Panasonic DMC-LX7 preview

I'm on the fence regarding the LX7... will there be a wide angle adapter for it? Not listed on the Panny LX7 page. I'm quite happy with my LX5, and dropping $500 on the LX7 is :eek:
 
I think we really need to wait and see once the camera is released and once there's raw support for both the RX100 and the LX7. The jpegs that have been used in various review comparisons are not close - the RX100 jpegs are better across the board and at higher ISO its not even remotely close. There wasn't a lot of difference between the LX5 and LX7 jpegs really.

BUT....

I saw a post on DPR from a guy who'd figured out how to fool Lightroom into processing the LX7 raw files - I think by relabeling them as LX5, but given the difference in sensor type I can't see how that would work?. Legit or not, the results were pretty impressive. Still not quite as good as the RX100 jpegs, but pretty close. And with the notably faster lens as you move through the zoom range, very possibly close enough to more or less equal the results at most focal lengths. He showed a processed 3200 shot that looked quite good and a 6400 shot that wasn't particularly horrible. And the lens appears to be sharper across the whole image. Then again, who knows how good the RX100 raws will be? How much better than the jpegs CAN they be? As impressed as I am with the RX100, there's still an awful lot I'd prefer about the LX7 if the images are good enough. If the reports are encouraging enough, I'll probably buy an LX7 once there's raw support for both, shoot with both for a few days, and then either return the LX7 or sell the RX100. I'm skeptical but open to the possibilities...

Everything else about the LX7 makes me drool, from the wider zoom range to the multi-aspect sensor to the size to the controls to the ability to use an EVF when the situation calls for it.... But if the images don't measure up or NEARLY measure up....

-Ray
 
it's a CMOS sensor, so maybe they just bought an off the rack sensor from Sony instead of making their own. with the variable aspect ratio trick, it makes the actually used part of the sensor smaller than for instance the S100 or EX2F's 1/1.7" type sensors.
 
Hmm, near the bottom of the LX7 product page, I noticed:

lx7 screencap.jpg


Hopefully this implication is accurate, and there will indeed be a wide angle adapter for the LX7.
 
Yeah, the sensor is smaller, but its CMOS instead of CCD, and probably had to be to work with the notably faster lens, given that they had to make the body slightly larger. The preliminary comparisons is that the jpegs from the smaller sensor are similar to those from the LX-5, maybe slightly better, not not significantly. But I've seen one piece of anecdotal evidence that the raw files may be significantly better, at least in terms of high ISO. I know some people find CMOS sensors to be noisier at low ISO than CCD, but I have yet to have a problem with the amount of noise in a low ISO shot, so I'm not concerned about that. I saw a processed raw file taken at ISO 3200 that looked a good deal better than the jpegs, so there's hope.

One other thing not mentioned is the additional control lever/rocker on the back of the body. It controls the ND filter and some of the focus functions, like AF spot position and, more important for me, the focus distance when using manual focus. Between that and the aperture ring on the lens, that means I'd almost never have to click between functions on the click wheel that Panasonic uses as its primary controller. That shouldn't be a big deal, but I used to get confused about which function I had the wheel set to control way too often with the LX5. With the LX7, it would always just be exposure compensation except when I specifically arm it to do something different, like change ISO, at which point it would automatically return to exposure comp. That's actually really big to me, probably a non-issue to a lot of folks, but that's the kind of thing that can make a camera far more enjoyable to use for me. So I remain cautiously interested even though I bought the RX100.

-Ray
 

"To put it in perspective, the 1/1.63-in sensor size has close to 20 per cent less surface area than the 1/1.7-in version found in the LX5. But it’s still a larger-than-average sensor, and the 10-megapixel count is conservative, which avoids too many "pixels" getting crammed on to the sensor’s surface."

Not only did the author mess up the sensor size re: each camera, he messed up with his math, too... :rofl:
 
yes, he confuses the sensors and the cameras which have them, but the 20% smaller figure is correct.
one other point though: the reviewer says the 24mm f/1.4 lens is unrivalled in the class, but the Samsung EX2F has exactly the same wide angle and f-number...

this
If manual focus is your weapon of choice then, sadly, there’s no lens focus ring. Instead the rear ND/Focus dial - which is nudged left or right and can be held in position - deals with focus control. A focus assist feature zooms in on the screen to actual size, while a focus-distance measure shows not only where focus lies in a feet/metres scale but also the depth of field dependent on the aperture selected. A manual focus override option even means it's possible to autofocus first and adjust manual focus after, without the need to adjust the focus switch.
should really please Ray!

looks like a great camera, I think I just got a little bit more excited about it :) at its full tele setting, it should be capable of shallower DOF than the RX100 or EX2F
 
yes, he confuses the sensors and the cameras which have them, but the 20% smaller figure is correct.

Actually, he said that the 1/1.63" sensor is 20% smaller than the 1/1.7" sensor, so his 20% smaller figure was also incorrect. The 1/1.7" sensor is the smaller one.

Anyway, the author has corrected those mistakes. Maybe someone should let him know about that Samsung EX2F... ;)
 
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