Panasonic LX100 Shooter’s Report Part I: Real-world head-to-head with the Canon G7X, Sony RX100 III
posted Thursday, December 11, 2014 at 4:44 PM EDT
It's not surprising that the Panasonic LX100 currently sits firmly on the list of the most popular cameras on our site: This is one very interesting photographic tool. A competitor for large-sensor, fixed-zoom enthusiast compacts like Canon's G7X and G1X-series, and of course for the Sony RX100-series that created and defined the category in the first place, the LX100 nevertheless stands alone.
On the one hand, the Panasonic LX100 is significantly more compact than the Canon G1X-series cameras, making it more likely that you'll have it with you when you need it for that unexpected photo opportunity. On the other, it offers a significantly greater sensor size than do all of its other competitors, albeit with an equally significant disadvantage in terms of sensor resolution.
A coat-pocket camera rather than a pants-pocket one, the LX100's forte -- on paper, at least -- looks to be available-light photography in difficult lighting conditions, an area where its much larger photodiodes should show their strength. And of the group, the LX100 also seems to have the most photographer-friendly design, with a great built-in viewfinder, great performance, and plenty of external controls -- including dedicated controls for aperture, shutter speed and exposure compensation.
But that's all on paper. How does the Panasonic LX100 perform in the real world, and can it slay its rivals? Most importantly, how does it fare against the category-defining Sony RX100-series? To find out, I took the LX100 out for a side-by-side shoot with the Sony RX100 III and Canon G7X.
The result is the first part of my Panasonic LX100 Shooter's Report, where you'll find my thoughts on one very interesting comparison indeed. (And if you're personally favoring the Canon G7X, fear not -- my first Shooter's Report on that camera is also on the way, coming very soon!
In the meantime, find out which camera is my current favorite in my Shooter's Report, and see side-by-side comparisons of all three models at the links below!
Comparison Shopping
The premium compact camera market has heated up to the point you'll surely need our new camera comparison tool for helping keep all the specs sorted out! Clicking on any of the following will take you there, where you can see features, specs, pros and cons listed for virtually any pair of cameras you'd like to compare. Here are a few obvious choices to compare to the Panasonic LX100 to get you started: