Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC5 Review

Leica DC Vario-Summicron 3x optical zoom lens, 8 elements in 7 groups (2 aspherical elements), f=7-21mm (35mm equiv. is 33-100mm), F2.0 - 2.5 maximum aperture, 2x Variable Zoom.

Focus range: Normal: 11.8" (30 cm) - infinity.
Macro: Wide: 2.4" (6 cm) / Tele: 7.9" (20 cm) - 19.7" (50 cm)

Manual focusing is possible with the ring located on the lens barrel.

The eyelevel optical real-image zoom viewfinder has a field of view of approx. 82% of the captured image. It has diopter adjustment for those of us with less than perfect eyesight. Two LEDs are used to indicate focus and flash status, they also indicate Movie recording is active or the camera is writing to the memory card.

The built-in flash has modes for Auto flash, Auto flash with red-eye Reduction, Fill- flash, Fill-flash with red-eye Reduction or Flash Cancel and slow shutter synchronization flash (1st or 2nd curtain effect). On top is a flash hot shoe that allows the use of more powerful clip-on flash units.

The Mode Dial has positions for:

• "A"utomatic: The Camera sets everything to default settings
• "P"rogram AE record
• "A"perture priority AE
• "S"hutter priority AE
• "M"anual control of shutter speed and aperture
• MOVIE mode

Above the Mode Dial is the shutter release, surrounding it is the Zoom control switch which doubles as the display's "Zoom-In / Index" control during playback mode.

Next to the Mode Dial are the Self Timer and Flash control buttons.

The (non-illuminated) monochrome data LCD on top lets you see the important camera settings at a glance without the need to turn on the color LCD. Below are all possible indications.

The 4-way selector lets you navigate through the menus. It is also used for changing shutter speeds, aperture values, exposure compensation and in playback zoomed mode it allows you to move around in a zoomed-in image to check focus etc. The "REVIEW / SET" button is used to accept menu selections or toggle from record to review the last image. Above the navigation button is the "MENU" and "DISPLAY" toggling buttons. The Metering mode button is above them and allows switching between Multi-pattern, Center-weighted averaging or Spot. To the left is the bracketing control button. It allows use of the exposure compensation, exposure bracketing, focus bracketing, and flash exposure bracketing. The "POWER: ON/OFF" switch is also located on the back.

On the back is a large 2.5" color TFT LCD monitor which can be used as a live viewfinder, for image review or accessing the menu system.

The I/O ports are found behind a door on the side and include a USB port for transferring images to the computer.

The A/V out handles both audio and video (NTSC or PAL selectable) for connection to a TV set.

On the bottom is the DC INput jack for charging the battery or powering the camera from AC.

The LC5 is equipped with a SD/MMC card slot and comes with a 32MB SD card. It's compatible with any size SD or MMC card up to 128MB. Larger capacity SD cards up to 512MB will be available in the near future.

Power is supplied by a long-life 1400mAH 7.2V lithium rechargeable battery pack. A combination charger and 110-240V AC power supply is included. The battery is charged in-camera and takes a maximum of 2 hours if fully depleted.