An informal comparison of Panasonic LX3 and LX5

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After my Panasonic LX3 got broken last week, I tried using the Nokia E7 for a few days, until I got my hands on the Panasonic LX5.

Below are some informal notes which I wrote down while setting up and testing the LX5. The above photographs were taken at Elfvik late this afternoon.

I bought the camera from the cheapest online shop I found, on the condition that I wanted to get it delivered as fast as possible. The price was 437 euro including delivery. From another shop I ordered a spare battery (a copy, not a Panasonic original) which cost 28.60 euro including postage.

Today I also ordered two 3.1 inch screen protectors from Dealextreme, costing together 1.80 USD including postage. This is the same brand (or non-brand) I have been using on the LX3; extremely good price for the quality.

Here I'm comparing the LX5 to the LX3, which is a fine camera, and a great tool for photography also today. But techology evolves, and the LX5 is a moderately improved version of the LX3.

The camera feels good in the hand; it should, as I have grown into the LX3. For some reason the LX5 feels lighter in the hand. This may be due to the handgrip which allows a bit better hold than with the LX5. In any case, both cameras can be easily used with one hand. But I tend to use both, which is needed in dark conditions to stabilize the camera.

The battery compartment door is in principle similar to the one on the LX3, but it seems to close more firmly. This has been an occasional source of problems on the LX3, as the door has opened by itself every now and then. I think the LX5 won't have this problem.

Also, the mode dial on the top of the camera seems to be more firm, so there may be less accidental switches to the wrong position when keeping the camera in a pocket, for example.

The lens looks a bit different, maybe more impressive, which I guess is to be expected with the new 24-90 mm range. I hope the coating on the lens is as durable as on the LX3 - it is still in very fine condition despite a lot of use.

Next, some words about setting up the camera.

The camera was shipped from Paris to Finland, and so the initial language was French. Changing this to English was the first task - it took some time to find the right menu (it is at the end of the menu system).

Next, I switched off all sounds, immediate preview etc., set up some energy saving functions (LCD off interval etc.), disabled the focusing light, and so on. There were surprisingly many things to set up.

I stored to the C1 custom setting my usual mode: aperture priority, ISO 100, nostalgic film mode, all "intelligent" features off, showing overexposure in preview, showing histogram, guide lines visible, and so on. One thing which is much better on the LX5 is having the 1:1 setting on the aspect ratio switch, so there is no menu browsing to set it up.

The LX5 starts up as fast as the LX3, but it seems to go off a bit slower, but only a little. I noticed this when I tried to put the lens cover back a little too soon, according to my LX3 habits, and the lens was still extended.

My impression is that the LX5 focuses faster than the LX3, especially in macro mode. But as it was a bright day, the differences (if there are any) are minor. This may be also a usability issue and not a real thing.

I kept on having problems in learning to use the new setup of the buttons. On the LX3, I had preview in the Fn button, and I kept on pressing it by mistake. (I put white balance there this time.) But I think that having a play button instead of a slider is a good thing, and I'll grow into it soon enough.

The control wheel needed a rather firm press to activate, that was a surprise. And I haven't mastered the operation yet, it feels strange. I'm not sure whether the wheel is an improvement over the jog control on the LX3. Well, I'll learn this in time as well.

I haven't yet taken a lot of photographs with the LX5, but there seems to be a bit of a different feel to them. The bokeh is a bit different, but I like it. The photographs may be a bit less warm than with the LX3. The 90 mm reach of the lens gives new possibilities, especially in macro work, as it focuses to 30 cm as with the LX3.

So, as a summary: the LX5 is a great camera improved further, nothing revolutionary, but there was no need to big changes as the LX3 was already a fine tool. The good points of the LX3 have been preserved in the LX5. So, I'm happy with the LX5.

Update: There may be a break in the postings here; but I will be using the LX5.

Update 2: After taking about 2000 photographs I wrote some further notes about LX3 vs. LX5.