14.1.2015

Choosing the LX100 was a pretty agonising choice; I was luck to get a Sony RX10 which uses sony's excellent 1" sensor with nice zoom lens; though the software interface to do everything always felt limiting when trying to achieve manual control often not taking the pictures I was after. The LX100 like the Sony's RX10 and 100 is targeted at hobbiest photographers or professionals who want to leave the SLR at home. You can use the LX100 in full automatic mode; but that really goes against the spirit of the camera. I have tried it in full automatic and the software makes pretty good decisions; but sometimes you don’t want full exposure because you want it dark and moody.The Sony and Panasonicboth came with viewfinders as well as screens; and as we have all found using a screen in daylight just doesn't work as well as a viewfinder - and the Panasonic viewfinder is nearly as good as the excellent Sony viewfinder. The LX100 has a hint of lag; and some strange colour strobing if you quickly pan. As the light drops the viewfinder keeps going and you needs to be in a pretty dark place before it becomes impossible to use. It noticeable on my LX100 that the viewfinder and screen have different colour tones; I shoot flat colour and correct in Lightroom so although not ideal its manageable in the workflow. When you are taking photos in lowlight its worth pointing out there is no built in flash; but a small clip on flash can be attached; and thanks to the standard hotshoe I was able to use my Canon 580ex which is nearly as large as the LX100 itself.At first appearance the LX100 ticked my desires for easy to access controls; with manual control over the aperture and shutter giving the freedom to create the look i wanted. The negatives when choosing were mainly around the size of the camera and I'm not utterly convinced by the button layout - but fingers learn buttons over time so I took the plunge.First impressions; the LX100 is an great camera; not just an excellent compact camera but an excellent camera overall. The larger sensor, a camera free of PASM mode selector dials coupled with a a lens that covers most all of the photos i take. Come together and result in sharp pictures when you want; and thanks to the manual controls allowing you to take the image the way you want it to look out of the camera without having to resort to the controls in Lightroom. The LX100 lens roughly covers the 24-70mm of the lens that lives on my SLR; I generally take travel, landscape and city photographs and 24-70 is a great zoom for most things; though for video be careful of the variable aperture leading to a darkening image. As it gets dark and you want to ramp the iso up the camera is capable of 24k though to my eyes over 3200/6400iso the colour noise even in what should be pure black becomes an issue - either of these is great in a pocket camera allowing you to get photos that most all other cameras wouldn’t do. I lock my SLR to not go above 6400 normally and sometimes go to 12800 when I’m in an unlit place and a flash would result in pained expressions on those around me.The fast aperture is tied to a slightly smaller sensor than my slr; so you can’t really achieve a beautiful bokeh blur (and as you open the aperture up out of focus areas and highlights come with a hint of Onioning.) That said subject isolation is good and there is some blurring; its just not butter. It is leagues ahead of the RX10 I have; and I believe its as good as it gets on any compact I have tried so far. The camera gives nice raw stills; and has a high frame rate. As I have been using it the ability to configure custom function buttons has allowed me to adapt the camera to the way I want it to operate. As a compact camera it comes with built in filters; and the button is on the top face where I feel the movie record button should go.The autofocus is very quick in full automatic mode - and makes a reasonable fist of choosing a focus point. Where you have a camera that is all about user control the autofocus and manual focus selection became my biggest quibble with the camera. Manual focus is easy to use; and enable though a physical switch; and pulling focus is helped by highlight and zoom tricks in the viewfinder. The zoom process is a electric drive and run through a switch; rather than a direct manual ring or override. When the autofocus is that fast the autofocus would be helped no end with a touchscreen to make selecting focus better; the software mechanism to select a focus point is painful forcing you to select a centre point more often than not to get the image.The LX100 is the first camera I have had that can record 4k video; I’m not a videographer preferring to take stills for things but every now and then I like a bit of video in my library to remember the moment. It does have an intervalometer in the camera which means you can take time-lapse videos in camera without having to resort to using an external controller (something that drives me nuts with my slr.)If you are a videographer there may be better camera’s for you out there; the Sony RX10 was my benchmark for compact camera video (albeit it only at 1080p) but the quality and stabilisation were excellent and the manual aperture control benefits from being able to disable the stop clicks allowing you to make smooth noise free changes; the aperture adjustment clicks on the LX100 which adds noise to the in camera track - though if you are using the LX100 for video you may want to consider using a separate sound recorded anyway as the camera doesn’t currently allow for external microphones or headsets (The RX10 does) to allow you to fine tune the audio to match what appear to be excellent visuals. Like many I don’t have a screen capable of playing back 4k at the moment but your video software like mine may allow you to crop the video down to 1080p; which gives you some flexibility in what you are shooting. As the lens isn’t fixed aperture you do have to be careful with exposure if you use the zoom whilst recording as you can find the shot getting darker as you zoom in as the aperture ramps up to the f2.8 at the zoom end.My overall opinion of the camera; is its great thanks to the way above average manual controls, good price, lens and sensor. Honestly for me its a touchscreen and mic/ headset connecter away from being truly excellent. The best judge for me is how i use a camera; I went away last year travelling super light with just the Sony RX10 and not my SLR and didn’t feel I missed too many photos my SLR would have caught - and enjoying not carrying tens of kilo’s of camera gear. I wouldn’t hesitate to take the LX100 on holiday as my only camera; and I don’t feel I would miss out on too many photos.

