Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 SLR Review

Controls on the grip include the shutter release with control wheel mounted out front. Next you can see the Film mode button (sets the color tone). The Mode dial has positions for Auto, Program AE, Aperture and Shutter priorities, full Manual, Custom, SCN, Night portrait, Sports, Macro, Landscape, and Portrait exposure modes. The Drive mode selector and main power switch are mounted around it. Last you can see the secondary control wheel located on the back, which acts as the Index and Magnify controls in playback mode.

On the back is a 270 degree rotating 2.5-inch, 207,000-dot, polycrystalline TFT color LCD. Unlike many past dSLRs, the L10 allows you to use the LCD for framing pictures with its "Live View" mode. When using this feature, it offers 100% frame coverage.

Controls on the back: Top left you can see the Live View button. To the right of the optical viewfinder you can see the AF mode switch with positions for AFS, AFC or M (Manual focus). In the center is the AF/AE Lock button. Top right you can see the control wheel we explained earlier. It controls Exposure compensation in P/A/S modes or Shutter speed in Manual mode. The green playback button enters playback or review mode. The display button turns the LCD on/off.

Next, we have the 4-way controller. It's used to navigate the menu system, press it "up" to adjusts the ISO, "right" for Metering mode, "down" for White balance, and left to choose the AF area. The FUNCtion button brings up a graphical shortcut menu with options for Flash mode, White balance, ISO, OIS mode, image size and image quality. Lastly we have the image delete button.

Here you can see the Shooting Info display. When you are not using Live View mode, this graphical interface shows many of the selected exposure settings, much like the monochrome LCDs did on older dSLR models.

Shooting Info display:

1 - Recording mode
2 - Aperture value
3 - Shutter speed
4 - AF frame setting
5 - Metering mode
6 - Exposure compensation/Auto bracket comp. range
7 - Film mode
8 - Custom set
9 - Number or recordable pictures
10 - Card access
11 - Quality
12 - Picture size
13 - Battery indicator
14 - Flash output adjustment
15 - Flash setting
16 - White balance
17 - ISO sensitivity

Continued:

18 - Program shift
19 - Age (Baby1/Baby2/Pet modes only)
20 - AF lock
21 - AE lock
22 - Current date and time
23 - Manual exposure assistance
24 - Optical image stabilizer
25 - Drive mode
26 - 2nd curtain synchro
27 - White balance fine adjustment

Secure Digital Storage

The DMC-L10 is equipped with a Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot and is compatible with any capacity SD or SDHC card. Shown here with Ultra's High-speed (150x) 4GB SDHC card.

Approx. Storage Capacities

I/O Interfaces

The I/O ports are on the right side. The combination port on the left handles both Video-OUT (user- selectable NTSC or PAL) for output to a TV monitor as well as USB 2.0 (high-speed) connectivity for transferring image data to the host computer. The small hole on the right is for the optional DMW-RSL1 wired remote control unit (approx. $79).

The DMC-L10 does not have a dedicated DC IN port for connecting an external power supply. However, you can use the optional DMW-DCC1 DC Cable if you have need for an external power source.

Power Source

The DMC-L10 uses a 7.2V 1320mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery pack. It is recharged with the supplied Quick Charger. Panasonic claims the battery life is sufficient for capturing 450 frames (225 min.) using the optical viewfinder or up to 280 frames (140 min.) using Live View.