Reasons to Buy the Panasonic Lumix LX5 Compact Digital Camera
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 มี.ค. 2018
- Continuing on from the previous 5 reasons to buy a TZ10 (ZS7) I came across a secondhand LX5 when out shopping. At £85 I thought it was a great bargain and I had to have it - even though cosmetically it was a little worse for wear.
The LX5 was a superb little camera and I had one in 2012 before upgrading it to the LX7. Stills wise the LX5 gave better images but was lacking in video quality as it only supported 720p at low bit rates.
I subsequently sold the LX7 to buy a GH2 micro four thirds camera.
This is my short video to show the potential of this 10M CCD image sensor and why I think it is a great purchase for anyone wanting a better camera than their smartphone without spending a small fortune. At the end of the video is a 720p test file upscaled to 1080p which I then downloaded to my iPhone 8 and my Shark 1 Android phones just to see what the quality would be like - very acceptable. I also uploaded the file to my private facebook page just to see it at the default resolution - again quite acceptable.
My Photo blog www.grahamhoughton.com/ - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
I have been using the LX5 for about 8 years now and love it. Really fun to use. If you want a simple point and shoot you can just leave in auto intelligent mode but it has so many other controls to play around with. I was thinking it is time for an upgrade but having watched this video I think I'll save my money as I realise this camera still does all I really need. If you see one in good condition second hand then go for it!
Thank you. I made the exact same experience when I tried to find an adequate successor for my broken TZ10 in 2013. No compact camera had the same image quality as the TZ10 with the CCD sensor. I was very sad since then, but thanks to your instruction videos I have ordered a replacement lens for it and hope to revive it soon! Even after 5 years!
Graham - I just wanted to say Thank You for all the time and effort you have put into your videos. I have been watching them for the last several years and it was your review that convinced me to purchase my Panasonic DMC-ZS40 Travel camera. I have taken this little guy with me on several vacations and I keep it in my Messenger Bag so I always have a camera with me. While I know it isn't Top Shelf any longer I still enjoy shooting with it. Didn't mean to carry on just wanted say Thank You.
Dear Graham, your tutorials have helped me immensely over the years, and not just relating to your own Lumix and other personally owned cameras, but a whole range of other cameras which share similar control features. Your presentation style is a breath of fresh air when compared to many similar sites which give scant detail and tend towards the selfie-obsessed generation. Thanks for all your great videos which are greatly appreciated.
I wonder whether you will in future be doing some reviews about the current series of Lumix mirrorless and other M43 or 1 inch sensor cameras? Best Wishes.
Must be something in the air...I was just struck by the inspiration to pull my old LX5 out of storage and keep it in my everyday pack. Thanks for the helpful video!
Ditto.
Guess my lx5 is still fine *now a days*
The lx5 looks to be the exact type of camera for my needs black and whites, full control ,portable . Thanx for pointing me in the right direction ....
Thank you for the very mindful and intelligent strip-down of this camera.
Totally agree with you.I bought an LX7 and it wasn't as good image quality so I kept my LX5. Decided to buy an LX15 and believe it or not even that doesn't produce as good images as my LX5. Sadly I sold the LX5 to purchase the LX15 wrong move.
you cant beat CCD for image quality but it doesn't allow faster read out needed for today's video shooters in 1080 or 4K
I love this camera, and sadly it found its way into a drawer and disappeared for a while... so happy it turned back up during a recent cleaning, will be using it again. Great review.
THANK YOU so much for this. I just bought this camera of of Mercari for $90!! I am so excited, I am def boing to buy the live view finder.
Bought one too, and the viewfinder is as expensive as the camera itself funnily enough.
Nice review. I have a few of these. Along with the first Ricoh GRD (released in 2005)..it's one of my favorite cameras for street photography. The LX7 is a very nice camera as well, but at the end of the day, the CCD wins on image rendering.
Thanks for pointing out the benefits of CCD over CMOS. While I own 6 Lumix model cameras, I won't be hunting for this or a ZS7 (TZ10) since your videos have made me realise that 3 older Olympus cameras I own possess CCD sensors! Two are 14 Mpx models, and I now understand why I still use them for certain types of photography, given the CCD characteristics. Love your videos, they've taught me a lot about Lumix cameras, and have been following you (newsletter, blog and all) since I got my FZ200. (If you're keeping stats, I also lost the push function on the back wheel)
Yes that back control wheel has turned out to be the biggest weakness of the camera. Although there are ways to overcome this the wheel is so more convenient.
