Panasonic Review of the Panasonic LX7 up on my blog

Did you find that there was lens distortion in the LX7? I had some in my LX5.

Certainly but not obnoxiously. So easy to correct nowadays and I don't generally care too much unless a shot has long straight lines close to the edge... And sometimes not even then, lol.

How did you like your LX5?
 
Nice review :) I spent a lot of time trying to decide whether to go for the LX5 or the Samsung EX1, ended up going for the latter because of its rotating screen, but still every now and then I think about the LX series, and some of the LX7 shots recently posted here really impressed me. The difference between the EX1 and the LX7 isn't great enough to justify getting one though.
 
Nice review :) I spent a lot of time trying to decide whether to go for the LX5 or the Samsung EX1, ended up going for the latter because of its rotating screen, but still every now and then I think about the LX series, and some of the LX7 shots recently posted here really impressed me. The difference between the EX1 and the LX7 isn't great enough to justify getting one though.

It is in fact a very competitve market and in most cases if you look at like DXOMark scores there often isn't much difference in imaging ability. It really comes down to what things about a camera really work for one personally.

I would bet there are quite a number of cameras I could have written an enthusiastic review about. For me the f/1.4 lens really clinched it for the Panasonic since I shoot a lot in darker places.

Thanks for bothering to read it and your nice comments!
 
Here's an example of lens distortion that I got on my LX5, see the girl's face near the lower left hand corner:

5359397042_95f954fe43_z.jpg

That to me looks pretty typical for any really wide angle lens. Generally things towards the edges get stretched/pinched somewhat unnaturally. Most lenses at 24mm and wider would tend to do that sort of thing I do believe and your LX5 looks pretty normal to me.
 
That to me looks pretty typical for any really wide angle lens. Generally things towards the edges get stretched/pinched somewhat unnaturally. Most lenses at 24mm and wider would tend to do that sort of thing I do believe and your LX5 looks pretty normal to me.

Indeed, particularly when you're shooting in 16:9, which makes that 24mm lens closer to a 21 (in 4:3) in terms of the width of view. Any human form close to the edge in a shot like that is gonna look a little off, no matter how good the lens. I did a couple of shots with the new Fuji 14 (21mm FOV) where a subject was too close to both me and the edge of the frame and there's definitely some funhouse mirror stuff going on there.

John, nice succinct review. I couldn't agree with its general tenor more. You use the camera very differently than I do but it obviously accommodates us both very well. And my reaction is the same in terms of the incredible array of external controls and the way the user can just flow with the camera. Its as close to transparent in use as any camera I've owned and yet is far more versatile than most. I remember when I'd been shooting with the LX5 for a while, a couple of years ago, concluding that it was far more capable than any of the great film cameras I used back in the day in every respect except for narrow DOF, which is just a reality of physics with small sensors and the lenses that love them... And the LX7 is better, slightly in terms of image quality, significantly in terms of interface - and the LX5 had a GREAT interface.

Two things - the lens cap is a bit of a hassle, but there are very good exploding lens caps available for $20 or less that solve that problem. Here's one - they're all about the same:

Amazon.com: Auto Lens Cap for PANASONIC LUMIX DMC LX7 LX-7, LEICA D-LUX 6 + MagicFiber Microfiber Lens Cleaning Cloth: Camera & Photo

And lens flare as a NEGATIVE???

It's a FEATURE, not a bug! :D

View attachment 66300
Baltimore-109-Edit by ramboorider1, on Flickr

View attachment 66301
Baltimore-43-Edit by ramboorider1, on Flickr

-Ray
 
Ray, in your hands, lens flare is indeed a FEATURE!!! I love those shots of yours.

But the photos I had, the flare was a great hazy blob of light around windows and such... not attractive at all, lol.

OH, and I don't care about the lens cap at all. I'm going to keep the factory one. I've been fiddling with lens caps for decades and I'm okay with that, lol.
 
Yes, this is nothing compared to distortion of my Nex 16mm pancake :)

Entropic, interesting review of LX, along with inspiring photography. Thanks.

I had a NEX and the pancake also so I know of what you speak, lol. I had some fun with that lens though -- I had the wide and fisheye converters for it and enjoyed it. The NEX-5 was just too "fiddly" to control for my way of working and so I ended up in micro four thirds (and now the LX7 also).

Thanks for the comment!
 
Nice practical review - more of an editorial on the LX7, even. Fantastic photos & processing, they'd make a good advertisement for the LX7!

lol! Thanks, Chris. The "editorial" part made me laugh as I have had my tendency towards "strong opinions" pointed out more than once in my lifetime!
 
That to me looks pretty typical for any really wide angle lens. Generally things towards the edges get stretched/pinched somewhat unnaturally. Most lenses at 24mm and wider would tend to do that sort of thing I do believe and your LX5 looks pretty normal to me.

I've never noticed it to this extent before on other wide angle lenses. I'll have to keep an eye out, thanks.
 
I agree with your assessment, John. The LX5 did a generally poor job with JPGs, but the LX7 really turned it around.

Thank you, Chris. I never shot an LX5 but the iAuto did a surprisingly good job. It couldn't figure out the right white balance in some of the mixed light shots, but it wasn't extreme and it was easy to fix. Overall the shots even before I trimmed them weren't awful at all. I guess every generation of the Venus engines gets a little better.
 
Back
Top