How fast does Panasonic DMC LX2 handle?

[ray .]

I can't seem to find one of these cams to get a hands-on in my area.... I've read about the 'joystick'

on this

camera.

 

Can someone who has one or is very familiar with it provide a detailed description of how the

camera operates, particularly related to manual focus etc?

[jgaines]

D.C. Resource just published a camera review, this may help.

http://www.dcresource.com/

 

Jim

[musubi1000]

to put it simply it is one of the fastest point and shoots I have ever used(and I've used a lot) It is such a complete camera that I don't find much use to carry my SLRs with me anymore. I always carry a camera and it used to be a D/SLR but I can do so much w/ my little LX-1 I don't need to carry all that extra weight. Image quality is better than some DSLRs (resolution-lens).

 

On the early P&S it would take forever to just change the shutter then you had to figure out how to change it over to the aperture. Which would explain why I never carried P&S digis. They were just to damn slow to use creatively.

The joystick is easy fun and most of all fast. It makes manual control on a point and shoot a reality. Not just exposure but focus as well. This is one of the first manually focusable cameras I've found to be actually usable (Canons newer P&S cameras also do a very good job of this). The Panasonic high res LCDs make this even more possible.

I'm hoping on the LX-2 they make more use of the joystick for other features. The LX-1 makes little use of it except for as stated above, to scroll through pictures, and to bring up a hot menu of important controls (WB,ISO,RES,ect...) If the LX-2 were to keep the soul of the LX-1 intact than I will buy the LX-2 for certain.

[kbg32]

The LX1 is faster - shutter lag, then the LX2. I know, I own both. I sadly disappointed with the

LX2. Everything is great about it - build, finish, etc. to the LX1, but the shutter lag. In the

sports mode, it's slower then the LX1. I do a lot of street shooting with mine, and was looking

forward to the bump up in megapixels. Not many people might notice, but it's there. Anyone

interested? Mine is less then 24hrs. old and I am selling it. Black body.

[ray .]

Hmm.. spec sheet lists shutter lag for the LX1 at .01 sec, LX2 at .009 second...

[kbg32]

I spoke to Panasonic USA this morning and they confirmed my findings of a longer

shutter lag with the LX2.

[michael s.]

Ray, those specs may be for pre-focused situation (w/ shutter held half-way to lock focus), whereas Keith may be relating his experience from the time he begins to depress the shutter to the taking of the photo ?

 

I believe nearly all the newer/better p & s cameras are virtually lag-free once focus is locked, but I could be mistaken.

 

Interesting that Panasonic appears to confirm that the newer camera is a slower performer. Not a good thing.

[joe g]

I just bought an LX2 and I haven?t used it much yet, so here?s my prelim. impression:

 

1. Shutter lag:

 

If the camera is pre-focused, then shutter lag is imperceptible. You can pre-focus by:

 

-- being in manual focus mode, or

 

-- when using AF lock (pre-focus) in autofocus mode ( this is done by hitting the AF/AE lock button, or half pressing the shutter release button).

 

Otherwise: yes, there is a lag while autofocusing takes place; but isn?t this the case with any autofocus camera, whether digital or analog, SLR or compact?

 

Keith: I suspect this might be your problem. Have you tried pre-focusing first?

 

 

2. Speed while composing:

 

The joystick seems to be very fast, and the main parameters are easy to get to. In manual mode and with manual focus on, the aperture, speed, and focus distance appear at the bottom of the screen; moving (more like clicking) the joystick Left or Right toggles which of the three is highlighted; moving the joystick Up and Down changes its value.

 

So for example, if the camera is set to F2.8, 1/125, 15ft, and you want to change to F3.4, 1/100, infinity, you would move the joystick UP (changes F2.8 to F3.4), RIGHT (highlights shutter speed), DOWN (changes 1/125 to 1/100), RIGHT (brings up the distance scale), UP (hold for a bit to move the indicator to inf) ... all of which takes less than a second.

 

Also, pushing the joystick in brings up more parameters at the top of the screen: AF mode, metering mode, white balance mode, ISO, image size and image quality/raw. Changing the values of these parameters is as above, so its all very fast, and you don?t have to use the main set-up buttons (i.e. you don?t have to take your thumb off the joystick).

 

My only big complaint about usage is that the exposure indicator appears only after half-pressing the shutter release button, and then disappears after about 10 sec., so you have to keep pressing the button or joystick while you compose the shot. Does anyone know how to get around this?

 

Ray: I hope this helps, but it would probably be more useful to try it yourself; are there any stores nearby that carry it? I?ll post some more comments after I get a chance to use the camera and figure out a bit more how it works (the user manual is awful).

[kbg32]

Joe, thanks for your response and suggestions. In using the LX1, I haven't experienced any

shutter lag whatsoever. I do a lot of street shooting with this camera using the sports

mode. The camera reacts like a standard film camera - you press the shutter button,

camera takes picture and locks focus all at an imperceptible time. In using the LX2, in the

same sports mode - you press the shutter, camera locks focus - moment is gone, camera

takes picture. You missed the shot.

