I was definitely NOT disappointed with the camera, after reading so much about it and passing on the LX1 a year ago due to the reports of excessive noise in the images.

The camera design of the LX-2 is absolutely superb, with a quality metal body and extremely well thought out feature set. Panasonic has done their homework and solved so many of the design challenges facing point-and-shoot digital cameras. Some will miss a tilting screen or an optical viewfinder, but I don't miss them. Either feature would compromise the current design and the very likeable large 16:9 viewfinder. They've done everything they can to compensate, including an extra-bright mode for the screen and even a high-angle mode that lets you shoot over the heads of a crowd, which accounts for the majority of "tilted" shots I've taken with my previous camera, a Nikon with a screen that tilts.

I've been waiting for a decent digicam with a true wide angle lens, real 16:9 wide-screen aspect ratio, and widescreen video. It may very well be that this camera is the design future of the industry---hard to believe people wouldn't like this camera over its competitors. Once you start shooting wide-screen, you realize what a natural and creative format it really is.

That being said, there are image quality compromises with this camera... in order to solve the noticeable noise in the LX-1, Panasonic opted for strong noise reduction with their Venus III engine, and I can confirm the early reviews: they've reduced noise at a slight loss of very fine image detail and a bit of a watercolor effect at higher ISOs if you examine images at 100% magnification.

But on the other hand many consumers are not really going to notice this, the images are really outstanding in the majority of situations, and there are so many megapizels to play with that for many it will simply never be an issue, the way the images are viewed full-size on a monitor or at print sizes up to about 8x10. Most of us aren't as critical as the pros who are doing the reviews. And there isn't a point and shoot out there that has perfect images in every respect, others have flaws like corner softness and purple fringing that the Panasonic doesn't have.

Fortunately this camera will shoot in RAW format and allow you to recover nearly all of the original detail, albeit with some work, to really show the superb quality of the Leica lens. But this time around they've bundled halfway decent RAW image processing software, so you actually have the tools to do this without shelling out more money.

To be honest, those looking for perfect image quality arguably are the type to be purchasing DSLRs and not high-end point-and-shoots. I think Panasonic may have hit the sweet spot in their target market with this camera.

Beware---this camera will only work with 4 GB SD cards that are the newer SD-HC type. Unlike many of its peers, it will NOT work with standard SD 4 GB cards that are formatted FAT32. Panasonic may be deliberately protecting sales of the new 4 GB format. So either go with a standard 2 GB card or the SD-HC 4 GB cards. I learned the hard way.

What more is there to say, if they fixed the noise problem I would buy it in a second.

I ordered the Panasonic DMC-LX2S in August, understanding it wouldn't be available until October. I was pleased with the reviews in photography magazines, and I was thrilled with the two DMC-LX1's I had already purchased. One of the most important selling points was the Leica lens that's nearly half the size of the camera body. It's really a great pocket camera.

Once I received my camera, I began a series of test shots to get familiar with it's characteristics. Immediately, I was dismayed to discover a spherical distortion just off center, easily visible whenever shooting a plain background, common here in Seattle in the winter. In other words, it sure wasn't sun flair, and was always exactly in the same spot. I called Panasonic hoping they would send me a new camera, which is what I would have done, but understood when they sent me a UPS label to forward it to their repair center near Chicago, since they have to see for themselves.

I packed up a bunch of images with the defect pointed out, and handed it to my friendly UPS driver the first week of November, and waited. Finally, I called Panasonic's repair service before Thanksgiving, seeing that the camera had been delivered by UPS the week before, only to find it hadn't been recorded as yet. The agent was extremely pleasant, and I was understanding with the holiday coming as it did. I called again the Monday after the Holiday, and a very helpful agent said she would walk it through, and to call Friday, but that the part would have to come from Kent, Washington - 5 miles from my home, but thousands of miles from Chicago. I called today, Friday, and my new camera still sits in Chicago waiting for parts that may get there by Monday, but the nice agent said if they couldn't get it out by the Holidays, they would send me a loaner. I do appreciate nice agents, but - - -

WHY DOESN'T PANASONIC JUST REPLACE THE CAMERA?

I now own this camera for about one month, and have tried to take all kinds of different photos, Macro, Flash and mostly 16 : 9 format. The camera is of superb disign and Quality, It is very easy to use, but it helps to adjust it properly for the kind of picture one wants to take.

The Macro pictures are of very high resolution and depth of field, it is easy to take exellent pictures of Butterflies, even when they are moving a lot.

I never had any problems with the noise even in low light. It seems that people just get on a bandwagon and shout without having a real experience of the facts themself.

It helps a lot to adjust the camera for the task, for example, adjust the whitebalance even on a sunny day, might make a lot of difference.

I am selling my DSLR camera, because this one is a lot easier to use, and it does not produce any camera shake, like that high speed mirror does in the SLR.

After taking almost 600 pictures, I like it and would buy this camera again. I wish it had a way to connect an external flash, but that is not a great problem, I am using one that has a sensor, and fires when the built in flash does. this works great, because it gives much better pictures than just using a built in flash by itself. It is also very handy, that the flash stayes locked up when taking pictures in Museums etc.
I have compared the pictures with other cameras of the same class, of the more popular brands, and I think I get better pictures than most.
It does a more than the Specs tell, for example, it will optically zoom to 1:6.2, even it is rated for 1:4, with the sacrifice of pixels, but you can photograph a bird at some distance, and it will be a sharp picture!

I was a bit hesitant to buy this camera after reading reviews about how it has terrible digital noise. After spending many hours reading, researching, and analyzing online pictures of the LX2 with other comparable digital cameras of the same class, I decided to just get it anyway. My decision was based on several reason:
1. I didn't really want to spend more for the similar Leica d-lux 3(usually not in stock at any retail or online stores as of 12/2006), which, according to reviewers have less noise than the LX2 but has softer image quality.
2. I wanted a portable camera capable of taking pictures in RAW format, and at the same time gives me full manual control.
3. I like the design--classically elegant. Aesthetics are subjective, and I agree that there are sleeker, cooler looking camaeras out there but none has the ability to shoot in RAW.
4. I like the 16:9 aspect ratio--great for scenary/nature shots.

Here's my take on the camera after having played with it:
1. Taking pictures at ISO of 100 and 200 show some noise when zoomed in at 100%, but noise not apparent when viewed at smaller sizes. The noise at ISO 100 and 200 is actually no worse than any other cameras of the same class.
2. Great flash. Provides almost perfect lighting while colors stay saturated.
3. Amazingly, when images (RAW format) are viewed using their included sofware, the image quality was far inferior to when they were imported and viewed from Photoshop.
4. Excellent print quality.
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I wouldn't get this camera if you:
1. do a lot of LARGE image printing.
2. digitally zooming in and cropping images (LX2's details aren't that great)
3. don't mind carrying larger and clunkier cameras like dSLRs
4. don't need to shoot in RAW
5. feel 16:9 aspect ratio doesn't matter

Beautifully designed and a real joy to use, with all the right features--including an outstanding image stabilization system, full manual control, aperture priority, shutter priority, and a true wide angle (28mm equivalent) in 16:9 format.

Unlike most compact digital cameras, there's no need to search through menus to make adjustments -- frequently-used controls are readily accessible.

