Panasonic's LX series has long been at the forefront of the compact camera expert sector. Today in this market there is a fierce struggle between many leading brands of cameras. Canon, Fujifilm, and Sony regularly release their beautifully designed cameras with intuitive controls. Panasonic's flagship compact camera, the 2012 Lumix DMC-LX7, appeared 2 years after its predecessor, the LX5, and a lot has changed during that time.
The power of light
The main change seems to be the use of a better image sensor. The large matrix provides, among other things, greater ability to collect light, higher performance in low light conditions and greater control over the depth of field, which facilitates blurring of the background. What is surprising is that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 image sensor is actually smaller than its predecessor and some of its direct competitors, such as the Olympus XZ-1. The difference in matrix size for these models is negligible: the LX7 uses a sensor measuring 7.6 × 5.7 mm, compared to 8.1x6 mm in the XZ-1. Nevertheless, there are compact cameras that have significantly larger image sensors, including Fujifilm X10, Canon PowerShot G1 X and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100.
So why use a smaller sensor? The main reason is that Panasonic seeks to rely on the strengths of the LX series - high-aperture optics in a compact housing, and not push the next model into new areas. The LX5 had an aperture of f / 2, and now the LX7 has class-leading optics - f / 1.4 24–90 mm 2.3 Leica. To work with such wide apertures, the model has a built-in 3-stop ND filter, thanks to which the f / 1.4 parameter can be used in bright sunlight. Needless to say, the lens is a distinctive outstanding feature of this model, but it is still interesting how it found application in the camera and how it affects the fight against competitors.
Panasonic Lumix LX7: camera description
The camera is the fifth in a series of compact LX cameras and has remarkable design solutions. Each model of the line had a solid construction, ideal focal lengths for everyday use and a wide aperture for shooting in low light. Externally, little has changed in this model, and to some extent the same can be said about the specification, although this is by no means bad. However, there are some key improvements that have highlighted the model.
Like its predecessor, the LX5, the LX7 contains a multi-aspect sensor, which means that it is designed to maximize the number of pixels involved in various frame formats. Over an area of 7.6 × 5.7 mm, 12.7 million pixels are placed, of which up to 10.1 million are involved. To facilitate the use of formats with an aspect ratio of 3 to 2, 4 to 3, 1 to 1 and 16 to 9 (of which the largest number of pixels are used in the 4: 3 format), there is a separate switch on the camera lens that allows you to easily change them. What is new here is that the sensor type is not CCD, but a highly sensitive MOS unit. Such a matrix, as a rule, consumes less energy, which is useful, given the higher resolution of the energy-consuming LCD display. Resizing the sensor as well as the wider maximum aperture value means the lens has also been resized.
Continuous shooting in the LX7, compared to previous models, took a big step forward. It is possible to capture 12 frames at maximum resolution at a speed of 11 fps with fixed focus and exposure (compared to 2.5 fps in LX5). Burst shooting at 5 fps allows you to continuously use tracking autofocus, and speeds up to 60 fps are achieved with an image size of 2.5 million pixels.
Other shooting modes include a creative menu with 16 powerful graphic effects, such as impressionism, and a scene menu with 16 options, including HDR and 3D. The iAuto Intelligent Camera function uses various presets to set auto exposure. In addition, the ability to frame-by-frame shooting was added, for which you can set the start date and time, as well as set the interval between shots (up to 30 minutes), the total number of which can reach 60 frames.
The Panasonic Lumix LX7 has a strong set of features adopted from its predecessor, but other manufacturers have made more progress over the past few years. There are some functions that could help the model stand out against the general background, such as GPS, Wi-Fi, a rotary or at least a touch screen. In addition, some find a relatively low resolution of 10.1 million pixels, which makes it possible to produce prints with a clarity of 300 dpi in size of 32 x 23 cm, which is too modest for printing. Nevertheless, many users find this sufficient for cameras of this type, which make it possible to make A3 format prints.
Comparison of Panasonic LF1 and Lumix LX7 allows to highlight the following advantages of the latter:
- a much larger viewing angle - 24 mm versus 28 mm;
- the possibility of high-speed video recording;
- greater dynamic range;
- wider aperture - f / 1.4 versus f / 2;
- longer battery life - 330 shots versus 250;
- external flash support.
At the same time, LF1 is 50% smaller and 40% lighter, has a digital viewfinder and has a 20% higher resolution (12 megapixels versus 10 megapixels).
Optics
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 is a key enhancement to the device. A crop factor of 4.55x means that the focal length should now be 4.7–17.7 mm in order to achieve an effective 24–90 mm. It is identical to the LX5 and is ideal for many situations.
The Panasonic Lumix LX7 lens consists of 11 elements, including five aspherical, two ED elements and one with a nano-coated surface to reduce glare and ghosting. A focal length of 24 mm gives a maximum aperture of f / 1.4 and is reduced to f / 1.9 by 50 mm and f / 2.3 by 90 mm.
