Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 review

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 : the first 16:9 CCD* with 28 mm digital camera

The Lumix DMC-LX1 is a high-end zoom compact which is aimed squarely at the field dominated by the Canon S series. It features a superb 4x optical zoom Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens equivalent to a 28-112mm lens on a film camera, and a maximum aperture of F2.8-F4.9. It also has an innovative 16:9 widescreen 8.4 megapixel CCD and Panasonic’s proprietary Optical Image Stabilization system, Mega OIS. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 isn't just another midsized camera. In fact, it has two features that make it stand out from most of the other digital cameras on the market: image stabilization and a 16:9 CCD (and an 8.4 Megapixel one at that).

The DMC-LX1 is a fairly compact camera with a 4X zoom Leica lens that starts at 28 mm (16:9 mode only). The most notable feature on the LX1 is its 16:9 CCD, which allows for some very cool landscape shooting possibilities, not to mention widescreen movies. If you don't want to shoot at 16:9 you can select more conventional 3:2 or 4:3 aspect ratios via a handy switch on the front of the camera. It's a shame that Panasonic put a widescreen CCD in the LX1 but couldn't do the same with the LCD display on the back of the camera.

In most other widescreen cameras, a 4:3 sensor is cropped top and bottom to fit the 16:9 aspect ratio, wasting pixels, but in the LX1 the sensor has a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, all of which is used in the widescreen mode. Other features on the camera include a 28mm (at 16:9), 4X optical zoom lens, 2.5" LCD display, full manual controls, widescreen movie mode, and more.The DMC-LX1 features an F2.8-4.9, 4X optical zoom lens. The focal range of the lens is 6.3 - 25.2 mm, which is equivalent to 28 - 112 mm in 16:9 mode and 34 - 136 mm in 4:3 mode.

The Mega OIS anti-shake system has appeared on several other Panasonic cameras, and I’ve found it to be quite effective. It’s not quite as good as Nikon’s VR system, or the moving CCD system that Konica Minolta was using, but it does provide at least an extra couple of stops of hand held shooting in low light.

Lumix LX1 info :

Manufacturer : Panasonic
Name : Lumix LX1
Image sensor (effective) : 1/2.5" CCD, 8.61 megapixels (8.4MP)
Max output resolution : 3840 x 2160
Other resolutions : 3072 x 1728, 1930 x 1080, 3248 x 2160, 2560 x 1712, 2048 x 1360, 2880 x 2160, 2304 x 1728, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960
Zoom : 4x (optical), 4X (digital)
Optical focal length (35mm) : 6.3-25.2mm (28-112mm in 16 : 9 apect mode)
Maximum lens aperture : Wide : F2.8 - F8.0 Tele : F4.9 - F8.0
Shutter speeds : 60 - 1/2000sec. (manual)
ISO rating : Auto/80/100/200/400
LCD screen : 2.5" 16 : 9 TFT LCD, 207,000 pixels
Viewfinder : N/A
Flash range : 30cm-4.0m (W)
Flash modes : Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced On/Off
Exposure control : Auto, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, 12 Scene modes
Exposure metering : Intelligent Multiple/ Center Weighted/ Spot
Exposure Compensation : ± 2 Ev with 1/3 Ev step
White balance modes : Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Halogen / White Set White Balance Adjustment ( 150K step, -1500K - +1500K)
Auto-Focus : 1 point / 1 point high speed /3 points high speed/9 points / Spot
Manual focus : Yes
Macro focus distance : 5cm
Recording Modes : Single, Continuous, High-speed Continuous, Self-timer
Image formats : JPEG (Exif 2.2 compliant) RAW
Compression : Fine, Normal, RAW
Picture Adjustments : Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness, Noise Reduction
Video (max res/format) : 848 x 480 pixels at 30 fps with audio.
Movie Length : Up to card capacity
Self-timer : 10 seconds/2 seconds
Memory card slot : Secure Digital
Supplied Memory : 32MB

Batteries supplied : 7.2V, 730mAh Li-ion rechargable ( CGA-S005)
Recharger supplied : Yes
A/V output : PAL and NTSC
Ports : USB, DC socket, Video out
Accessories : Wrist strap, lens cap, Software CD, USB Cable, Charger
Dimensions (W x H x D) : 105.7 x 55.8 x 25.6 mm
Weight (Body Only) : 185g
Software : LUMIX Simple Viewer, ArcSoft PhotoBase, ArcSoft PhotoImpression, ArcSoft Panorama Maker, USB Driver.

When you buy a Lumix DMC-LX1, you can also achieve many other accessories :

• The 8.4 effective Megapixel Lumix DMC-LX1 camera


• 32MB Secure Digital card


• CGR-S005A lithium-ion rechargeable battery


• Battery charger


• Lens cap w/retaining strap


• Wrist strap


• USB cable


• A/V cable


• CD-ROM featuring ArcSoft software, Lumix Simple Viewer, and drivers


• 134 page camera manual (printed)

I found a major problem with image noise. Even at the minimum 80 ISO, long exposure shots (one second or longer) showed noticeable image noise, and at higher ISO settings the problem became far worse. Also the memory card included is too small.

The DMC-LX1 uses the same CGA-S005 battery ( lithium-ion rechargeable ) as the new DMC-FX9 ultra-compact camera. This battery packs 4.3 Wh of energy, which is on the low end for a camera this size.

The Panasonic CGA-S005 : Li-ion, 3.7V, 1100mAh.



Panasonic CGA-S005 also can fits for the digital cameras as follow : DMC-FX8, DMC-FX8-A, DMC-FX8-K, DMC-FX8-P, DMC-FX8-S, DMC-FX8BS, DMC-FX8EBB, DMC-FX8EG-A, DMC-FX8EG-K, DMC-FX8EG-P, DMC-FX8EG-S, DMC-LX1, DMC-LX1-K, DMC-LX1-S, DMC-LX1BS, DMC-LX1EG-K, DMC-LX1EG-S, DMC-LX9, DMC-LX9-H, DMC-LX9-K, DMC-LX9-R, DMC-LX9-S, DMC-LX9BB, DMC-LX9BS, DMC-LX9EG, DMC-LX9EG-K, DMC-LX9EG-R, DMC-LX9EG-S, LUMIX DMC-FX8.