May 24, 2014.
Last month (April 2104), my Panasonic Lumix LX-3 began performing erratically while I was photographing Irish Rail at Monasterevin.
Although annoying, this was only a minor setback of the day, because I had my Canon EOS 7D with me. I often travel with at least two cameras, just in case one develops problems.
The LX-3 suddenly suffered an electrical fault; specifically the rear display stopped working reliably. Sometimes it would flicker on, other times it was dark. I tried all the usual cures; I turned the camera off and then on, I removed the battery, I even tried the factory reset. No joy.
In the short term I found that if I pressed on the side of the camera body, the display would come on long enough to make adjustments. I continued to use the LX-3 for secondary services, while relying on the Canon EOS 7D and film cameras for more critical work.
I’ve had my LX-3 for almost five years and in that time I’ve carried it with me everywhere. It’s visited about a dozen countries, and more than a dozen US states. In addition to pictorial service, I’ve used it intensively to copy documents while in libraries. Using the in-camera file counter, I determined that I released the shutter more than 64,000 times.
Last November the camera took a very hard knock, which didn’t immediately affect its performance, but certainly didn’t do it any good. In April, the camera was subject to unusual dampness (it got wet) while I was making night shots in Porto, Portugal.
On May 24, 2014, my father lent me his Panasonic LX-7 to see if this newer Lumix model would offer a suitable replacement. This camera comes highly recommended to me by several people. Since it’s essentially the latest model kin to my LX-3, it may represent an ideal choice for my new ‘everywhere camera’.
I brought it to Palmer, Massachusetts where I exposed about 100 images in various conditions, both to get a feel for the cameras controls (which have several notable differences from the LX-3), and examine the quality of the images.
I found that the LX-7 had several positive points. In general it reacted quicker and cycled faster than the LX3. Its zoom lens has a wider range, and offers longer telephoto photo settings. The rear display seemed sharper and brighter.
On the downside, I was unfamiliar with the controls, so setting the camera proved challenging. Also, the camera is slightly larger.
In general I was happy with my results, and plan to experiment a bit more with the camera before I commit to buying one. There are a variety of excellent small cameras on the market these days, so I may wish to sample some of these too. More to come!
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I’m happy to hear that I helped you make a great camera choice! May you and your wife make many wonderful photos with it. All the best,
Brian Solomon
I’m not surprised you like the LX-7. I’ve been a keen photographer since the 1980s, and have taken many pictures of trains over the years. Until I discovered your blog, I’d used a succession of Canon and Nikon SLR cameras, with mixed results. But I didn’t really know anything about Lumix cameras. While viewing your blog from time to time, I was so impressed by your LX-3 images that I did a bit of research, and then bought myself a Leica D-Lux 6 (the Leica version of the LX-7). To say that I am very happy with my purchase would be a considerable understatement. In fact, my wife and I both think it takes the best pictures of any camera I’ve ever owned, and I have you to thank for it. Bravo …
Glad to have your assessment of cameras, including the “soft” characteristics. I’ve always found that the specs, valuable though they are, don’t add up by themselves to point to a choice. TW
When it fell off the roof of the Subaru in East Brookfield, perhaps that was the beginning of the end.