Panasonic LX5 is successor to Panasonic LX3. First of all, the naming of the product is quite weird because it skips LX4. Because of it, I assume that LX5 will be a lot better than LX3, but the improvement is not revolutionary. However, Panasonic has been listened to critics and improve some crucial area, such as ergonomic/handling, and lens zoom range.
Here are a few improvement from LX3:
- New lens with longer focal length, 24-90mm instead of 24-60mm. This is useful for travel and portraits.
- New lens is less prone to flare and ghosting. Check out image sample comparison from CNET Asia.
- Panasonic LX5 also has new processor which help improving camera performance and dynamic range. According to my observation, the new processor cleans out noise by blurring the image in high sensitivity setting (ISO 800 and above). check out image samples and ISO comparison.
- Another important improvement is the user interface and ergonomic. Many hates LX3’s tiny joystick especially people with larger fingers. LX5 uses jog dial similar to Panasonic GF1, add a dedicated movie recording button like Panasonic G2, and make the grip more comfortable to handle.
- Other less significant improvements are extended battery life from 380 shots to 400 shots.
Recommendation:
If you don’t have a camera right now, getting LX5 might be better than LX3. However, if you own LX3, it might give only a bit of improvement in term of image quality. If you need a camera that produce better quality image especially in low light condition, consider camera with bigger sensor such as Panasonic GF1.
Image table comparison:
| Panasonic LX5 | Panasonic LX3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Image | 10 MP / 1.63″ CCD sensor | 10 MP / 1.63″ CCD sensor |
| Lens | 24-90mm F/2-3.3 OIS | 24-60mm F/2-2.8 OIS |
| LCD | 3 inch 460k resolution | 3 inch 460k resolution |
| Dimension/weight | 109.7 x 65.5 x 43.0 mm / excluding protrusions: 25.5 mm / 271g (0.61 lb) with Battery and SD Memory Card | 108.7 x 59.5 x 27.1 mm / Approx. 265 g |
| Other | Extended battery life up to 400 shots, new Venus FHD processor | battery life 380 shots, Venus Engine IV |
| Closest focusing distance | 1 cm | 1 cm |
| ISO | up to 3200, expansion up to 12800 with reduced image resolution. very good up to 400 | up to 3200, very good up to 400 |
| Movie recording | HD 1,280 x 720 pixels, @ 30fps, AVCHD Lite for easy TV viewing | HD 1,280 x 720 pixels, @ 30fps |
| Continuous shooting | Full resolution at 2.5 fps | Full resolution at 2.5 fps |
| Handling/Control | improved grip, jog-push dial, 1:1aspect switch, dedicated movie recording button | multi-way mini push joystick |
| Price | $499 | $400 |
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Panasonic LX5 vs Panasonic LX3 http://bit.ly/bi4cyP
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
In the oriental culture especially Chinese and Japanese, they didn’t like number 4.
Number 4 pronounce in chinese similiar as ‘dead’… So they try avoid/forbid the unpleasant number which would bring a disaster…
So, they have canon 1D, 5D, 7D , but you cannot find canon 4D on the market
Even not a 3D or a 2D