The front of the LX2 follows the same rather basic but functional design ethos of the rest of the camera: it looks like it means business, not refinement and fancy styling. The major visible feature is the lens, which sticks out about half an inch even when the camera is turned off. This ledge around the lens is used as real estate for a few functions. The top of the lens barrel has the aspect ratio switch on it, while the side closest to where the left hand grips the camera bares the focus mode switch. To the top left of the lens is an auto focus assist lamp, with a Lumix logo to its left. On the left side is a small metal grip big enough for a fingertip or two. In the bottom right corner of the LX2’s front is a gold square with an “L” inside it; this refers to the camera’s Leica lens.

Back

The back is dominated by the widescreen 2.8-inch LCD display. This 207K pixel display is bright and clear, but it does lack resolution, especially when you are shooting in 4:3 or 3:2 aspect ratio. In these modes, black bars appear at the sides of the screen, effectively reducing the resolution even further. Below the LCD is a Panasonic logo, making the screen look like a tiny television. To the right of the screen we have the other controls: from the top left clockwise there are the AF/AE lock, the joystick control (for scrolling around images when zoomed in), a small status light, the cursor and menu buttons (which also double as the buttons for changing the flash and backlight compensation modes), plus the display/LCD mode and burst/delete buttons. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2’s back is fairly flat, with only a slight platform for the LCD screen to rest upon.

 

The left side of the camera has no major features. The front and rear panels of the camera are connected here with a few screws. On the left side of the lens barrel, the focus mode switch appears with its options.

On the right side, we see the cover for the ports and memory card slot, plus another angle on the small grip. There’s also a lanyard loop at the top of this side and the battery compartment door on the bottom.

 

The top of the camera is a busy place, with a number of features and controls. On the left, there is a switch that pops up the flash unit directly in front of it. To the right of the flash switch is the Panasonic DMC-LX2 logo along with a tiny microphone grill. To its right is a large mode dial that protrudes slightly and has engraved lines on the side for better grip. To the right, and set farther forward, is the shutter release button surrounded by a zoom ring that controls the Lumix lens. On the right edge is the power switch on the bottom and the optical image stabilization button on the top. The Panasonic LX2 is unusual in that many of these buttons are physical switches: instead of buttons that you press in, the power and flash switches are actually physical switches that flip from one position to another.

On the bottom of the camera are the tripod socket and the cover for the memory card/battery compartment. This pushes to the right, and then drops down. Both the battery and memory card are latched in place, though, so they won’t fall out when you open the compartment.