SOOC

I  have been wandering about with the poor man's Leica these last few days, fooling around with settings and controls as I go. As usual my priority is lighting effect type pictures of which this is one ... somewhere in Katoomba.

I have a lot to learn about the new kit and I am still pretty slow in my operation at times buuuut I am making progress. My first impressions of the Lumix LX100?

Good
Tremendously responsive. The controls all seem to have a well judged click to them. Things happen so enthusiastically that I am not always prepared when they do. Shutter lag? You have to be kidding. The camera seems impatient for me to catch up much of the time.

SOOC JPEG images are beautifully balanced. Focus is like lightning. The whole thing feels "just right" in the hand. The main controls are perfectly placed - fingers all seem to fall in the right places. The rear screen is beautiful.. Stabilisation is near miraculous. I have been getting consistently sharp pics at 1/8 sec. Yahoo.

The aperture and shutter speed controls are right back where they used to be in the film days. In the words of Han Solo, "We are home, Chewy".

Not So Good
While the viewfinder is nice and hires, the colour balance seems a little on the cool side. The eyepiece itself is disappointing. Far too much extraneous light is getting in. The dioptre adjustment wheel is a pain to use. Despite the fact that the EM5's EVF offers only half the resolution, it is very much superior overall as a tool for accurate composition and feedback under bright conditions. Pity.

If one is going to offer such comprehensive manual controls why bury the metering system (matrix/spot) control so deep in the menus? Grrr. Fortunately I think can reassign a function button.

The zoom range is severely limited but at least I can get some decent wide angle. I could use some more long end, however. Perhaps I have gotten spoiled and lazy over the years. Hell, I used to shoot exclusively with prime lenses once upon a time. I never knew what a zoom was until I was nearly middle aged. I should get over it.

I can see why some people go for the Sony RX100 instead. This LX100 is sometimes just a fraction too bulky to get in and out of the bumbag safely and quickly.