The Panasonic Lumix LX3: a 2023 Review

 

While window shopping for a new camera, I stumbled upon a particular model that got bashed by so many influencers that it made me think of a similarly-featured camera that I already own. Berated and compared to modern smartphones, the camera in question made quite a lot of sense to me being a technophobe myself.

This made me turn to my 15-year old, Panasonic Lumix LX3 which I acquired "used" but in excellent condition. 

My LX3 came with a charger but no batteries plus the USB connector cable that allowed me to download photos directly to a computer. The previous owner had also lost the box the lens cap and all the other goodies that came with it from the store.

Functionally, I found ZERO issues. The camera functioned perfectly after getting new battery packs and a fresh 32GB SDHC card. The camera-to-computer interface also works as it was intended. It's been more than 3 years since I acquired this little gem and its value to me increases with each day that I get to shoot it.

For those who were too young when this camera was released, the LX3 was marketed as a "Professional Point-and-Shoot" camera back in 2008, when DSLRs reigned supreme.

As a professional photographer and filmmaker, I have always valued P & S cameras since the days of analog photography. Lugging a brace of heavy metal cameras, lenses and bricks of film was a tortuous daily experience and it was not the kind of thing you would look forward to if you were taking a casual "photo walk" or street photography. Back in the day, the Leica "M" series of 35mm roll film cameras were prized by both enthusiasts and photojournalists alike but I could never afford one even in "used" condition. 

In the days of film, there were very few professional-grade P&S cameras. Compact cameras at the time were either fully-electronic or fixed shutter speed/aperture and literally, all a shooter needed to do was aim and trip the shutter release. 

Professional photographers and master photographers never shot in fully-automatic or "program" settings. Personally, I like having 100% control over how my final images turned out. This is what separates me and those like me from all the other photographers out there who merely "handle" a camera.

All throughout my career, I never had the pleasure of buying a brand new, in-the-box camera. I also never got the chance to own a Leica of any variation. This was why the LX3 and LX5 became so appealing to me!

Although I own one DSLR, the Canon 450D (Rebel XSi), I still don't lug it around as much as I do the LX3. Despite the fact that I have a pancake-type lens permanently attached to it, a DSLR is still to bulky for just casual photography. I mostly have it on a tripod and take still life or do portrait sessions with it under controlled lighting conditions.

Going back to the LX3, this camera goes beyond just the P&S category. Compact by any standard, the LX3 can be stashed in the pocket and taken out when needed. The camera body chasis is metal and one can feel the sturdiness of the construction albeit a little hefty when in the hand. It may be heavier than most plastic-bodied counterparts but still considerably lighter than a DSLR with a compact lens attached.

As a professional-grade camera, the LX3 has all the necessary features that professionals require: a super-wide angle lens (24mm) with a fast f/2.0 maximum aperture; a hot shoe that works even with generic portable flash units; full-manual mode; and tactile buttons and dials. 

Unlike today's breed of cameras, the LX3 has a large, unarticulated, "NO-touch" LCD. This means that al the camera manipulations are mechanical and unique to the camera and not a smartphone. The LCD was meant only to show information pertaining to exposure and compositon but all these controls need to be done manually via the buttons, levers and dials. This also means that the camera will not be suitable for "vloggers" who like to have the screen flipped over so they can see themselves.

The LX3 takes amazing images despite the CCD sensor, even in JPEG although it is capable of RAW format as well. With a maximum of only 10-megapixel resolution, I really don't have a problem with the photo quality.

As a video camera, the LX3 surprisingly captures at 24fps in HD! Back in the day, this was cutting edge and ahead of even the Canon 5D Mark II which came out in 2009--a camera I have a personal relationship with, having shot one of the first feature films with it along with representatives of Canon Japan!

Sadly, the LX3 can only record short clips of 10-minutes each but this is enough for me especially when shooting B-rolls and short soundbites. I wish I could do full-on podcasts with it but it is what it is. I still love it!

Lastly, what makes the LX3 and the LX series in general is that it bears the "Leica" brand on the lens--inarguably one of the best optics in the photographic world. So in essence, I finally got a Leica after three decades of wanting one!

This is what "influencers" and modern camera enthusiasts often preach and bitch about--the "Stone Age-technology" that entry level cameras employ in order to keep the price down. In the old days, cameras were fully mechanical and a photographer fiddles with it like it were a musical instrument, a trait which is sorely lacking in today's digital cameras. 

Influencers clearly miss out on the point that tactile controls are what distinguish a camera from a smartphone. The "feel" of how a camera works is what appeals to master photographers like myself. I don't really care if the camera is "cheap" or "entry level" as long as it has the fundamental settings that I require for it to work. If you don't get this then you're probably better off with just a smartphone which in all seriousness, is NOT a camera.