- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- Sony NEX-5N
- Canon Powershot S100
- Fujifilm FinePix X100
- Canon PowerShot G15
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3
Rated 60% by by Soured-Customer--Soured-Customer (Dec, 2010)It's much much faster (what's the point of having a camera if you miss the shot because the camera doesn't react in time), the low light ability is far superior, the macro is wonderful, it can zoom while recording video, and the battery life is excellent.
Rated 77% by by DPReview (Feb, 2012)The abundance of external control points along with a responsive and intuitive touchscreen interface make the GX1 a very pleasant camera to use, whether you are changing exposure settings between shots or tweaking menu options to tailor the camera's behavior to your liking.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 compared to the DMC-GX1
MP10
1/1.6"
Rated 100% by by I.-Pribadi (Oct, 2010)My bottom line advice is your personal priorities will determine which camera fits you best but please still consider the whole package: size, weight, ergonomics, menu system, AF lag times, RAW write times, battery life, possible accessories, etc..
15.8 MP
Four Thirds
Rated 77% by by DPReview (Feb, 2012)The build quality of the GX1 is defined by a pleasingly substantial heft that balances nicely with a range of Micro Four Thirds zoom lenses.
megapixels
| 0 MP | 15.8 MP   | 20 MP |
Lumix DMC-LX5 by TrustedReviews (May, 2011)The level of detail is outstanding, even though the 90mm-equivalent focal length doesn't zoom in quite as far as most other compacts.
Lumix DMC-GX1 by A.-Hasija (Jun, 2012)Upgraded internals: The sensor density has been increased by 33 percent to 16 megapixels from 12 megapixels of the older MFT cameras.
sensor size
Lumix DMC-LX5 by Jaganath (Dec, 2011)Pictures are awesome and almost up there with quality with micro four thirds.
Lumix DMC-GX1 by DPReview (Feb, 2012)Although the GX1 has slightly smaller dimensions in both width and depth, it's worth remembering that that Sony has managed to pack a built-in EVF, articulating LCD and of course an APS-C sensor into the NEX-7.
body size
110 x 66 x 43 mm
116 x 68 x 39 mm
Lumix DMC-LX5 by J.-Wang (Oct, 2010)These pro-compact cameras have the best overall design that offers the widest range of application, versatility, and user-friendliness.
focus points
| 0 | 23 | 30 |
Lumix DMC-LX5 by Bird (Feb, 2011)The lens is great - is easy to throw the background out of focus and have sharp focus on the subject, giving pictures the depth I used to get with my film SLR.
Lumix DMC-GX1 by Chatoyer (Feb, 2013)The touch screen is pretty nice as well, allowing you to choose focus points, and the custom controls I definitely made use of.
Performance Real world tests of Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 vs DMC-GX1
shutter lag
Lumix DMC-GX1 by Photography Blog (Jan, 2012)The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds and there's also a Bulb option for exposures up to 4 minutes long, which is excellent news if you're seriously interested in night photography.
battery life
400 photos
310 photos
Lumix DMC-GX1 by DPReview (Mar, 2013)The NP-FW50 has 7.7Wh of energy, promises 360 shots per charge using the CIPA standard, which puts it top amongst mirrorless ILCs.
max continuous shooting
Lumix DMC-LX5 by rd-in-sf (Sep, 2010)On the LX-5, I can only shoot 3 shots on a burst and then I have to wait until it finishes before I shoot again.
Lumix DMC-GX1 by DPReview (Mar, 2013)We shot ten burst sequences of an approaching bicycle (with a rather busy background behind him), and the NEX was able to track the subject about 70% of the time.
DxOMark low light performance
Lumix DMC-LX5 by Cam (Apr, 2012)Pictures are crisp, it takes good photos in low light and has plenty of manual settings.
Lumix DMC-GX1 by A.-Hasija (Jun, 2012)Great low light performance: Speaking from personal experience here, I have found this camera to be 10 times better in low light performance.
DxOMark image quality
Lumix DMC-LX5 by Scott-Fisher (Dec, 2011)The main thing to love about the camera is the image quality for the fairly small size.
