Panasonic Lumix LX7 Digital Camera Review

Motion

A rendering quirk, due to transcoding a 60p source to a 30p clip, means the motion sample below does not to the LX7's motion performance justice. In fact, just go ahead and ignore it completely. This camera handles noise exceptionally well. Trailing and artifacting are both utterly nonexistent in our test footage. We've taken off minor points for generally smoothness, but this is due solely to the complications and frustrations that arise from dealing with 60p data. Other than that, the only problem we observed was a frequency interference issue. Jaggies often pollute diagonal lines, especially when those lines are in motion. More on how CamcorderInfo tests motion.

Video Sharpness

This sensor and lens combination produce sharp video content. At maximum bitrate the LX7 is capable of rendering approximately 600-610 lw/ph of detail. Horizontal sharpness is slightly, very slightly, more clear than vertical. More on how CamcorderInfo tests video sharpness.

The LX7's wide open aperture means our low light sharpness test is barely a challenge, therefore results are almost the same. Under only 60 lux of ambient illumination, the camera is still capable of resolving 600 lw/ph vertically, and 575 horizontally.

Low Light Sensitivity

Again, the LX7's remarkable F1.4 aperture lets in plenty of light, meaning the camera is far more sensitive in video applications than most. In order to gather 50 IRE of image data, the sensor requires only 5 lux of illumination. Such performance is extremely rare in still cameras, and is closer to what we might expect from an expensive camcorder.