The Best Compact Camera in the World (in 2008)

Trying to justify this camera as the world's best compact camera is a tall order, but ...

This camera is what you can call the photographer's camera - although by no means a replacement for a DSLR. An average user can use its myriad built-in scene modes and the more creative ones can play all they want in the creative zones. It can beautifully complement a DSLR. It is small, compact, light and you can take it everywhere. Yet it has all the creative modes: aperture priority mode, shutter priority mode and manual mode.

Its wide angle lens starts at 24mm and at telephoto end it goes upto 60mm. Maybe you'd like a bit more range but it's not that bad, all things considered. And the aperture is 2.0 at 24mm and 2.8 at 60mm end! Perhaps you have never seen this kind of lens on a compact before!! The Leica DC Vario-Summicron lens is its biggest selling point.

You can carry it on you at all times. It won't fit into your shirt pocket but fit nicely into a pocket of your jacket. If you need to go somewhere and don't want to carry your DSLR, you can travel very lightly with the LX3.

Even when you carry your DSLR, you can plug in a tele-lens (such as 70-200mm one) on the DSLR and leave behind your wide-angle lenses: the LX3 becomes your second body with the wide-angle lens.

Isn't that a dream come true for most photo enthusiasts? We all dream of not having to change our lenses constantly, and here is a possible solution.

It can take pictures in three aspect ratios and once you use 16:9 for wide-angle images you will be hooked. It has optical stabilizer. It does RAW. ISO can be cranked up to 3200 (and even 6400 in a special mode). It has 23 scene modes for the casual user.

In aperture or shutter priority modes you can make exposures 8 seconds long; in manual mode it can be upto 60 seconds.

Is there anything not to like?

Nothing is perfect and LX3 isn't either. Apart from the limited zoom range, another limitation is that you can go only upto f8.0: this may be normal in compact cameras but after being used to DSLRs I found that a bit restrictive.

I wish the camera were still thinner!

And, yes, the optional external optical viewfinder is very expensive but maybe you can live without it.

The lens cap has to be taken off and put back all the time. This could perhaps have been a electronic shutter-like thing.

Get the LX3 camera case. I am using a generic pouch at the moment but as soon as my dealer has it, I am getting one.

Instead of the supplied neckstrap, try to get a handstrap that fits. If you need one at all. Maybe just get rid of the neckstrap. It makes it easier to store in your pocket that way.

Learn how to use the various creative and automatic modes, how to change aperture, ISO, etc. Learn how to use bracketing for aspect ratios.

Read the manual (I know manuals are boring).

Yes, get an extra battery and two high-speed 8GB SDHC cards from a reputable company like SanDisk.

Look what I found on the street! A bat!; Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200); Aperture: f/2; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 200; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

I would certainly have missed the above photo without having a camera in my pocket!

Here are some of the specs. Panasonic has not increased the pixel count from its LX2 model.

Note that the camera can shoot in three aspect ratios and you can even capture all three aspect ratios in one click. RAW format is available. And the body is quite compact.

I don't want to list everything here but just to give you a general idea of what this camera offers.

List price: US$500
Sensor: 1/1.63" sensor; 10.1 million effective pixels CCD
Image stabilization: Lens-shift MEGA O.I.S.
Image sizes:
4:3 Aspect Ratio: highest, 3648x 2736 pixels
3:2 Aspect Ratio: highest, 3776 x 2520 pixels
16:9 Aspect Ratio: highest, 3968 x 2232 pixels

Movie mode: Yes
Output formats: JPEG, RAW
Image processor: Venus Engine IV
Lens (LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMICRON) 2.5x zoom
- f=5.1-12.8mm (35mm Equiv.: 24-60mm)
- F2.0 - F2.8

Shooting modes:
- Intelligent AUTO
- P(Program) mode
- A(AperturePriority) mode
- S(Shutter Priority) mode
- M(Manual) mode
- Motion Picture
- Custom1
- Custom2
- Scene mode
Scene modes : 23 scene modes

ISO Sensitivity: 80 - 3200 (6400 in High Sensitivity mode)

AE Bracketing: +/- 0.3/0.5 EV
Exposure compensation: +/-2 EV, 0.3 EV increments
Shutter speed
- P: 1-1/2000sec (Selectable minimum shutter speed)
- A/S: 8-1/2000sec
- M: 60-1/2000sec
- Starry Sky Mode : 15, 30, 60sec.

Dimensions: Width 108.7 x Height 59.5 x Depth 27.1 mm (without lens, that is - it's 45mm deep with the lens)
Weight (with battery): Approx. 265 g

There are a few accessories available for the LX3.

You absolutely need the following three accessories.
DMW-CLX3 Leather Casing
CGA-S005 Battery
Fast versions of SDHC Flash Memory Cards (8GB, 16GB)

DMW-VF1 External Optical Viewfinder is very expensive. So if you are rich you may like it, otherwise skip it.

