Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2
Digital Camera Review
Dec 01, 2006
- By James Murray
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Coming on the heels of its release of the LX1, the first digital camera to shoot 16:9 wide-angle aspect ratio natively in addition to 4:3 and 3:2, Panasonic brought the DMC-LX2 into the market earlier this year with a few notable improvements over its predecessor. Panasonic put an improved Venus Engine III processor in this camera in an attempt to battle noise concerns that arose with the LX1. Readers will also note an increase in resolution, with the new LX2 having a total 10.2 effective megapixels, though the 1/1.65-inch 16:9 CCD remains the same size. Other improvements include a slightly larger LCD, increased resolution with motion capture, and a larger ISO range that goes up to ISO 3200. Like the LX1, the DMC-LX2 comes with Panasonic’s Mega O.I.S. optical image stabilization system, a 4x optical zoom lens and a design aesthetic that heralds 35mm cameras from the mid-sixties. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 is selling with a MSRP of $499.
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Picture Quality / Size Options (8.0)
With a 1/1.65 inch 10.2 MP CCD, the LX2 is unique in that it is able to natively capture 16:9 images. Users will find that when switched to 4:3 or 3:2 aspect ratios, the megapixel count is reduced to 8 MP. When shooting with the 16:9 aspect ratio selected, the user will be able to choose between resolutions of 4224 x 2376, 3840 x 2160, 3072 x 1728, and 1920 x 1080. In 3:2 the resolution options change to 3248 x 2160, 2560 x 1712 and 2048 x 1360. And finally with the 4:3 aspect ratio the options become 3168 x 2376, 2880 x 2160, 2304 x 1728, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, and 1280 x 960. Users will find that they can choose between JPEG Fine, JPEG Standard and RAW quality settings. Readers may remember a TIFF file format with the LX1 and it’s true, Panasonic has gone ahead and removed this option from the new LX2. Fortunately, with RAW and multple JPEG options still available, users shouldn't miss the unnecessarily large format.
Another area where the LX2 improves over its predecessor is video capture. When shooting in movie mode, the image size can now be set to 1280 x 720, 848 x 480 in 16:9 and 640 x 480 and 320 x 240 in 4:3. The 16:9 aspect ratio is only possible when a memory card is being used and users will find that the highest resolution can only capture at a stuttering 15 fps rate. The 848 x 480 resolution will allow for frame rates of 30 or 10 to be engaged. If 4:3 is selected the user will be able to choose between 30 fps VGA, 10 fps VGA, 30 fps QVGA or 10 fps QVGA. The QVGA settings will be the only option provided if shooting without a memory card. If motion capture is important, invest in some memory cards. With the terrible frame rate found at highest resolution, it would be advisable to choose either the 848 x 480 16:9 option or the 640 x 480 4:3 option at a smoother and more natural 30 fps.
Picture Effects Mode (8.0)
The picture effects options for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 are located within the recording menu. Three sub-menus cover color effects, picture adjustment and flip animation. The color effect options are off, cool, warm, black/white and sepia while the picture adjustment settings allow the user to manipulate contrast, sharpness, saturation and noise reduction. It is at times advisable to drop noise reduction to the minimum setting because anything higher will result in diminished sharpness. There is no live image view for the picture adjustment options and users will have to guess which setting is appropriate to their image content.
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Connectivity/ Extras |
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