No Quality Pocketable Camera With Manual Controls Available?

I don't know what 'tweaking' Leica has done, but judging by some of the ISO1600 photos I've seen on the Leica forum, I can't replicate the same with the LX2. The JPGs up to ISO400 aren't anywhere near as bad as I expected.

I haven't had the opportunity to play around with RAW files and converting them with Silky Pix (the converter that comes with the LX2), or Picture Window Pro that also reads the RAW files (I wish Capture One would recognise the RAW files), so I don't know what this camera is ultimately capable of producing.

The Leica users seem to really like their version, that may be a Leica thing, but there does appear to be something different with the output. What I didn't realise when I got the camera was that the sensor is actually a 16:9 ratio, not a 4:3 ratio cut down. So it's actually a bigger sensor than that found on the LX1 (its predecessor) and other similar sensors that 'cut' down the image to get a 16:9 image.

Don't expect too much out of these cameras, but be pleasantly surprised at what you can get out of them. I've done several 13"x19" prints and the results are anything but shabby. And when you do prints, noise often becomes a much lesser issue.

Cheers

Ray

--
http://www.australianimage.com.au

Judging by the price difference between the Leica and the Panasonic models, almost $200, I wonder if that would really translate into a difference in the output quality. The Leica model seems to be quite popular so maybe it is worth the extra?

OzRay said:

I don't know what 'tweaking' Leica has done, but judging by some of
the ISO1600 photos I've seen on the Leica forum, I can't replicate
the same with the LX2. The JPGs up to ISO400 aren't anywhere near
as bad as I expected.

I haven't had the opportunity to play around with RAW files and
converting them with Silky Pix (the converter that comes with the
LX2), or Picture Window Pro that also reads the RAW files (I wish
Capture One would recognise the RAW files), so I don't know what
this camera is ultimately capable of producing.

Click to expand...

comment: I can confirm IMO, RAW is the best way to get the most out of them. At lowest ISO only wherever possible, even if this means using a tripod - though stabilisation and careful technique means that is often unnecessary. If using RAW, image processing differences between Leica and Panasonic are bypassed.

OzRay said:

The Leica users seem to really like their version, that may be a
Leica thing, but there does appear to be something different with
the output. What I didn't realise when I got the camera was that
the sensor is actually a 16:9 ratio, not a 4:3 ratio cut down. So
it's actually a bigger sensor than that found on the LX1 (its
predecessor) and other similar sensors that 'cut' down the image to
get a 16:9 image.

Click to expand...

point of correction: the LX1/Dlux2 also had a 16:9 native sensor. You are correct that all other cameras must crop to achieve this. It's a tradeoff of horizontal field of view against vertical, when comparing with 4:3 sensors:

OzRay said:

Don't expect too much out of these cameras, but be pleasantly
surprised at what you can get out of them. I've done several
13"x19" prints and the results are anything but shabby. And when
you do prints, noise often becomes a much lesser issue.

Click to expand...

yes, they are a bit demanding technically - exposure has to be spot on because there is little ability to push shadows without introducing excessive (esp. blue channel) clumpy noise. But rewarding when you get it right, and have a good print to show. It's excellent for a pocket camera - and very poor for a dSLR!

RP

Wayne Larmon said:

For many 35mm users, the reason for using manual controls is to
keep control over DOF. This is a pointless reason for wanting
manual controls on a P&S, because they are incapable of the shallow
DOF that a 35mm user is used to.

Click to expand...

There's also controlling shutter speed, faster for moving objects or longer focal lengths, slower so that moving water will blur, much slower so that moving water will be smooth, etc.

They have all the DOF a 35mm user is used to with a 10mm lens