Panasonic Considering getting a Panasonic LX10/LX15

davidzvi

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David
I have been considering getting a smaller 1" pocket camera. Since I have the GX85 already I'm leaning toward the LX10 over an RX100 (III/IV). At least the controls, settings, etc would be the same/similar.

Just found out it doesn't have L.Monochrone, I wish it did. Any reasons I shouldn't get an LX10 and should get one of the RX100's?

The V is out of the price range and I'm not really bothered about not having the EVF, I don't have one on my X70 and only rarely use the EVF on my GX85.
 
If you don't care about an EVF, I think that the LX10 is otherwise a very good choice if size is the most important thing. I'd try to handle the camera first if I were you: though; I found it to be extremely slippery even though the shape of the "grip" looks nice - it's even worse than the latest 1" TZ/ZS series cameras because it's slimmer. That said, the RX100 series is not much better in that regard.

There's also another point I'd check thoroughly first: From what I've read, the LX10's startup time is *very* slow - if you found the LX100 sluggish (I'm not sure if you did), this'll probably feel worse.

Anyway, have you considered the Canon G7X II? The lens gets mixed reviews, but I still find that camera the most well-rounded offer in 1" pocketable land - it handles quite well for its size, feels more secure in the hand, and even if the 100mm setting is a bit softer than one might wish for, it's useful to have, especially since it's f/2.8 ...

Anyhow, the LX10 has a lot going for it, and I can see why you'd pick it over the Sony or Canon offerings.

M.
 
If you don't care about an EVF, I think that the LX10 is otherwise a very good choice if size is the most important thing. I'd try to handle the camera first if I were you: though; I found it to be extremely slippery even though the shape of the "grip" looks nice - it's even worse than the latest 1" TZ/ZS series cameras because it's slimmer. That said, the RX100 series is not much better in that regard.

There's also another point I'd check thoroughly first: From what I've read, the LX10's startup time is *very* slow - if you found the LX100 sluggish (I'm not sure if you did), this'll probably feel worse.

Anyway, have you considered the Canon G7X II? The lens gets mixed reviews, but I still find that camera the most well-rounded offer in 1" pocketable land - it handles quite well for its size, feels more secure in the hand, and even if the 100mm setting is a bit softer than one might wish for, it's useful to have, especially since it's f/2.8 ...

Anyhow, the LX10 has a lot going for it, and I can see why you'd pick it over the Sony or Canon offerings.

M.
Yes I did find the LX100 a bit slow, it's one of the reasons I'm hesitating. It also has me debating selling off my X70. I enjoyed using it on my vacation to Portland and Seattle last year. The combination of the wide converter and Digital TC worked well enough. But my GX85 + 7-14 & 12-32 probably would have worked just as well and fit in the same sized bag.

For either the Panasonic or Sony I'd add one of the rubber grips. There's a guy on DPR that has an LX and modified the Rubber RX grip to cover the excuse of a grip the LX has.

Yes the Canon's 100mm might be handy but the softer lens and an easy add on grip will probably even out most of the handling issues.
Have you seen the new Lumix TZ200...?

1” 20.1MP sensor, 24-360mm zoom, 5 axis hybrid OIS, tilting touch screen, EVF, 4K 30p...
One of my biggest concerns about getting any of these is the power zoom, a super power zoom probably wouldn't be a good idea. Also the it's only touch, not tilting touch. But the grp does look a little better.
 
Oh well, thats about it then. If you get an RX, one of the flipbac stickon grips might suit. They dont add weight, and barely any bulk. I have them stuck on my Nikon1s and my Olympus XZ-1.

Camera Grips - FLIPBAC INNOVATIONS
I've looked at used one of the FlipBac grips before. The guy on DPR used the Sony grip because of the curve so it wraps around a little since he also trimmed the flat portion.

Here's images how he has it positioned and trimmed.
Re: Consider getting a 1/2 case for the LX10/LX15: Panasonic Compact Camera Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review
 
Yeah I wondered what I would do if I got an LX or the TZ110 which I wanted at one stage... and decided I would be hunting down some kind of adhesive wrap rather than anything bulky like that. Theres a bit of a grip and its main issue is being slippery from what I can see. My TZ60 has a really annoying rubber bump, you couldnt call it a grip, but slippery it is not. If I were ever to buy a Sony RX something, I'd be using the spare flipbac I have.
 
I've churned a few of these little bodies; RX100 I, GM1, GM5 - twice :oops:. I've use a FlipBac, two Sony and a Franiec grip. I'd say the Franiec was the best with the Sony's a close second. The difference between those two and the FlipBac really was the curve around the edge of the body. The design allowed for it to mount further to the edge of the body and retain enough surface area to ensure they stay in place.
 
Since you're selling a GM5 right now, I'm guessing that you bought one and it didn't meet your desires. I bought a LX10 last week and have made a lot of comparisons with the GM1 + 12-32, so if you're still thinking about the LX10, here's some user input.

Compared with the GM1/5, the LX10 is slimmer but heavier. The flip screen is a real boon and cannot be underestimated, especially if you want to shoot from low angles. Startup time is no way near as bad as some have made out, lens extending and ready to go in just a couple of seconds. The electronic shutter doesn't have a lot of the flicker issues with artificial light, and the mechanical shutter goes much faster than the GM1.

My issue with the LX10 is image quality. The third is very sharp, but this is not the case with the outer thirds, which a annoyingly blurry. Details like text in the outer thirds have a doubled effect, unlike any other camera I've used in this quality tier. Barrel distortion in the raw files is also very noticeable if you use a program like Raw Therapee which does not automatically correct from embedded lens data. In good light, the GM1 with 12-32 produces sharper and richer images than the LX10.

But the LX10 can shoot at much lower ISO's in low light thanks to the wide aperture, and the lens retracts to create a much smaller footprint. The flipscreen is great and operation is very snappy. Video quality is better than the GM1 in a number of ways, and it has very good in body stabilization.
 
Oh! That's kind of funny. The things stopping me from fully embracing the Ricoh GR as a full everyday camera is the lack of decent video quality, and that I can't quite get the colours to my liking in raw, even after all these years. I haven't used a Fuji X70 but I'm curious about it.

The GM cameras are some of my favourites because of the tiny bodies and ability to use the excellent Olympus primes. They don't quite have the dynamic range or colour tonal variation of an aps-c sensor but I really like their output. The LX10 is a mixed bag for me, seemingly best suited to low light, middle or close distance images rather than anything long distance or wide angle. Definitely not a landscape camera, more a social/snapshot/pocket video camera.
 
Resurrecting an old thread. I recently bought an LX10 on sale from Amazon. I was looking for a compact pocketable camera and had ruled out trying to get a GM5 with a 12-32. I'm getting used to using the LX10, but so far am favorably impressed. I agree about the laughably named front grip. It has such a slippery body. I got some CatTongue grip strips, which helps, but found a larger stick on grip from Engineer on the Prairie on Etsy and ordered it. Will get it soon. Having fun with it.
 
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