Opinions on LUMIX line of cameras

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II

03/30/2011 04:51:34 PM · #1

I'm looking for a new P&S for my wife and have good impressions about LUMIX cameras from Panasonic. My question is whether these good reviews are limited to certain lines? For example, in my initial look through, I came upon the DMC-ZS8. Anybody have opinions about these smaller P&S models versus things like the LX5? Am I still going to get good quality pictures?

bergiekat

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

03/30/2011 05:10:36 PM · #2

Don't remember exactly what we gave my sister for her birthday, but it was a Lumix p&s we got from Costco. Not the expensive model, but takes great pictures. Bought the dh one for Christmas a few years ago...FX01 and it takes beautiful shots for a P&S! I would recommend for a pocket camera!!

Message edited by author 2011-03-30 17:11:06.

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

03/30/2011 05:10:58 PM · #3

The ZS series produce good, but somewhat smudgy photos. The LX5 (and similar Powershot S95) will give you near-DSLR quality, but without the huge zoom range.

Yo_Spiff

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

03/30/2011 05:21:41 PM · #4

I have a Lumix DMC-LZ10 that I bought for $60 at a pawn shop. For a pocketable point & shoot, it takes some very nice and sharp shots. My main complaint with it is I don't care for some elements of the user interface. It does have manual, aperture and shutter priority modes, but I have to remember to hit a button to toggle between exposure adjustments and the other functions of the directional pad. So I frequently actuate something I didn't want to or change my aperture when I meant to use another function. Here's some example taken with it (I did do some PP on all of these, so they do not represent out of the camera qualities):

Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical MF - Black

03/30/2011 05:21:48 PM · #5

Originally posted by scalvert:

The ZS series produce good, but somewhat smudgy photos. The LX5 (and similar Powershot S95) will give you near-DSLR quality, but without the huge zoom range.

Can you define smudgy for me? Noisy? Not sharp?

scarbrd

Leica M10

03/30/2011 05:26:57 PM · #6

i was a big fan of the LX3. I sold it when I got the Olympus PEN. It's now in the good hands of

PennyClick and

Bear_Music.

bassbone

Nikon Z8

Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-120 f/4 S

03/30/2011 05:29:47 PM · #7

I really like the Panasonic P&S cameras. For a small pocket P&S, the Lumix TS series like the TS1 works great. Water 'proof' or resistant, drop resistant, solid stuff.

Here is what the camera can do on an extended trip in the hands of my wife on a scout trip.

Philmont 2010

I think it held up rather well

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D

03/30/2011 05:36:44 PM · #8

You guys are giving me encouragement that I may be happy no matter which way I go. It will probably come down to the ZS10, the ZS8 or the LX5. The 10 is $100 more than the 8 and while it shoots full HD, I'd actually think about it more for the 0.3 sec shutter lag rather than 0.7 sec. If there's one thing I can't get used to on a P&S after using a dSLR it's shutter lag.

raish

Olympus C-2500L

03/30/2011 05:46:20 PM · #9

Here's an unedited set taken by Mike Shrimpton with one of the TS series in late 2005, while walking and carousing in the Brecon Beacons.
Leica optics and classy camera (plus a pretty handy button pusher).
Take a peek and I'll close access in a day or two, 'cos they're not actually mine or anything.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

03/30/2011 05:51:46 PM · #10

Originally posted by scarbrd:

i was a big fan of the LX3. I sold it when I got the Olympus PEN. It's now in the good hands of PennyClick and Bear_Music.

And I just got a keeper out of it for the B/W challenge. Penny and I were schlepping around on the mainland, a couple blocks from the car, and Penny had the Lumix on her person. I saw a shot, said "Honey, can I borrow your Lumix for a second?" and she was kind enough to accede. I'm blown away by how sweet and crisp the image is. I really, really like that camera.

R.

03/30/2011 06:01:17 PM · #11

Originally posted by raish:

Thanks. Took a peek. It was helpful! They certainly blow away the current camera we are using.

03/30/2011 06:04:25 PM · #12

If you don't need zoom, if you value good closeups and anything that will fit nicely in a wide angle, and are a sucker for a simply beautifully made THING, no problems recommending the LX3/LX5. It won't fit into a skinny pocket, though. It's true I would love a smaller camera, and I miss the 12X zooms on the bigger Fz5 and the much bigger FZ10, but I would be loathe to part with my LX3, or even to forsake her as did scarbrd.