3.10.2016

Compact and versatile for its list of capabilities. I bought an LX-100 after looking for months at several Lumix cameras. I own an early (200) Lumix TZ 'travel zoom' model and like it.The set of manual controls on the LX100 is impressive and mostly easy to use. There are some inevitable compromises in that one or two controls are not easy to use without taking your eye away from the viewfinder or LCD. You will need to practice, but the convenience of the this camera makes it worth it, in my opinion.The macro mode is very good, and I find the manual focus simple to use. I am sill learning with this - the specification of the lens in macro mode is 3.0 cm as the closest distance, and I think this is right.

14.11.2014

I will just post my impressions as the tech spec is well documented above.This camera has exceeded my expectations! I'm a very happy I bought it and put my Sony up for sale. I mainly use my cameras for sports and outdoor activities so what is appealing to me might not appeal to other users. Even if its not weather proof I think the LX100 is the best available camera on the market presently. This camera handles very well with one hand and that's a must for me. I also own a Lumix LX5 (witch I love) and a Sony RX 100 (that I never liked very much), its too small and to fiddly for outdoor use especially with gloves on. Having had the camera for a few weeks now I'm very happy with the pictures and the features.

24.6.2015

I've had the silver version of the Lumix LX100 for about 4 weeks now. In the past few years prior to this I've had Sony A700, A55, A77 & Pentax K5ll DSLRs. All good cameras but the LX100 is definitely the most enjoyable and intuitive to use. Andy of course, easier to carry round all day. I love that this camera has so many external controls, making adjustments very easy to carry out.Image quality:- JPEGs are just fine, but to get the best image quality from this great camera you need to shoot in RAW. I do this all the time, carrying out any adjustments and conversion to JPEGs in Lightroom 5, which is very easy to use. There is also RAW processing and conversion to use in camera with some pretty good functionality,

31.12.2016

What a great camera, out of the box!I normally use an EOS 7D, so wanted a 'compact' that would still give me a lot of control over the settings. You have 3 focus modes, AF, AF Macro and MF and they are easy to switch. Photo modes include Auto, Program, Aperture and Shutter Priority and these are easily switched on the lens rings. Another neat feature is a dial to change exposure. Many compacts rely on a LCD screen and lose the viewfinder... this has both and the LCD auto switches off if you use the EVF. At f1.7 the lens is lightening fast and in low light the images are great, without flash. It comes with a separate flash that fits into the hot shoe on top.The photo quality is awesome,

7.3.2016

As a keen photographer and backpacker I have owned quite a few compact cameras (eg.Minox 35GT, Lumix LX5 and LX7, Canon G12, Sony DSC-HX90, Canon G7X - to name just a few - I know it's probably too many - best not to mention the DSLR's!).This is my favourite to use and gives the best results. It oozes class and quality. The controls are pretty well perfect and the electronic viewfinder is better than any others I have seen by some margin (tried a sony RX100 in a shop and hated it - perhaps the latest version is less bad?).The sensor geometry is especially good for 16:9 ratio images - great for landscapes.Being able to add a 43mm (screw on)

