Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 review

The 10.1-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 succeeds the DMC-LX3 as the highest-specced Lumix compact camera. It's designed to slip into the pocket of the off-duty prosumer.

Panasonic hasn't announced a price yet, but the LX5 won't come cheap. We'll update this review with a price as soon as we have one.

À la modes

The LX5 is packed with modes, aiming to offer the experienced snapper the options they're used to. Manual and program modes join aperture- and shutter-priority and automatic modes, alongside a host of specific scene modes. There are two customisable options that allow you to quickly access your own settings, instead of having to make the same tweaks every time.

The video mode also offers plenty of options, including the ability to manually alter the aperture and shutter speed. Video is recorded in the AVCHD Lite format, which saves space but isn't widely supported. Fortunately, you can switch to the more common Motion JPEG format.

The controls are simple and intuitive. A dedicated button lets you record 720p high-definition video. Menus are controlled by a standard four-way pad and 'OK' button.

We made the most use of the quick-menu button, which calls up your shooting options on an on-screen bar. One function that took us some time to get used to was the focus slider on the side of the lens, which switches between autofocus and macro. On the subject of lens sliders, we don't see the point of the slider that switches between aspect ratios, as the 1:1 and 3:2 options simply crop a full-resolution picture.

The LX5 has a jog wheel on the shoulder, which adds to the prosumer feel as you quickly cycle through options with your thumb. Another digital SLR-like feature is the hot shoe, which allows you to add a viewfinder or flash.

The camera's pictures are crisp and bright, with natural colours. Noise creeps in at ISO 400, but the decent image stabilisation means we didn't have to resort to high-ISO shots until the light had really started to fail.

Congested catalogue

Panasonic makes excellent cameras, but one consequence of this is that the top end of its catalogue is looking rather congested. The company's TZ series of compact superzooms, LX prosumer cameras, and Micro Four Thirds snappers are edging closer in terms of features; the upshot is that Panasonic seems to be resisting putting advanced features into some cameras so as to differentiate them from others. Features like manual control were left out of the TZ cameras until recently, and the LX5 is also missing some of the versatility you might expect.

In the case of the LX5, we missed the option to adjust the flash, and were disappointed with the exposure adjustments. When shooting in the dark, most compacts present you with the choice of a bright, harsh flash, or a no-flash, high-ISO picture riddled with noise. On a camera with the specs of the LX5, we'd like the option to simply dial the flash down slightly for well-lit shots. If you're after a back-up camera for taking to a pub, club or party and you take plenty of low-light shots, this could be a deal-breaker.

The LX5 has a new rubberised grip on the right of the camera that gives you more to hold onto. Unfortunately, the LX5's overall build quality isn't great. Lumix cameras are usually rock-solid, but the LX5 feels plasticky. 

Conclusion

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 is in competition with the Canon PowerShot G10 as a full-featured back-up snapper for prosumers, but it lacks some of the versatility we'd expect. Perhaps Panasonic wants to offer a clear choice between this camera and a Micro Four Thirds model, but the LX5 suffers as a result. Still, as a powerful compact snapper, it offers plenty of options in one lightweight package.

Edited by Charles Kloet