Is Panasonic LX3 too complex?

Kiasma waterfall, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Today I went to a camera shop where they had on display a Panasonic LX3, which I was able to handle for a short while. (I ordered last week a LX3, and it will hopefully be shipped tomorrow.) I must admit that there are great many settings to use (if you want). However, I felt that it will be easy to start using the camera. I even managed to try out manual focusing and it worked quite well.

But later I thought that perhaps there are still too many features and too much complexity to really enjoy photography with a LX3.

Sometimes it is difficult to "find the flow" with digital cameras. Even though my Ixus 400 is extremely simple, it has several settings which affect the output, especially exposure compensation. And why you need compensation? Because of the weak dynamic range of the sensor. But I see here a possibility for the camera technology to improve to such a level that unnecessary complications need not bother the photographer.

In fact, thinking about simplicity, I'll definitely try out LX3 with simple settings, e.g. aperture priority + manual focusing. This was how I used my Minolta XG-1, and it will be interesting to see whether I still like this kind of photography. The temptation to use the fully automatic iA mode is quite strong.

I need to see whether I feel differently about photography using these two different modes of operation. Perhaps it indeed is better to find the flow with a simpler way of operating the camera.

The photo here is from today, shot with Nokia E90 at Kiasma, the museum of modern art in Helsinki.