Sneak peak on the Panasonic Lumix LX5 by Shawn Chung

Shawn Chung from T3 Singapore offers the following report "live" from Sapporo. He is there for the Panasonic event. In this article, he shares with us, first-hand, the latest Panasonic Lumix LX5.







Sneak peak on the Panasonic Lumix LX5!
By Shawn Chung

Konnichiha from Sapporo Japan.

After a 12 hour trip from Singapore via Narita that involved 2 flights and 2 bus rides, we're now at the Sapporo Park Hotel for Panasonic's regional Digital Imaging Seminar. Panasonic will be showcasing their latest Lumix digital cameras and camcorders.

But first, a sneak preview and first impression at the new Lumix LX5 (we had 5 minutes to check it out) - the much anticipated replacement to the iconic Lumix LX3, the prosumer compact camera that's been the benchmark for the last few years.

Note that this is an engineering sample and not the final production model, which I will probably have an extensive try out with tomorrow.


Here's the LX5 in my not so large hands!


The LX5 is a solid piece of kit. While it comes in at just slightly slimmer than the LX3, it has a pretty good heft to it, and in the metallic white version seems almost like a Lumix GF-1 or Olympus EF-1 that's been hit by a shrink ray.

By the way... I think this may be the first white version of the camera actually seen outside of press images!


Note the aspect ratio switch on the lens. The autofocus/manual select switch is on the left of the lens by where my thumb is.
There's a new 'my colour mode' on the selection dial. That's something similar to what you'll find on many Olympus 4/3 and m4/3 cameras - the ability to enter creative modes like Film Grain and Pinhole with a simple selection.
At the back, you'll notice the flash shoe cover also protects the input port for the electronic viewfinder. The controls are pretty straightforwards, although the zoom's a bit slow but smooth.

As I mentioned, this is an engineering unit, and the LCD screen isn't as sharp as it's supposed to be.
Here you can see the new 3.6x optical zoom, and how easy it is for a lady to hold the camera with its improved grip.

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