldrain]

The smaller the tele range of the camera, the less use you have for image stabilization. The LX1 has 4x zoom I think, in about the same zoom range as the Canon A6xx series. I do not think it will give you very much benifit at 112mm. The Canon A6xx series also has a better CMOS chip with more accurate colours.

One thing that is nice about the LX1 is that the lens starts at 28mm, nice and wide. But its 8mpixel sensor is very noisy, as can be expected from such a high density of pixels on such a small sensor.

So I think that for that camera type, image stabilator is a waste pretty much, the image quality is not on par with some others, but its looks and the wide angle lens are in its favor.

I do not find it worth to wait on it, except when you look for a compact with 28mm wide angle.

[girlieleep]

I just ordered the LX1 yesterday from Onecall.com

They have them in stock in Black. Mine will arrive on Tuesday.

I currently have a Sony DSC-P100. I like it, but I find that the focus is off sometimes. I'll take a picture and it will have that soft look like it picked the wrong thing to focus on.

I picked the Panasonic because they all seemed really responsive whenever I tried them out at Fry's. The flash recycle seemed to be fairly quick too. I'm hoping that the noise won't be as much of an issue as I plan to shoot in RAW and use Neat Image or another post processing program, and to shoot no higher than ISO 160.

I have always been pretty happy with any Sonys I have owned, but I figured I'd give the Panasonic a try.

I figure if it does seem to noisy, I may just spring for an LC1 (the Panasonic version of the Leica Digilux 2) after selling the LX1.

[Phill D]

Sorry I didn't see your post before you purchased so I hope you wont be dissapointed with your purchase but it seems to me that you have made a big departure from your old FZ20. 12x zoom down to 4x means that you will be using the cameras very differently. If you wanted to stick to panasonic I was suprised you didn't go for the FZ5 which is essentially a smaller version of the 20. Or you could have gone for the LX2 which is smaller still but has 6x zoom and IS. Jeffs review of the LX2 was not that complementary in terms of image quality though. Me I have the FZ20 because the FZ5 was not out when I needed a camera, however I have been very pleased with it & the size has not proved to be anything of the problem I thought it would. If I was replacing it now what would I go for ....well difficult choice but I would go back & look at the FZ5 but also check out the FZ30 (for size) and the Cannon S2 IS as this has shown a lot of very good shots on the image galleries recently. I might even go back & look for a cheap FZ20 now the 30 is out. Anyway hope you like the LX1 but if you do decide to swap it hope these thoughts are of use.

[alannati]

Sorry I didn't see your post before you purchased so I hope you wont be dissapointed with your purchase but it seems to me that you have made a big departure from your old FZ20. 12x zoom down to 4x means that you will be using the cameras very differently. If you wanted to stick to panasonic I was suprised you didn't go for the FZ5 which is essentially a smaller version of the 20. Or you could have gone for the LX2 which is smaller still but has 6x zoom and IS. Jeffs review of the LX2 was not that complementary in terms of image quality though. Me I have the FZ20 because the FZ5 was not out when I needed a camera, however I have been very pleased with it & the size has not proved to be anything of the problem I thought it would. If I was replacing it now what would I go for ....well difficult choice but I would go back & look at the FZ5 but also check out the FZ30 (for size) and the Cannon S2 IS as this has shown a lot of very good shots on the image galleries recently. I might even go back & look for a cheap FZ20 now the 30 is out. Anyway hope you like the LX1 but if you do decide to swap it hope these thoughts are of use.

i still havent decided to buy yet. i am a click away from the S2 IS. the biggest reason that i am choosing to get a smaller camera is that i found there were a lot of times that i chose not to take a camera because i was afraid it would get stolen, damaged or that it would just be a pain. i wish i could own the fz20 again and then also have a smaller camera just to take to concerts, parties, and other more social situations where i feel more comfortable with a camera that fits in my pocket.

another factor is that i am going to be shipping off with the peace corps in a few months so i want to make sure that the camera i buy is something i can comfortably travel with in sketchy situations. obviously battery life and memory cards are going to be an issue. most importantly i want to make sure that i buy a camera that is durable and wont need to be replaced (on it own accord) for two years.

[TheObiJuan]

The LX1 looks good, is small, has IS, and sadly, suffers from chromatic abberation and noise, even at low ISO.
The fz20 with its amazing lens and range, IS, better noise performance, and relatively small size is a better camera. After carrying around a good sized dslr with lenses and other crap, the power packaged fz20 is a great alternative.
I see it as a small camera. :p