Lumix DMC-GX1 by TrustedReviews (Jan, 2012)Overall image quality is fantastic and certainly on a par with the G3, with the GX1 being able to produce images full of bright, vibrant colours, pleasing tonality and contrast, sharp edges and good levels of detail.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the DMC-GX1
| Image stabilization | Optical | vs | None |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supports image stabilization | |||
| More highly reviewed by consumers | 89.43% | vs | 84.16% |
| More than 5% more highly reviewed by consumers | |||
| More photos per charge | 400 | vs | 310 |
| 90 more shots; Longer battery life | |||
Advantages compared to the DMC-LX5
| Larger sensor | Four Thirds | vs | 1/1.6" |
|---|---|---|---|
| More than 4.2x larger sensor; higher quality photos | |||
| Has a touch screen | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Fewer buttons, interact directly with menus | |||
| Better overall image quality | 55.0 | vs | 41.0 |
| Around 35% better image quality | |||
| Interchangeable lenses | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Use a variety of specialized lenses | |||
| Significantly higher definition video | HD video | vs | HD video |
| Great video; great for displaying on a large flat panel TV | |||
| Create realistic 3D images | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Create 3D photos to view on a 3D TV | |||
| Significantly higher resolution | 15.8 MP | vs | 10 MP |
| Around 60% higher resolution; Capture more detail, good for large prints | |||
| Less startup delay | 1,400 ms | vs | 2,300 ms |
| Around 40% less startup delay; Be ready for anything | |||
| Supports HDR | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Combines multiple photos together to capture both bright and dark areas | |||
| Less noise at high ISO | 703 ISO | vs | 132 ISO |
| More than 5.2x higher low light performance | |||
| More color depth | 20.8 bits | vs | 19.6 bits |
| More than 5% more color depth | |||
| Marginally more recently announced | Nov, 2011 | vs | Jul, 2010 |
| Announced date over 1 years later | |||
| Self cleaning sensor | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Prevents dust showing up in your photos | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 | ||
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|---|---|---|---|
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 | Rated by 378 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by D.-Eilenberger (Jan, 2011) Rated 100% by by R.-Wallace (Dec, 2011) Rated 100% by by Matthew (Dec, 2011) | Rated by 91 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Abe--Photo-Dude (Jun, 2012) | |
lens
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 | Rated 100% by by Lowell (Dec, 2010)My reasons for buying this camera are as follows; I wanted a pocket-friendly camera to use as my main camera (not just a second camera) with good low-light capability, a wide angle lens and the auto focus and optical zoom in the HD video mode, The LX5 with the large sensor (large for a pocket-friendly camera), the fast f/2 lens (at the wide angle setting), and the excellent image stabilization meets my requirements.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 | Rated 100% by by Sameh-Abdulrhim (Dec, 2011)Although I liked the pocket ability of the S95, I chose the LX5 because of the excellent build quality, wide angle bright Leica lens and the optical zoom.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 | Rated 100% by by Kebs (Jun, 2011)Wide-angle is fantastic - After using Tamron 28-75 for so many years, I have found a whole new dimension in wide-angle photo-framing using LX5.
image quality
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 | Rated 90% by by Photography Blog (Sep, 2010)The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5's maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds in Manual shooting mode and the Starry Sky Mode scene mode, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 | Rated 80% by by Radio-Man--yarns13The LX5 seems to have much more accurate color.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 | Rated 100% by by Mic-Masterson--Mic (Sep, 2010)Low light performance is a little less impressive, but the LX5 just produces more crisp images with better colors IMO.
controls
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 | Rated 100% by by L.-Farwell (Jan, 2011)The pictures from the LX5 are excellent and it has all the same controls that my big SLR has.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 | Rated 80% by by T.-Skoglund (Oct, 2010)The LX5 delivers really nice images and the controls are well thought out and easy to learn.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 | Rated 100% by by Design49er (Jun, 2011)The LX5 is a good compromise for me, mostly mechanical buttons and switches clearly marked so I can operate them without glasses - my last two Panasonic point and shoots were more pocketable but this led to casual handling and subsequent droppage and cracked LCDs.
ergonomics
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 | Rated 100% by by E.-J.-Pershey--Museum-guy (Mar, 2013)GX1 is a solid camera with advanced controls.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 | Rated 100% by by Sam-Lee (Dec, 2011)GX1 is very similar to LX5 in many respects such as overall body size, buttons layout, picture quality, and menu system.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 | Rated 100% by by Daniel-Grant (Dec, 2012)Also, the excellent and intuitive control layout of the GX1 has mostly been preserved (unlike the later GF models which now seem to be aimed more at the point and shoot audience and rely far more on their touchscreen controls).
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | Sony NEX-5N Best image quality as rated by DXOMark |
 | 5 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 4-way tie: Wide angle lens |
