Steve'sDigicams

wco81 · Jan 18, 2006, 11:57 AM

I liked the idea of the EIS and the 16:9 so I ordered it from Amazon/Vanns.The Leica lenses stick out from the body, don't retract all the way inside like other digicams. Of course it is a 4X optical zoom and maybe the 16:9, 3:2 and 4:3 modes cause it to stick out like that.So there is a lens cap and I know I will lose that thing. The lens seem exposed so you don't want to lose the cap.Maybe if there was a filter I could screw on the thing but I only see such accessories at the Panasonic site for their DSLRs, not the LX-1, which is suppose to be a point and shoot model.Maybe if I could find a good case where I could keep the cap off all the time but not worry about the lens surface being scratched or dirtied.Right now, I'm thinking of returning it and ordering a Canon S80. Time is of the essence though as I leave on a trip the end of this month, less than 2 weeks away.

slipe · Jan 18, 2006, 12:28 PM

I always manage to find a perfect belt pouch at my local flea market. I like to carry small cameras that way instead of in my pocket. That might help with the lens cap.

I don't consider a camera with full manual exposure plus aperture and shutter priority a point and shoot. I do prefer having an optical viewfinder and the S80 has one. The S80 gets a little more purple fringing and corner softness at wide angle but it is less noisy. And I find the normal 4:3 wide angle more useful for most things except maybe 4 X 6 prints, and there are plenty of pixels in the S80 to crop down for that small a print. The LX80 wide screen movies would be nice on a HDTV.

If the lens cap is bugging you and a pouch isn't handy go for the S80. It is an excellent camera. If you have Photoshop CS2 the raw capability of the LX1 is nice – they dropped raw on the S80.

wco81 · Jan 18, 2006, 12:39 PM

I don't have Photoshop. How large are the RAW files? Right now, I'm keeping my library in iPhoto and I'm guessing it won't handle RAW files too well if at all. I wouldn't mind using larger, less-compressed files though. Yeah I didn't realize things like shutter and aperature-priority were rare in digital cameras. But I don't know if the thing even has a light meter even if I wanted to play around with full manual. The main thing I worry about is that lens surface. If I'm near the water (like Hong Kong where I'll be visiting in a couple of weeks) I worry about the spray if I don't have the cap on that thing but I'm just holding it in my hand in anticipating of taking pics. I guess they're coated so I should be able to just wipe it clean. Even without the protection issue, there should be polarizing filters available for digicams in general.

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Jan 18, 2006, 11:57 AM	#1
wco81 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 29	I liked the idea of the EIS and the 16:9 so I ordered it from Amazon/Vanns.The Leica lenses stick out from the body, don't retract all the way inside like other digicams. Of course it is a 4X optical zoom and maybe the 16:9, 3:2 and 4:3 modes cause it to stick out like that.So there is a lens cap and I know I will lose that thing. The lens seem exposed so you don't want to lose the cap.Maybe if there was a filter I could screw on the thing but I only see such accessories at the Panasonic site for their DSLRs, not the LX-1, which is suppose to be a point and shoot model.Maybe if I could find a good case where I could keep the cap off all the time but not worry about the lens surface being scratched or dirtied.Right now, I'm thinking of returning it and ordering a Canon S80. Time is of the essence though as I leave on a trip the end of this month, less than 2 weeks away.

Jan 18, 2006, 12:28 PM	#2
slipe Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Indian Rocks Beach, FL Posts: 4,036	I always manage to find a perfect belt pouch at my local flea market. I like to carry small cameras that way instead of in my pocket. That might help with the lens cap. I don't consider a camera with full manual exposure plus aperture and shutter priority a point and shoot. I do prefer having an optical viewfinder and the S80 has one. The S80 gets a little more purple fringing and corner softness at wide angle but it is less noisy. And I find the normal 4:3 wide angle more useful for most things except maybe 4 X 6 prints, and there are plenty of pixels in the S80 to crop down for that small a print. The LX80 wide screen movies would be nice on a HDTV. If the lens cap is bugging you and a pouch isn't handy go for the S80. It is an excellent camera. If you have Photoshop CS2 the raw capability of the LX1 is nice – they dropped raw on the S80.

Jan 18, 2006, 12:39 PM	#3
wco81 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 29	I don't have Photoshop. How large are the RAW files? Right now, I'm keeping my library in iPhoto and I'm guessing it won't handle RAW files too well if at all. I wouldn't mind using larger, less-compressed files though. Yeah I didn't realize things like shutter and aperature-priority were rare in digital cameras. But I don't know if the thing even has a light meter even if I wanted to play around with full manual. The main thing I worry about is that lens surface. If I'm near the water (like Hong Kong where I'll be visiting in a couple of weeks) I worry about the spray if I don't have the cap on that thing but I'm just holding it in my hand in anticipating of taking pics. I guess they're coated so I should be able to just wipe it clean. Even without the protection issue, there should be polarizing filters available for digicams in general.