The Panasonic DMC LX2 is a ten megapixel camera. It should be noted that the full ten megapixels are only available when you are using the wide resolution. Using more standard resolutions decreases the number of megapixels available. Other resolutions include a 3:2 setting. This fits photos perfectly onto a 6 x 4" print. Roughly eight megapixels are available in this mode. If you choose a 4:3 resolution roughly seven megapixels are available.

The DMC LX2 has a four times optical zoom lens. The lens has a focal length equivalent to 28-112mm in 35mm format. This makes it a wide angle lens and can therefore squeeze wider scenes into a shot.

Image stabilisation is available as is a 4x digital zoom feature.

You can appear in the photo yourself by using the self timer. This has a two or ten second delay.

Different effects can be added to your photos by using the colour settings. These are for cool, warm, black and white and sepia. You can also adjust contrast, sharpness and saturation levels. If you like the idea of controlling these levels more precisely using image manipulation software there is a RAW mode available to you.

While taking a photo you can capture up to five seconds of sound. You can also add ten seconds of commentary after a picture has been taken.

For close up photography the DMC LX2 can get in as close as 5cm. Manual focusing is also available.

The 2.8 inch LCD screen is made up of around 207,000 pixels. I found the screen very easy to see in most situations. It also has a special high angle mode. This makes it easier to see the LCD screen when you need to hold the camera above eye level, perhaps to take a photo over a crowd of people.

The flash unit pops up, reducing the chance of red eye in indoor portraits. The maximum range of the flash unit is 4.9m. This falls to 2.2m when the zoom lens is in use. The flash modes are: Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction and Forced On/Off.

There are a number of different preprogrammed scenes you can select. These are: Portrait, Soft Skin, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Self-Portrait, Food, Party, Candle, Fireworks, Starry Sky, Beach, Aerial photo, Snow, High Sensitivity, Baby1 and Baby2. When you select a specific scene the DMC LX2 will use what it considers to be the optimum settings for the photo.

Movies with sound, up to 2GB in size can be recorded. There is a special setting for widescreen televisions (848 x 480 pixels). The top speed for recording is 30 frames per second. Zoom can only be used before recording commences and not while shooting is in progress.

The most important point for many photographers is that fact that there are manual exposure, aperture priority and shutter priority settings. Shutter speeds can be set in the range 60 - 1/2000 seconds (manual) and 8 - 1/2000 seconds (automatic). The aperture range is Wide: F2.8 - F8.0 and Tele: F4.9 - F8.0.

A burst mode allows you to capture up to five shots at a maximum rate of two frames per second. There is also a continuous shooting setting. This allows you to keep shooting until the memory card is full, but at a slower rate.

Flip animation is a new feature to me. This allows you to take a number of still shots and then create a short movie from them.

Other more standard features include ISO (Auto, I.ISO, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 (High Sensitivity Mode : 3200)), white balance (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen, Flash, White Set1/2, White Balance Adjustment ( 150K step, -1500 - +1500 K) (except for auto WB)), exposure compensation (1/3 EV step, -2 - +2 EV), auto bracketing (+/- 1/3 EV -1EV step, 3 frames) and metering (Intelligent Multiple/ Center Weighted/ Spot).

The DMC LX2 can be connected to a television set, computer and compatible printer. Panasonic supplies all the necessary cables and software. Panasonic DMC LX2

Description:	10 megapixels and a 4x zoom lens
Ease of Use:	8
Features:	9
Colour:	7
Macro:	8
Indoors:	9
Value for Money:	8
Style:	8
Movie Mode:	8
Image Quality:	8
Build Quality:	8
Total:	81
Verdict:	The Panasonic DMC LX2 is an advanced digital camera with ten megapixels and a wide angle lens. It has many features you would expect to find on a digital SLR. On the whole the camera performed well in my tests. In fact it was outstanding in lowlight.
Review Date:	May 2007
Related Pages:	Panasonic DMC LX2 Specification Panasonic DMC LX2 Sample Images Panasonic DMC LX2 Features

Camera	Rating
Canon Powershot G10	91
Nikon Coolpix P6000	89

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Panasonic DMC LX2