Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 Digital Camera Announced

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 is all about wide.  This successor to the LX1 sports a wide angle lens, a wide format CCD, and a wide LCD.  All that and it looks good too.  The LX2 is a 10.2 megapixel camera and it will be available in September at an MSRP of $499.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 (view large image)

The LX2 also features Panasonic's Intelligent ISO Control.  This technology allows the camera to automatically adjust the ISO (sensitivity) of the camera in order to adjust the shutter speed, as needed, depending on subject movement.  For example, if the camera sees a quickly moving subject, it will increase the ISO (and therefore, the shutter speed) to better capture a quickly moving subject.  With a stationary subject, no ISO boost is needed.

As I mentioned before, the LX2 has "wide" written all over it.  The MEGA OIS stabilized Leica lens has a 4x optical zoom, from 28 - 112mm (35mm equivalent).  The CCD imaging sensor has a 16:9 wide format that can capture 10.2 megapixels.  The 207k pixel screen is 2.8 inches diagonally, also in a 16:9 wide format.

The LX2 also caters to the more advanced photographer by featuring some manual shooting modes, like shutter priority, aperture priority, and full manual.  If you just want easy, stick with the Auto, Program AE and Scene shooting modes.

Images can be recorded on SD, SDHC and MMC memory media.

The lithium-ion battery pack that powers the LX2 is good for an estimated 300 shots per charge.

Full Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 press release and specifications (Word doc)

Nice wide, 2.8 inch LCD (view large image)