Introduction

High-end compacts are enjoying renewed interested this year. The Canon S series never really faltered, but other RAW-shooting pocket cameras only really got attention from enthusiasts. Now David Pogue of the New York Times is writing about some of these so-called "prosumer" models like they're the next hot thing.

The LX7 is Panasonic's latest high-end offering, packing an f/1.4-2.3, 3.8x zoom lens, backed by a slightly over-sized 1/1.7-inch 10-megapixel MOS sensor. We spent a few minutes with the LX7 at a briefing last month. Read on for our impressions of how it might fare in this revitalized segment.

As usual with Panasonic, pricing and launch date will be announced when they're ready to announce them, but if history teaches us anything, it should be $499 and hit shelves in late summer or early fall, available in black or white.