The LX3 Alternative

There are some occasions when it’s just not practical or desirable to carry around an SLR camera and it’s associated lenses and gadgets. I’ve been looking around for a compact camera which would give me the advantage of portability, while still offering the versatility of full manual control and decent image quality.

With these requirements in mind I’ve purchased the Panasonic Lumix LX3 and I must say at this early stage that this camera certainly deserves the fine reviews it’s receiving. The key feature for me is the wide (24 to 60mm) fast f2.0 lens. The fast lens combined with the camera’s image stabilization allows the capture of indoors (low light) images without resorting to the flash. At the wide 24mm end this lens is also useful for taking my landscape/seascape shots.

This retro looking camera has a very solid feel to it and allows full manual control of it’s many bells and whistles. Panasonic should be congratulated for keeping the LX3’s sensor resolution down to a manageable size instead of following the horrible trend towards higher magapixels and higher noise.