Model Design / Appearance (7.5)
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 won’t stand out in a crowd. It isn’t very sexy or sleek; it’s simply a practical compact digital camera, with a somewhat traditional aesthetic. The look is definitely reminiscent of old Leica point-and-shoot bodies, but not quite as elegant.
The aluminum body is rectangular with soft edges and quite flat with just a few protrusions. The Leica lens is the biggest protrusion and the finger grip is only a tiny protrusion. The finger grip replaces the full handgrip that many compact models have. The Panasonic Lumix LX1 stays with a flatter design, and while our model was silver, it comes in black as well.
Size / Portability (7.0)
The Panasonic LX1 is a compact digital camera, but not quite compact enough to shove into in a pants pocket. The LX1 measures 2.2 x 4.16 x 1.01 inches, but that doesn’t include the lens that protrudes almost another inch. This chunk of metal weighs more than I expected it would. Fully loaded and including the lens cap, it weighs 7.68 ounces—maybe a shade too much for some to tote via wrist strap.
Handling Ability (6.75)
Without a right-hand grip, the Panasonic LX1 isn’t built for hour-long photo shoots. Still, this digital camera includes some ergonomic features. There is a tiny finger grip on the front where the middle finger will sit. The index finger will sit atop the shutter release button. While the placement of all the buttons makes sense, fingers will be a bit cramped just because of the compact size and flat façade of the camera.
Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (6.0)
The Panasonic DMC-LX1 has typical control buttons that are properly placed. The only exception to the typical buttons is the unlabeled joystick above the multi-selector; this is unique to the LX1. It’s reminiscent of a little silver pea, but has the actuation of a joystick, and is reserved for controlling shutter speed and aperture. All of the buttons are very small. This is a problem with the directional controls and selection button – all of which can be covered with the tip of a normal sized thumb. If you have large hands, try it before you buy it.
The zoom toggle has a small knob at its front, but it is polished and somewhat slippery. When photographers tap it to the right or left, the toggle doesn’t move very much. When this happens, the finger slips too far to the right or left and has to readjust and grip the tiny knob again.
Menu (7.5)
The recording and playback menus are found easily with the designated Menu button in the center of the multi-selector. Scrolling through the menus and making selections are done with the arrows; directions with accompanying arrows are displayed at the bottom of the menu screen. At the top of the screen is the title of the menu (i.e. Rec. or Setup) and the page (1/4 as in one of four screens of options). Behind the options, there is usually a white background, but a few options such as white balance and color effects offer live views.
The Manual and Priority modes have the most options available: White Balance, Sensitivity, Pict. Size, Quality, Audio Rec., Metering Mode, AF Mode, Cont. AF, AF Assist Lamp, AF/AE Lock (not available in manual), D. Zoom, Col. Effect, Pict. Adj., and Flip Anim. The Scene modes’ recording menu is truncated to the following options: Pict. Size, Quality, Audio Rec., AF Mode, Cont. AF, AF Assist Lamp, AF/AE Lock (only in some scene modes), D. Zoom, and Flip Anim. The Auto mode menu is even shorter with only Pict. Size, Quality, and D. Zoom options available. The Playback menu includes these options: Slide Show, Favorite, Rotate Disp., Rotate, DPOF Print, Protect, Audio Dub., Resize, Trimming, Aspect Conv., Clean Up, and Format. The oft-used Delete function has a dedicated button on the camera body and is therefore not included in the playback menu. The Setup menu has 4 screens of options: Monitor, Auto Review, Power Save, MF Assist, Beep, Shutter, Volume, Clock Set, No. Reset, Reset, USB Mode, Highlight, Video Out, TV Aspect, MF m/ft, Scene Menu, and Language.
The menus are easy to navigate, but some of the longer menus require some tedious scrolling to get to the desired option at the bottom of four screens.
Ease of Use (6.5)
The Panasonic Lumix LX1 is fairly easy to use with properly positioned dials and menus that are easily navigable. Some of this model’s drawbacks include the unlabeled joystick; this controls the aperture and shutter speed and will take a momentary briefing with the user manual before photographers are comfortable with it. The Menu button in the center of the four-way control may also be too small for some users to touch without engaging other directional buttons. Another hindrance to the LX1’s ease of use is the lengthy menus. There is no way to skip from page to page; users must scroll through options one by one. That said, not all options are buried in menus. The LX1’s multi-selector accesses flash modes, exposure compensation, and the self-timer, and the LX1 also has designated buttons for the burst and image stabilization modes. The camera isn’t designed for long photo sessions, but is still fairly comfortable (somewhere between plush bucket seats and wooden benches). Overall, the Panasonic LX1 is quite easy to use.