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical MF - Black

03/30/2011 06:14:30 PM · #13

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by scalvert:
The ZS series produce good, but somewhat smudgy photos. The LX5 (and similar Powershot S95) will give you near-DSLR quality, but without the huge zoom range.

Can you define smudgy for me? Noisy? Not sharp?

It's sort of a noise reduction look (because that's probably exactly what it is). Rather than try to describe it, you should just take a look for yourself. Use Image-Resource's comparometer to bring up a ZS7 and LX5 side-by-side and compare the "still-life 400" images at full size. You'll see what I mean. Don't get me wrong- the ZS cameras do a good job (I own an earlier model)- but the LX series has noticeably better image quality.

scarbrd

Leica M10

03/30/2011 06:28:31 PM · #14

Originally posted by tnun:

Forsaken? not in my mind. ;-)

I took this shot with the LX3

It won a photo contest where the prize was the Olympus PEN

So, in my twisted logic, the LX3 became the PEN E-PL1.

then I payed it foward by seliing to Bear/Penny for song so the karma can continue. ;-)

I have since become a huge fan of the PEN system. Even picked up a E-PL2 recently.

Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical MF - Black

03/30/2011 06:32:49 PM · #15

Originally posted by scalvert:

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by scalvert:
The ZS series produce good, but somewhat smudgy photos. The LX5 (and similar Powershot S95) will give you near-DSLR quality, but without the huge zoom range.

Can you define smudgy for me? Noisy? Not sharp?

It's sort of a noise reduction look (because that's probably exactly what it is). Rather than try to describe it, you should just take a look for yourself. Use Image-Resource's comparometer to bring up a ZS7 and LX5 side-by-side and compare the "still-life 400" images at full size. You'll see what I mean. Don't get me wrong- the ZS cameras do a good job (I own an earlier model)- but the LX series has noticeably better image quality.

Great site! Thanks for the link. I also found the LX5 on Amazon for $399 which cuts the price difference. Now I'll have to guess about size and whether Jenn would have a problem with carrying it around. Usually she has a bag though.

scarbrd

Leica M10

03/30/2011 06:36:47 PM · #16

Not sure if this helps at web resolution, but I took these at the same time

LX3

Canon 5DII with Zeiss 50mm 1.4

Good little performer, the LX3.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

03/30/2011 06:37:45 PM · #17

That is a splendid story, scarbrd, but I like the photo even better.

BrennanOB

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

03/30/2011 06:45:38 PM · #18

I have the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 and its images are quite nice, which has sadly left me without it as it has been stolen by my daughter who decided it was much better than the pretty pink fiji finepix she insisted on buying.

I know Panasonic was going to make their cameras not operate with third party batteries, did they go through with that?

spiritualspatula

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX100

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/30/2011 11:06:24 PM · #19

I love my LX3. It actually exceeded my expectations, by a good margin. These are straight from camera. The BW conversion and everything was in camera. Some are full res.
Exposure is solid, colors work well. The only thing I've noticed is that the use of topaz detail on images causes a weird texturing sometimes, even in moderate application.
If I were to get a "tough" camera, I'd not hesitate to get their iteration hands down, and I've heard only great things about the TZ series. There is a pretty lively group of LX/TZ users over at dpreview.
I've sorta come to think the Panasonics are hidden gems that are ignored because Canon and Nikon market so much more aggressively.

Message edited by author 2011-03-30 23:06:38.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX100

03/30/2011 11:26:19 PM · #20

Nice set. Did you use the dynamic BW or the standard BW? Have you tried the in camera double exposure? Forgot to mention that.

spiritualspatula

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/30/2011 11:30:23 PM · #21

Originally posted by tnun:

Nice set. Did you use the dynamic BW or the standard BW? Have you tried the in camera double exposure? Forgot to mention that.

Dynamic for sure. I really like the tones it produces, great contrast. The normal is decent, but feels a bit flatter than my taste. I haven't messed with the double exposure on it yet though... hmm. Thanks for the suggestion!

03/30/2011 11:41:50 PM · #22

Dude. The LX models have double exposure? That's DPC legal right? I'm sold. The double exposures I do are so much more work... :)

I think I've settled on the LX5.