Autofocus is quick and accurate, LCD is bright and clear, with the option of either hiding or displaying all the relevant information (including shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and histogram).

Shutter lag is minimal, except when shooting in Raw mode. Raw files are huge, and it takes several seconds to write to the SD card. It's a pity that Panasonic didn't provide a memory buffer to reduce this rather frustrating delay.

Image quality is good at ISO 100, but noise is apparent at ISO 200 and above, and the in-camera noise reduction only makes things worse in my opinion, sacrificing too much detail in order to eliminate the noise. Definitely inferior to Canon's noise reduction. Fortunately, noise isn't too much of a problem in raw images at ISO 100.

wow! absolutely love it. my first impression was Hmmm, big mistake, i'll send it back, but then i started using it. great control. not only a camera for control freaks but its nice to have the option when you need to take control. nice solid feel. like a real camera. looks good too.
gave it to a friend to try at a party and was quite jealous of how professional he looked with it. then i remembered, o-yes, its mine. and all this talk about noise.. I almost didnt buy it because of that. maybe the reviewers are used to better results with their dSLR's but compared to the 4 other point and shoot cameras i've had over the last 5 years this one performs great, even at ISO 800. well, you werent expecting grainless pictures, where you? but at least you can still shoot! esp with highly effective image stabilizer. a usable shot at 1/10 sec on max zoom without flash of a band on stage..
Gripes?
-28 mm only at 16:9 but i am really beginning to like this format.
-when you want to focus manually and control shutterspeed or aperture, you have to use the same joystick. the only way to do both is to first set the exposure in AF and then turn to Manual focus.
-cant use the flash when shooting in macro and wide angle. the lens throws a shadow in the picture! however you can still use flash+macro in tele.
-where's the viewfinder?

Have used for 3 months and taken over 2000 shots and several movies. Has excellent features and love the wide screen. Takes excellent pictures in sunny, outdoor light. But move indoors or shoot on overcast days, the noise begins to creep into the shots. I haven't experimented with post processing yet, so that may work but its fussy, in my opinion. Overall, I give it 4 stars

I am pleased with the camera. It's easy to take good pictures with the auto feature. The charger is small and can go anywhere without wires. The only thing I wish I would have got with it was the view finder. The LCD display is wonderful, but there are times when the view finder would have been helpful.

I couldn't be happier with this little camera, although I do use it as a carry everywhere back-up to my Canon 5D DSLR. The key for me was the RAW ability, which I use exclusively. The screen size and resolution are both excellent, the battery lasts a long, long time, and I've found the quality of the shots to be excellent (as you would expect from the Leica lens and 10.2 megapixels). I've read reviews about noise at higher ISO's, but I tend to stay at the low end and frankly haven't found noise to be a problem anywhere under 800. Of course, if it were true, noise reduction software can help just as noise reduction in camera is dialed up on some cameras. Anyway, it's not been a problem to me and I must say I love using this camera and am completely happy with the results.

If you enjoy photography and want a small portable camera to have with you that takes dynamite images - this camera is for you. Not only is it a 10 MP camera with image stabilization and a wide range of automatic and full manual control - it is the exact same camera manufactured for LEICA at about 1/2 the price.

Several reviews have indicated a problem with noise, to date, I have not found it to be a distracting problem, almost any non-pro camera will experience noise around the extremes, we should just try not to shoot in those conditions.

Power consumption is good, the provided battery lasted until my 2 512MB flash cards were full. The flash is small, but if we keep that in mind, should not be disapointed. Image stabilization works wonderfully.

I have used Nikon and Cannon smaller point and shoots, this one is far superior and easy to use.

Enjoy!

I have been very impressed with this camera. I've been strictly a Nikon buyer in the past. I was a reluctant digital user and I'm thrilled since I made the switch. I was drawn to the Leica lens and the format and the options. Wow! Takes great pictures. I'm still learning how to use it.... I'm just a slow learner.

I bought this camera mainly because of the 16:9 aspect wide angle lens - I'm in the architectural field and this really helps in tight spaces or small rooms which you would like to capture as much a possible. I also like the Leica lens, it should yield very good images. My only complaint would be the lack of a viewfinder since I've been using other cameras for 20 years and sometimes the depressing the shutter there is lag before the AF will come on and the picture is taken. Otherwise I'm quite satisfied with this camera. Battery life is good and the manual control is a plus!

With a wide range of features it compares well with my other digital cameras. I own a Samsung NV3, a Kodak DCS Pro, and a Canon G6. The best point and shoot results for me seem to come from the Panasonic LX2K. It focuses faster and more reliably than either of the other P&S cameras and the color reproduction is stellar. Controls are easy to use if a little tiny, but quite intuitive once you've spent some time with them. Bulkier than the NV3 because of the excellent opitcal package, which probably accounts for the high quality images. I was amazed at the detail I was able to acquire at full resolution.

Overall an excellent point and shoot which I would recommend for almost anyone. In fact, I sent one to my son to get him into the digital photography era.

This camera really stands up! It's not only for the great picture quality, either for the amaizing "image stabilization program", the real deal is that is very easy to use. I'm not a professional photographer, but I have take really great pictures that I can't even imagine I can achieve. Anyway, it's a great buy!

The LX2 is very nearly a perfect camera. It looks like a serious camera, and it is. Yet it also has a lot of fun features that belie its conservative aesthetic, most notably its native 16:9 format.

The build quality is excellent; it is small but solid. The screen is sharp and bright. It is quite reflective, however, and there is no optical viewfinder, so in bright conditions it can be a little hard to see the screen's image but this is mostly alleviated by Panasonic's thoughtful incorporation of a "high-power" and "high-angle" contrast setting, for which there is a dedicated button (eliminating the need to drill down into menus).

Image quality is extremely good for a camera of this size, especially after you set the Noise-Reduction to "low." The metering is very reliable--so far it has tackled every challenge I've thrown at it. Colors are accurate, especially at the lower ISOs. White balance seems a little on the warm side to me, but the camera allows you to adjust this manually--which is quite easy to do thanks to the LX2's useful mini-joystick.

The wide-screen function is a lot of fun to use. So many new composition possibilities avail themselves with the native 16:9 format. The camera allows one to be quite creative---and to see framing in a new light.

My only complaint with this camera is that changing the ISO is not as easy as I would like (it requires three button clicks). Also, in macro mode, the flash casts a fairly large shadow--but this is not a problem in the lens' normal zoom range, which is what I use most of the time. These are very small complaints, however, and overall I am very pleased with this camera. It is a well-made product that looks high-quality and is.

Also worth noting: the manual is clear, well thought-out, and comprehensive though perhaps just a little too condensed.

If you're looking for something inbetween a Point-and-Shoot and a dSLR, this may be the camera for you. It definitely is for me. I like the LX2 a lot.

I love this camera--most of the time. Great features, damned good lens, good quality pictures, superb wide-angle views, compact size, strong battery, etc. Yes, the lack of a viewfinder is sometimes a problem, but not that often. Most problematic for me is the lack of close focus. My defunct Nikon could capture the fur on a bee half an inch from the lens. The LX2 won't even give a sharp self-portrait at arm's length unless you're in very strong light--but beyond that range it's great. The menu layers require a little getting used to, and (unlike my last) battery needs to be poked in till it clicks. The Silkypix .RAW image software might be useful if you've no other, but is far less intuitive & useful than say, using PaintShow to refine your images in .JPG mode.

I am not a digital camera expert. In fact, I have always sworn that I would never give up my old manual focus Nikon FM2 film camera. However, this little camera won me over with it's easy to use features and great image quality.

I don't care much about electronic gee-whiz stuff; I bought this camera because of the lens. It is nice and big and bright and clear. The camera itself is smaller than I expected, and the lens is perfect!

Also, I really appreciated the widescreen aspect ratio, and the fact that the zoom is all optical (no funny tricks with some "digital" zoom). It is not an SLR, but it is small enough that you will carry it to get that shot when you want it.

Others have complained about "noise", and maybe they see something I don't, but I think the pictures look fantastic! I'm an artist, so it was important to me to be able to have full control, and I feel like I do with this camera.

My ONLY complaint is that the camera has very little built-in memory. Out of the box you can only keep ONE high quality photograph! This is a pretty small problem, though. Just be sure to order a one gig or bigger card when you get the camera and you'll be fine.

The noise problem with this camera is horrendous. DO NOT BUY IT! If you take a close-up picture of an eye you will not be able to see the eyelashes clearly... NEVER. NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY.

My 3-year old 5MPX Sony is much better than this Panasonic camera. I am sorry I bought it. I would return this product if I could and buy a good camera instead.

The Lumix DMC-LX2 camera cannot focus one bit, many pictures are out of focus and made worse by the noise problem. Even with the motion smother function turned on many pictures come out blurred. Noise is very noticeable with graininess appearing very readily. You can tweak the quality enhancing features for sharpness, noise reduction, contrast and saturation all you want but these are worthless to reduce the noice and sharpness problem.

The Amazon website says you can use standard SD memory which is untrue(perhaps this has been corrected now). The camera only accepts more expensive SDHC (high capacity) cards. These SDHC cards cannot be read by standard memory stick readers so I have to use the USB port which takes forever to download even a handful of pictures to my computer.

Meets all expectations. Questions of noise are greatly overblown. Image stabilation reduces impact of noise in low light. Do people really expect to get a great image at very low light condition? Regardless of noise contrast will be too low to get a quality image except in very special circumstances. Up until last few years ISO 400 film had similar problems and ISO 800 was virtually useless except to get a image. When I got this camera I took numerous pictures at night inside and got very good quality pictures without flash. Far better than my old ditigal and better than my film camera. LCD size and image quality is really impressive. The best I have seen.

I had high hopes for this little camera when I bought it, but after scrutinizing the quality of its output, I have decided to return it. I spent days reading the professional and user reviews before ordering. Despite consistent complaints about high ISO noise, I proceeded to order it anyway because most of my shots are taken at a safe ISO 100 (so I thought). I should also say that I own a Canon Powershot S80 and a Nikon D80 dSLR, so the bar was already raised pretty high when I got the LX2.

I love almost everything about this camera. The small size is perfect, the controls are handy, and the ergonomics are great. I also found that the quality of the JPG images are very good at ISO 100. It seems to me that the onboard noise reduction algorithm does a great job.

Now for the problem. I bought the camera mainly for its RAW support. The nice Leica 28mm lens and the 10MP resolution were also important factors. I had planned to take RAW exclusively (as I do with the D80). In that light, the LX2 looked like a potential dream for amateurs like me who love control and quality combined with portability.

But in test shot after test shot, the noise in the RAW images was terrible. Even on nice sunny days, the sky was blotchy in the RAW photos. Even with post-processing using Neat Image (which does a superb job at reducing noise), I could never match the quality of the JPG photos. Neat Image was able to reduce the noise but the cost was a corresponding loss of detail and clarity. I could never get around this devastating compromise.

My bottom-line conclusion is that there is no advantage to taking RAW photos with this camera, since the result is generally less desirable than the JPG images processed on the LX2. This is an unusual conclusion perhaps, but it means that onboard noise processing does a good job on the JPG images. Unfortunately, the other conclusion is that the high noise left in the RAW images is hard to remove, leading to compromised images most serious amateurs find unacceptable.

If you intend to shoot in JPG only and at low ISO settings, the camera has many plusses and I'd recommend serious consideration because everything else about this camera is well done. But if you intend to shoot RAW, be sure to closely study the consequences of heavy post-processing on the images. In my case, the compromise was unacceptable because the loss of clarity is visited in large prints.

At least for now it is :-) . During the course of the past 10-12 months I have owned 7, that's SEVEN, digital cameras: Canon S230; Kodak V530; 5 different models of Casio's: Z60, Z600, Z850, P700; and most recently presented my wife with a red S770 for Valentine's Day. I also had a pretty good chance to evaluate Canon SD450 (my brother-in-law owns one - it was actually a gift from my wife and I to him for his 21st birthday), Casio EX-S600 (a good friend of mine owns one), and Panasonic DMC-TZ1 (once again, a gift from my wife and I to my father-in-law for his last birthday). If you read any of my digital camera reviews (and I've written a few by now), then you know that I'm not particularly fond of Canon's lately - I think they are overrated and overpriced for what they have to offer. As I also mentioned before, I've tried several different Kodak models (and I used to work for the company too!), but all of them turned out to be a waste of my time, to say the least. I became a big fan of Casio's, although not all of my experiences with them were great. But being a huge gadget "freak" that I am, and constantly wanting new "toys", I have always craved for more. Over time, my tastes in digital cameras have changed from having a simple point and shoot type of camera to wishing for more power and manual control. So one by one, I returned/sold all of my cameras, and after extensive (and I really do mean extensive) research, I got myself an LX2. I must say though that I probably wouldn't have without getting to know my father-in-law's TZ1 first. I was actually quite impressed with it. Powerful zoom, sharp lens, decent picture quality. I also played with some other Panasonic models in various stores just to get a better feel for them, as well as spent a few hours on the phone, and exchanged numerous e-mails with a friend of mine who owns an FZ30, and who swears by it. Unfortunately, LX2 was not available anywhere locally, but I felt that I got a pretty good understanding of what Panasonic's cameras are all about, and after some more thought and consideration, I went ahead and bought it from Amazon (nice thing about buying from Amazon is that you can always return whatever it is you bought, including digital cameras, within 30 days for a full refund, no questions asked). I did know about the "Noise" issue at high ISO's, but it wasn't a decisive factor for me, and I'm glad I didn't pay much attention to it and got the camera anyway. It turned out to be one of the best purchases I've made in a long while. Here is why:

PROS:
- Superb design. This camera is wonderfully crafted. And I absolutely love Black! It gives the camera a nice, clean, professional look. I don't think I'll be buying another silver camera soon after having this one;

- Intuitive controls, and menus. I charged the battery, put it into the camera, and started using it and taking pictures right away, without even going through the manual once;

- A load of features, including a large, bright, widescreen LCD; wide angle, super sharp Leica lens with a 4x zoom; Mega OIS - optical image stabilization control (optical means it's done mechanically, which is a TRUE way of doing stabilizing, comparing to other cameras where it's done by "tricking" the camera into using higher ISO's); and many more. In addition, it has a joystick for an easy access to different menus, has a number of manual controls, as well as provides ability to shoot in RAW format (more on that later);

- It comes with SilkyPix Developer Studio software for working with camera RAW files. For someone who is not familiar with RAW - it's a "pure", camera specific picture format. It varies upon a manufacturer, meaning that Canon RAW is different from Nikon or Panasonic RAW, for example. And it's "pure" in a sense that it's of a much better quality than a standard JPEG (JPG), and doesn't suffer from loss of information, such as white balance, or brightness. There is a lot more to RAW than that, and I'm not going to go into details right now. What I want to say, however, is that having previously owned a camera which supported RAW format (Casio EX-P700), I must have tried about a dozen of different RAW editing software packages, including products from Adobe, Ulead, ArcSoft, PhotoFiltre, Picture Window Pro, ACDSee, LightZone, Image Broadway, and more. SilkyPix delivered by far the best results of all. The only one that I would probably put next to it is Bibble;

- Noise - What Noise?! I really hate it when I hear people complaining about noise in this camera (after having it tried myself), or any other compact digital camera for that matter. Are you really that naïve that you think that you will get absolutely no noise in your images using a compact digital camera? Think again. You might have noticed that I've used the word "Compact" several times here. I've done it on purpose - it is inevitable for a compact digital camera to produce some noise. Some cameras are better than others, but no matter how hard you try, you will see some. This camera is no better or worse than any other one that I've had/tried. At higher ISO's (above 400), it's slightly more visible, but who in the right state of mind is using anything over ISO 200 on a compact digital camera, such as this one, anyway? I always have mine set to a 100. If I feel that it doesn't get the job done, I shoot in RAW;

- Picture Quality is Very Good. Yes, it does take some time getting used to, but once you familiarize yourself with everything this camera is capable of, you can achieve spectacular results, especially if you don't mind doing some post processing.

As much as I like everything this camera has to offer, there are, however, some things that kind of irritate me. Here is a short list of bad things about this camera, otherwise known as

CONS:
- First of all, this camera has actually been somewhat misrepresented. It's been advertised as a 10.2 megapixel camera, which is not entirely true. 10.2 MP resolution is available ONLY in 16:9 (wide) aspect ratio. Two more ratios are available - 3:2, and a more conventional 4:3, but those offer 8.5, and 7.5 MP resolutions respectively. So if you compare this camera to others that don't have a widescreen format, or if you prefer to shoot only in a regular 4:3 mode, then this camera should only be referred to as a 7 MP digital camera (because not all the pixels are actually effective). Obviously, Panasonic is aware of it, and marketed it having higher pixel count on purpose, to boost consumer's interest;

- I expected to see a compact digital camera. What I got instead was actually a smaller compact camera than I expected. I was really surprised to see how small, yet convenient to hold and operate, the camera body was. What I didn't like, however, was the lens. Not the lens itself, it's actually quite superb, but the fact that it sticks out. I like cameras with lenses that retract all the way back to the camera body. I realize that it would probably loose some features, like the wide angle, and perhaps zoom, but I still wish it did that. It would be so much more... umm... compact?! The way it actually is makes it quite difficult to find the right case for it. Almost impossible, I should say. I've tried a few, but they are either too small or too big. I just can't find one that would fit right. I put an order for an SLX1B case for it, which is specifically designed to fit LX1, and LX2 models, but I hear they are not that good. We shall see;

- I'm not a big fan of a pop-up Flash. I always keep forgetting to open it when I need to use it. And it also seems a bit flimsy. I'm treating it as carefully as I can, but I just can't stop thinking that it might break soon;

- I hate the Lens Cap!!! There, I said it. It's probably just one of those small annoyances that keep frustrating you until you get used to it, but for now I'm not really happy with it.

SUMMARY:
Despite very few minor negatives, I think LX2 is probably one of the best, most innovative cameras on the market today, and I sure am glad to have one. It offers more than any other camera in the same price range, and can even compete with some DSLR's when it comes to picture quality. If you are someone like me, who wants to have more control and/or learn more about digital photography, or a DSLR user who just needs a solid backup to carry everywhere, then this camera is not be overlooked! Highly recommended!

Seriously, the big sexy SLR's are awesome, but they're too big for every day use. This is your every day alternative. Completely manual shots, on the fly, wherever you are! it's awesome. If you are going to own only one camera, then you should get this or the Leica Dlux-3. All I own is this camera and I think the results are awesome, the best part is I never go on "photo-outings" I just get great shots from everyday live. Check out all my LX2 only shots at [...]

This is a very flexible and capable camera. If you are looking for more than a point & shoot will offer, there are very few that would compare. For me the deciding factor was the high quality lieca lens with wide angle, if you havent compared this directly with a conventianal lens you will be amazed at what youve been missing. the 16:9 is an ok feature if you plan on HDTV veiwing but the screen size is compromised when you switch to 4:3. i would prefer a larger screen and lose the 16:9 feature. the lens cap is a little annoying as well but those issues aside, i am very satisfied.

I've had this camera for about a month. I currently own a Nikon D50 and an 2 year old Canon Powershot. I needed something small and handy to use as a walk around camera. I've been reading reviews for months on various digital cameras, poured through thousands of images posted on flickr, and I decided on this camera. I loved the look, the size, the price, and the leica lens.

The images are sharper and the colors are more vibrant than my Nikon D50 and my Canon Powershot. I love the manual settings available on this camera. I mostly use the P setting. Although adjusting shutter speed and aperture can be awkward using the joystick, the menu is very simple and offers a lot of control.

I also like the fact that people stop me on the street whenever I use my camera.

This camera does what it says it does: it takes 16:9 pictures and video at 10.2MP for pictures and OK resolutions for video. It takes decent video, if you put it on a tripod. The built-in stabilization is worthless in video mode and you'll get a palsy type shaking no matter what you do. In other words, this will not replace your camcorder. In picture mode, it does a good job with most outdoors/indoors settings if you're not too picky about the lens distortions around the corners at the highest resolution. This is especially obvious if you take pictures where vertical objects appear near the left or right edges of the frame (like stop signs, light posts, building edge lines etc.)

All in all, a decent buy for home use. Not something to look into if you'll be frequently printing your pictures for posterity or for use in professional publications.

While I am nowhere close to being a pro, I am not a stranger to photography or to digitals. Recently I wanted something better than what I had for an upcoming trip to Italy and I bought the Lumix DMC-LX2 on Amazon after reading reviews, etc.

It is no SLR, but it is far more than a "back-up" camera. It is small enough to be handy without being a burden. (A friend we were travelling with had a digital SLR with a 135mm zoom. She had it in her bag most of the time because it was so big and heavy.)

The lens quality is very good. The absence of a traditional view finder is very nice. The TV screen on the back works in all lighting conditions (its adjustable). You can have as little or a lot of the technical data on the screen as you want. It even has a couple of nice composition templates that I found useful at times.

I bought one of the after market batteries and couple of 2 gig cards and I had far more capacity than I needed for a 2 week trip, but the second card is necessary if you shoot at max pixels as I did the whole time. At max jpg a 2 gig card holds about 350 shots. One battery was all I needed so long as I watched the charger carefully at night. Sometimes the current converter one has to use in Italy would shut down mid-charge. So my advice is to have a second battery and switch them out.

