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In this summer, carrying a DSLR is certainly a lot of toil (literally!) Hmm, the 10.1 mega-pixel LX3 feels sturdy and has a DSLR-like operation, can it help shed a few hundred grams from my bag? I am just as eager to find out as you are.

The package comes with a battery and a charger, a cap and a strap for it, 1 AV cable and a USB cable, a manual and CD-ROM. More heart-touching is the battery carrying case and a shoulder strap. Except a camera case, the package has all the accessories you will ever need.


The small hand grip is a trade-off of comfort for portability. I had to use both of my hands to get a stable shot.


It has a Leica lens! Highlight include: super wide 24mm end, 2.5X zoom to 60mm, large aperture across the range and the well-acclaimed VARIO-SUMMICRON design. Vignetting and distortion is kept to a minimum with a lot of sharpness. Two thumbs up for the lens!


Ouch! The pop-up flash hurt my finger several times because of the proximity between the flash and the button. If the built-in flash is not powerful enough, the camera has a hot shoe for an external TTL flash (optional). Panasonic has two models of external flash for purchase, both of them have the cool LUMIX label to match the LX3 design. The dial has C1 and C2 positions for saving your most common settings. The joystick is a brilliant design which allows users to change the exposure settings in P, A, S or M mode just by flipping the joystick. On top of the lens barrel is the switch for changing the aspect ratios of images without diving into the menus.


The zoom rocker feels a bit flimsy, but it doesn’t hinder operation one bit. Pressing the focus button allows you to control the focus point by moving the joystick.


This camera has a professional look and the moving parts (lens, flash) do not wobble easily. There is an extremely handy AF-Marco AF-MF switch on the left side of the barrel.


The camera produces a magnification in the centre of the image to make manual focus a lot easier.


In the menu, you may select one of the 7 modes of Auto Focus including Face Detection, Multi-area, 1-Area High-speed, 1-area AF, Spot AF, and Continuous AF. The menu is well-organized and all the common settings (white balance, ISO, Metering and AF…) are consolidated in one tab.


For image stabilization, LX3 uses Panasonic-brewed Mega O.I.S. This is the lens-shift type stabilization, not the more common CCD-Shift type developed by Minolta. Despite the drastic difference in how the two anti-shake technology works, the actual results are similar and both are great.
The multi-exposure mode allows you to “stack” up to 3 images onto the same frame. This task normally requires software like Photoshop to produce with an ordinary camera. The LX3 simplifies the process (considerably, I must say) by guiding the user step-by-step and optimizing the exposure.


We put a few unmodified (except resizing) sample shots to demonstrate the prowess of the LX3. This shot is taken in the multi-exposure mode, note how beautiful the effect is.


This marco shot is razor-sharp and is most noticeable in the eyes of the yellow toy.


Another marco shot, the texture is again very clear, but there is not much blurring effect in the out-of-focus area due to the physical length of the lens.


It is a great camera with DSLR-like operation and photo quality. The only regret is the very short tele-end of 60mm, which seriously limit the LX3’s application to landscape photography and perhaps some occasional portraits. However, the impeccable photo quality will fight back all your misgivings. Isn’t it?

“Which will be the wide-angle champion?” Both cameras have a reputable family history (the GX100 and LX2) and the rare 24mm wide-angle coverage. As mentioned in the LX3 review, the difference between lens-shift and CCD-shift stabilization is not significant, especially in wide angle cameras.


The cameras have about the same size with Ricoh being the wider but thinner and lighter one. The LX3 is located on the left side of the body, so the optional optical viewfinder can be used with the pop-up flash. The GX200’s flash is located in the center and may be obstructed by the electronic viewfinder if the VF is tilted vertically.


The lens battle is fought between Leica (on the LX3) and Ricoh. The Leica VARIO-SUMMICRON brutally beats the Ricoh Zoom lens in sharpness and maximum aperture. The LX3 has a maximum aperture of f/2 - f/2.8, compared to GX200’s f/2.5 to f/4.4. The Ricoh zooms lens has a longer tele-end though (72mm vs 60mm), so it has more versatility.


It is hard to decide which camera is more convenient to operate. The GX200 has two dials for quickly changing settings in manual mode with two fingers while the LX3 has an intelligent joystick design that allows me to change settings in PASM mode intuitively with my thumb. Both cameras allow users to save settings and customize buttons, but only the LX3 has switches to change focus mode and aspect ratio. The LX3 is next to impossible to operate with one hand while the GX200 was designed ground-up to do just that (that’s what we call an irony).


The LX3 has a considerably bigger and better-looking LCD but it doesn’t support an electronic VF (only the optional optical one).


So, which camera is better? There is no answer to that and it all depends on your application. The LX3 may have better picture quality thanks to Leica lens’ sharpness and better noise control, but this is not everything. First, the difference is not visible unless you do a direct, full-size comparison. Second, the GX200 has a longer zoom range and takes AAA battery. The electronic VF also allows for right-angle framing, which is especially useful if the object is below eye level. 

Another Sample Pictures of Panasonic LX3 Marco

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Full Size