I still have mine. This was one of the last small CCD cameras and it was useful for quite a long time afterward it was replaced because of the global shutter. In the early days of rolling jelly video, this was still solid.
Hi Graham! I'm enjoying your videos particularly on the FZ200. I also just bought a very clean, used LX5 for a mere $70 US. Be aware, there is a firmware upgrade for the LX5 so some of the parameters you cite in this video are incorrect. The shutter speed limit is now increased to 250 sec. from 60 sec.. Also, auto focus speeds are improved and some enhancements to white balance among other things I am sure. Check it out.
Hi,Mr Graham,excellent video and informative as always,some days ago i found and bought a lx7 ..what's your opinion about this camera and what are the best setting for it ?.. Thanks in advance👍😎
Thanks for information! I like it :)
Thank you Graham for the excellent review!
I have the overpriced Leica D-Lux 5 version of the LX5.
I would have purchased a used LX5 instead of a used D-Lux 5 but at the time
I was unaware.
I use it with the Panasonic EVF and it works flawlessly.
I use the camera for street photography with phenomenal results!
Thanks again for the great review, now subscribed!😀 📸👍
thank you for the reply to this video
Thank you so much for your videos. I'm constantly using lumix models and have learnt a lot from you.
Could you please dedicate a tutorial to the Fz80 with some tips on optimizing zoom results in low light?
The FZ80 is ine of the super-super zoom bridge cameras. The aperture decreases as the zoom increases. This needs a two fold approach to get the best image quality. One, even though the image stabilisation is giving great assistance in preventing cameras shake it cannot account for any subject motion. Normally 1/focal length is the rule for eliminating this so at full zoom ideally 1/1000 sec is needed to ensure sharp images. Two when the lens is fully extended the aperture is down to f5.9 so this, coupled with the need for a higher shutter speed, may need you to have a higher ISO setting than you would normally use. Under bright conditions ISO under 400 will give reasonable results but beyond this the image will start to have more noise. There's no magic formula for low light with these smaller sensor cameras you can only use the widest aperture you have available, use the lowest shutter speed and ISO you can use in the situation that you are shooting in.
Graham, I should have done this in the previous post. From the Panasonic website, these are the improvements provided by the Version 2.0 upgrade to the LX5...
Ver 2.0
Auto Focus speed-up.
[HIGH ISO NR] has been added to the [REC] menu.
Improved auto white balance performance.
[ACTIVE MODE] has been added to the [MOTION PICTURE] menu.
The AF/AE Lock operated by half-pressing the shutter button has been improved.
When [MF] is set, you can make fine adjustments to the focus using a simpler operation than before.
The position and size of the AF area you have set are now stored.
The upper limit of the shutter speed in Manual Exposure Mode has been raised. (Max 250 seconds approximately)
[MINIATURE EFFECT] has been added to My Colour Mode.
[MONITOR] / [VIEWFINDER] has been added to the [SETUP] menu.
thanks I haven't done this upgrade - I must do so and thanks for the info
Super little camera with excellent lens and provided great results. I really was impressed by it and took it on all my hiking trips. Unfortunately, it died on me one day. I switched it on, the lens came out about half of its travel then stopped, never to work again. Since then I used a DMC-LF1 and now a DMC-GX80, but still miss the LX5
Sorry to hear. Haven't had issues with mine just pulled out of storage
Good street and other use camera and I'm a big Lumix P&S fan, but anymore I have to have a Flippy screen.
As always, a great review, and movie at the end was a plus.
Wow just re watched this video and will be sticking with my trusty tz10, despite trying some newer and more expensive models. Do you know if the lx7 was before or after the tz10 ? As the spec looks roughly similar.
Hi Graham. I really enjoyed your videos on converting the Lumix travel camera to shoot infra red, so much so that I wanted to try that out. I purchased the DMC-SZ7 on Ebay, and I hate to trouble you with this but, I am not finding any way of eliminated the time and date stamping on the image. I looked at many internet posts with no luck. Can you help with this basic question so I can get started shooting infra red? I bought the UV and an Infrared filter in 37mm like you suggested. Thanks in advance.
Graham, I too have had this camera for several years. For many of the same reasons as you, but in particular the ability to take off the ring and add a lens, be it a teleconverter or a fisheye. I've not found a replacement Point and Shoot (POS) camera with a similar function. Have you found such a beast?
Thanks Graham.
