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Is the LX5 good for photographing kids?

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Eivinn Hustveit

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Dear all,

I already have an DSLR but now when my son has grown mobile I find it difficult to bring out the DSLR while still keeping him "safe" when it's just the two of us. Therefore I'm on the lookout for a smaller camera with good image quality and quick autofocus. It would be preferable if it also has a good auto-function so that my wife and I never will have to go manual exposure unless we want to.

So my question is: Is the LX5 a perfect fit for photographing kids or are there better options out there?

Cheers,

Eivinn
 
I would say so, yes, just don't expect it to match a dSLR in some situations.

Although my kids are teens now (i.e. hardly ever with me!) I have taken a few decent shots. AF is quite brisk as is shot-to-shot and P mode or iA mean you can point and shoot and get good results. It's also a well made and robust little camera and the small rubber grip make it fine for one handed shooting, but your view of using a lens cap on a compact is something you'll either be fine about or it will annoy you.

I wouldn't see the LX5 as great choice for fast moving or sports, LCD composition and tracking is tricky, the zoom range is modest and nowhere near as quick as a zoom ring, the burst speed is quite slow and limited. Keep the dSLR for that sort of thing.

Upsides of the LX5 over a lot of dSLRs, in addition to be a lot smaller, is that wide f2 lens (great for indoors/evenings out) plus there's the HD video function that also has AF and zooming while shooting so it can handle moving kids much better than many video functions on stills cameras. Battery life is excellent too, you could be out all day on one battery charge, although a spare is not a bad idea of course. If you're able to stretch to the LVF1 viewfinder, that would help with stability and tracking of moving objects too.

It will be interesting to see what others say, but since getting my LX5, my dSLR has only been used once, for sports.

--
Michael.
 
Eivinn Hustveit said:
Dear all,

I already have an DSLR but now when my son has grown mobile I find it difficult to bring out the DSLR while still keeping him "safe" when it's just the two of us. Therefore I'm on the lookout for a smaller camera with good image quality and quick autofocus. It would be preferable if it also has a good auto-function so that my wife and I never will have to go manual exposure unless we want to.

So my question is: Is the LX5 a perfect fit for photographing kids or are there better options out there?

Cheers,

Eivinn
Click to expand...
It's about as good as you will get in a compact. The AF and IQ is as good as about anything else out there. But the big advantage of the LX5 over any other compacts is that you can use a lower ISO for better image quality, or double your shutter speed with it's faster lens when you shoot indoors. That's makes it the leader of the pack. But if you are not shooting outdoors, then there are other options. I would give the Fuji F200 or F70 a spin. IQ wouldn't be quite up there with a LX5, but Fuji's AF is quite snappy and you will have longer reach.

But weather these type of cams will still do the job for you is another thing! We don't know the kind of lighting you shoot in (presuming mostly outdoors), or the type of movement you want to track, or the quality of the results you are expecting. All I can say is that the LX5 is probably as good as it gets in a compact. Weather it will suit....is another story.

Also, maybe you might want to look at a GF1/EPL1/NX10 with a 20mm/30mm fast pancake prime lens. But if you end up using a bigger lens on them for more reach, you might as well use your DSLR and save your money.

--
Stephen
 
You asked about better options. In the compact world, if your use is outdoors then better options could well be cameras with more zoom so that you can capture kids more candidly. It depends on the kind of shooting you're doing. A Lumix ZS7 or the FZ range (slightly larger) are well thought of, as always there's a trade off and compared to the LX5 as these cameras would not tend to be as good in lower light/indoor situations.

--
Michael.
 
Seems like LX5 could be the way to go. The DSLR is perfectly acceptable to use indoors so you're right that the LX5 would be mostly an outdoor camera. I miss having a camera in the pocket at all times so a bigger camera than the LX5 would probably be a very bad move as it might not fit. I'd say the LX5 is already a bit big but should be worth it du to the image-quality.

