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Panasonic Announces The High End LX5 Compact Camera
By Matt J. Weiss, July 28, 2010 @ 10:33 AM (EST)
Panasonic has announced the DMC-LX5, the successor to one of the most popular underwater compact cameras, the LX3. The LX3 has long been revered as one of the top underwater compact cameras due to its bright lens, ability to fully control settings, and impressive resolution.
The LX5 improves over the popular LX3 with a upgraded sensor, more versatile lens and improved control system. The sensor is a relatively large 1/1.63", 10mp sensor that has been redesigned for improved dynamic range. The lens is now an impressive 24-90mm f2.0-3.3 lens. Additionally, the cameras control system has been changed to a clickable control wheel, a la the popular GF1.
The Panasonic DMC-LX5 is set to be one of the top underwater compact cameras and should compete with Canon's popular G11 and S90 cameras. We will update you with more housing information when it comes in, but for now, get your LX5 fix from the press release below.
The LX5 improves over the popular LX3 with a upgraded sensor, more versatile lens and improved control system. The sensor is a relatively large 1/1.63", 10mp sensor that has been redesigned for improved dynamic range. The lens is now an impressive 24-90mm f2.0-3.3 lens. Additionally, the cameras control system has been changed to a clickable control wheel, a la the popular GF1.
The Panasonic DMC-LX5 is set to be one of the top underwater compact cameras and should compete with Canon's popular G11 and S90 cameras. We will update you with more housing information when it comes in, but for now, get your LX5 fix from the press release below.
Press Release
Panasonic [has] announced the LUMIX DMC-LX5, the ultimate compact, high-performing digital camera offering photo enthusiasts the ideal camera for capturing professional-quality photos and High Definition (HD) video. With an ultra-bright F2.0 ultra-wide-angle 24mm LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMICRON lens, the LUMIX LX5 minimizes image distortion, resulting in stunning, true-to-life images with outstanding resolution and detail. The 24mm wide angle lens offers extraordinarily large viewing space and now the optical zoom is extended to 3.8x(90mm) making the LX5 even more versatile.
“The Panasonic LUMIX LX-Series cameras have been extremely popular models for us with professional and enthusiast photographers, who understand and value the superb image quality such a compact, affordable digital camera can offer,” said David Briganti, Senior Product Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. “We expect the same enthusiasm, if not more, for the LUMIX LX5, which features improvements to the lens and processing – resulting in even better images.”
The Panasonic LUMIX LX5 is a unique compact digital camera in that it offers superb image quality along with a super-bright lens and increased creative modes. The F2.0 lens is twice as bright as a F2.8 lens, making it easy to produce beautiful photos with a soft-focused background thanks to the shallow depth of field provided by the extra light. In addition to the newly-designed lens, the LUMIX LX5 features an image processing engine that combines technologies resulting in professional-quality photos, especially in low-light situations. Like its predecessor, the LUMIX LX5 features the highly-acclaimed 10.1-megapixel CCD, but it has an expanded dynamic range by increasing the sensitivity and the saturation.
The newly developed Venus Engine FHD image processor enables higher-speed, higher-performance while compiling the Intelligent Resolution technology. The triple CPUs in this imaging engine dramatically speeds up processing while achieving exceptional noise reduction performance. With its high-sensitivity CCD and the brightness of the lens, minimum illumination of the LUMIX LX5 is as low as 3 lux while shooting video.
In addition to capturing high-quality still photos, the LUMIX LX5 can record HD videos in AVCHD Lite, a format that allows almost doubling the recording time in HD quality compared with the conventional Motion JPEG format. Creative video shooting modes include Creative Movie mode, where users can set shutter speed and aperture manually to make even more impressive movies. My Color mode and Film mode are available for more extended expression not only in photography but also in videography. The LUMIX LX5 also features Dolby Digital Creator to record hig h quality audio and the 3.8x optical zoom is available while shooting video.
The LUMIX LX5 has also been redesigned externally – with a thicker grip making it easier to hold and a newly-incorporated turn-and-push jog dial achieves various selection and setting more quickly. The LUMIX LX5 also features a hot shoe, which allows for the attachment of a wide-variety of accessories, such as an optional Live View Finder which helps shooting under strong daylight with high visibility or an external flash. The 1:1 square format setting is added in the aspect ratio option which can be selected with the switch at the side of the lens barrel.
Other features of the Panasonic LUMIX LX5, include:
The 3.0-inch large 460,000-dot high resolution Intelligent LCD also redesigned by adopting High CRI (Color Rendering Index) backlight LED to greatly increase the color reproduction, making it more visible both in shooting and playing back images in any conditions from at dark night to under bright sunlight.
Battery life is extended to shoot 400 photos (CIPA) per a single charge.
A wide-variety of accessories, including a Live View Finder (DMW-LVF1), External Optical View Finder (DMW-VF1), Wide Conversion Lens (DMW-LWA52), Conversion Lens Adaptor (DMW-LA6), MC Protector (DMW-MC52), ND Filter (DMW-LND52), PL Filter: DMW-LPL52, External Flashes, Leather Case (DMW-CLX5) and a Battery Pack (DMW-BCJ13).
The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX5 will be available in late-August 2010 for a suggested retail of $499.95 and will be available in black and white models.
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