This camera is very versatile. It will do a lot if one takes the time to study the manual. (The manual is not the best, however) The SLR's do beat out its zoom, but that is not much of a problem for casual shooting because one can crop the tar out of the 10.1mg shots and still have a great photo.

The flash works fine. And one can fill flash with it. I bought a small slave unit that works great but I never needed it.

I found a handy, cheap, case at REI. They have a padded cell phone case that hooks up to a belt or a back pack. This camera fits the REI case perfectly. It even has side mesh pockets for batteries and chips. I forget the price but I think it was less than 20 bucks.

I bought this camera after DPreview told me that it (well, actually, its Leica sibling) fits all of my needs, namely: compact, RAW, and aperture priority, plus optical stabilization.
What I like: large screen, RAW, fairly decent flash
What I dislike: it actually takes RAW + JPEG which wastes space on my card. However, it gives me an interesting comparison. 90% of the time, I prefer the RAW version, albeit tweaked. The JPEG colors just don't look right to me. I'm also unimpressed with the image stabilization, and the warranty is just terrible. 90 days??? What's with that? Also, the manual focus without a viewfinder takes getting used to.
I won't argue that there's noise at higher ISOs, but it's not nearly as bad as I expected from other reviews. I haven't decided yet whether I'm keeping the camera; if you're not in a hurry, hold off and see if they release a new version in the summer. Of course, with their track record, they won't fix any of the problems, just squeeze a few more MP out of the chip.

I have always been an SLR photographer and have held off on purchasing a digital camera up until now because I have not been convinced of the resolution capabilities of digital. I travel alot and sometimes due to space and sometimes due to the desire to be inconspicuous I have needed something smaller than my full size SLRs. After a lot of research, looking at every model I could find, I settled on this Panasonic Lumix LX2 because I don't have to give up the control over every aspect of the photo. This camera lets you be a control freak, or you can leave it in one of several automatic modes. It can store pictures in RAW mode, which is important to me (the Canon G7 lost out because it didnt have this) but the JPEG mode is great. I have blown up some prints from this camera and I am completely satisfied with the quality, and I was skeptical before, expecting to be underwhelmed.

I originally bought this as a backup to my SLRs but I already see this will be my primary camera unless I am a situation that calls for a special lens, flash power, or super high resolution (like 25 or 60 ASA)

My only suggestion to Panasonic would be to allow you to charge the battery while in the camera, like with a car charger, and make some sort of accomodation for external flash. The flash on this camera is the weak spot - it's really not that bad for the size but if it could sync with an external flash that would be good.

The camara is ok and have a lot of posibilities, its not a point and shoot.
Pros. you can do nearly everything that you can do with a canon or nikon lens camaras. the anti shake.
Cons. Lens cap, popup flash, pics nearer than 2 feets to object not clear in all sections
I have a sony DSC-P10 it does nearly the same but faster, no lens cap and has automatic flash, pics near 1 feet or less OK

The reason to buy this camera is the true 16:9 widescreen format. I have not seen another digital camera offering this yet, as of 05/2007. (There are some letterboxed widescreens inside of a 4:3, wasting pixels.) 10.2 megapixels within the 16:9. That's super sharp. In another 5 years, everything will be widescreen, that's TV's, computer monitors, laptops. It also has every feature you can ever need as a point and shoot.

If you don't want or need the widescreen feature, there are hundreds of other cameras you can buy.

I've taken 330 shots to date. I like the 16:9 format. It allows for creative compositions. A grid can be superimposed on the LCD screen to aid composition. The colors are true; the details are clear. The macro mode allows good views of flowers and surface textures. The camera is lightweight and easy to hold. There are no negatives. The camera is a joy to use.

After months of comparing digital cameras on the market, I decided to purchase Panasonic's Lumix LX2. From the moment I turned it on I was thrilled with this camera. It does just about everything a camera can do, and in head-to-head photo taking comparisons with a Canon, a Pentax and another Panasonic Lumix camera, the LX2 took far superior pictures to all of them. I'd highly recommend this camera to anyone looking for a full-featured digital camera. Panasonic, if you're listening, put your 10x zoom lens and self-covering lens cap on the LX2 (like you have on the TZ3) and you'll have the perfect digital camera!

Overall, this is an excellent camera. The quality is great for something in the "ultra-compact" category. However, the lens juts out about 1" from the camera body, which I was unaware of and makes the camera a lot less portable. I'm still not sure if the price justifies the feature set, but I'm fairly satisfied. Very happy that grid and histogram options are available. There are also a lot of preset "automatic" modes, which are very nice.

I am so glad that I bought this camera. In my search for a pocketable but high power camera, I went through most of top of line Cxxns before settled down with this one. I have not shot in low light or Raw yet so will have more to add later. But all of my good light shots have been amazing. The camera is fast (far cry from G7), produces gorgeous color, wonderful 16x9 mode. In small print, it perfomed just as excellent as my Nikon D200.

I don't know what else they packed into this camera and repackaged it as a "red-dot" camera, but I have been very happy with it. This camera offers a lot more than a casual user would need. This is the one that you can buy and don't feel the need for upgrade for a long time (for me, that may be less than 2 years :-))

Great camera. Images that pop. Easy to use. Close-up flash is perfect.

The LX2 is the third digital camera I have owned. My last camera was an Olympus C-5000. It was (and still is) an OK camera but its widest angle was too narrow for good scenic shots. The LX2 has a very wide angle capability with easy switching to three different formats; 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The 16:9 format allows eye-popping panoramic shots. The 4X optical zoom is more than enough for distance shots, but with the camera's high resolution, it is easy to crop the target in Photoshop, giving equivalent results of a much greater zoom capability with little loss of practical resolution. The image stabilization is nice, I guess. So far I have not really needed IS, so I can't say if it is effective or not.

I recently took some indoor photos of groups of people in a lecture room. I had intended to use the flash but after I saw what I got from the first shot without flash, I did the whole run of shots without flash, and the photos are excellent. The large LCD monitor is a big help in framing shots and reviewing images afterwards. This is my first camera without a see-through viewfinder, but that had not been a problem.

So what is there not to like? Only two gripes so far. The camera body has only one attachment point for the provided carrying strap with a short cord. I liked the shoulder strap that was provided with my old C-5000 and the short LX2 strap proved to be somewhat inconvenient during four days of shooting in Washington, DC. I am hoping to find an after-market shoulder strap that can be fitted to the LX2.

The final gripe is that the LX2 automatic file naming system is strictly sequential. With the old Olympus C-5000, the day and month were encoded into the file name. That was truly convenient.

I consider myself to be an amateur photographer. The LX2 has tons of capabilities and controls that I will probably never use. For my purposes, the LX2 does everything I ever expect it to do. Bottom line; this is a superb camera and I can honestly give it a high recommendation.

Easy to use, with 10 MP for enlarging your photos. There isn't a lot of zoom, but combined with cameras you may already have at home that have more zoom and less MP, you can have a camera for every need. This is perfect for travel because of its size, too. Good quality camera!

