Panasonic’s LX-1 has been reviewed at Imaging Resource and here is their opinion.
“The Panasonic LX1 is a pretty unique digital camera. It packs a 4x zoom lens into a surprisingly compact body and mates it to a 16:9 sensor with options for 4:3 or 3:2 aspect ratios, too. Panasonic throws in their excellent Mega OIS Optical Image Stabilization technology for good measure. Image stabilization is becoming more of a factor in the market these days, and with good reason, as it really makes long-ratio zoom lenses a lot more useful than they would be otherwise.”
Pros:
* 16:9 aspect ratio sensor for stills and movies
* Optical stabilization helps greatly for hand-holding the camera in dim lighting
* Unique joystick controller is a hit
* Very high quality lens, lower than average distortion, very low chromatic aberration, excellent sharpness
* Bright color will be appealing to most users
* Auto white balance does better than average under household incandescent lighting
* Optional low contrast setting lets the camera handle harsh lighting better than average
* In-camera image sharpening does a good job, delivers lots of crisp, fine detail
* Better than average low-light exposure and autofocus ability
* Very good battery life
* Accurate and large LCD viewfinder
* Very good shutter response, quick on the draw
* Good macro focusing capability
* Optional histogram displays in both record and playback modes
* Quite enjoyable to use
Cons:
* Higher than average image noise, visible even at ISO 80. ISO 400 images only usable for prints to about 5×7 inches
* Rather limited flash range
* Only a 4x zoom lens, many current competing models offer more
* Low contrast setting could go a little lower yet, provide better handling of highlights
* Strong reds and blues are oversaturated, a few users may find bright color a little too much
* Soft corners in images at telephoto (but doesn’t extend too far into the frame, still better than average overall)
* Flash has trouble on the closest macro shots (use external lighting)
* Charger’s folding plugs are off-center, making it a tough fit to a power strip
