Two rings on the lens of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15 (Panasonic LX10) allow the setting of the aperture and another parameter, for example the focus. [Photo: Panasonic]

On the back, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15 (Panasonic LX10) has a 7.5 centimetre touchscreen that can be folded up and down. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15’s (Panasonic LX10) 7.5-centimetre touchscreen can be folded up by up to 180 degrees, allowing not only ground level shots, but also selfies. [Photo: Panasonic]

The elegant housing is made of an aluminium alloy and is equipped with numerous control elements, some of which are also made of aluminium. For example, the lens has two large control rings for adjusting the aperture and focusing. In addition, a thumbwheel allows the adjustment of the recording parameters. If desired, the automatic exposure can be changed via program shift, but the Panasonic can also handle semi-automatic and fully manual operating modes – naturally including optional storage in raw data format. The rear 7.5 centimetre screen is a touch screen with a resolution of one million pixels. The screen can be folded upwards to effortlessly master ground level perspectives. This can go up to 180 degrees, so the screen is also suitable for selfies. Thanks to WLAN, it is also possible to control the camera remotely via app. But wireless image transmission is also possible.

Ergonomics and workmanship

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15 (Panasonic LX10) has a plainly designed, very compact and nobly finished housing, which consists of half metal and the other half (back) plastic. It is similar in size to Sony’s RX100 family, but is one to four millimetres “more powerful” in each dimension. Its weight of just over 300 grams is also slightly heavier than that of the Sony RX100 family, but overall the LX15 (Panasonic LX10) can be described as pleasantly compact and not too heavy. Panasonic’s simple design unfortunately does without any rubber applications on the case, making it a bit slippery. The small, two millimeter bulged “handle” doesn’t help much, you should support the “slippery” camera from below so that it doesn’t accidentally slip out of your hand.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15 (Panasonic LX10) shines in its class of the compact 1″ camera with the fastest lens. However, the initial aperture of F1.4 is rapidly reduced to F2.8 at zooming [Photo: Panasonic]

However, the LX15 (Panasonic LX10) makes up ground again with its operating concept. The lens not only has a stepless adjusting ring like the RX100s from Sony, which can be used to control manual focus or zoom, but also an aperture ring with two “grip ears”, which snaps in third steps from F1.4 to F11, as is typical for Leica. The lens also comes from Leica, or at least it has a corresponding label as with all compact cameras from Panasonic. Whether an aperture ring with fixed aperture numbers makes sense at a zoom with variable light intensity may be a debatable question, but from F2.8 at the latest, the display is correct across the entire zoom range, which ranges from 24 to 72 millimetres in 35mm equivalent. However, the light intensity of the triple zoom drops quickly as soon as you zoom. Already at 26 millimeters you have lost an entire f-stop to F2.0, from 31 millimeters F2.8 is on.

We missed an important feature of other high-power compact cameras: the swing-in neutral density filter! It normally ensures that the large aperture openings can be used for creative effects even in bright ambient light. The filter would also be helpful for extending the exposure time when the aperture is closed, for example for a nice flow effect of water. Because the lens does not have a filter thread to avoid this shortcoming. After all, the lens offers an optical image stabilizer, which is after all part of the basic equipment of all compact cameras at Panasonic.

The back of the LX15 (Panasonic LX10) has also been beautifully designed by the designers. The movable 7.5 centimetre display is flush with the “control unit” on the right. However, it can only be folded upwards, not downwards. This is practical for near-ground shots, but less practical for shots across crowds. Panasonic has therefore thought of the unrestrained selfie trend and generously dimensioned the folding angle at 180 degrees so that the monitor is also visible from the front. Even the touch function is not missing for the “smartphone generation”. Speaking of generations: The “real” photographers, on the other hand, will miss a viewfinder. Due to the lack of a flash shoe, there is also no slip-on option, so that you have to be content with the screen. A real drawback compared to the RX100 models from Sony, which have had a pop-up viewfinder since the third generation. But even a photographer can be happy about the handy touch autofocus, which Sony hasn’t had in the RX100 series so far (in five generations) due to the lack of a touch screen.

Let’s get back to the operation: Beside the two lens rings there is a program selector wheel (even with position for three individually stored presets) as well as a thumbwheel. This and the ten partially programmable buttons on the back of the camera allow many functions to be called up very directly. The Fn1 button is where you would normally find an AEL or AFL button, but is preset with the 4K photo function, which can be changed quickly. On the Fn2 button is the post-focus or focus-stacking function, but this is also quickly reprogrammed to the ISO button, which we also missed. By the way, the keys are just big enough, after all, the space is small, but they should stand out a bit better and have a larger stroke. Further function keys can be found on the touch screen.