I sell cameras for a living and this is one of the most remarkable little point-and-shoots I've seen in quite awhile. I've taken photos with this camera that look better than ones taken with a Pentax, Olympus, or Sony SLR and are right on par with the Rebel xti and Nikon D40 SLR cameras. I literally went outside and took pictures of the same flower at the same time of day with the exact same camera settings on all the cameras and this camera produced that kind of quality. It's all in the lens!

This little gem manages to have both an awesome lens and high megapixels in a small package. I have umpteen customers a day come into my place of business asking about megapixels, megapixels, megapixels. I try to tell them that the *LENS quality* is as important as the megapixels. You can get a 5 megapixel camera with an awesome lens and get an awesome photo. You can also get a 12 megapixel camera with a really cheap lens and get a really lousy photo.

Now, there are some drawbacks, of course, as there are with any camera. If you are primarily shooting hummingbirds, sunsets, & diners in cozy bistros, then this is not the camera for you. The low light images can be noisy at high ISOs. I just try not to shoot at a high ISOs. Even in low light I can put the camera into the manual mode and manipulate the settings to take a good shot at ISO 200. (need a tripod!)

While the camera has a minimal shutter lag and a burst mode, you won't quite be able to capture a 90 mph fast ball in mid-air the way you would with an SLR. However, I don't really know of any point-and-shoot that can keep up with an SLR when it comes to frames per second. I've successfully taken pictures of a greyhound in full stride, though, and that's pretty impressive. If it can keep up with the greyhound, then it can probably keep up with the grandchildren too. :)

The zoom can be a tad frustrating at times. If they update it I hope they make the optical zoom about 6x instead of 4x, but you can always do some cropping after the fact.

The macro shots are just amazing. I've uploaded some of them here. I took pictures of a tiny 3 inch long lizard and you could even see little nicks and scars in his skin.

If you shoot in the 16:9 mode you can get a nice wide angle shot. You'll need to print it as a 4x7 to get the entire image but it's worth it if you go someplace like the Grand Canyon.

One last thing I would note: I've had this camera almost since it was released and it hasn't really depreciated in value. The price has remained at the $[...] mark for over a year. Just like cars, most digital cameras immediately lose value almost from the minute you buy them because so many new models come out each year. Since it has the Leica lens, I think the resale on this camera is going to remain pretty good, making it a decent investment as far as point-and-shoot cameras go.

Bottom line: if you are looking for a pocket camera to supplement your SLR, then I say look no further than this one.

I have not really used the camera since I got it after discovering that the "built in memory" the camera comes with allows you to take one photo. Yes, one photo. So I had to order a $70 memory card and am waiting for it to arrive.

Ok, much has already been said. I took this little jewel to Italy and used it everywhere. Rome, Florence, Venice; it became the sole camera for my group of four by choice. Great Leica lens. Very good quality pics. Took all in the 16x9 format but on medium quality...I don't intend to have them blown up to wall size. The low light abilities of this camera almost defy logic. I took some incredible dusk pics in Venice w/o flash, in fact, I don't believe I ever used the flash...it's that good. All the pics look like they're ready for framing. It's a light camera that's easy to get into operation on a moment's notice.

My one complaint. There is an aggravating time lag between pushing the 'shutter' button and the actual picture being taken. If you happen on a scene where time is of the essence or you wish to take an action photo, you'd better give yourself a 1/2 second of extra window.

Other than that, don't leave home w/o it. Get a voltage converter kit and take it overseas.

I've used the Canon Powershots, great cameras, but I love all the manual features this camera offers. 16x9 aspect ratio is another huge selling point for me.
I owned the DMC-LX1 before this model and I upgraded simply for the 10 megapixels.
This camera can be as easy or as complicated as you want - set to auto and it's really just point and shoot for beautiful pictures every time. Use the manual features and really go nuts. I can't say enough great things about it.
Other small cameras will slide in/out of a pocket a little easier than this one because the lens protrudes but it's a very small thing to deal with for what you get in exchange. I don't think anyone would regret buying this camera.

I was wary about this camera after reading the FUD on it about all the noise. In 98% of the shots it is not a problem. With my other 4 digital cameras over the years noise has been a minor issue, some more than others. In this camera it is less of an overall concern because the resolution is so high that it is easy to overcome the noise with Noise Ninja if it gets out of control and still have enough resolution to print easily up to and even larger than 8x10.

I wanted a dSLR but cannot justify that cost (at least 2x the LX-2) to myself much less my wife. That plus I did not want a camera that I could not put in a pocket when I wanted to. That meant that it was this or the Cannon G7. Either way there were tradeoffs. The G7 is bigger and bulkier so it was less of a fit than this one and it did not do RAW. That leaves this bad boy.

I cannot be happier with my purchase. I have taken amazing pictures with it, I have been able to control things that in my other cameras were beyond my reach, such as both f stop and shutter time simultaneously. Plus it takes true widescreen shots and has easy to use easy to find external buttons instead of onscreen menus. It offers crystal clear images and amazingly sharp focus and it has oodles of control over that focus. I like that level of control. As I learn more about photography it is clear that more control is a good thing, however with that being said the camera does almost always make the right choises in far less time than I do. But the fact is I have the option to change it as I see fit.

All in all noise is not a problem if you steady your shots, which you should do anyhow if you want sharp images on any camera. It is not a problem even with the noise filter and sharpening set to low (you cannot turn them off). When it is a problem Noise Ninja has saved the day without ruining the shot. Simply running it on the luminescence channel and not on the color generally preserves nearly 100% of the detail too.

If you want to make HUGE shots, so far my best shots have been made into 4'by 3' (that is 48"x36") and they look beautiful, you will love this camera. If you plan to make all your shots that big get a dSLR since this camera will likely disappoint you on some shots. I even print real 16"x 9" from 11"x 17" paper, of course you need a printer that can handle that and you need to cut the final down to size, but you get the point.

I am not going to say this is the best camera, but it is a great one. One that I am happy to own, one that I am happy to show people and one that I am not ashamed of the image quality of. For all those people out there who complained about the noise it is obvious to me that they either knew too little about digital photography to start with or they were expecting a dSLR in a compact camera body. Either way they were wrong to call this camera out from the pack on its noise issue. I have edited photos from friends and family for the last several years and I see no more noise on average in my shots (even at 400% magnification or more) than in those from other cameras. I see about the same now that I got in my original 2MP Nikon Coolpix something or other, in my 4MP Canon Elph or in my 5MP Sony P100. However I have to say my wife's Fuji FinePix F30 is a completely different animal. The pictures from that are as noise free as I have ever seen, a bit soft at times, but noise free. If Fuji could somehow produce the image sensor for the LX-2 it would be the greatest non SLR camera ever made.

I am not going to tell you noise is not a problem, because it is under certain circumstances. For example high contrast or bad lighting both produce what seems like more noise than my previous cameras had. However the resolution in these circumstances means that while I may have more noise I can remove it and still have as much detail or more than what I got with my 5MP camera with 0 noise. To me this is still OK. I have not been stopped from printing any shots at 8x10 due to noise. That is alright by me. Also I never shoot in anything other than ISO 100 unless I am in a mode that does not allow me to control it.

