Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70
Digital Camera Review
Aug 06, 2007
- By James Murray
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The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70, announced at the end of January 2007, is a thick-bodied point-and-shoot with a 1/2.5-inch 7.2 megapixel CCD. This moderately-priced camera has a 3x optical zoom lens, 2-inch LCD screen, and optical image stabilization system. The camera has 18 preset shooting modes, a Simple Shooting mode, and a Motion Picture mode (although no audio recording). The Motion Picture mode is also able to shoot 16:9 video files at a reduced 848 x 480 resolution. The LS70 includes manual control over image settings like exposure compensation, white balance, a handful of shutter speed settings in Starry Sky mode, and ISO. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70 entered the market at an initial retail price of $149 but can currently be found online for less.
| Top Point & Shoot Cameras |
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Picture Quality/Size Options (7.0)
The picture and quality settings for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70 are listed in the shooting menu system and the shortcut function menu option. The 7.1-megapixel DMC-LS70 allows users to move through picture size options easily using the up and down arrows of the four-way control. The picture size settings will, however, depend on what aspect ratio is chosen by the user, a setting also found in the shooting menu system. The Lumix LS70's aspect ratio options are 4:3, 3:2, and 16:9. When shooting with an aspect ratio of 4:3 the picture size options for the LS70 are as follows; 7M (3072 x 2304), 6M (2816 x 2112), 5M (2560 x 1920), 3M (2048 x 1536), 2M (1600 x 1200), 1M (1280 x 960), and 0.3M (640 x 480). When the aspect ratio is set to 3:2 the image sizes will change to 6M (3072 x 2048), 5M (2816 x 1880), and 2.5M (2048 x 1360). And when shooting in 16:9 the camera’s image size options will be 5.5M (3072 x 1728), and 2M (1920 x 1280).
Of course, none of the 16:9 options are actually providing users with a wider angle than when shooting in 4:3 and 3:2. If you don’t believe this, just compare the identical horizontal pixel count found with the maximum image size of each aspect ratio. You’ll note that every one of the aspect ratios have a maximum horizontal pixel count of 3072. The 16:9 aspect ratio is in fact nothing more than a letter-boxed wide-screen simulation that crops the top and bottom of the image and reduces the total pixel count of the final image.
The picture quality settings are listed directly beneath the picture size options in a separate sub-menu that allows the user to switch between fine and standard settings. The fine setting for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70 applies a low level of compression to the image, while the standard setting employs higher compression levels.
Picture Effects Mode (6.75)
The picture effects settings for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70 are listed within the color mode sub-menu of the camera's shooting menu. The options are available when the camera is shooting in Normal, Intelligent, and Macro shooting modes and will enable the user to capture images with the following digital effects: Natural, Vivid, Black & White, and Sepia. While it isn't the overly expansive list of options like those found in more expensive models, the options will certainly be adequate for the novice user looking to customize their photographs prior to export or printing.
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Connectivity / Extras |
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