Hi Graham, I've been watching your videos ever since I bought the FZ200 a few years back, but I've been thinking of changing in the hope of getting better quality sharper images!!(??) A forlorn hope perhaps, can't really blame one's instruments, especially after all the info you've posted over the years, of which I've probably only absorbed a small percentage...... What do you think of mirrorless cameras compared to the bridge cameras? The now superseded Sony a6000 can be bought for around AU$650 (368 pounds) online (local retailers selling "on sale" for $847) with a 16-50mm lens. It's about my budget. Am I deluding myself that it'll make it easier to take better photos with a 24 mp mirrorless camera compared to my FZ200? There's a number of fabulous Lumix mirrorless cameras in the G series, but most of them are out of my budget.
Appreciate any advice Graham, cheers!
graham.I love your vlogs....so informative Thank you Do you think there is a real, palpable difference in lumix cameras with leica lenses compared to the red dot Leika than can be SOOOOO much more expensive. I see point and shoot leicas for $1000's and wondering if you have found an amazing difference.
I would love to read your assesment...and any advise. Thanks again..Lee
There's lots of conflicting views on this (understandably Leica owners don't want to admit they just have a Panasonic camera) There may be some evidence that lens units and sensors may be selected for best performance and that some of the photostyles are modified to give the Leica look but I think under the hood the equivalent camera bodies are Panasonic!
I love my LX5 and am ready for a new camera. What would you recommend today?
Hello Graham, very interesting about the old LX5. I just purchased in addition to my FZ300 also a LX , the model LX100, to have DSLRlike results in low light and for the benefit using a much bigger sensor. While the FZ300 does a better job in other features like touchscreen, zoom and rough weather conditions.
Will You perhaps also give us a closer presentation to the LX100 one day? I am very impressed so far by the Image quality even als jpeg comming out of that micro for thirds senor. But one has to take a deep look into all possibilities of that nice little camera in order to use it well.
Greetings from Germany. Dieter
I also just took delivery of an LX100 to supplement my FZ300 and TZ60. I find that for traveling, the LX100 and the TZ60 give me everything I need without the bulk! The LX100 will generally be for indoors and at night, while the TZ60 will be outdoors and zoom range! I will stick with the Panasonic range for the foreseeable future because the controls and menus are similar and the Image App works for all the Lumix range which simplifies things greatly!
The LX100 has been on and off my radar. The only thing that prevents buying one is the issue of dust. Panasonic just don't seem interested in dustproofing these compacts.
Hello Graham! The thing not beeing weathersealed was also a problem I considered. But there I use my FZ300. I bought the LX100 via eBay for 400 Euros still with warranty and with the automatic lens cap and a filter. So it made sense to me.
Having successfully converted a ZS6 for IR, do you think it would be equally simple to convert an LX5? I'd like to have the RAW file capability in IR.
Thanks Graham for the video, I decided to take my LX5 out of the drawer and revive it. Could I ask where did you get the conversion lens adapter and ND filters? Do you have any links? Thanks.
I purchased the lens tube and lenses from Amazon - a quick search shows they are still available (in the UK anyway)
Cool, thanks for the info. I will have a look, cheers.
do you have tips for shooting this camera in black and white? what settings?
why did panasonic stop producing this line with the LX10? not sure if the LX10 is as good as the older LX5?
What are the pros and cons of lx5 compared to lx7? Is the CCD sensor worth the sacrifice of the F1.4?
In your opinion, does it still make sense to buy it new today for 350 euros?
How is it for the night shots
Graham can i use the LX5 for streaming? using the hdmi cable?
can I use my lx5 as webcam?
I was hoping to understand how to use all the letters around the dial on top of the camera but have not found that info here so still sticking with IA and don't know anything else about the camera. To be honest I think it is way too complex for a point and shoot person who just wants good quality pictures. That said using IA I do get good quality pictures anyway but feel I am not getting everything this camera has to offer.
Hi Stewart, you can find the owners manual on line. I have the same camera since it originally came out and to be honest I use full auto or the P mode the most. The A option allows you to set the aperture and then the camera handles the other settings like the shutter speed. The S allows you to set the shutter speed to what you want and the camera handles the rest. M is full manual mode so you have full control. The C options are for custom settings that you can create, I have one set up specifically for black and white photos.
Shutter count issue
I am planing to buy used lx5
What to check first?
The LX5 is a good camera but the LX7 is much better, with built-in ND filter and f1.4 lens but still 24-90mm. If looking to buy an LX5 make sure the real control wheel, which indents to switch functions, is working properly as it is a weak point on that model. No problems, so far, with my LX7.
The built-in stereo mic is good too. LX7 is impressive for such a simple little thing.