Tim’s Ramblings

…yeah…I got another one…

BUT, in my defence, my last one was bought in May and I took just over 800 photos with it! It was a really nice Canon. I loved it. Durable. Good lens. Great shots. Easily slipped into a pocket. But…but…I…I found a better one…

My Canon will be sold to a coworker and she will give it all the tender loving care it deserves.

However, I have to admit that, ever since I got my first Canon Powershot S1 IS some 5 years ago, this is the first time I’m cheating on Canon. Yes. I’m breaking my brand loyalty. And to what? A sexy little Panasonic. Otherwise known as the Lumix DMC-LX3.

It’s…so…pretty…

(Since this is basically camera pr0n, you can click on the above shot to get an even bigger one to oggle…really…and no, I’m a pretty stable and I would like to think, a normal, person. Why do you ask??)

Tons of features makes this more than just a tiny little compact. Right off the bat, it comes with a really really nice Leica wide angle 24mm lens. Then, on top of that, the aperture goes all the way down to f/2.0! They sacraficed zoom for a far more sensitive sensor so you only get 2.5x but, at 10MP and an incredible image stabilization low light shots are a breeze even at 1/10 second shutter speed. I’d take that over zoom any day.

Macro shots are possible at up to 1cm away from the lens (which is impressive as hell), and you have option of going completely manual if you want along with going with aperture priority or shutter speed priority. And something pretty much unheard of in a camera this small, you can shoot in RAW and even do bracketing as well. There is also an awesome cropping feature that lets you shoot in either 4:3 (standard monitor), 3:2 (classic 35mm), or 16:9 (wide screen). Not only that but with a flick of menu button, you can take one shot and it will crop it into all 3 sizes for you. Very very nice.

The color is incredible and the sharpness is amazing as well. And for those pure “point and shoot” moments, there is a great “Intelligent Auto Mode” that, if any of the test shots online I have seen is any indication, does a fantastic job without any fiddling with the ridiculous array of features.

It even looks hot with the lens cap on!!

Oh, and for anyone curious, the grey thing in the background is my 18% grey reflector that I used earlier to set my custom white balance on my DSLR.

As for performance, I took a few shots around the office today but none I’m willing to show. However, there’s an example of a handheld shot with no modifications other than cropping straight from the new camera.

This was shot at ISO400 and it’s a bit noisy…which is unfortunate. BUT, at f/3.5 this was shot at a ridiculously slow shutter speed of 1/10s. Handheld. No joke. And it’s THIS clear!! The image stabilization alone is worth drooling over.

So yeah…I lose the incredible portability of a true point and shoot. But on the other hand I gain a great pseudo point and shoot that I can do some pretty serious photography on as well as quick shots with without carrying around my back breaking DSLR. I still will when I need to but I have a feeling this little guy is going to get lots of action too.

Oh, and as a final note. I love this retro look. I really really do. And with the custom leather case on it, it looks so awesome.

So yeah. My new toy!! More and more pics to come!!