Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Compact Camera

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but after lugging an SLR up Whitney, I developed a burning desire to own a little camera. I have narrowed it down to a Nikon S630 and a Panasonic LX3--or maybe a Panasonic TZ5.

Strong preference is for the Panasonic LX3.

Does anyone have any input on these cameras or others of this type? Many thanks.

Before I purchased my TZ5 I was debating whether to get it or the LX3. Although the LX3 has more features and takes better quality photos, I ended up choosing the TZ5 because it is smaller, lighter and most important, it has a 10x optical zoom whereas the LX3 only has 2.5x.

Check out www.dpreview.com for reviews on these cameras.

I would recommend the LX3. I own the FX35 and I intend to replace with the LX3 which I have used numerous times.
If you are used to a SLR the LX3 is between a SLR and a compact and has an excellent Leica lens, a lot of pros use them as a spare camera.
Of course you could always spend way more and get the almost identical Leica D-Lux4!!

That's my internal debate right now--do I really want/need that zoom, and what are the downsides? Seems like the picture quality with the zoom is really compromised. And I don't think I really need that much zoom.

The pics on this thread

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169211

were taken with the LX3 and this is kind of what sold me on it.

We've had the LX-3 since February largely based on this review:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/PanasonicDMCLX3/

It's an awesome little camera and the HD movie capabilities are phenomenal. Mind you, it is well built and heavier than traditional little cameras, but it carries a Leica lens and "feels" like a camera should. As said already, the one potential con is it's not a great "really far" zoom camera and the zoom attachment accessory is quite pricey. But if we go on safari I have a Nikon SLR with super lens for that. The LX-3 has my vote.

TZ7/ZX3.

I don't know much about the LX3. But I have a TZ3, which is the predecessor to the TZ5, and has the same wide angle and the 10x zoom. The wide angle lets you get a lot of landscape into your picure, and the 10x zoom comes in handy much more than you may think. You may also want to look at the TZ7, which is called the ZS3 in North America. It has a 12x zoom and 10.1 Megapixels of resolution. And it is even a little thinner than the TZ5. Even MORE to think about!

You should probably take a serious look at the Canon S90 as well.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0908/09081906canons90handson.asp

http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/s90.htm

I just got an LX3 and have tried it out on a couple of hikes. It is heftier than a typical compact camera but it's size is similar and the quality is much higher. So far I'm most impressed with the dynamic range - it captures color in remarkable detail and range.

After taking it out on its first outing a wrote a quick blog post of my initial impressions and some sample images here: LX3 review

Try the Panasonic DMC-TS1 12 megapixel camera with AVCHD video capability. It is waterproof, drop proof . Good luck and happy hunting.

I have an LX3 - it's a nice little camera as far as compact cameras go and I don't mind that it doesn't zoom in a lot, but it's not a DSLR and it's a struggle to shoot in macro setting with it. I'll still carry my old Olympus E-410 a lot of the time - especially if I think I'll run into wildflowers. I'm going to keep using the LX3 for trips when I want a light camera, but what I'm really looking forward is to getting an Olympus E-620.

Based on input from this site, we looked at the Panasonic and settled on the Panasonic DMC-ZS3 which has a 12X zoom and very, very easy to use. Costco had them for sale last week at $276. Hope this helps.