The main purpose of the camera is capturing the stuff that happens outdoor and still being able to print at regular sizes (A4) without being disappointed with the quality.
 
Eivinn Hustveit said:
Seems like LX5 could be the way to go. The DSLR is perfectly acceptable to use indoors so you're right that the LX5 would be mostly an outdoor camera. I miss having a camera in the pocket at all times so a bigger camera than the LX5 would probably be a very bad move as it might not fit. I'd say the LX5 is already a bit big but should be worth it du to the image-quality.

The main purpose of the camera is capturing the stuff that happens outdoor and still being able to print at regular sizes (A4) without being disappointed with the quality.
Click to expand...
You wont be disappointed with the IQ of outdoor shots up to A4, in fact many people talk about A3 prints so you're home and dry with an LX5 if you're happy with its reach. I didn't want to show too much bias, but I think it's a wonderful camera, it's re-engergised picture taking for me, I enjoy using it more than my dSLR at the moment.

--
Michael.
 
my experience:

The zoom isn't quite long enough, I brought a teleconverter, but that's not a great solution due to the vignette at wider angles, and potentially having to screw it on and off, but it's ok.

I found the AF is the fastest of all the compacts beating the S95, G12, and definately the P7000, but still not as fast as a SLR, some times it is fast enough to catch a running kid, sometimes not.

3 shots at 2.5fps at full res is quite good for a compact, but not quite fast enough for active kids. Also you need to wait for the camera to write the 3 shots to the SD card before it will take any more, which is annoying. I have a 16GB Class10 Kingston card, but if taking RAW + JPEG or even JPEG at highest res, the camera takes a few seconds which can mean the difference between catching the moment, and not.

It does have a low res 6fps burst mode, which is OK for small prints

The JPEG engine is not very nice, max 200ISO for me, otherwise I need to mess with RAW.

The size is ok to use single handed (a requirement for me), I carry mine in a vertical boxy type leather case on my belt without the lens cap. It allows me to access the camera as quick as possible. While I appreciate it is more cumberome than the S95, but using it without the lens cap, is quite OK, and as I generally know when I will likely want to take shots of the kid, it's not a big deal to put the case on my belt.

The continuous AF doesn't seem to actually speed up the shutter lag including AF acquisition. I have it set to off, meaning it will only autofocus when i push the shutter. To reduce shutter lag, it's potentially better to use MF with the hyper-focal distance, but sometimes with running kids that has some issues being fast enough to manually focus with the dial control

So as some have said, a SLR is best; but I fully understand the interest in getting the best performing compact. I am not a fan boy of any brand, and the LX5 kind of replaced my 3yr old Ixus, but actually for a P&S the Ixus holds up really well for out of camera JPEGs as the Megapixel density is close to that of the LX5, and the JPEG engine is better than the LX5, just the AF was a little slow.

I thought the GF2 would have been great, given the only slightly larger size, but really I need to have a zoom for kid, and living with a 20mm is too restrictive for the application of shooting kids. Therefore I expect the size (with zoom) would be a little too big for my liking

So when the kid is running and jumping about smiling and pulling faces etc, I usually use the burst mode

If the kid is reasonably still/static and being cooperative, I keep it in P mode with max ISO at 200.

Hopefully that helps. Note all the about relates to my experience shooting my 4yr old son. Obviously if I was doing landscapes predominately etc, there are different considerations.

Rgds,
Tom
 
When I'm looking for a kid cam I ask the following questions:

Can I turn it on and operate it with one hand. (I often have a kid in the other hand)

Can I quickly secure it in a front or back pocket. (Often I need both hands to pick up a kid or catch a kid before they jump off a couch, shelving unit etc)

Is it fast? I should be able to turn on and power up the camera as I'm pulling it out of my pocket and take a shot as soon as I have it framed in the view finder. Anything less and you miss a ton cute kids stuff.

After all that comes IQ, auto modes (no time to set stuff with kids), continous shooting, modes that take pictures/videos before you hit the shutter button (kids are so fast), low light performance etc.

