Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 Digital Camera Preview

There are quite a few compact/ultra-compact digital cameras that claim to be genuine photographic tools, but very few that really offer users anything near the level of creative control that most serious photographers demand.  The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 (with one glaring exception) may be the exception to the rule.  We'll be publishing our full review of the LX2 very soon.

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The LX2 is a ultra-compact 10 megapixel digital camera that reminds me of the elegant little Leica/Minolta CL/CLE rangefinder series from the 70's and 80's.  Like the CL/CLE film cameras, Panasonic's diminutive LX2 rewards savvy consumers with a very impressive combination of compact size and innovative design, a full slate of easily accessible automatic and manual controls, impressive ease of use, robust performance, and superb optics all shoehorned into a stylish retro-look metal alloy body that's small enough to be dropped in a shirt pocket and tough enough to be taken just about anywhere. 

The LX2 also incorporates the same Mega OIS optical image stabilization (IS) system as Panasonic's larger digital cameras.  Clearly, this digicam was designed for serious photographers as an alternative to carrying around a bulky (and seriously un-pocketable) digital SLR, full time. I do wonder why Panasonic designed such an elegant, feature rich, and super functional digital camera and then hobbled users by not including an optical viewfinder.

Sample Images

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