However, a sensor with a crop factor of 4.55x does not provide adequate control over the depth of field. Aperture of f / 1.4 is equivalent to f / 6.3 on a full-frame camera measuring 35 x 114 mm, and 90 mm f / 2.3 is equivalent to f / 11. Thus, although the achieved level of blur due to the wide aperture is sufficient, the true advantage is the increased flow of light passing through the lens, which increases the quality of images in low light, allowing low ISO settings.
According to user reviews, the camera demonstrates a greater ability to transmit image details due to increased sharpness in the center of the frame. Details with the edge also retain good clarity. The features of objects close to the camera look crisp and clear. Distortion is more noticeable when buildings and straight lines are in the frame. The wide-focus photos of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 present ordinary cylindrical distortions, as well as slight distortions of 50 mm, but the camera shoots 90 mm without visible distortion.
Construction and Management
With a cursory acquaintance, the Panasonic Lumix LX7 has the same dimensions and the same high build quality as the LX5. But if you dive a little deeper, you can find some key changes.
Designers tried to meet the needs of photographers by adding an aperture ring to the lens, covering the entire range of f / 1.4 - f / 8 apertures at a step of 1/3 EV. This is great for those who often shoot in aperture priority mode or with manual exposure settings. The ring is manually adjustable, although this can be done electronically. For example, f / 1.4 is not available at 90 mm, so it changes to a maximum value of f / 2.3. In this case, to start closing the aperture from f / 2.3, four clicks of the aperture ring will be required.
Like the LX5, the lens ring on the LX7 also includes the aspect ratio and focus mode. With such an advantageous position on the camera, users note that they began to use switching between different proportions more often than before, and now they are less likely to crop the frame to the required size after taking the picture.
A separate cover is included to protect the lens. If it remains on the optics when the camera is started, a message appears reminding you to remove it before shooting, although image playback and menu navigation remain available. A message is needed because the lens extends beyond the cover in shooting mode. The owners note that even after many days of using the camera, the need to constantly perform such a procedure is annoying, since many other compact cameras have a built-in cover that is removed when turned on.
The shutter lag is slight, but the LX7 is not the fastest camera to start shooting right after launch. From the moment you turn it on to take a picture, it takes a little more than 5 seconds. In Fujifilm X10, for example, where a manual zoom lens is used, this time does not exceed two seconds.
Another innovation in the LX7 is the ND focus control button, which when pressed, sets or removes a neutral density filter in shooting mode. Given that the maximum shutter speed of the camera is 1/4000 s, in bright sunlight, the f / 1.4 aperture misses too much, so a neutral density filter is vital. The same applies to the minimum aperture of the F / 8, which provides too much aperture for long exposures in daylight. Switching left or right controls manual focus, and activates focus increase. In playback mode, this switch duplicates a command dial to switch between images.
Like its predecessor, the Panasonic Lumix LX7 has a “hot shoe” to which DMW-LVF2 (EVF) electronic viewfinder or an external flash is connected. Next to the aforementioned connector is a stereo microphone - a novelty for this line of cameras. The retractable flash is attached to a reliable spring mechanism and is sufficiently removed from the lens in the raised position. You can use the usual manual flash control, which includes ± 2EV adjustment, synchronization with the front and rear shutter curtains, as well as auto and red-eye reduction.
Despite the fact that the battery capacity has not changed and is 1250 mAh, the battery life of the LX7 is 330 shots compared to 400 in the LX5. This is most likely due to the high resolution of the camera screen. In general, working with controls and menus (including quick access menus) is intuitive.
White balance and color
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 has six color modes, and users who have tried them are satisfied with the results of the standard, in which the tones are very energetic and realistic. On a bright sunny day, the blue of the sky and green fields are good without additional processing. However, when using creative or story modes, saturation becomes too great to be believable. Of course, in each case, you can change the contrast, saturation, sharpness and level of noise reduction to your taste, creating individual settings. Owners who tested the camera and shot the color chart over the entire ISO range under the same lighting conditions were impressed by the color processing, thanks to which the tones remained alive, despite the presence of noise at higher settings.
One of the direct controls on the back is the white balance button, which allows you to choose between automatic adjustment (AWB), five presets, and two custom ones. The AWB setup works, as one would expect from cameras of this level, is not always accurate, and often leads to a reduction in color tones, forming a neutral result. To preserve the warmth of sunset or the green of the forest, users recommend using the appropriate preset.
Autofocus
Like the LX5, the Panasonic Lumix LX7 employs a 23-point multi-segment measurement system. Whether it’s bright daylight or low contrast light, the camera quickly focuses on the subject. When the illumination is really low, an AF assist lamp is used to facilitate focusing, which will be useful for subjects at close range.
For greater control over autofocus, spot focus can be used, the size of which can be adjusted to any of four settings. The largest one fills the frame as much as possible, and the smallest one covers about 3%, which ensures fine tuning. In the case of the smallest size, any of 713 sections can be selected using the navigation keys. According to users, a touch screen would be more suitable here, as is done in the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30, since touch autofocus extremely speeds up the choice of the desired point.