I've not handled an LX5 but I would be interested on feedback on how it handles in respect to above criteria.

(me: two kids, 3 DSLRs and now shopping for a P&S to replace my broken Casio EX-Z750, EX-Z850, and EX-Z80, Canon SD780IS, Powershot S100 and S50 and nearly obsolete but still working Casio P-505)
 
jotor said:
mja_dpr said:
but your view of using a lens cap on a compact is something you'll either be fine about or it will annoy you.
Click to expand...
He's using a DSLR now--why would the lens cap be an issue?

No offence intended, but I don't understand why the kind of lens cap would ever enter into the choice of any camera.
Click to expand...
My understanding is that Eivinn wants to take photos of kids outdoors where keeping the kids safe is the priority so is looking at a compact as a more convenient option that the dSLR. Unlike most compacts, some convenience and handiness can be affected by the lens cap on the LX5 in my experience.

If the camera is switched off in your pocket or bag, a spontaneous moments could be missed in the time spent getting the cap off and the camera switched on, it can also dangle in the way of the lens on the end of the string when trying to catch a quick shot one handed. That's my experience which is all I can relay.

It doesn't annoy me at all, I appreciate having that sturdy cap on that lens and it's one less moving part to go wrong compared to the curtains on most compacts, but for Eivinn's use I thought it was worth a mention.

It's a small point, but for what Eivinn was asking

--
Michael.
 
jotor said:
mja_dpr said:
but your view of using a lens cap on a compact is something you'll either be fine about or it will annoy you.
Click to expand...
He's using a DSLR now--why would the lens cap be an issue?

No offence intended, but I don't understand why the kind of lens cap would ever enter into the choice of any camera.
Click to expand...
My understanding is that Eivinn wants to take photos of kids outdoors where keeping the kids safe is the priority so is looking at a compact as a more convenient option that the dSLR. Unlike most compacts, some convenience and handiness can be affected by the lens cap on the LX5 in my experience.

If the camera is switched off in your pocket or bag, a spontaneous moments could be missed in the time spent getting the cap off and the camera switched on, it can also dangle in the way of the lens on the end of the string when trying to catch a quick shot one handed. That's my experience which is all I can relay.

It doesn't annoy me at all, I appreciate having that sturdy cap on that lens and it's one less moving part to go wrong compared to the curtains on most compacts. Its a small point, but for Eivinn's use I thought it was worth a mention.

--
Michael.
 
keeponkeepingon said:
When I'm looking for a kid cam I ask the following questions:

Can I turn it on and operate it with one hand. (I often have a kid in the other hand)

Can I quickly secure it in a front or back pocket. (Often I need both hands to pick up a kid or catch a kid before they jump off a couch, shelving unit etc)

Is it fast? I should be able to turn on and power up the camera as I'm pulling it out of my pocket and take a shot as soon as I have it framed in the view finder. Anything less and you miss a ton cute kids stuff.
Click to expand...
The LX5's lens cap will get in the way of the getting it in and out of pockets and shooting straight away in the way you've described. I think that extra couple of seconds is worth it because the camera is so good, I use the lens cap string and Ive found it best to attach that string to the right hand lug (contrary to the suggestion by Panasonic) as you can grip the camera holding that string at the same time, keeping the cap from swinging in the way.

There is a 3rd party "exploding" lens cap available on eBay called the "JJC ALC-5 Auto Lens Cap for PANASONIC LUMIX DMC LX5" but I have no direct experience of it. Other members have said it works fine, but one person pointed out that due to its open/close petal design, when it's closed it tends to let in and accumulate dust. Looking at pictures of it, I can imagine that it adds a little more size and awkwardness for quickfire pocketing too.

All that said, if you want it as you've described above, then you may prefer an integrated lens cap as per most compacts.

--
Michael.
 
