[mytse]

Hello,

It's my first post, have been recommended by others to go onto this forum.

What do you think of Panasonic LX1?

I bought a FZ20 last month but soon sold it on as it was a little too big to carry around. I know it's not as big as the DSLR, but as much as I like photography, I prefer a 'smaller' camera to take out all the time, rather than just taking the odd photos few times a year (as I have experienced before with my Nikon F80). I do want more than just a 'point & shoot', but not necessarily the full monty from a DSLR.

I like the LX1 because of the sharp lens it has, the manual/slr type functions, 16:9 ratio images, but most of all, it has managed to cram in so many fucntions into a relatively small camera.

What other cameras would you recommend?

Thanks in advance,

[CT]

Not the Mytse of late Walsall fame?

My missus has the Panasonic DMC-FX9 and based on how that performs, I 'd say you could do a lot worse than getting the LX1 with it's 2 mill extra pixels. The Leica lens is a nice touch and there's even a Leica version of the camera out now which some would say is just a re-badged LX1, and being Leica, it's expensive ...but no doubt nice.

You've really got to ask yourself what you really want from a camera. If a DSLR is out of the equation then think seriously about size which will have a big bearing on whether you actually take it anwhere. The LX1 isn't much bigger than a packet of fags and slips easily into a breast pocket.

The larger more DSLR -like cameras would appeal more to me having a proper viewfinder instead of just the LCD screen, but whilst they're still pretty compact, they're not quite so 'take it anywhere' as the little compacts.

[mytse]

Tonky! I was told I would find you here

FX9 is nice, but I find it a little too 'simple'. I still like to play about the aperture/shuttle speed etc...

I'm torn really, between the LX1 and the new FZ7 which is due out next month. My brother has the FZ5, and I would say it's about as big as I feel comfortable travelling around with.

I've seen some preview shots of the FZ7, but I find it not 'as' sharp as the LX1 ?

LX1 can bad had for £330 or so, and I would expect the FZ7 to be around the same price.

So taking consideration of what's been said, are there anything I should consider for about the same price?

[mytse]

I also love the macro shots from the LX1. Something I like more than zooming.

[CT]

Welcome aboard btw!

I'm not really the one to advise you as I don't know enough about these cameras. The guy you really want is gandhi who posts here and who recently bought one of the high end Panasonic DSLR - like compacts. He's turning in some excellent results with it. He'll no doubt see this thread and offer his advice, so keep checking back.

Others will no doubt have advice on Panasonic alternatives, but I'm a lost cause - it really has to be a DSLR for me.

[Gemok]

for "pocket sized" cameras with manual controls you could look at fuji's E900
a respected review site's review can be found here

I've got one, the downsides I've noticed it has are it takes ages to write RAW files and doesn't have a buffer so you have to wait to take another shot, it uses xd memory cards which are more expensive than other formats and the manual focus "feature" is a nightmare to use with out an extra hand. Also it doesn't have any antishake capabilities which is a big plus of the panasonic range

[Gandhi]

Originally Posted by CT

Welcome aboard btw!

I'm not really the one to advise you as I don't know enough about these cameras. The guy you really want is gandhi who posts here and who recently bought one of the high end Panasonic DSLR - like compacts. He's turning in some excellent results with it. He'll no doubt see this thread and offer his advice, so keep checking back.

Others will no doubt have advice on Panasonic alternatives, but I'm a lost cause - it really has to be a DSLR for me.

LOL!

Spotted as predicted!

Welcome to the forum. I can only say good things about the FZ30 I have, it's a fantastic camera for the price and does exactly what I want, that is, it's got most of the features of a dSLR but saves lugging all the lenses and crap around. If you have a look at my gallery on here, you'll see what it's capable of. I understand though you sold your '20 cos it was too bulky?

My dad was given an Fz5 for chrimbo, it's a great camera, good lens and small to boot, but still not exactly pocketable, unless you have the pockets of a clown. The only other drawbacks I think are lack of support for RAW files and no filter thread!

As for the LX1, CT is right. The new Leica Dlux 2 is just a re-cased, rebadged LX1 (or should that be the other way around?) I have no direct experience of it but I suspect you won't find a better compact. Image stabilisation, a native 16:9 sensor, leica lens, good wide-angle, RAW support, plenty of manual controls. If I had the cash spare I'd probably get one for carrying in my pocket when I'm not 'on a mission'

Ok, I'm a bit of a panasonic fanboy at the mo, but I don't think you'd be disappointed.

The only drawback with any small sensor camera is noise. It's been grossly exaggerated as far as the panny cameras go, but still something to consider!

Anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask!

HTH?

[Dave]

Might be worth having a read of this thread for ultra small compacts with decent PQ & controls :- http://www.thephotographyforums.com/...hlight=finepix

[mytse]

I bit the bullet and went for the LX1, bought it on from somone on ebay who lived local to me. It looks fantastic, I got the black one, really well made IMO. I will get some photos up later.

[CT]

Fantastic!

[Gemok]

nice have fun with it

[mytse]

It's a bit hard taking photo of the camera without another camera, so here's what it looks like from another site.



CT will particularly like what I've taken (though maybe not my photograhy skills :P )

I concentrated on macro shots more as I've seen other people doing some really nice ones before with the LX1. All of them are done in my garage at night, so lighting is not the best and quite hard to get a steady shot. Anyways, I'm still getting used to the camera and just enjoying experimenting with it at the moment.













The only shot with flash.


I really like the 16:9 ratio format, I think if used creatively, it can work with the composition of the content quite well.

Hope you like it.

[CT]

The camera looks great with the black finish.

Your links aren't working though? Seeing as they were taken in your garage though, I might hazard a guess at the subject matter.

[mfwild13]

The links work for me if I refresh the page after the 'not authorized to view' message.

Mark

[Gemok]

looks like firefox doesn'y like the links. IE will open them just hit refresh like mfwild13 said

[mytse]

Hope these works...



















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