Should I buy the LX7?

I have the LX7 and it is nearly always in my pocket. It even fits in my trouser pocket. It takes extraordinarily sharp photos, beginning at 1.8. It would be great for Lake District photos -- a place I've visited two or three times. It can shoot both RAW & Jpg as you know... It really is a little beast.

As far as retraction time, I just timed mine: 1 second!

A couple of additions. As you know, the camera doesn't come with an EVF, and to purchase an electronic one is prohibitive. I have the superb ClearViewer, which does a great job on sunny days (which, of course, you seldom have!) and costs $40+ for the better of the two offered. The website is www.clearviewer.com

The other addition which I like is the retractable lens cap. It is $14 in the US

http://www.amazon.com/RainbowImaging-Self-Retaining-Panasonic-DMC-LX-7-D-Lux6/dp/B009LQJ7XA

It is a convenience more than anything, because the camera won't properly open if the lens cap is on. Of the two, the ClearViewer is more valuable.

Good luck! I think you'll like the IQ and versatility of the LX7. One of the settings is 16:9, so great for wide shots....

Hans

Your all over the place.  You want a pocketable DSLR quality p&s camera that does not cost too much or if it costs too little something may be wrong with it.

You will always get the best quality from a lenses designed to do a specific job like a 1:1 prime macro lens. It can be on a DSLR or Micro Four Thirds.

Having a camera with a little size to it helps IMO for overall balance. Just wait for focus confirmation with these p&s cameras. New models appear every 12-18 months for the most part and it will never change. When it does that company is out of business same as a cell phone with new smart phones often and they cost.

If you want to do street photography having a zoom lens can be handy so Micro Four Thirds is a nice format.

Any way you look at its just a camera and not a earth shattering decision. If it has to be pocketable this is a good choice, I think the G15 for a p&s is good too.  If you can go to a bigger camera to get DSLR quality Micro Four Thirds is great.

I think the solution for you is to set a budget since your all over the place with this decision. This will automatically limit your options. I like the carry a small flash for any camera at minimum and all these can do that. If you want a p&s camera that is also waterproof, takes nice images I recommend the Olympus TG-2, I have the TG-1 and it does very well IMO. The deciding factor is that you can buy lens attachments for this Olympus camera and they are still water proof.

Hi Lakes

I think you will be quite happy with LX7. The Canon G6 has a fast & sharp f/2.0 but it started at 35mm at wide end - vs LX7 has a super bright f/1.4 and 24mm super wide Leica branded glass. If you are a landscape photographer then you'd want the extra wide angle. Also, on Macro the LX7 will get you as close as 1cm - that's practically touching the subject with the front element. The G6's Macro was 5cm. Also, the large high rez LCD will be an eye opener compared to the tiny screen on the Canon despite it flips out and twists.

One thing I really like on the LX7 is the aperture ring - I like shooting in A mode mostly so direct aperture adjustment via the ring around the lens is just wonderful. I know you've been a Canon user so you're used to their menu system - however, once you get accustomed to the Panasonic menu - adjustments become second nature. Also, by saving your favorite shooting modes in the custom settings - you get to save 4 custom settings - its only a click of the dial to go from Natural Color to Dynamic B&W for example or any other modes you want to shoot in.

Size wise its compact enough to fit in a jacket pocket - a lot smaller than the Canon G6 or G15 the current Powershot. I think you will warm up to LX7 in no time. Good luck with what ever compact you decide on. But I could recommend the LX7 without hesitation.

Cheers

Rick

Hi Hans,

I'm thinking of buying an LX 7, are you saying that at f 1.4 it is not as sharp as at 1.8?

Mike

I find f/1.4 to be plenty sharp. It's a very usable f-stop. Optimum aperture at any focal length seems to be f/2.8.

Jim Pilcher
Summit County, Colorado, USA

Anyone whose LX7's lens takes 8 seconds to retract must have been feeding it tranqualizers. My LX7's lens retracts in about 2 seconds. But I love it all the same.