The camera works great. I chose this one due to the lens quality and larger numerical aperture than other small cameras. The photos are bright, sharp, and high quality. The camera is easy to use, but allows manual adjustment. I'm still getting use to using a screen rather than a view finder. The screen is bright enough, but tough to see things like a person's expression. DO NOT BUY THE CAMERA CASE BY PANASONIC. The case is a horrible design.

Am still getting used to it, I think there are many nuances I have left to work out.. however, took it out of the box and started blasting snap shots right away. they are of reasonable quality and I am pleased.

High Point: WIDE ANGLE MAKES DREAMS COME TRUE!

if you want a point and shoot that you can take in a view with, this is it!

Works well, its just too bad it didn't come with an instructor. It has a lot of capabilities which I think I won't be able to take advantage of, I am slowly trying to study the manual. I'm very happy with the pictures I have taken so far.

I have yet to be impressed by this camera. It feels unnatural to hold making me fear everytime that I will drop it. It is bulky and it fits quit uncomfortably in pants pockets.

If you are switching from an SLR to a P&S as I am, you may be disappointed by some of the shots.

What disappoints me the most however is AMazon's service. I got this camera 1 week LATE. I had an option of buying from a cheaper merchant, but Amazon promised to send it to me sooner. I decided to pay more for an earlier deivery, but no. It was delayed. To make it worst, the price went DOWN after I bought it. Amazon should have a price insurance thing going. Very Very disappointed. (My SD card that I orderd with this came 2 weeks late)

There are good things to say about this camera (you'll find them in the other reviews), but unfortunately a noisy sensor, limited dynamic range, and very noticeable barreling at the wide end spoil what could be a really dynamite little camera.

I bought this point and shoot to supplement my Nikon D50 while traveling. Overall it is a very capable digital camera with the following pluses:
(+) great lcd
(+) 16/9 sensor format
(+) usable controls
(+) ability to shoot raw

and some minuses:
(-) noise and details
(-) tendency to overexpose
(-) color shift (red becomes magenta) when very contrasty

In short it's not as good as a DSLR (by far) but it makes for a good substitute if you don't want to haul expensive glass.

AAAC, unless you are mazochistic person and like to know what the worst P&S camera looks like. I feel sorry for those who did not understand that and gave it high rating. See your happy faces in rash or hot and cold pixels, not fixable by any noise reduction software. See also some of you in the 3000+ petition line to Panasonic (search Google). When you will realize that Panasonic has no clue how to make good cameras, it will be too late - your valuable moments impossible to repeat.

This compact digital camera is equipped with a number of unique features and is suitable for advanced users, having 16:9 aspect-ratio format, manual exposure controls, AE/AF lock, exposure compensation, auto bracket,etc similar to SLR digital cameras. If you are looking for a compact digital camera with something more than fully automatic exposure controls, this is it. The Leica lens is surprisingly sharp, probably with the aid of camera-shake reduction feature and AWB is pretty reliable. Most pictures taken with program AE turned out OK without re-touching works. As this camera's lens barrel is not retractable, it is a little buly for carrying in a pocket and the lens cap is troublesome - you have to take it off and on before and after shooting - you will need a little time to get used to it. The 16:9 aspect-ratio format best fits for viewing on HD TV, but if you print, the top and botom become blank.

I was looking for a compact camera with the following requirements:
- wide angle lens (28mm equiv. in this case)
- a reasonably sharp, quality lens
- compact enough to fit in a jacket pocket and use in lieu of my SLR kit
- manual controls

This camera fit all the above criteria and is also one of the few cameras with a user-interface designed for a photographer. Graduating from manual cameras and used to having all controls on dials, it has been a tough transition to using some of the non-pro digital SLR models. All the frequently used controls are accessible either from one of the dedicated buttons or the joystick (ISO, image size, metering mode, AF-mode, white balance, aperture, shutter speed).

The only issue I find with the LX2 is ergonomics, or rather the lack of it. It's great with all the features in a small package, however, using it to take more than a dozen pictures could be challenging because of its small size. Still recommended for occasional use and compact size.

Fantastic. I owned the older version of this camera when a friend broke it. After spending nearly a month looking at other cameras I came back to this one. Great quality photos. It's as manual or as automatic as you want. Spend the extra $$ for the Leica version if you want the cooler outer case and Leica name.

I have a few mixed feelings about this camera, mostly favorable, a few gripes.
Plusses: Great Leica lens, 4x zoom goes from 28mm equivalent - 112mm. Handy focal lengths, compact metal body, nicely designed, lots of features for the experienced photographer as well as the rank beginner, huge, bright LCD display screen. This is the same camera as the Leica, but at a considerably lower price.
Minuses: I wish it had an optical viewfinder. In bright sunlight the LCD screen is almost useless. Flash is underpowered. I wish the lens retracted into the body, as it is difficult to find a small case that will fit it. It would also have made it more pocketable. I bought this unit so that I could have a camera with me all the time, It is a bit too big to comfortably fit into my shirt pocket. I don't much care for the lens cap being attached to the body by a cord. Over ISO 200 there is too much noise.
My complaints are mostly about minor things, but I hope that Panasonic remedies them in future versions.

i was looking for an easy to carry camera with manual/slr features. so the choice was between this, the canon m9, ricoh capilo gx100, or nikon p5100. since i wanted as wide an angle lens as possible, but had limited funds, i went with the lx2 (the ricoh goes to 24mm equiv but is significantly more expensive). my main concern was that, compare to the others, i was losing out in getting a much less "professional" camera with poorest image quality in the class.

after using the camera for some time, i think i probably made the right decision, although perhaps it would have been worth spending more for a wider lens. certainly the lx2 was stronger than i expected: the image quality was fine, the build was good, and i have found it very easy to use.

image quality (noise) seems to be a big issue with the lx2. the following comments are probably specific to the way i use the camera (you may want to look on flickr - just search for my name). in particular, i don't make large prints and i tend to use wide angles (on the other hand, i use available light).

in practice, then, i always use iso 100 and see no noise problems. this may sound crazy, but three camera features make it quite reasonable. first, the lens is fairly fast (at wide angles), second the image stabilisation is excellent, and third the camera has automatic image bracketing. so with +/- 1/3 stop bracketing you get three reasonable exposures, which means one should be ok even at "extreme" exposure times (like 1/4s).

one other issue i was apprehensive about was the lack of a viewfinder. again this has turned out to be fine in practice - the screen is very good, with a bright mode that is sufficient for chilean sunshine and also an "angled" mode (which is bright too) that is surprisingly useful when holding the camera at odd angles.

other small points: the 16:9 format sounds like a gimmick but works well in practice (i seem to be saying that a lot!); the lens cap is not as annoying as expected; build is good and, while a bit "shiny" (i would have preferred the plainer leica styling) it looks ok and seems to be wearing well.

if you understand a manual slr then working the camera is no problem - i hardly ever need to go through menus since all the common controls are available more-or-less directly. the four buttons on the back arranged in a circle are, when you are using the camera normally, mapped to specific functions, while the most critical parameters, like shutter speed or focus, are controlled via the joystick (left/right to select a function and up/down to adjust - the screen helps you along and it comes to feel quite natural and quick).

my main criticisms (apart from wanting 24mm) are common to all in this class: they are a bit bulky to pocket (the lens+cap on the lx2 doubles its thickness) and the fastest aperture is nothing like wide enough for shallow depth of field (especially since min aperture increases with focal length).

overall a great product, but you are not able to use only the automtic program. Most time the pictures are overexposed, so you have to adjust the fash a little.If you do so, you are getting nearly the same picture quality as a SLR camera.the camera has a top level leica objective and a grat cmos sensor. also you are able to make great wide angle pictures. material and design are high quality.

