Panasonic LX3 loves flowers

Autumn flowers, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

About two weeks ago I took photos of autumn flowers, but my Ixus 400 didn't manage very well, burning the colors and producing a flat result.

Today the weather was the same (thick clouds), as were the flowers (at least they grew in the same place), but the LX3 managed much better. I'm not sure whether the reason is a better dynamic range or a more intelligent exposure control, but you can almost enjoy the results.

The wide lens needs getting used to, also in macro photography. I'm slowly getting used to the generous screen of the LX3, but using the camera is different from Ixus 400, as the camera is bigger and the old routines no longer work. (I mainly mean that with Ixus 400 it was easier to see how far away the lens was from the subject, with LX3 this is more difficult due to the bigger size of the camera.)

I have had occasional glitches with the autofocus system. In these cases the focus has not been on the intented foreground object but in the background. But usually the autofocus works fast and reliably. I need to study the focusing modes a bit to better understand the intended behaviour.

Although focusing works usually fast, in (really) low light it is slower and may not work at all. Also, I tried to take photos on children on a swing, with no luck using the autofocus. The old trick of prefocusing - or, in case of LX3, manual focusing, is perhaps the only good solution in fast moving subjects like this.

Update: I have now taken about 450 photos with one battery charge, and there is still plenty of juice left. It seems that LX3 uses little electricity despite the big 460K 3-inch display.