Panasonic Lumix® DMC-LX2 Digital Camera

As a professional photographer I needed a light, portable camera to take on a trip to India. The Lumix LX2 shoots RAW files (the highest quality) so suitable for magazine reproduction. I soon got used to no viewfinder and enjoyed framing shots using the screen - I felt this actually improved my framing. Only occassionally was it too sunny to see the image properly. A perfect camera for travel use. i dropped it and it still worked. delighted with my purchase and have recommended it to three friends who feel the same.

Great little camera, I was surprised just how small it was but it's got big performance. It's as automatic as you want it to be but after getting to know it for a few hours you can have total control with very little effort. The raw files take a few seconds to write but it's worth it for the post processing ability this offers. The lack of viewfinder is a little disappointing in a camera of this class though.
The joystick speeds up aperture and shutter adjustments no end in manual mode. It's got quite a few bells and tassles I won't use like putting in your baby's dob so it can register every baby pic with the baby's age - neat. I quite liked the world time option though so it tells you what time you took the pic when travelling abroad without having to reset the cameras clock.
Lens is spot on as you'd expect from Leica. I.S. seems quite effective which is just as well as the camera's only other downside is even though there's theoretically ISO 3200 on offer after 200 the sensor is unacceptably noisy. I don't know if the Leica D-Lux 3 which is basically the same camera is the same but I didn't have the extra £100+ to find out!
If you want the 16:9 aspect ratio it's great, the full 10 mp but if you use the 3:2 or 4:3 option it crops the picture to around 8.4 or 7.2.
Overall it's a classy, well made quality bit of kit which is a realistic alternative when I haven't got the time or space for my bulky DSLR.

To Summarise:-
Pros:- small, controllable, raw capability, good glass, classy, good value
Cons:- no viewfinder, higher ISOs crap, Separate lens cap

The lens is non-retractable - but its a Lieca Lens - the best. Its a 10 MP, 16:9, RAW file capable, manual over-ride super camera that does EXCELLENT video. With a 4GB SDHC card (make sure it has the HC - High Capacity bit) it will shoot over 30 mins of high quality video. A unique camera - well worth every ebay penny. Hong Kong is a do able - just ask for it to be sent as a gift (to yourself of course...). Wouldn't want our naughty Government getting a slice - now would we....

Awesome camera, affords some manual control so us SLR users have got something to play with in a compact camera.
Highly recommended if your an avid photographer but just dont want to take your bulky equipment away with you.

This is a fantastic little camera that I bought after reading reviews of a number of cameras. I bought it on features, price, size, appearance and quality. Most of the camera is very user friendly and the pictures it produces are stunning it terms of quality. It has a very wide range of features such as aperture and shutter priority which are easy to access and it's 16:9 gives a lovely wide picture.it has a nice little joy-stick to hel move from one feature to another in the menu. The large screen is excellent except in very bright sun and the lack of a viewfinder for composing shots in bright sunshine is a draw back. I love the fact that it fits easily into my pocket as i was considering a DSLR which would have been bulky. It came with two good long lasting batterieswhich has meant I no longer change batteries every 40 shots. The only other feature that I am dissappointed by is the anti-shake mode which has not been as successful as i would have hoped. All in all though an excellent choice for my requirements.

This camera is quite simply stunning in the picture quality that it can produce. I'm not a great fan of digital photography, but this has somewhat changed my mind. It's very easy to use,the on board menus are easy to understand and it will do far far more than most would ever need a camera to be able to do, film clips or as a camcorder it's great and the choice of 3 format sizes is nice to have. Design wise its nice to handle with a brightness adjustable, large screen (also for high angle)and the controls well placed and simple to operate. A bonus is that it looks terrific which makes owning it a pleasure. Downside- no viewfinder and only one lug to carry it with so tricky hanging it in an ever-ready position safely around ones neck, but this is a minor gripe. I can't say that I think all that much of the c.d. program that it came with and I'm using Googles free to download Picasa 3 instead, but perhaps I'm just unfamiliar with it. I'm still getting used to the LX2 but on the whole I'd say brilliant for a compact camera. I would like it more if the zoom was longer and the 28mm lens wider, which the new LX3 is at 24mm although the zoom is shorter. I'll stay with this one for a while and maybe upgrade to the LX3 at a later date. I'm very impressed on the whole.