Proudly Present: Panasonic DMC-LX5 premium compact

Panasonic has officially unveiled the DMC-LX5, successor to the popular LX3. The latest model features a revised sensor, longer zoom range and improved control layout without fundamentally changing the existing model's formula. It offers a more flexible 24-90mm equivalent lens with a bright F2.0-3.3 maximum aperture range and a comparatively large 10MP sensor in a small body. The body itself is barely changed compared to the LX3 - gaining an improved hand grip, clickable control dial, direct movie record button and a 1:1 position on the aspect ratio slider. Most significantly it gains a connector to add the DMW-LVF1 electronic viewfinder originally launched with the GF1. Other than this, the LX5 gains the AVCHD Lite format for its 720p video, and its image stabilization is branded with the company's latest 'Power O.I.S' designation. It will be available from the end of August for a suggested retail price of $499.95.

Compared to the LX3:

The 1/1.63" (~0.45cm²) sensor itself has been redesigned and an additional layer of condensing microlenses added to offer increased sensitivity and saturation figures, resulting in an improvement in dynamic range. The user interface has also been revised, with a GF1-style clickable control wheel replacing the LX3's joystick, making it easier to change settings. Most significantly the lens range has been extended to offer a more flexible 24-90mm equivalent range while retaining a bright F2.0-3.3 maximum aperture range (it also matches the LX3's lens brightness over the shared focal length range).

Hands-on impressions:

We were invited to the pre-launch event for the LX5 and were able to spend over a day shooting with the camera. The units were pre-production to allow last-minute changes if any issues became apparent, but already felt very finished. First impressions are that Panasonic has gently revised the camera - improving the grip and applying the handling lessons they've learned from the GF1. As before the external aspect ratio switch encourages use of this feature (along with the knowledge that the pixel count won't be excessively reduced by doing so). Movie mode has been tweaked, now offering manual control of shutter speed and aperture, along with the ability to zoom during movie creation.

It's the addition of the click wheel and theGF1-style handling that was most striking or, more accurately, wasn't - I spent around twelve hours shooting with the LX5 without particularly noticing the user interface. The loss of the joystick meant I found the 'quick menu' slightly less quick to use but this was more than made up for by the ability to change aperture or exposure compensation without shifting my hands out of the shooting position. Based on what I know of the LX3 and what I've seen of the LX5, it will be a difficult camera to get near, when a production example becomes available.

Here's a SNEAK Preview!

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