Table of Contents
Conclusion
Pros
- Very well-built and easy to operate camera
- Versatile lens with wide-angle range and fast maximum aperture
- High quality 4/3 sized sensor with multi-aspect ratio capability
- Excellent dynamic range
- Noise is well controlled for a compact and on-par with Micro 4/3 mirrorless cameras
- Good lens quality with high central sharpness, good color and contrast and even decent bokeh
- Image stabilization is effective to around 3 stops
- Excellent controls with dedicated aperture, shutter speed and exposure compensation dials
- Very good EVF with extremely high resolution, low noise and low lag
- Wi-Fi capabilities are well implemented and include remote control
- High quality 4K video recording
- Very fast and accurate autofocus
- Virtually silent leaf shutter and electronic shutter up to 1/16,000 second
Cons
- Rear screen lacks touch capability
- Some softness on edges and corners even stopped down
- A bit larger than some of the competition
- 12 Megapixel resolution a bit lower than competitors
- No exposure adjustment while remote shooting
- Included Clip-On flash is a bit weak
- Can’t use TTL with some external flashguns
- No microphone input
- Lens zooms slowly
- Lens barrel controls a bit too tight to the body
- Exposure preview in the EVF can sometimes be brighter than the image recorded
The Panasonic LX100 is entering what is a very crowded enthusiast compact market, where competitors like the super small Sony RX100 III and the very capable Canon G1X, both come in at more than $100 less than the LX100. Despite the high price tag, the LX100 is a camera that is definitely worth a long hard look for anyone looking for a single lens high quality compact.
It’s not the smallest camera in this category, but it is certainly one of the most capable, and I personally prefer the size of the LX100 to something like the RX100 due to the better ease of operation. The fast zoom lens, the excellent ergonomics and controls, the high quality EVF and the large 4/3 sized sensor help to make the LX100 a camera that can produce images that are in many cases on-par with interchangeable lens cameras. Toss in native capability for 4K video, and it’s something that is quite unique at this point in time.
While there are several things that aren’t perfect with the camera, the only thing that I really wished for was a touch panel on the rear screen, which would help immensely with quick selection of focus points. It’d be nice if the zoom operated more quickly or if it had a little higher resolution, but none of these are dealbreakers.
I really enjoyed shooting with the LX100 this past week, and while I do think it might be priced just a tad too high, it’s definitely a camera I would highly recommend.
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Image Samples
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