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Almost an exact replica of the Leica D-Lux 4. Very lightweight, and compact, with an incredibly bright 2.0 lens that makes a flash unit almost unnecessary in a majority of typical "snapshot" style photos! This camera does not have a lengthy zoom feature (only 24mm to 60mm), but for the individual that wants to capture a wide angle view of a lake scene, or a sunset with a truly panoramic view of the horizon, this is a great choice. This camera is also a true winner when you typically need that extra ten or more feet of depth to get everyone into the frame for the perfect group shot (a lot of image width is gained when going from the typical 35mm, or 28mm to a 20mm focal length lens). The LX3 doesn't lay flat in a pocket, as it has a depth of about 1 7/8 ", but it has very little weight, and at 4" long and 2 1/4 high, you'll hardly notice it in a coat pocket. It has a fantastic view screen almost 2" x 3", and it's very clear. You can choose any of three aspect ratios, add an accessory flash attachment if really needed, or make use of a variety of program options as desired. This camera lets you take pictures your way; it's free spirited photography. If I had to pick only one reason to purchase this camera, it would be the Leica DC Vario Summicron lens, as it really is the reason for exceptionally crisp bright pictures. Purchase this camera new or used as it is a steal for all it will help you accomplish!Read full review
The Panasonic LX3 came out in late 2008 and was also issued as the Leica D Lux 4. It has a Leica lens with a wide aperture of f2 on the 24mm eqv. low end of the zoom, and still keeps an f2.8 on the maximum 60mm eqv. zoom. The camera has a large sensor even by the standards of point and shoot cameras a decade later, 1/ 1.7. It shoots RAW, has incredible image quality, there are incredibly deep menus and customization, and images are usable up to 1600 ISO, but it likes lower ISOs much better. The construction of this camera shows that it was a joint effort between Leica and Panasonic and cost about $500 for the Panasonic model and nearly twice that for the Leica model with the red dot. It's all metal, and there's not anything anywhere on this little camera that doesn't look like a Swiss watch that takes photos. It is just barely small enough to carry in a jacket pocket. There are several guide books out for the LX3, batteries are still cheap and available, and even in 2017 this camera is still incredible. The used price of these are around a hundred dollars, more or less. For a backup camera, or a walking around camera, or just for the sheer fun of having a tiny little camera that rivals the image quality of a DSLR in good light and is usable even in low light, it's a bargain that shouldn't be passed up. Read full review
Verified purchase: No
For the right buyer, this little beauty can take SLR-like pictures with a Leica branded lens in an extremely compact form. Compare this to the Leica D-Lux (an older one with 10 megapixels), and you'll be happy to see it is pretty much the same camera, in a panasonic shell. This camera has so many features I still have yet to learn them all, but no doubt, this is a fantastic alternative to an SLR for the photographer on the go. Absolutely perfect for photographing things for sale like homes or ebay items. I say this because the macro makes close up shots look pro, and the rather incredible wide angle of the lens takes stunning photo's of space, making smaller spaces appear larger than life! For the long and short of it, this is the coolest camera I've ever owned, and is sure to be well used. I immediately purchased the leather case for it, the two part one with the screw mount for tripods, I highly recommend it for both function and coolness factor. Gives it a very retro look. With the leather case it is decidedly the most steampunk thing I own.Read full review
First and foremost, you have to appreciate and be able to use a wide angle lens to appreciate this camera. That is what this camera is all about. A trade off for sure, but a brilliant one. At 24mm wide angle, you can turn around inside a car and get driver and both rear passengers in the same picture... it has that much field of view. It lets you get pictures other cameras simply can't get. The serious down side of this is that maximum zoom is 60mm... which isn't any kind of telephoto at all. So you won't be happy with this camera at the kids football game. But it will rock at their birthday party. The F2.0 maximum aperture lens optically stabilized lens does two things... first and foremost it lets you shoot hand held without flash in very low light situations (restaurants at night, etc). Secondly, it gives a VERY short depth of field, particularly in macro mode. This makes for some visually striking photographs, and lets you make a lot of things look more beautiful than they really are (put center of interest in tight focus, and let the foreground and background go out of focus. Another nice surprise about the camera is that I can put it into "intelligent auto" mode and hand it to a kid or a "non enthusiast" spouse, and they will walk off with it, and come back with some pretty remarkable pictures. It will automatically start doing low light heroics, switch into macro mode with no user intervention or even awareness. It just does it. Yet when they hand it back to me, I can tweak and twiddle to my hearts content to get exactly the kind of photo I want. And don't tell anyone, but even I as the engineer enthusiast, sometimes just sneak the thing into intelligent auto mode because I don't want to tweak and twiddle (please don't tell the other engineers... :) ). The camera is also smaller then it looks, and is very portable. Fits in a loose pocket comfortably. A little big for a tight pocket, but it can then go in a small belt holster comfortably. So if you appreciate a wide angle lens, and like natural light, for $250 to $350 (going rate on ebay as I write this), it is an incredibly good deal. If you have any doubts, go price a 24mm to 60mm F2.0 lens for a digital SLR... probably two to three times the price of the entire Lumix camera. Then look at the size of that SLR setup, and ask yourself how many times you would actually break out the wheelbarrow and lug that stuff around. I looked at the newest Cannon and Nikon replacements for this model, and the sensor are a bit better, but the lenses are worse, and the price is $200 higher. Until the current super high end DSLR sensors show up in the "serious non SLR" platforms like the Lumix and G12 and P7000, I decided to just buy a used Lumix, and take it places I would be afraid to take a $500 camera. This Lumix is the perfect "throw it in your pocket" camera to capture beautiful pictures of life around you unfolding. Provided life is unfolding close to you, and not at the other end of a football field. ;)Read full review
I wanted a pocket camera I could make hand held HDR exposures with, so fast EV bracketing and wide bracket EV range were a must. The LX3 with the 2.0 firmware will take 3 exposures with an EV range of EV4 in under a second! Because it has a hot shoe I can use radio remote triggers so strobes can be up to 100' away. Fast lens at f2 gives twice the light as an f2.8, which helps with the noise level. It shoots in RAW, JPEG, and RAW+JPEG. Although it has a 40% larger sensor than the typical pocket camera which really reduces noise, high ISO captures will benefit from noise reduction in post processing. AF is reasonably fast for this type, and metering is great. So short of a DSLR, this is as good as it gets in a true pocket camera!
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