AFAIC, its main shortcoming is a short-coming -- that is, a short zoom. And I do wish it had an articulated LCD. But I love it all the same.

I wouldn't buy some of the other attractive "enthusiast" compacts because they lack a respectable eye-level viewfinder. The Panasonic LVF2 viewfinder is a dream, tho hardly cheap. If it weren't for that coke bottle OVF in the Canon G15, I might well have one of those instead. But then, I believe it too has lost its articulated LCD.

I have a Panasonic superzoom (the FZ200) for those days when I need a longer point of view. For those days, both cameras fit in a pretty reasonably sized bag. Along with spare batteries, a couple filters. Who could ask for more?

Choices, choices.

--
David
www.pbase.com/morepix

I suggest you download the LX7 manual and check its array of modes and functions for those that might be of interest. There are so many that I am still exploring them after several months with the camera. Also, look at the PR announcement at: <http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/compact/lx7/index.html> and the video at: <http://www.panasonic.com.au/Products/Lumix+digital+cameras/Compact+and+stylish/DMC-LX7/Videos>

Although my memories of the Lake District are not the sunniest, if you find the LVF2 rather extortionate, I would agree with SwatOx that a Clearviewer would be a worthwhile accessory for overcoming a washed out sunlit LCD, and/or using an eye level shooting pose.

Although the LX7's 24 mm wide angle may be particularly useful for landscapes, its maximum 90 mm equivalent zoom reach is rather short for my needs, so I complement it with another small camera, currently, a ZS15.  YMMV

--

Cyril

Excellent - thanks for a friendly and informative response 

Indeed the electronic viewfinder is rather pricey at just under the cost of the camera itself.  Sunshine is rarely a problem here (which is why I'm also told not to get quite so excited by the easy access to an ND filter!) but there is the odd occasion so it's worth knowing about the alternative.  The lens cap sounds useful as well.

I don't mean to be "all over the place", I'm just a little verbose.  (The most common complaint I saw lurking was people posting vague threads like "Should I buy this camera" and not expanding upon their requirements at all.  Perhaps I overcompensated a little.)

Not saying that there may be something wrong with it per se, just that the LX7 is incredible value right now compared to other models of its class.  Experience has taught me to at least ask the question when something seems too good to be true.

It's not an earth shattering decision sure, but it's still 80-130 pints of beer worth of decision so I hope it's not too objectionable if I ask around a little for advice before diving in   There's little more frustrating than thinking you've made a great choice and then being told "if only you'd spent another £50 you could have had something twice as good" after the fact.  Which is usually when people prefer to tell you!

Budget - let's say £400 max.  Where this camera intrigues me is that not only do the controls and features seem ideal for me (rivaled by the G15), according to everything I've seen and read it's considered an equal rival to the £350-400 models next to it (e.g. in the roundup on this site).  Not to be tight fisted or anything but there's no sense in splashing out 400 if something that can be found for 255 will do just as good a job.  It's a budget but not a target.

Thanks for your feedback!  It's nicely confirming that this would be a very good choice.

Actually as much as I like Canon gear and appreciate that their menu system is snappy (nothing worse than a laggy menu!), I do prefer dials for quick access rather than prodding through a menu.  This is something they seem quite in tune with in the G series, going by all the dedicated dials on my father's G10 (though that model lacks the front ring dial) which is another reason it attracts me as a second option.

If it performs just as well as the G15 (I'm not fussed about the optical viewfinder) whilst being less bulky then, much like the price difference, that's pretty awesome.   Cheers

I think it's just a matter of slow sales - not quality. I've owned or shot extensively with the G15, the XZ2, the X10, and the RX100. The only cameras that are arguably "better" are the X10, which has a better sensor, and the RX100, which has a MUCH better sensor. But these cameras come with their own set of tradeoffs, particularly the RX100, which I came to dislike pretty intensely despite its great sensor. Among those models with the smaller 1/1.7" sensor, there's no better or worse, just different feature sets that will appeal to different users. The LX7 is my favorite by far, even including the two larger sensor models. It might or might not be yours, buts its just down to features, not "quality".

