Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 review

Panasonic’s snapper tries to combine the best of both worlds – the flexibility of manual exposure options in the small, compact body of a standard point-and-shoot. Can it pull it off?

Pros
Slightly smaller than the Canon G10 and Nikon P6000, the LX3 is a glorious-looking compact with a decidedly retro flavour. But this doesn’t compromise performance, and the maximum f2.0 aperture at the wide end means you can shoot fantastic shots even in low-light situations, not to mention beautiful close-ups with a pleasingly narrow focal depth. Manual controls and RAW shooting should keep the enthusiasts busy, while more amateur snappers can simply flick the settings to auto and use the scene modes to take fantastic JPEG photos with little noise and blazingly bright colours.

Cons
The 2.5x zoom is a touch limited compared to many rivals, and the camera body feels a little less solid than the Nikon P6000 and Canon G10. There’s a removable lens cap, which is a nice retro nod but means more fiddling than is strictly necessary. We’d also have liked to see slightly larger buttons used – fat-fingered photographers may struggle with the Toytown-esque controls.

In summary then…
If you’re looking for a camera that delivers a shedload of options and versatility, excellent photo quality and a compact, easy to carry size, then we’d recommend the DMC-LX3 without question. It can even capture 720p hi-def video! There are one or two things to consider – the 2.5x optical zoom is the main one – but really this is just a great, flexible compact that shoots great pictures and oozes retro style to boot.

Photo quality

Usability

Size

Features

Value

Overall

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