The operation of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15 (Panasonic LX10) is really good thanks to the four wheels (two on the lens, two on the top of the camera) and numerous, partly programmable buttons. [Photo: Panasonic]

The menus on the otherwise flawless screen are unfortunately a bit confusing due to up to eight screen pages of long scroll lists, but there are really a lot of different setting options. Also the Panasonic-typical Quick menu is not missing, which saves you from having to go to the “big” menu for important recording parameters, for which there was no more room on your own keys. In the Live-View the display supports you with all kinds of help. In addition to an exposure preview, there is a live histogram, various fade-in help lines and a spirit level. The really fast autofocus takes significantly less than 0.2 seconds to focus (including shutter release), so the small compact camera is not inferior to full-grown system cameras or shows some supposedly superior cameras where the proverbial hammer hangs. Panasonic’s DFD technology proves once again that there is no need for phase autofocus, but that a well-done contrast autofocus is sufficient or even better. If you want to focus manually, this is no problem at all thanks to the focus magnifier, the peaking function and the adjusting ring on the lens. If manual focus is not activated, the lens ring is used to zoom in steps of 24, 28, 35, 50, 70 and 72 millimetres (corresponding to 35mm) in the factory setting, while the zoom ring around the shutter release button can be used to zoom continuously.

The tripod thread on the underside of the camera is made of metal, but is neither in the optical axis nor far enough away from the battery and memory card compartment to be able to open it when the quick-release plate is mounted. Nevertheless, there is still “access” to the battery and memory card, namely via the side-mounted Micro-USB interface, which is located below the Micro-HDMI connection behind the somewhat cheap-looking “rubber” interface cover. Curiously, the USB port is not even mentioned on the label. This is a bit unfavorable, as exactly this micro-USB interface serves to charge the battery. If you use a computer instead of the supplied USB power supply, the battery can be replenished when reading out the memory card. However, this does not work when switched on. In order to supply the camera with continuous current (after all, the battery only provides “juice” for 260 shots according to the CIPA standard), you have to use an “old-fashioned” battery dummy with cable connection. In any case, the lid of the battery and memory card compartment offers a corresponding recess. Speaking of saving: You shouldn’t do that too much with the memory card, at least if you want to use the 4K video and photo functions. These work with a compression to 100 Mbit per second, which corresponds to 12.5 MByte per second. An ordinary class 10 card is not enough, it should already be a card with speed class 3 (recognizable by a small 3 in a “U”). There is no need to grab a UHS-II card, which is not supported by the Lumix (but works in UHS-I mode).

Equipment

Apart from the missing viewfinder and flash shoe, the Lumix LX15 (Panasonic LX10) is aimed both at automatic carefree photographers who don’t want to have anything to do with photo technology, but value good image quality, and at ambitious amateur photographers. Due to its small size, the Panasonic is also a very nice second camera for system photographers. An LX15 in your jacket pocket takes better quality photos than a system camera left at home and even more so than a smartphone. So it’s nice when the iA mode, jokingly also called “dummy mode”, provides quite optimal settings. The Lumix not only detects the subject, but also the movements of the photographer and the subject, for example, in order to always set everything optimally with the image stabilizer, the aperture, the exposure time and the ISO sensitivity. Face Recognition, which can even store faces for recognition and prioritization, contributes to successful portraits. Also an HDR- and a panorama function and numerous digital filters for “creative” effects are not missing.

True photographers know, of course, that creativity in photography is less about digital filters than it is about image design and, of course, setting shooting parameters, especially aperture and exposure time. In fact, you can achieve free-stand effects with the fast lens, even if it is much less pronounced than with a large full-frame camera. With appropriate recording programs for semi-automatic or fully manual control, the Lumix offers the necessary tools. Also an ISO automatic is not missing in manual exposure, but the exposure correction is incomprehensibly not available here, the corresponding button on the back of the camera is unfortunately without function in manual exposure.

The lens of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15 (Panasonic LX10) is unusually fast (F1.4) only in the maximum wide-angle position (24 mm). Even at a focal length of 31 mm, the light intensity is only F2.8.

The tripod thread of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15 (Panasonic LX10) is not in the optical axis, when used the battery and memory card compartment is also blocked.

