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It Was (Nearly) Everything I Needed

I want to start off by saying I am a loyal Canon shooter. I own both film and digital SLRs and love them very much. When I needed a digital point and shoot to carry with me whenever carrying the DSLR was impractical, I saved my pennies and bought a G9. The G9 is a fantastic point and shoot which I highly recommend.

So why am I writing a review for the Panasonic DMC-LZ10? Well, about a week ago, I dropped my G9 and the lens was stuck in the open position. I have to send it in to Canon for repair. In the interim, however, I didn’t want to be without a digital point and shoot. I also didn’t want to spend a boat-load of money. My first instinct was to get another Canon. I tried several of the lower-cost versions, in particular the A590Is. It’s a fine camera, and I liked the IQ enough (but not as much as my G9). I didn’t like the feel of it in my hand or the fact that it felt a bit flimsy. So I began to look around…and at other brands.

During my research, the Lumix line kept popping up. I became curious. I did more, specific research. I then found that the LZ10 fulfilled nearly all of my needs/wants:

1) Cost–I wasn’t going to spend and arm and a leg on a camera that would be used pretty much while another was in the shop.

2) Size–I wanted a camera small enough to take alone without being intrusive.

3) IQ–I wanted a camera that was able to create photographs with good, usable image quality. I wanted low noise and good resolution. I wasn’t going to fool myself into thinking I’d get DSLR quality, but I also didn’t want to fool around with “project” photos.

4) Control Beyond Pre-Set “Scenes”–I am very fond of being able to shoot in shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual. I will occasionally use Program mode, but often eschew the “Scene” or “Creative” modes.

5) Build Quality–I like to USE my cameras, and I tote them along with me every day. Build quality is an important issue.

6) File Format–In a perfect world I would love to have RAW capability.

7) Battery–The propitiatory batter in my G9 wasn’t as much of an issue because it uses the same batteries found in my older DSLR…batteries I already had but haven’t been using. I wasn’t interested in starting a whole new battery collection, so standard AAs were very appealing.
Looks–Yes, a little bit of vanity creeps in now and again.

So, how does the DMC-LZ10 stack up? Pretty darned favorably I have to say.

1) Cost–It was right in my wheelhouse. I feel it is a good value for the money.

2) Size–The camera is surprisingly small without feeling teeny. The ergonomics are good…it feels “right” in the hand.

3) IQ–For a camera in this price range, I am very pleased with the image quality. The anti-shake works well, and my over-all hit-to-miss ratio is very favorable. The Leica lens is a good performer (although the photos will never be mistaken for those taken with an M8) and the wide angle end is very serviceable at 30mm (equivalent).

4) Control Beyond Pre-Set “Scenes”–Yup…it has shutter priority, aperture priority, manual, and program modes. Sure, it also has all the “Creative” and “Scene” modes, as well as Panasoinc’s “Intelligent Automatic” which really does a lot of thinking for you.

5) Build Quality–Unlike the Canon A590Is, The DMC-LZ10 has a predominantly metal body and feels substantial.

6) File Format–Here is where the camera lets me down a bit. There is no RAW support, only JPG.

7) Battery–Double A batteries it is. I got some Eneloops and they work wonderfully.
Looks–I have to admit this camera does LOOK good. It’s sleek, with a hint of a retro feel that I really like.

So in the end, I am very happy with my choice to get the Lumix DMC-LZ10. So happy, in fact, that I do not plan on shelving it once my G9 returns from the shop. I want to find some way to put it to use in my daily work flow.

Update (2/6/2012): I also found some auctions for this item here.

The featured review for this product, Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ10S 10MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Silver Electronics Mar 20, 2008, was written by J. Caruso.

The average rating for this item is 4.7 out of 5 stars, according to 3 reviews.