The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 has a slightly industrial, workman-like design to it. It’s not a camera that has been designed to look stylish, but to look functional with a number of buttons and switches that provide quick access to features that other cameras may hide in the on-screen menu. The camera comes in black and silver colors – nothing too adventurous. The LX2’s design is an exact replica of the earlier Panasonic Lumix LX1.

 

Size / Portability

At just over 7 oz and measuring 4.1 x 2.25 x 1 inches (not including the lens, which increases the depth to just under two inches), the LX2 is not the smallest camera around. But neither is it the largest or heaviest: it is big enough that you’d have problems sliding it into a pocket, but small enough that you could carry it around all day without feeling weighed down. The Leica lens is nice and wide, and raised on a slight platform. This platform catches when the camera is slid into a tight spot, and when the included lens cap is attached it is even thicker.

 

Handling Ability

The camera fits into the hand well, with the index finger naturally falling on the shutter and zoom control. It can be easily used with one hand, and the small grip on the front helps you keep a firm hold. While the AF/AE lock is right under the thumb (where it should be), the others are a bit too far down to reach comfortably. It is possible to change settings like the flash mode with one hand, but it’s easier with two. Other controls make it a requirement to use both hands such as the focus and format switches along with the mode dial. There are a few plastic bumps on the back of the camera where the thumb rests, but these aren’t entirely comfortable and don’t really do much for functional grip either.

 

The control buttons all feel well placed and large enough to use without having to hunt them down. They are also raised and have different textures, so they are easy to find by touch. The Panasonic LX2 has a multi-selector made of five buttons: a central button surrounded by four others. All of the buttons are properly labeled except for the random joystick below the AE/AF Lock button and above the multi-selector. This joystick isn’t for navigation, but scrolls through shutter speed and aperture options – if you can figure it out.

The on-screen menus are started by pressing the menu button in the center of the cursor keys, and they are reasonably well structured. However, it might have made sense to put the options for image size and quality higher up: they are likely to be the most commonly used settings.

 

The Panasonic LX2 is an easy to use camera, but there are a couple of issues. The unlabeled joystick is a nice concept, but isn’t very useful – it is only used for manually adjusting the shutter speed and aperture. And it can take some time to scroll through the menu options, as there is no way to skip ahead a page. But these are pretty minor issues, and they don’t detract from the overall good design of the camera.