- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How it compares
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3
- 10 MP
- 2.5x f/2.0
- 1/1.6" CCD
- 3" LCD
Released July, 2008
Conclusion Check out the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3
First reviewed December, 2011
Features Key features of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3
10 MP
1/1.6"
Rated 80% by by Anthony-Pantliano--The-Photo-GuyThe photo quality is terrific, the build quality is great, the size is perfect, and it has all the manual and automatic controls you could ever need.
megapixels
| 0 MP | 14 MP    | 20 MP |
Lumix DMC-LX3 by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2011)The colour depth and level of detail are still excellent.
Lumix DMC-LX3 by DPReview (Nov, 2008)It's a good result for a 10 megapixel camera, though it's worth noting the aliasing patterns that start to appear from around 1900 line pairs onwards - suggesting the image processing is working pretty hard to render this much detail.
sensor size
Lumix DMC-LX3 by Pseudorandom-ParentsBut it is still a compact camera with a sensor 1/8 area of most DSLRs and 1/20 of full frame (mostly pro) DSLR.
Lumix DMC-LX3 by David-K.-Cooper--David-K-Cooper (Oct, 2008)My ideal camera of this size would have at least a sensor the size of a 35mm dslr (like the Rebel), and a fixed lens the equivalent of 28mm or 35mm.
wide angle lens
Lumix DMC-LX3 by Wolf (Jul, 2009)Compact, solid, low light lens, extra wide angle, great flash, HD video (16x9) in a package that you can take with you anywhere.
Lumix DMC-LX3 by Enche-TjinFor beginners: if you love to take wide angle pictures and don't like to take telephoto pictures then take this cameras.
aperture size
Lumix DMC-LX3 by P.-Blum--binderdundatWide angle, fast lens, image stabilization equals truly excellent interior photos: realtors, architects and designers take note!
zoom range
| 0x | 20x  | 20x |
Lumix DMC-LX3 by DPReview (Nov, 2008)The LX3 also has an extra, 'Auto,' mode that uses Mode 2 when the lens is at wide angle and Mode 1 to offer a stabilized preview at the telephoto end of the zoom where camera shake is more likely to make composition difficult.
Lumix DMC-LX3 by William-V.-Mcclung--ncbill (Oct, 2008)Because of the limited zoom range (35mm equivalent of 24mm to 60mm), I would not recommend the camera to those who might need more zoom for outdoor sports, etc..
body size
109 x 60 x 27 mm
117 x 70 x 57 mm
119 x 73 x 51 mm
Lumix DMC-LX3 by Scott-Roti (Feb, 2010)Just as with my M6TTL, I can just go out with my little camera and make lovely pictures without getting wrapped up in the technology.
Lumix DMC-LX3 by Chris-Marlowe (Feb, 2010)It's a compact camera that shoots as well as a mid-range DSLR.
Performance Real world tests of Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3
battery life
380 photos
290 photos
300 photos
Lumix DMC-LX3 by Roshan-Vyas--Impulse-Buyer-ExtraordinaireThe 3-inch screen was very detailed, the controls are easy to use, it had above average battery life, the flash didn't wash out pictures, and most important the picture quality was the best I've seen out of a p&s. Plus it's just a cool looking camera and feels solid in your hand.
Lumix DMC-LX3 by Tealfixie (Jun, 2009)The battery life is outstanding and has the capability of shooting at least 400 photos before requiring a recharge.
max continuous shooting
Lumix DMC-LX3 by Richard-JohnsonI do love the wide angle lens for landscape photography and it seems to be really useful for capturing big family groups clustered around a table etc.Very fast burst mode - About 2.5fps which is really good for a point-and-shoot.
DxOMark low light performance
Lumix DMC-LX3 by Ken-Walsh (Jan, 2009)I have a Fuji F30, long considered the king of compact low light cameras, and in reality the LX3 is able to get far more low light shots than the F30.
Lumix DMC-LX3 by ERT (Sep, 2010)This thing is an amazing little machine, it will take the best night shots for it's size.
Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors
pros
-
HD video -
Generic -
24 mm -
88.91% -
For that film look -
10 mm -
27 mm -
109 x 60 x 27 mm
cons
-
Jul, 2008 -
39.0 -
1/1.6" -
HD video -
460 k dots -
2.5 fps -
6,400 ISO -
19.6 bits -
10.8 ev -
2,300 ms -
10 MP -
94 ISO -
The screen is fixed in place -
No automatic HDR -
No automatic stitching -
1/2000 s
Reviews Word on the street
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 | Rated by 165 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by King (Jan, 2011) Rated 100% by by Trasher (Jan, 2009) Rated 100% by by R.-Wagner (May, 2010) |
Lens
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 80% by by ShannonThis camera has an excellent lens - the wide-angle end is as wide as you're likely to need, and the zoomed-in end is sufficiently tight for most uses.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 100% by by Enche-TjinEven when I took picture in very big aperture of f/2, the depth of field remain very large.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 80% by by Anthony-Pantliano--The-Photo-GuyI'm able to get sharp photos when shooting at 1/4 seconds at wide angle.
Sensor
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 100% by by Edward-V.-Hawk (Oct, 2009)Really amazing for a camera this size, and it makes RAW the only image format I even think about using.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | by DPReview (Nov, 2008)Interestingly, although SilkyPix will let you try to process data from areas of the sensor not included in the JPEG, it cannot let you expand the RAW file out to the size of the whole sensor - the sensor data is being cropped to the aspect ratio before it's saved as a RAW file.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 74% by by c|net (Feb, 2009)While the camera supports up to ISO 3,200, you really don't want to shoot at anything beyond ISO 800; for best results, stick to ISO 400 and below.
Image quality
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 100% by by Chris-Marlowe (Feb, 2010)You can find other cameras that are more compact and are no slouches in the picture quality range, as well.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 100% by by Office-Man (Jan, 2012)The picture quality is stunning at a wide range of light levels.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 100% by by Pseudorandom-ParentsThe quality of my pictures is now even higher: colors much more pleasing and noise reduction less "blotchy.
Video
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 100% by by Amazonian--MM (Oct, 2008)the movie quality at 1280 x 720 at 30fps was a nice improvement from my powershot sd500's 640 x 480 at 30fps, but in the end the actual quality and sound wasn't as eye popping improvement.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 100% by by Mark-Matrix (Jan, 2009)Only other that comes close is the Canon G10; Which has problems with poor LCD quality and average sensor.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 100% by by F.-GonzalezWhat really sold me was the wider lens, better low-light performance and HD video capabilities.
Zoom
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 100% by by Ken-Walsh (Jan, 2009)It does have way more manual control than almost any other compact, it can shoot RAW much faster than most compacts, and its imager size and pixel density are better than the vast majority of compacts.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Rated 80% by by P.-Stripling (Sep, 2009)The LX3 has its compromises: the zoom is 2.5X; when you take a video, the camera locks the zoom and focus when the recording begins.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 Best image quality as rated by DXOMark Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 |
 | 2 | Canon PowerShot G15 2-way tie: Fastest lens Canon PowerShot G15 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 |
 | 3 | Nikon Coolpix P7700 Fastest to start up Nikon Coolpix P7700 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 |
 | 4 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 Most shots per battery charge DMC-LX5 vs DMC-LX3 |
 | 5 | Fujifilm Finepix X10 More contrast-detection focus points Fujifilm Finepix X10 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 |
 | 6 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 Largest sensor DMC-GF3 vs DMC-LX3 |
New duel?
Let the battle continue or dare to compare.