 

I recently read a review of the LX2 on dcresource.com. I quote - "Autofocus speeds are

either very good or excellent, depending on what focus mode you're using. The regular AF

modes (which are listed in the menu section below) result in focus lock in 0.2 - 0.4

seconds, which is already above average. Put the camera into one of the two high speed

modes and you can knock a tenth of a second off of those times, resulting in some of the

fastest focusing times out there. The downside to using the high speed modes is that the

LCD freezes for the fraction of a second in which the camera is focusing." The freezing of

the LCD while the camera is focusing, is what makes the difference in capturing speed

between the two cameras. I don't experience this on the LX1.

[kbg32]

Joe, thanks for your response and suggestions. In using the LX1, I haven't experienced any

shutter lag whatsoever. I do a lot of street shooting with this camera using the sports

mode. The camera reacts like a standard film camera - you press the shutter button,

camera takes picture and locks focus all at an imperceptible time. In using the LX2, in the

same sports mode - you press the shutter, camera locks focus - moment is gone, camera

takes picture. You missed the shot.

 

I recently read a review of the LX2 on dcresource.com. I quote - "Autofocus speeds are

either very good or excellent, depending on what focus mode you're using. The regular AF

modes (which are listed in the menu section below) result in focus lock in 0.2 - 0.4

seconds, which is already above average. Put the camera into one of the two high speed

modes and you can knock a tenth of a second off of those times, resulting in some of the

fastest focusing times out there. The downside to using the high speed modes is that the

LCD freezes for the fraction of a second in which the camera is focusing." Confusing? The

freezing of

the LCD while the camera is focusing, is what makes the difference in capturing speed

between the two cameras. I don't experience this on the LX1.

[kbg32]

Sorry for the double post.

[janvanlaethem]

Hi guys,

 

I've been reading this post since the start. Apart from the shutter lag issue, which I understand is a negative point if you shoot action or street, can anyone who actually used the DMC-LX2 tell me how the image quality is ? I would like to buy one to take with me on holidays and also to take the occasional landscape shot. I still intend to use my 35mm film gear and medium format for macro work and big enlargments of landscapes, but I would be happy with the Panasonic or something similar for those shots where carrying a big amount of gear is not easy or not desirable.

 

Thanks for any input. If you have images taken with the Panasonic on your forum, please direct me to the appropiate link.

[ray .]

Keith, are you using AF and not manual focus when shooting quickly with the LX1?

[kbg32]

Ray,

 

I am using the auto focus.

[._._z]

<small><i><blockquote>

 

tell me how the image quality is ?

 

</blockquote> </i> </small><p>

 

<u><A href =

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_lx2-review/index.shtml

>

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_lx2-review/index.shtml

</a></u> <p>

 

<b><blockquote>

 

Panasonic has designed a camera that's darn close to perfect, but then put in a CCD with too many pixels, and then turned the noise reduction to eleven. The LX2 does almost everything right, except take photos that capture fine detail. It's a great camera if you're shooting at ISO 100 and keeping your print sizes fairly small, but if you're shooting at high ISOs, making large prints, or viewing the photos on your computer screen, you will be disappointed. If you don't mind shooting in RAW mode and processing the photos on your computer you can get better results, but I imagine only a select group of people want to do that.

 

</blockquote> </b> </small><p>

[janvanlaethem]

Keith,

 

Are you saying that the LX1 is a better camera than the LX2 (shutter lag and picture quality) ?

[kbg32]

Shutter lag and RAW write times to disc, are faster in the LX1.

[._._z]

CameraLabs.com just posted their review and they came away with the very same results: <p>

 

<u><A href =

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/PanasonicLX2/>

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/PanasonicLX2/</a></u> <p>

 

<small><i><blockquote>

 

....decent build quality and high level of manual control satisfying the demands of enthusiasts. In these and many other respects it?s an excellent product. It?s only once you get home and take a closer look at the images that you realise anything shot above 200 ISO is severely compromised by noise reduction and processing... to now say avoid anything above 200 ISO is quite frankly ridiculous. <p>

 

... If you force the LX2 to exclusively shoot at 100 ISO, or 200 at a push, you can really enjoy reasonable image quality.... It?s only when you shoot above 200 ISO that things start to go wrong. There may be several noise reduction options available, but as our outdoor results page shows, none deliver particularly pleasing images. Sure if you?re only producing postcard sized prints and rarely zoom-in closer than 50% on-screen, you?ll be fine, but the LX2?s so appealing to enthusiasts it?ll be hard for them to accept small prints and avoid 100% examination all the time. Besides, it's crazy to buy a 10 Megapixel camera but be restricted to treating it as if it only had 5. <p>

 

Ultimately the LX2 excels with landscapes shot at low sensitivities, and preferably under bright light conditions - see our Gallery page. If this sounds like your style of photography, you?ll probably love the LX2 and we can recommend it. But if you like shooting under dim conditions, making big prints or examining images at 100% on-screen, the LX2 is likely to disappoint under many circumstances. <p>

 

.... As it is the LX2 is a hobbled product which will only deliver good results if forced into using low ISOs. If you can live with that, the plus points make it worth considering. If you find the quality at higher sensitivities unacceptable, look elsewhere.

 

</blockquote> </i> </small><p>

[puigdollers]

on 400 or 800 ISO or 800 which of two does it work better, LX1 or LX2 ?

it exists one differentiates?

 

Thank you for your opinions

 

Josep Puigdollers

[._._z]

They both have the same problems.