One of the advantages of a small matrix of Panasonic Lumix LX7 reviews is the presence of a centimeter macro mode when the camera is installed at the widest focal length - 24 mm. Its switch can be found on the lens. To focus manually, the new ND / FOCUS lever on the back of the camera comes in handy. Moving it left or right will provide easy viewing of the focus point.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 reviews the autofocus of the camera as user reviews are satisfactory for everyday photography, but it is unacceptable for shooting fast or erratic movements of most sports. Fortunately, AF tracking is available for high-speed burst shooting at 5 fps, as well as continuously for video recording.
In the event of difficulties with setting up the Panasonic Lumix LX7, the “Instructions for Improving the Specifications” attached to the camera will help you find a way out of this situation.
Metering
Be it spot, center weighted, or evaluative, the metering system is linked to active AF points. Estimated metering is both reliable and predictable. This means that when photographing one thing you will have to think less. When shooting in iAuto (Intelligent Auto) mode, exposure settings are controlled by the camera depending on the scene it determines. Owners who use cameras in automatic mode find iAuto reliable for most scenes.
At the same resolution of 10.1 million pixels as its predecessor, the camera’s performance improvement is impressive. According to user reviews, the sharpness in the center has increased, and the camera shows the greatest clarity in RAW format when set to ISO 100 and the optimal setting of the Panasonic Lumix DMC LX7 aperture. Examples of photos in JPEG format show a marked decrease in sharpness at ISO 400, where the brightness of the noise becomes apparent and noise reduction begins to work.
Over the two years of the LX5's existence, the market for expert compact cameras has improved significantly in terms of resolution. For example, Sony’s Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 has an image sensor that is twice the size of the LX7 sensor (116 mm 2 versus 49 mm 2 ) and has twice as many pixels, providing a significantly higher level of detail and allowing you to make 2 times as large prints.
According to user reviews, the resolution of the LX7 and the control of the noise level are largely dependent on the selected aperture and ISO setting. For crisp details, the best setting for the new Leica lens is f / 2.8 – f / 4.
Similarly, in order to avoid fuzzy image detail due to low brightness and color noise, users recommend using the ISO 800 setting. The highest level of ISO 6400 (1 step better than LX5) gives not very much detail: in shaded areas and areas of the image in midtones stripes and spots appear.
LCD, viewfinder and video
In all cases except in bright, direct sunlight, the Panasonic Lumix LX7's 3-inch TFT LCD display offers clear, easy-to-view images. The screen resolution was increased to 920000 points, but it remains fixed without the possibility of changing its position. Almost unexpected (and, of course, disappointing) is the lack of touch functionality, especially since this technology has already been used in Panasonic compact cameras.
Given the size of the camera, there is no room for an integrated viewfinder. Nevertheless, due to the presence of pads for accessories, it is possible to use EVF. The LX7 is compatible with an external electronic viewfinder of the same manufacturer DMW-LVF2 EVF, which has a clear display and a resolution of 1.44 million pixels.
For a camera of this level, the progressive capture of 1080p AVCHD video at 50 fps is impressive. , , .
Dynamic range
Judging by landscape photographs in sunny and cloudy conditions, the Panasonic Lumix LX7 is capable of recording a wide range of tones. Details of clouds and sky are reproduced with maximum confidence. Similarly, you can enhance the detail of shadow areas by increasing the exposure by 1–2 EV before the noise of the shadow becomes a problem. Due to this, the LX5 has maintained its position in the fight against competitors for two years and the LX7 is doing the same today.
For scenes where the range of tones goes beyond the recording capabilities of the camera, the model offers HDR in the scene mode menu, which uses three consecutive frames and combines them to create a wider dynamic range. In addition, automatic exposure bracketing at ± 3EV is available. Of all the scene modes, users find HDR the most useful because it improves the level of detail and allows you to keep images relatively “real”.
Competitors
Two years before the advent of the LX7, having appeared in an oversaturated market, the Panasonic Lumix LX5 proved to be the best in every way. Now the competition has intensified even more. Samsung's EX2F is an obvious competitor, since both cameras have a lens with the same aperture and focal length range. The LX7 is slightly smaller, although the EX2F has Wi-Fi and a hinged LCD screen.
One of the best handheld cameras, Sony’s Cyber-shot DSC-RX100, has a twice as large sensor, the resolution of which is also twice that of the LX7, and its size is smaller. Both cameras are comfortable and have aperture rings. Another compact camera with excellent controllability is the stylish Fujifilm X10, which offers a more intuitive manually-controlled zoom lens and optical viewfinder.
Verdict
The compact camera Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 Black does not have such high indicators as the best analogues of competitors Fujifilm and Sony, but nevertheless it is an excellent camera: the aperture ring and a new lens will impress the “right” photographers. In addition, video modes have improved significantly and become best in class.
But users say that Panasonic missed a chance in this model. Two years after the appearance of the LX5, competitors have advanced significantly, and the progress of the LX7 was negligible. If you can still put up with a small sensor size and relatively low resolution for a camera of this level, then users would like to see in the camera some technologies used by the manufacturer in the Lumix G series, especially the touch screen with touch autofocus and shutter release. For those who are going to take a compact with them every day, the LX7 will be a great choice, but there are other models that you should pay attention to first.