4.6.2018

I have lots of praise for this camera Panasonic Lumix LX100: As well as beautiful, it has fast access to shutter speed settings, aperture, exposure, focus, zoom ... very good screen and display ... it has a great size to become the your companion travel and day to day ... great for street photographs, nature, landscapes, interiors, close ups ... great quality of video and photos ... 4/3 sensor, Leica lens, hot shoe for flash ... also accompanies the box a small flash drive and a DVD with the excellent Silkpix image editor for you to work on the RAW (and JPEG) files ... battery that it takes to download ... etc ...It is a shame that it does not come with an automatic lens cover (the cover that comes with the camera is removable)

24.4.2017

That's a gorgeous little Camera I love it. I bought it to replace my semi professional canon 60d which was dear to me. This one is very portable yet doesn't fit in your pocket you need a small bag for it to protect it.Pictures: I didn't expect much because of the small sensor compared to any DSLR yet it does a good job compared to other small cameras.Video: That's a strong point for this camera. I bought it for my youtube channel Cairogarden. It worked really well. Very good quality and also 4K. It's shame it doesn't have a mic output though. If it had one it would have been the perfect YouTube camera.All in all,

19.7.2015

I don't care that the screen doesn't swivel, the Panasonic Image App lets me use my smartphone as the camera's viewfinder and shutter button! It's amazing!I bought it to replace a FujiFilm point-and-shoot and thought I'd treat myself to a "proper" camera (but I didn't want a DSLR). The important bits for me were the large sensor, superior low-light performance, and 4K video recording. I love the external flash and the lens works great.It accepts 43mm lens attachments and I've bought a UV filtering one for bright sunny days.I've only had it for a couple of weeks but I already love it!

17.10.2017

Inspired by my dad's daguerreotypes, I've used a hundred cameras, this is my favourite.Later..I loved this camera, however, the 'cover' to the shutter speed dial came off and is lost. I've tried everything and everywhere to get a replacement, which could be fitted with a dab of glue, as was the original.No luck. That "company near Gatwick" didn't even bother to respond to my illustrated request, and all others want me to send the camera... with battery (fully charged) AND the charger, fully insured return postage paid approx £25 plus minimum charge 50-60 more quid... FFSAny ideas?

30.4.2018

A quality compact reminiscent of classic 1970's 35mm compacts like Yashicas, but so much more capable. Other reviewers will give a run down of the specs with pros and cons but if you are looking for a compact (it will fit in a jacket or coat pocket..... or a handbag) then this is truly worthy of your attention. With the usual care will give results that only a camera snob or pixel peeking pedant will find fault with, while simultaneously giving the pleasure of handling its watch like class.

26.11.2017

This is a cracking camera, which allows someone of my vintage to remember film cameras, due to the various dials.The reason I have given this just a 4 star rating is that the supplied lens hood is rubbish. You will probably, like me replace it with the 3 blade opening & closing accessory, which will require the very thin & is expensive UV filter from Hoya etc.Another thing to note is that I have had to have the viewfinder replaced under warranty, after it has frozen.

1.7.2018

Fantastic camera. Bought it to use for landscape and general photography rather than carrying a DSLR. For images from Post card size up to A4 I have been very pleased. Manual controls help a lot. The Electronic View Finder is excellent. This camera will not fit a normal shirt pocket. It will fit a jacket pocket with care. The exposure compensation dial is very easy to rotate when retrieving the camera from a pocket so check it before taking a photograph.

29.5.2019

It’s a lovely little camera, I bought it because I cannot lug about my SLR anymore. Didn’t want to spend a fortune on a camera that was going to be obsolete in 5 years. It’s a joy to use and a great starter camera. I tried a friends Fujifilm XT100F which was fabulous but a bit pricey. This is slightly inferior to that but its quality and value for money make up for it’s small inferiorities

6.12.2019

Owned for about three years and still cant see anything on the market in this category that touches it. Amazing 4k video and great stills. Perfect travel camera in my opinion. Only upgrades Panasonic need to add to the next model is a touchscreen that's adjustable and a microphone plug slot.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100 - Reviews

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