Back in October 2018, I reported how my old Lumix LX7 suffered a failure owning to being drowned two days in a row.
Later I reported how I resuscitated the camera by leaving it in a zip lock bag with rice for four days in an effort to dry it out.
For two months the camera struggled on.
In the mean time my old friend Ken Buck offered to sell me his rarely used LX7.
Last week I took him up on the offer, as my original LX7 had finally reached the end of its usefulness.
The other day, I put the ‘new’ Lumix LX7 to the test and made these photos of Amtrak 57, the Saturday southward Vermonter making its station stop at Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
Low sun is a key to dramatic railway photos, and shortly before the train arrived, the clouds parted.
This is now my third Lumix LX-series camera. My first was a LX3, that I used from October 2009 to April 2014; my second was the ‘Zombie Lumix’ previously described. Long live my third Lumix!
Train 157 is Amtrak’s Sunday-only Springfield, Massachusetts to Norfolk, Virginia run.
Refurbished Amfleet offer a comfortable classic ride.
Amfleet diner.
At New Haven, Amtrak 157 paused to change from a diesel to an electric locomotive. I used the opportunity to make a few photos.
The New York skyline as viewed from the Hell Gate bridge.
On my trip,I traveled only as far as New York Penn-Station and made these photos with my Lumix LX-7. Here the train is both transport and subject.
The lightweight Lumix is an ideal camera for urban imaging. Its small size, innocuous appearance and ease of use makes it a perfect travel camera.
It has an extremely sharp Leica lens, simultaneously exposes RAW and JPG file formats, offers manual aperture control among a variety of exposure adjustments.
It’s largest drawback is the lack of a long telephoto zoom.
It was a drizzly dusk two weeks ago (April 2017) when I used my Lumix LX7 to expose this image of a Peter Witt streetcar in Milan, Italy.
With the Lumix set at ISO 200; my exposure was f1.8 at ¼ (using ‘A’ mode that allows me to select the aperture, while the camera automatically selects the shutter speed).
To steady the camera, I rested it on a railing conveniently located at the tram stop.
I’m fond of making night shots where there’s still a hint of colour in the sky.
For the next week Tracking the Light will be on Auto Pilot while Brian is traveling.
Lumix cameras. My old LX3 is at top left. Top right and bottom are LX7s. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D.
My first digital Camera was a Panasonic LX3 that I bought in late 2009 on suggestion of my digital photography advisor, Eric Rosenthal.
At the time, I’d planned to use the camera as a light meter, to make supplemental photos, and to photograph in social situations where having an email ready photo quickly was an advantage.
In the first few months, I occasionally used this camera for railway action photos, but for the most part I continued to rely on my Canon EOS-3s for important situations.
CSX Q006 rolls south along the Hudson River at Iona Island, New York in March 2012. Lumix LX3 photo.
Rural station at Riachos T. Novas, Portugal. Lumix LX3 photo.
Lisbon Metro. Lumix LX3 photo.
Train interior, Porto, Portugal. Lumix LX3 photo.
I gradually concluded that the LX3 was a fantastic image-making tool. For the next five years I carried this camera everywhere. I exposed more than 64,000 images with it. I’d still be using it, except it broke! (Some observers suggest that I wore it out) The digital display at the back of the camera stopped functioning reliably.
My father lent me his LX7 for a few weeks, and I quickly concluded that I needed one.
Overall it is a much better camera.
On the downside, it is nominally larger.
On the plus side:
1) It is easier to use.
2) When set up properly there’s virtually no delay in making an image from the time the shutter is released.
3) It cycles much faster.
4) It has a better lens, which lets more light in and has a longer telephoto setting.
5) It offers a variety of features that allow for more creative images, including: a built in neutral density filter; an automatic High Dynamic Range mode that rapid blends three images in a sophisticated manner.
6) It has a traditional aperture ring.
7) It has a built in level that can be displayed on the screen.
8) It has the option of an external digital viewfinder.
Over coming weeks, I’ll continue to discuss the virtues (and drawbacks) of these various cameras. Incidentally, recently Panasonic announced another new camera, the LX100, which looks to be even better than the LX7.
The LX7 has excellent reaction time; I stopped the Acela Express at speed at Princeton Junction. The train was moving faster than 125mph. LX7 photo (uncropped, unmodified—except for scaling for internet usage).
The LX7 is easy to use and well suited to making railway photos. LX7 photo.
Irish Rail ICR’s roll along a speed near Clondalkin. The camera’s small size makes it easier to shoot through fences, such as those on highway bridges over the track. LX7 Photo.