You can also get creative with time and aperture in the video function, at least if you move the program selector wheel to the corresponding position. However, thanks to the video recording button on the top, videos can be recorded in any recording program. Focus, optical image stabilizer and zoom remain active and work accordingly adjusted. Without rotation correction we found the image stabilizer, which optionally gains in effectiveness through electronic support, but not optimal in every situation. Even the focus of a video recording could not always decide where to focus, which can be seen when the aperture is open and the resolution is high (keyword 4K). The integrated stereo microphone picks up the sound surprisingly well, since an external microphone cannot be connected. In 4K video recording, sometimes the memory card is more likely to limit the recording length than the 30-minute limit that still exists. After all, one minute of 4K video at 100 Mbit per second requires 750 MByte per minute. A 16 GB memory card that really fits enough photos doesn’t record 20 minutes of video. If you want, you can simply switch the resolution down to Full-HD, in which case AVCHD is also available as a video format in addition to MP4. While in 4K one has to be content with 24, 25 or 30 frames per second, in Full-HD very fluid 60 frames per second are possible as maximum.

Panasonic not only uses the 4K functionality for video recording, but also for particularly fast or clever continuous shooting functions. After all, 4K means 8.3 megapixels per frame, enough for DIN A4. Even if you have to admit that a still image from a video can’t compete with the quality of a real 8.3 megapixel photo. But the chances of catching the right moment improve. The post-focus function, which moves through the focus area during a 4K shot, is also very clever, so that you can select the focus afterwards in peace. Thanks to focus stacking, the digital calculation of all focal planes, even from “front to back” if desired.

The true 20 megapixel continuous shooting function is also impressive. Ten frames per second are possible, 38 in a row in JPEG format, but only 14 in raw. If the buffer is full, the screen sequence becomes quite irregular. However, the LX15 (Panasonic LX10) can permanently store four frames per second in JPEG, but only 1.4 in Raw. Unfortunately, there is neither a focus tracking nor a live image in the fast series, and the last shot is always displayed. For a focus tracking, if desired also with motive tracking as well as a live image, one has to reduce the serial image function to six images per second (image sequence M).

The fact that the LX15 (Panasonic LX10) can’t score so well with flashes is already made clear by the missing flash shoe. The tiny pop-up flash has to be unlocked manually, but then has a good repertoire with automatic mode, long-term synchronization, flash at the beginning or end of the exposure as well as flash exposure correction. Unfortunately it is not suitable as a wireless TTL flash trigger. Although the flash can be directed towards the ceiling with your finger, you won’t really be happy with the very meager guide number of 3.2 that we measured. The flash is therefore only suitable for discreet brightening, the output can be reduced accordingly if necessary. Thanks to the usual central shutter for compact cameras, you can at least flash with short exposure times of up to 1/4,000 seconds. The shutter works almost silently. If you want to turn off the quiet click, you can also expose electronically, then even with up to 1/16,000 second, completely silently. The longest exposure time is one second, while the mechanical shutter allows 60 seconds of exposure. There is a bulb long time exposure mode with T mode, which means you have to press the shutter button once to start and stop the exposure. The use of a tripod or similar stable base is self-evident.

The housing of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15 (Panasonic LX10) is very simply designed, even the strap eyelets hardly protrude.

Behind the interface flap of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15 hides the Micro-USB interface as well as the Micro-HDMI connection, which can be seen on the label.

Panasonic has solved the WLAN functionality very well, which comes up with a powerful app. This allows remote control with extensive setting options. In addition, GPS tracks recorded with the app can be transferred to the camera, and the photos can be transferred to the smartphone and social networks if required. The camera itself also offers image processing options including raw data development. This is practical, for example, if you take a picture in raw, but still want to transfer a snapshot as JPEG to your smartphone.

Picture quality

To get to the bottom of the image quality of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15, we not only extensively tested the camera in practice, but also tested by us.

The image sensor with a resolution of 20 megapixels is supplied by the lens with sufficient sharpness from the center of the image to the edge of the image at all apertures and focal lengths in order to produce 20 x 30 centimeters printouts or prints. Neither an edge darkening, nor a distortion or color fringes play a role, which were excellently corrected by Panasonic in JPEG. If you look at the resolution at 50 percent contrast (MTF50), you get a more differentiated picture. The mark of very good 50 line pairs per millimeter (lp/mm) in 35mm equivalent is easily cracked at any focal length in the image center even with open aperture, the maximum is even at 55 lp/mm. For a higher resolution one practically doesn’t need to fade, above F5.6 even the diffraction starts already and slowly pushes the resolution under the mark of 50 lp/mm. Only at F11 even the 40 lp/mm are missed, albeit by a narrow margin.

