Recently I acquired a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 digital camera (birthday present to myself). This camera is a high quality device disguised as a compact point-and-shoot.

When I’m backpacking, I’m often in the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever experienced and strongly wish I had my DSLR along, but I’m not going to haul it for long trips. So a few months ago I started looking for a ‘professional’ compact (meaning flexibility via manual controls) with a good wide lens. Not surprisingly, the market for this type of camera is pretty small – someone who cares that much about the lens and control is probably going to go for an SLR (especially at that price point) – and choices are somewhat limited. But us backpackers – well, we’re really good and compromising and balancing function, weight, price, and convenience, and a small camera that’s going to get me as close to the SLR quality and experience as possible is something I’m willing to spend some $$ and research time on.

What originally drew me to the LX3 was the Leica 24mm Ultra Wide Angle lens (35mm film eq of 24-60mm). Its 16:9 aspect ratio is wonderful for those wide, sweeping mountain views. A little switch on the lens allows for a quick toggle to a 4:3 or 3:2 aspect ratio. Additionally, this camera offers the full range of manual controls offered in a high-end compact, as well as the standard collection of scene modes.

I received the camera last week while riding out the flu, so I didn’t do much right away. Upon first removing it from the box the most noticeable feature is the weight – it’s quite hefty – you can tell there is some real glass in this thing. It’s not as tiny as many compact point-and-shoots are these days, but it is certainly far smaller than my DLSR. Initially, I didn’t really like the feel of the camera in my hands – the way that it balanced didn’t feel very good. I’m a Nikon girl and am used to the large comfortable rubberized grip for my right hand – the LX3 has a barely-there bump.

Once recovered from the flu I took the LX3 out on its first test drive. The location was Monte Bello Open Space preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Destination: Black Mountain. The forecast was for some clouds in the morning clearing to a sunny day, and I wanted to try out that wide angle from I place I knew to have sweeping views. As I took off from the parking lot I wasn’t feeling very confident in the forecast. In fact, the clouds got thicker and it started to drizzle. I had only played with the camera for a few minutes before having to put it away.

Even in those few snapshots, the LX3 was already growing on me. I’m not one to read manuals unless I need to, and I will admit that I haven’t even cracked open the manual for the LX3. In those few snapshots, I was able to easily navigate around the camera to find various film modes, exposure compensation, aperture priority and shutter priority settings, and more. Understanding the menus is very intuitive and it took me no time at all to find what I was looking for.

The sun never bothered to come out and I summited Black Mountain in a rain cloud with about 20 feet of visibility. Rather disappointed in my inability to really play with my new toy due to the rain, instead I decided to explore a trail that I hadn’t been down before and take the longer route back to the trailhead. Shortly after making my turn, the drizzle stopped so I was able to pull out the LX3 again, and it was along this trail that I became a huge fan of my new camera.

The LX3 has extraordinary dynamic range. The trail I was on was deep in a lush green canyon surrounded by moss covered maple, oak, and bay trees. As the sun started to come out, the color of the fallen leaves, green ferns, and trees was brilliant, but as any photographer knows, these are difficult conditions to shoot in – lots of shadow with bright patches to throw off the metering.

I decided to not tinker with the settings and see what the camera would decide to do on its own. It’s important to get a ‘feel’ for cameras – to know how it makes decisions when you’re not using it in a completely manual way – so I thought it would be good to stop playing with everything and let the camera do its own thing in Program mode. I was ecstatically happy with the results. The dynamic range that the camera was able to capture in this shadowy canyon was amazing, and the quality of the photos look like they were taken with my DSLR, not a compact little camera. All in all, a successful first outing with the LX3.

Obviously, my first impressions are quite positive. I’m getting used to the feel of the camera in my hands – towards the end of the hike I was getting used to it and I don’t think it will bother me any more.

The only nitpick I have thus far is that there is no view finder. I like to frame my photos via viewfinder, even in compact cameras, so not having one will take some getting used to. However, the 3″ LCD is very good and I was able to see and frame shots clearly even in sunlight. I really look forward to getting this camera out on some more hikes and backpacks. I’m off to the desert for a week, and although I’m hauling along all of my SLR gear, I’ve tucked the LX3 into my bag with the intention of taking some comparison shots.

Monte Bello Open Space (11.14.2009)

27 photos