Good luck!

-Ray
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/collections/72157626204295198/

Good to know - I thought that was a bit odd!  2 seconds is fine!

Yeah the short zoom is a question mark.  Trying to think whether it'd be a big problem for me and I don't think for my purposes it is.  It could just be me but I find I don't really think about whether I'm using the zoom, it's pretty much a muscle memory thing, so I guess I will find out if I end up cursing the lack of it and learn for next time 

Choices indeed!

A good point, I'd definitely prefer to review the manual beforehand.  Thanks for the links, will check them out.

We get sunshine occasionally but it's rare  That does look like a more sensible investment.

As I mentioned in another post, I know it sounds silly but I'm not sure how much I use the zoom.  It's kind of just automatic when I do.  I may find out the hard way - for now I have the TZ5 (10X/28-280 equiv) to complement it even if that one's pretty much just a point-and-shoot.

having owned an LX-7 for a month, everything people say is true. It is great.

However, I ended up with an RX100. The main reason is that the IQ is better, although the RAW is well,, raw.

I find the size of the RX100 great, plus there is no need to remember to take off the lens cap. I also find the lens sharp (in the centre, but a bit soft at the edges at A0 size.

I actually find the usr interface pretty good, it has upper and lower limits on the auto iso, and, the function button can toggle between some 7 functions. I have mine set to metering and iso in that order.

Hi iso (above 1600) is actually impressive, and more than compensates for the two stops one gains with the LX-7's f2.3 at max zoom.

But, DOF is much shallower, than the LX-7 and, IS is not really as good as the LX-7.

The LX-7 has better AF-C, but, I'm not sure how useful that really is on a P&S.

The flash can be used to bounce, also. And, the extra bit of zoom helps.

However, I think you won't be too sorry with either. My tests show the LX-7 at 400iso is almost as good as the D700 at 3200iso, which, I think is spectacular, since, f2.3 at 400iso and 1/50 is rather dark!

One last minor negtaive for the RX100, 20MP uncompressed RAW files take a while to open under LR4.3.

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karl reed

Thanks for your input, certainly the RX100 is up there on my list of possibilities as well.

Have to admit from an "artistically messing around" angle I'm somewhat attracted to the good DoF control on the LX7.  But the RX100 is an attractive option.

As ryan says it's not exactly an earth shattering "which house shall I buy" kind of decision on this kind of budget and I'm sure either would be a good choice, worth thinking about the options though.

I read in a German forum (dslr-forum.de) a bad story:

A forum user bought a LX7 and realized a unsharp area due to lens centring issues.

Then he ordered from his dealer a new one with a similar error. Then the dealer ordered 5 LX7 and all had this error!

He wrote to Panasonic how this could be.

And now:

Panasonic wrote back: this is normal due to cost cutting; The zoom lens isn't centered properly  and most user probably will never notice it! But it's possoble to fix it which would be cheaper considered the small amount of complaints ...

Maybe true maybe another urban legend....

Interesting.  I don't know if that's a symptom of too much pixel peeping maybe, since nothing is perfect and it's very easy with any new tech purchase to end up looking for flaws (and finding them).  Something to watch out for though.

To me, everything you wrote points to an answer of YES.

It sounds like the LX7 and you would be a perfect match.

Suspected as much but figured I'd have a quick thread just in case I was overlooking some terrible decision.  It's looking like my instincts were right though.  I try not to impulse buy but find that my first impressions of a good choice end up sticking anyway

Pretty certain I'll go for this.  I'm just waiting a day because I won't be in to sign for a delivery tomorrow.  Thanks for all the responses, it's good to be reassured that you're making a solid decision.