At the edge of the image, a similar resolution curve with open-blend capability is apparent at all focal lengths, but at a lower overall level. This is in the range from F1.4 to F8 in wide angle at 30 to 34 lp/mm at the edge of the picture and thus clearly below the resolution in the center of the picture. For larger printouts than DIN A4, this slowly becomes visible as edge blur. The further you zoom, the higher the edge resolution. At 50 millimeters corresponding to 35mm, it is already just over 40 lp/mm, in telescopic position even 42 to 47 lp/mm (in the range from F2.8 to F8). The only weakness of the lens is the edge resolution in wide angle, but the LX15 is not alone. The resolution curve and the other (missing) optical errors clearly speak for a very good lens. The zoomed lens of the LX15 (Panasonic LX10) is better than that of the RX100 family.

The signal-to-noise ratio starts at a good level of over 40 dB at low sensitivities, which is rarely the case with compact cameras even with a 1″ sensor. It is only at ISO 800 that the 40 dB mark is undercut, albeit by a narrow margin. However, it becomes critical at less than 35 dB. This limit falls above ISO 3.200. Fine-grained noise only becomes slightly visible at ISO 6.400, above that the noise rises a bit steeper. Colour noise, on the other hand, plays no role. Overall, however, the slight noise is fine-grained. When measuring texture sharpness, you can see where noise reduction destroys fine details. The LX15 (Panasonic LX10) has quite a strong sharpening, which leads to artefacts and plays a minor role here. Particularly up to ISO 200, over-sharpened details appear, then the detail rate begins to decrease. But up to ISO 800 the LX15 (Panasonic LX10) still resolves enough details, only above that the images become slightly softer, but at ISO 1.600 they are still usable. At ISO 3.200, however, the detail preservation is already borderline and drops rapidly with increasing ISO sensitivity. The Panasonic LX15 or Panasonic LX10 is the first small compact camera that can keep up with Sony’s RX100 models on a remarkable level. At ISO 3.200 and above, the Sony is still slightly ahead, but at lower sensitivities it is more the Panasonic with the higher signal-to-noise ratio.

The battery and memory card of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15 (Panasonic LX10) are removed on the underside. The USB cable gives access to both, the battery is charged and the memory card can be read.

The LX15 (Panasonic LX10) scores in another important discipline: The dynamic range is extremely good with well over eleven, sometimes up to twelve f-stops in the ISO 100 to 800 range and more than one f-stop ahead of the competing Sony. From the brightest to the darkest areas, the LX15 draws many details – in JPEG format! At ISO 80 and 1,600 to 12,800, good input dynamics are achieved over ten f-stops. The tonal value curve is divided, but not too exaggerated. The output dynamic is also very good up to ISO 800 with over 200 of 256 possible brightness gradations, but then drops quite steeply to a good value at ISO 1.600 and satisfactory to sufficient values up to ISO 6.400. The color accuracy is also very good. On average, the deviations are extremely small and even the maximum deflections are not too high. This partly concerns a somewhat stronger saturation and only rarely a falsified hue, such as a slightly greenish yellow and a cyan that is too bluish. The actual color depth is also very good with over four million colors up to ISO 1,600, even at ISO 6,400 it is still a good three million colors.

Bottom line

With the LX15 (Panasonic LX10), Panasonic has achieved a really big success. They can confidently be described as the first serious competitor to Sony’s RX100 family. The Panasonic scores with a well manufactured housing and many control elements for a very direct operation. She has to leave springs with the housing too smooth in ergonomics, and that she does not have a viewfinder is a real pity. But it offers for example a touch screen that you don’t get at Sony. The DFD autofocus sets new standards in this class and the LX15 takes less than 0.2 seconds to focus and release. The Lumix of the RX100 series from Sony is also a match for image quality. The lens in particular is very good, apart from a somewhat weak edge resolution in the wide angle, which can also be found in the competition. Mainly at low sensitivities, the LX15 performs well, but above ISO 800 it has to admit defeat of the RX100 family. Up to ISO 1,600, the Lumix produces images that are good to use, and even very good at lower ISO sensitivities.

In terms of price, the RX100 III from Sony can certainly be seen as a direct competitor. The Sony is ahead of the Panasonic with the viewfinder and the down-folding screen, while the Panasonic scores with 4K video and the touchscreen as well as the slightly better operation and the faster autofocus. The choice between these two would not be easy for us either. In spite of the price of 700 Euros, the Panasonic Lumix LX15 (Panasonic LX10 in the United States) offers a good price-performance ratio. You can get a full-blown DSLR for so much money, but it’s much bigger (and therefore less portable) and can’t come up with such a good and fast lens.