Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Focal length: 5.1mm
Aperture: f/4.0
Shutter: 1/800
ISO: 80

This photo was taken on a sunny morning in Davis Square. As you can see, the LX5 has an excellent dynamic range, handling shadows and highlights well without losing any crucial details.

Sharpness is good, but you do lose resolution at the outside of the edges of the photos, such as in the wreath on the far right side. There’s less blurriness and artifacting at the center of the frame.

Focal length: 5.1mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter: 1/250
ISO: 80

We captured our friends in the square using the LX5’s Macro focus mode. This morning shot was taken with bright sunlight hitting directly on the statues, but the camera handled the contrast well, with only minor blowout on the temple of the bronze mask.

Most cameras would produce a more vivid photo (i.e. deeper blue in the sky), but the LX5 does pick up details that we don’t see from many point-and-shoot cameras, such as the worn red paint on the statues’ clothing.

Focal length: 17.1mm
Aperture: f/3.2
Shutter: 1/15
ISO: 80

Our indoor still life was shot using the camera’s auto white balance, under typical indoor lighting. There is certainly a warm tone to the photo, but most colors are reproduced with reasonable accuracy. The reds and oranges seem washed out compared to the blue and green tones.

Focal length: 14.9mm
Aperture: f/3.2
Shutter: 1/50
ISO: 3200

Our low light still life was shot under lab conditions, set on a tripod with a low shutter speed. We cranked the ISO up to the LX5’s highest full resolution level and decreased exposure compensation by 1/3-stop to prevent some minor blow-out in the white flower petals.

All told, this is one of the most impressive low light photos we’ve seen. There is virtually no noise in the black background—an area that’s usually riddled with noise when photographed with other point-and-shoot cameras.

The fact that we only had to take away 1/3-stop exposure compensation speaks volumes about the camera’s ability to accurately meter this tricky scene. (Typically we have to turn the EC all the way down or at least to -1.)