Posted by Mel Ladewig on December 26, 2008 at 6:40 PM
Processed from RAW in Panasonic Silkypix
Santa was very nice to me this year and brought an LX3. I've been thinking that this would make a great trail camera for me and, from what I've seen so far, I'm sure that will be the case.
The camera fits in the palm of my hand, has good image stabilization and has a nice 24-60mm f2-2.8 zoom lens. The feel of the camera is very solid and the controls are laid out in a reasonable fashion considering the very small size of the camera.
The high ISO images are nothing earth shattering, but the low iso have excellent detail from such a small camera and the OIS works well enough for some fairly long handheld exposures. I've intended to use this camera for 4X6 snapshots, but the low ISO images are detailed enough to make a nice 12X18 print on occasion. CA is also very well controlled on the wide end.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on December 26, 2008 at 6:44 PM
This is an in camera jpeg in the 16:9 ratio. The camera was on its "standard film setting" with the white balance on daylight. The camera shoots in raw+jpeg with fine and low quality options on the jpeg.
The top image was in the 4:3 ratio. The camera also offers a 3:2 ratio.
Posted by John Mumaw on December 26, 2008 at 7:05 PM
I sure like the way you processed the first one. Real nice light on the monolith. It provides a great contrast with the rest of the scene.
Not too wild about the in-camera processing on the second, though. How about you?
Where is this place?
Congratulations on the new camera!
Posted by Mel Ladewig on December 26, 2008 at 7:17 PM
Thanks John,
I don't like this version of the in-camera processing either, but there are lots of settings and it will take some time to figure them out.
This is just garden of the gods down the street from my house.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on December 27, 2008 at 1:08 AM
Also, lightroom 2.2 has support for this camera, so I'll be upgrading as soon as possible. Silkypix is not the best application I've ever used.
Posted by Todd Caudle on December 27, 2008 at 12:38 PM
I suspect John forgot the smiley face after his "Where is this place?" comment.
Looks like an interesting little camera. I'm torn between the G10 and this one, but I just get the feeling that there's something just around the corner, like a larger sensor AND zoom lens in a P&S, that keeps me from pulling the trigger. Oh, and not having the money to spend on a new camera might also have something to do w/it.
Posted by John Mumaw on December 27, 2008 at 1:51 PM
I suspect John forgot the smiley face after his "Where is this place?" comment.
LOL!
I'm ashamed to admit that I've never been to the Garden of the Gods.
Nor the Aspen/Paonia area, nor Great Sand Dunes, nor Colorado Nat'l. Monument etc., etc.
I get so involved in this little corner of the world that I neglect the rest of my state.
Thanks for posting this, Mel. I like the look of the first shot a lot. Any reasons why you chose this trail camera over the G10 or the Ricoh? (The Nikon offering being a non-factor)
Posted by Mel Ladewig on December 28, 2008 at 1:06 AM
I handled the G10 and the Leica D-lux4 (same as the LX3). No place in town carried the LX3, but there is a Leica dealer a block from my office. The G10 is significantly bigger and really not shirt pocket sized. The LX3 is quite a bit smaller. The LX3 shoots much wider. 24 vs 28mm is a pretty big difference. 60mm doesn't bother me for the long end in this type of camera. The Leica lens is excellent and all the tests showed this. I really wanted it for shots along the trail where I've been using my slr (film or digital). I want to reduce my backpacking pack to the 4X5 and this and the image quality is good enough that I will. And while the G10 gets the job done, this goes a step further in weight and size. Also, the shots I'll be using this for are to be printed to 4X6 for our travel albums (which I do religiously with notes). I don't need a bigger source file with larger storage needs. I need a crisp file capable of creating a nice 4X6. Obviously both this and the G10 shoot raw and that is important to me.
When it comes down to it, the three biggest issues that tipped me towards the LX3 would be size/weight and the wide angle end of the lens and the max aperture. Other than those issues, the features match up pretty close between this and the G10 all the way down the page.
It doesn't match a 35mm dslr in responsiveness or flexibility, but its a really nice little camera.
Discussion
8 repliesSanta was very nice to me this year and brought an LX3. I've been thinking that this would make a great trail camera for me and, from what I've seen so far, I'm sure that will be the case.
The camera fits in the palm of my hand, has good image stabilization and has a nice 24-60mm f2-2.8 zoom lens. The feel of the camera is very solid and the controls are laid out in a reasonable fashion considering the very small size of the camera.
The high ISO images are nothing earth shattering, but the low iso have excellent detail from such a small camera and the OIS works well enough for some fairly long handheld exposures. I've intended to use this camera for 4X6 snapshots, but the low ISO images are detailed enough to make a nice 12X18 print on occasion. CA is also very well controlled on the wide end.
The top image was in the 4:3 ratio. The camera also offers a 3:2 ratio.
Not too wild about the in-camera processing on the second, though. How about you?
Where is this place?
Congratulations on the new camera!
I don't like this version of the in-camera processing either, but there are lots of settings and it will take some time to figure them out.
This is just garden of the gods down the street from my house.
Looks like an interesting little camera. I'm torn between the G10 and this one, but I just get the feeling that there's something just around the corner, like a larger sensor AND zoom lens in a P&S, that keeps me from pulling the trigger. Oh, and not having the money to spend on a new camera might also have something to do w/it.
LOL!
I'm ashamed to admit that I've never been to the Garden of the Gods.
Nor the Aspen/Paonia area, nor Great Sand Dunes, nor Colorado Nat'l. Monument etc., etc.
I get so involved in this little corner of the world that I neglect the rest of my state.
When it comes down to it, the three biggest issues that tipped me towards the LX3 would be size/weight and the wide angle end of the lens and the max aperture. Other than those issues, the features match up pretty close between this and the G10 all the way down the page.
It doesn't match a 35mm dslr in responsiveness or flexibility, but its a really nice little camera.