I'm happy with it.

Very good point and shoot. Tons of manual features. Excellent skin colors in day light shooting. Excellent lens. The flash could be better. It is either too strong or too weak.

A great equipment to have. Its got almost everything a SLR has.
As a second camera to my SLR, its leaves me in a secure mode.

Greatest feature on this camera is the 16:9 shooting mode. I'm very surprised that other company's haven't provided this option yet. Besides that, this is an awesome camera to shoot with. Shutter speeds up to 500th of a second to capture fast action! Brilliant!

camera workes fine but I also put in a order for 1 of Deluxe Accessory Kit with Soft Leather Case + Two (2) Spare CGA-S005A. the issue is that the camera has an outter lens and this case is for flat digital cameras can you tell me wich case would fit a panasonic lumix dmc-lx2?
thank you.

eduardo

This camera has incredible build quality, and takes extremely nice pictures for a point and shoot. It has lots of features, but I think calling it a 10.2mp camera is a little misleading. It's really a 7.5, but you gain the extra couple when it's in 16x9 mode. On the other hand it is a little noisier than I thought, and the design makes it a bit cumbersome for putting in your pocket. Otherwise, I really, really like it.

This camera uses a special battery and charger. The Panasonic batteris are $54.95. (Mystery brand ones are much less.)
WHY don't they use AA's ????

I looked for the compact digital camera which had the manual mode, it could be set shutter speed and exposure. I am satisfied with the DMC-LX2, but there is no automatic lens cap, sometimes I thuch the lens.

I read many reviews before purchasing this product. I take photographs for a living and need a high quality, reliable camera. Yes, for the really critical/ technical shots I still use a 35mm. However, for general use, a 35 mm is too bulky and heavy. This is why I did not want to purchase a Digital SLR.
Out of the box this camera is very easy to use. We just purchased another for our 8 year old son. Yes, he is pretty smart in that on his own (trial and error) he learned to simultaneously operate the television, satellite and stereo.
Yes, like all electronics you should read the manual to learn about the many features. Many people miss out on capturing truly magnificent photographs because they don't bother learn some of the simplest techniques. Trust me, this is not brain surgery. Spend a few hours reading and experimenting with the camera. Trial and error can be fun. Afterwards, you will be amazed on the quality of pictures you are able to capture with minimal effort. Remember, practice makes perfect.
The quality of the camera is obvious when you take it out of the box. Quite frankly, I don't waste time purchasing cheap anything... life is too short to settle for second best. This is not to say that I don't shop price. This model is being offered by Amazon at a very affordable price. I went for the silver model because it was cheaper.
You will need to purchase a SD HC card which is available everywhere. I picked up a few at CostCo.

It is a really good camera, if you are really into taking photo. This camera is like a half-SLR, you can adjust diaphragm,shutter,and white balance etc. The only problem is that if you take pic for iso over than 400, your photo will become so.."mosaic", the quality is very unacceptable. Another point is about the color, its color is not as good as Canon's (warm tone). The picture that takes by the LX2 is more red-tone. Although you can adjust the white balance the solve the problem, it is still not as good as Canon's one. But in general, i like it! it is really a good camera :)

I had a Panasonic Lumix camera for about 2 years. Then the zoom lever started to get stuck in the "W" position (doesn't return to the "neutral" position), which makes it now impossible to accurately zoom. Send the camera to the Panasonic service center for repair. After 1 month (!), I get letter from the service center asking about my credit card information - ignoring the fact that I included letter with the camera describing the failure and including my credit card infoo for charging the repair. So it took them 1 month to ask me for information they already have. Fast forward another month, for those of you that paid attention - 2 months! have now passed since they got the camera. They send the camera back with a packsheet, listing my exact failure description and the remark: tested all functions, no failure found! In other words they did NOTHING, charge US$112.00 to my credit card for this and the zoom lever is still stuck. Every idiot can notice this if trying to operate the zoom. So great
camera as long as it works. If it breaks after 2 years because of a lousy zoom lever design, you've got a ~$500 paper weight. Don't waste another $112 like I did trying to get Panasonic to fix it.

I've been using this camera for a few months now, and I love it. Quick snapshots are a breeze, but you have more control over your settings when you need it. This is by no means an SLR - don't expect it to work miracles. But the manual controls, the intuitive menu setup and the widescreen shooting mode make this camera a standout. No more backing up to try to fit your subject into frame! The ability to capture .RAW files is great, for large prints they are superior to the .JPG's the camera produces. For smaller prints, say 14 x 20 or less, the .JPG's work well. A great pocket shooter for the money - and I get to keep my SD cards!

Summary: An innovative and stunningly capable compact at a reasonable price with control options usually found only in SLRs.

Pros: "Wide" implementation in almost every way; flexible use of sensor and aspect ratios to maximize zoom, resolution, and framing options; well-organized UI; classic camera styling; widescreen (16x9) display; Leica lens is too manly to be confined to a pocket.

Cons: Leica lens is too manly to be confined to a pocket; manual is almost laughably bad; very little room to actually grip the camera without hitting some controls; less-common Micro-USB connector; controls are too tiny for the large-fingered.

I needed a replacement for my dying Canon PowerShot S230 Digital Elph. Priorities were an excellent lens, 28mm or better wide angle, small enough to fit in a pocket, respectable resolution (8mp or better), and some at least some degree of manual control. I didn't need another SLR, but the flexibility of my wife's Canon EOS 5D meant a basic point-and-shoot simply wouldn't do.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 nailed my requirements on everything but size. The body is actually more compact than it tends to look in most pictures, but that lens housing makes it awkward in anything but the most bulky pocket... and even then, people are likely to ask, "Is that an LX2 in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

I can't even ding it on size that much, because for the quality of the Leica lens it's an acceptable compromise. It's not bad industrial design; on the contrary, it's probably the smallest it could be with a lens like that.

I'd read up and was aware of the noise (and noise-reduction) problems at higher ISOs, but the way I plan to use it I don't anticipate that will be a problem. At the same time, the flash almost seems like a "why bother" afterthought. It's miniscule, dwarfed even by the small pop-up housing that springs it into place.

The worst part of the entire package is the manual. It reads like a web site that has all the useful, detailed information on a remote link -- except that here, that means it's on a page further back. The rest of the content is rife with vague disclaimers on all the ways your pictures might look lousy or things you might think are a malfunction but aren't. It's almost comical. More than half of page 46, for example, is indirect, oh-by-the-way commentary that could easily and more clearly be integrated into the main instructions for each feature. It's as if Panasonic Tech Support got a shot at the manual and just threw every issue that has ever generated a call or e-mail into it.

But that's okay. This isn't a camera for beginners or casual point-and-shooters, and photo enthusiasts may find the manual entertainingly bad.

I do find that the noise reduction is a bit too aggressive, leading to the notorious watercolor effect, so I'll gen