Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 review

The LX3 wakes up and shoots in just under 2 seconds, which is reasonable. But 0.6 seconds to focus and shoot under optimal conditions is less so, and 1.1 seconds for low-contrast scenes is slightly too long for the price. Its 1.9 seconds shot-to-shot performance is better than the G10's, but most snapshot cameras do better than both. With flash, it slows to about 2.5 seconds between shots, which is typical, if not terrific. For burst shooting it manages about 1.9fps.

One of the biggest changes between the LX2 and the LX3 is the lens, which goes from a slowish 4x 28-112mm-equivalent to a faster and wider, but shorter, 2.5x f2.0-2.8 24-60mm-equivalent. Whether you want to sacrifice the flexibility of the longer lens for the brighter and sharper, but shorter, one depends on your shooting style.

One of our main complaints with the LX2 was the high noise level of its 10-megapixel sensor. According to Panasonic, the new sensor has larger photodiodes, which boost sensitivity by almost 40 per cent -- maximum ISO jumps a stop to ISO 3,200, from ISO 1,600 -- and the sensor's saturation has increased by 35 per cent. In conjunction with moving to the latest version of Panasonic's Venus Engine imaging processor, which the company claims provides better noise reduction, Panasonic claims we should see better photo quality from the LX3. And we do. In general, its photos are sharp and saturated. There are some artefacts in our indoor test shots that appear in the JPEG but not raw versions of the photos, which could be by-products of the noise-reduction algorithms.

The LX3's photos show barely any fringing at all. The most we saw was a slight magenta halo on the edge of the book, but, for some reason, it's almost invisible in the crop

While the camera supports up to ISO 3,200, you really don't want to shoot at anything beyond ISO 800. For best results, stick to ISO 400 and below. The camera generally underexposes, which you can compensate for, and, while the colour is good, outdoor white balance tends to be overly cool. Movie quality is okay. Optical zoom doesn't function in movie-capture mode, and -- like many others -- the camera could use a wind filter for the microphone.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Smaller bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot

Raw shot-to-shot time

Typical shot-to-shot time

Shutter lag (dim)

Shutter lag (typical)

Canon PowerShot G10

1.3 

2.5 

2.2 

0.8 

0.4 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

1.9 

1.9 

1.9 

1.1 

0.6 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2

2.3 

5.1 

2.2 

1.1 

0.7 

Conclusion
While the Canon PowerShot G10 seems clunky in comparison to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 and the lens isn't as good, we think it delivers better photo quality overall and the lens provides a more flexible range. Like its predecessor the LX2, however, the LX3 is a solid camera for the peripatetic photo enthusiast, once you become accustomed to its quirks.

Additional editing by Charles Kloet