The Panasonic DMC LX3 has the widest angle lens available on a compact digital camera. This is ideal if you are interested in landscape photography. The lens offers 2.5x optical zoom, but this can be increased to a maximum of 4.5x if you shoot at lower resolutions. The DMC LX3 can also shoot HD quality movies. It also has a full selection of manual features giving you great control over your photos. The maximum aperture of F/2 is the widest currently available on a compact digital camera and gives you the opportunity to use fast shutter speeds.

The DMC LX3 is suited to someone looking for a smaller camera with a wide range of features. Picture quality is very good indeed. One of the biggest factors in deciding if this is the camera for you is whether or not you take a lot of photos that would benefit from such a wide angled lens.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
There are a number of plus points in this picture. To start with sharpness is comfortably above average. The level of sharpness is maintained as you move out towards the edges too. I like the colours in this picture and they appear as a fair reflection of the scene on the day. Any glare from the sun and reflection from the boats and other bright areas are also coped with impressively by the DMC LX3.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
Sharpness is far better than I am used to seeing, especially from a camera with a wide angle lens. My thoughts are that as Panasonic have kept zoom down to 2.5x they have gone for lens quality rather than extra zoom at the expense of focusing. The colours in this shot are strong.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
With the lens fully zoomed in sharpness is once again some way above what I am used to seeing. With only 2.5x zoom you may struggle to zoom in from distance and this is worth taking into account when considering whether or not the DMC LX3 is right for you.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
Overall this camera has to rate between 9 and 10 out of 10 for focusing. It outperforms the vast majority of cameras on the market. This helps to give a real edge to the photos and helps to contribute to outstanding picture quality.

Outdoor Portrait
There is plenty of detail in this shot. Moving in closer does not present any problems to the camera. Colours are vivid.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
The face is illuminated by the light of the flash, but there is a darker corner in the photo. The pink in the skin tones is very strong.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
Without flash the skin tones take on a more natural look. There is a small amount of noise in the shot. This is roughly in line with my expectations.

Colours
The colours produced by this Panasonic digital cameras are stronger than I'm used to seeing. If this is a problem for you, you can adjust the levels of saturation.

Macro
This is another photo that works well. This is a high quality lens and it is well suited to close up work.

ISO 400 and ISO 1600
Noise shows up quite clearly, even at lower ISO settings. I wouldn't like to go any higher than ISO 800 in any situation.

Overall
All in all the DMC LX3 produced an impressive set of photos. Sharpness and definition is someway above average.

Shutter lag times are all standard. A single photo took 0.36 seconds and five took 9.57 seconds. With flash turned on times increased to 0.53 seconds for one picture and 11.19 seconds for five.

To turn the camera on and take the first shot took 2.65 seconds.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

This is quite a wide digital camera. It has a feel of good quality about it. Panasonic has added a joystick to control various features including manual focusing.

108.7 x 59.5 x 27.1mm

265g

Lithium ion. Panasonic estimates you should be able to take up to 380 shots in between charges. A battery and charger is supplied as standard.

According to the specification Panasonic has built 50mb of storage into the DMC LX3. I was able to take 10 photos before the memory was full. The camera is also compatible with SD and SDHC cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards..

Good. There are plenty of features crammed into the DMC LX3, so it will take a while to get used to the camera and find out where everything is. Overall I think Panasonic have done well with the design of the camera to make it easy to use.

HD movies - features - design - picture quality

None that I can come up with

There are limited choices when it comes to selecting highly advanced compact digital cameras. Another one I think very highly of is the Canonm Powershot G10.

The Panasonic DMC LX3 gives you that bit of extra all round quality. It compares well with other cameras in its niche. Panasonic have included some nice touches in the design. If you are looking for a camera with an ultra wide angle lens then this is a very good choice.

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Front View

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Back View

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Top View

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Sample Menus

Description:	10 megapixels 2.5x optical zoom
Ease of Use:	8
Features:	9
Colour:	8
Macro:	9
Indoors:	9
Value for Money:	8
Style:	9
Movie Mode:	9
Image Quality:	9
Build Quality:	9
Total:	87
Verdict:	Panasonic have put together an impressive mix of picture quality and features. I also like the design and build quality of the DMC LX3. This is a serious digital camera and is well worth close inspection.
Review Date:	February 2009
Related Pages:	Panasonic DMC LX3 Specification Panasonic DMC LX3 Sample Images Panasonic DMC LX3 Features

	GBP 297.75
	GBP 303.00
	GBP 319.95
	GBP 324
	GBP 349.00
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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 LX3