You may want to have an even wider view and some filters. If so the following are available.
DMW-LA4 Conversion Lens Adaptor
DMW-LW46 Wide Conversion Lens (Requires an lens adaptor DMW-LA4)
DMW-LND46 ND Filter (Requires an lens adaptor DMW-LA4)
DMW-LPL46 PL Filter (Requires an lens adaptor DMW-LA4)
DMW-LMC46 MC Protector (Requires an lens adaptor DMW-LA4)

Want to do proper flash? Here are two choices.
DMW-FL360 External Flash
DMW-FL500 External Flash

And there are also the AC Adaptor and HD Component Cable:
DMW-AC5 AC Adaptor
DMW-HDC2 HD Component Cable

Since the whole point is to travel light, I am buying just the leather case, extra battery and memory cards. The rest is upto your choice and requirements.

I would also add a Gorillapod to the mix.

Here I will post some of the sample pictures. I have just received the camera, so I may keep adding.

Please note that 5.1mm focal length in metadata corresponds to the wide end (24mm) and 12.8mm is the telezoom end (60mm).

Bettmerhorn; Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000); Aperture: f/5; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 80; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Aletsch Glacier from Moosfluh; Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500); Aperture: f/8; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 100; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Aletsch Glacier from Bettmerhorn; Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800); Aperture: f/8; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 100; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Fletschhorn at sunset (from Bettmeralp); Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80); Aperture: f/2.8; Focal Length: 12.8 mm; ISO Speed: 100; Exposure Bias: 33/100 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Church in Bettmeralp near dusk; Exposure: 0.4 sec (2/5); Aperture: f/2.8; Focal Length: 12.8 mm; ISO Speed: 100; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Aletsch Glacier LX3 Flickr Set

Park; a high-contrast scene; Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30); Aperture: f/8; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 200; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Ready for Halloween; Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30); Aperture: f/2; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 200; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Ready for Halloween; Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30); Aperture: f/2; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 320; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

I tried a few macro shots and even at 100 ISO they came out good. A few times I changed to 4:3 aspect ratio but also tried 16:9.

One thing you need to note is if you zoom in your minimum focusing distance becomes larger. For this reason I did not zoom.

Plant head; Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250); Aperture: f/2; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 100; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Lichens; Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200); Aperture: f/2; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 100; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

As you may know I am a huge fan of butterfly macros. (Please also see my Macro Photography of Flowers, Learning Macro Photography with Butterflies as Subjects and
Extreme Macro Photography with the Canon MP-E 65mm Macro Lens.)

I tried my hand with the LX3 recently at butterfly macro photography and was pleasantly surprised to get good results even at comparatively low ISOs. Here are some samples.

Flame (Dryas julia); Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800); Aperture: f/2; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 400; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Malachite (Siproeta stelenes); Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250); Aperture: f/2; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 80; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Owl (Caligo memnon); Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160); Aperture: f/2; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 400; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Red Lacewing (Cethosa biblis); Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500); Aperture: f/2; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 400; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Flame (Dryas julia); Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500); Aperture: f/2; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 400; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

See the whole Butterflies LX3 Flickr Set.

Through the Woods; Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125); Aperture: f/2.5; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 80; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

A Promise by the Lakeside; Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640); Aperture: f/4; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 80; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Crossing the Bridge; Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100); Aperture: f/2; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 80; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

The Cabin; Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200); Aperture: f/2.8; Focal Length: 5.1 mm; ISO Speed: 80; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

The Cross; Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500); Aperture: f/3.2; Focal Length: 12.8 mm; ISO Speed: 80; Exposure Bias: 0 EV; Flash: Flash did not fire

Schwarzsee LX3 Flickr Set

      

Leica will soon have its D-Lux-4 on the market. It will have the same lens as LX3 and is very similar to Lumix LX3, in fact - but it will be a bit pricier. These are almost twin sisters.

You may think Canon G9/G10 offer a good competition. They are a bit bricky in my opinion, and I wonder if I can carry a smallish DSLR in their stead. They have more zoom range and some of you will definitely love them.

If you leave out the Leica, the closest comparable camera may be the Ricoh GX200. The GX200 is a fine camera, very close in physical dimensions to LX3, very similar to LX3 in many aspects and even offering 24-72mm zoom range. But the quality of the lens may be better on the LX3. GX200 does not have the shutter priority mode.

Some of you may even say Sigma DP1/DP2 is a better choice!

So, in the dueling sections below, let us know what you think and let it be known to other readers who may be in the market for a camera in this category.

I hope this article has helped you choose a compact camera that won't disappoint in the quality of the pictures it takes and lets you be creative at the same time, all the while being inconspicuous enough for you to be carrying this gem on you all the time.

So carry it inside your jacket pocket and snap a few quality pictures!!

If you liked this article, I welcome you to visit my pages Extreme Macro Photography, Macro Photography of Flowers and Learning Macro Photography with Butterflies as Subjects.

Please kindly leave your comments below.

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