Not sure if my post above helped the enquirers, however I was in the same boat with a dslr but looking for the best compact to shoot kids:
1. Must keep lens cap off for quickest access

2. As it will not fit in your pockett, for quick access you need a vertical type case you can slip the camera out of quickly

3. Turn on time ok for a compact, but there are still times when you won't bother cause you know the cute kid moment will be over before you can get ready

4. Image quality for me was also secondary haowever 1) as I find I crop images afterward, the poor jpeg engine is more noticeable than on my Ixus and. 2) the AWB and colour rendition can be off putting.

In the end I feel I have gained is a faster af compact camera, but at the expense of the iq of the Ixus. The auto everything mode pushes high iso so not so good. The P mode is ok but I suggest limit to 200 iso

Another quirk is if you have the cam set to continuous shooting, or some other option,, the flash will not fire. As a p&s operation, it is annoying to have to figure out why the flash wouldn't fire.
Rgds,
Tom
 
In addition to the other mentioned important ergonomic concerns for capturing infants and toddlers - and assuming that you are able to focus and shoot before they shift in physical position (yet) again ... :P

... the LX3/LX5 allows you a Depth of Field that works well with telephoto zoom (even at the relatively wider apertures).

I calculate that for a 1080 pixel-height display viewed up-close, with a LX5 at full telephoto zoom (90mm, 3.75x), at a distance of 6.0 Feet between camera and subject (with an apparent distance relative to full wide-angle of 1.6 Feet between camera and subject), a conservative estimate of the Depth of Field for the following range of F-Numbers is:

F=2.0 --- DOF = 7.33 Inches

F=2.8 --- DOF = 10.40 Inches

F=4.0 --- DOF = 1.23 Feet

So, at full telephoto zoom, the LX5 would allow one to remain 6.0 Feet from the young subject (which I have often found be an advantage, and/or a necessity for spontaneous captures), have the effect of shooting at a very close 1.6 Feet, and (still) pull-of DOF of the (approximately 1.0 Foot) depth that is desirable to have in such situations. Very desirable, and something that larger image-sensors (more precisely the larger base focal-lengths that must accompany a larger image-sensor) cannot easily provide.

DOF is an important concern to resolve little heads - and higher telephoto zoom-factors (despite somewhat smaller-sized image-sensors) will only serve to further degrade DOF (by the square of the ratio of the increase). This square-law relationship rapidly trumps the DOF improvements that smaller image-sensors (in actuality, their smaller base focal-length lens-systems) are able to provide.

Note : While the above results are just ranging around 1.0 Foot DOF, the above results will improve in direct proportion to the square of the ratio of 3.75 divided by any (lower) zoom-factor . The LX5 "Step-Zoom" adjust-ability allows users to determine zoom-factor to input into such calculations ...

... (whereas the LX3 user is largely left "in the dark" as to knowing an accurate estimate of focal-length at the time of shooting. Sadly, Panasonic (unlike Sony) has never provided a single digit of readout-precision to the LCD-displayed "Zoom Factor", and rounds the value to integer values only. Go figure ...

Note that at 70mm stepped (a zoom-factor of 2.92), where the subject is at 5.0 Feet , but still appears at an (apparent) 1.71 Feet, the DOF is improved:

F=2.0 --- DOF = 8.42 Inches

F=2.8 --- DOF = 1.0 Foot

F=4.0 --- DOF = 1.42 Feet

At 50mm stepped (a zoom-factor of 2.08), where the subject is at 4.0 Feet , but still appears at an (apparent) 1.92 Feet, the DOF is improved substantially:

F=2.0 --- DOF = 10.71 Inches

F=2.8 --- DOF = 1.28 Feet

F=4.0 --- DOF = 1.85 Feet
 
just to add to the DOF comments above,

1) When you put the LX5 into Manual Focus, the screen will indicate the range of distances of sharp focus, dependant on the aperture, so no need to do any calculations.
2) Note the max aperture is only 2.0 at 24mm, it reduces at longer focal lengths

Rgds,
Tom
 
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