A short, sharp review of the LX7, Panasonic's compact camera with the quality, speed and features to take on mirrorless cameras. View at 1080p to see sample shots at 1:1 pixel ratio.

Wonderful performance, both still and video, in a camera that is easy to take everywhere. Pluses: - I wanted a camera with excellent low light performance for travel because of all the scenic shots in dark buildings or night scenes, and this camera delivers.

Compact; Durable; Exceeded expectations; Convenient; great image quality and performance; looks and feels more expensive that it is

nice to be able to recharge with the battery in

Back in 2008, in the blissful days before the bankers ruined everything, I was invited by Panasonic to a launch event for a new camera. This was not all that unusual; I'd been to many such events before, but this time it was a bit different.

Features; Handling; Performance; Image quality; Build quality

Price

The Lumix DMC-LX7 ($449.99 list)($799.95 at Amazon) is Panasonic's premiere point-and-shoot camera. It features a 1/1.7-inch image sensor with a CMOS design and 10-megapixel resolution, and a lens with a fast f/1.4 maximum aperture. The camera has some advanced features that are sure to please enthusiasts, including Raw capture and the ability to add an optional electronic viewfinder or external flash. It's not perfect—despite a relatively low-resolution sensor, it doesn't do that well in low light, and the decision to include a dedicated aperture ring is questionable. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100($448.00 at Amazon) is still our Editors' Choice when it comes to high-end compact cameras. It's priced $200 higher than the LX7, but features a much larger 1-inch image sensor and better overall performance. Design and Features The design of the LX7 isn't that far off from its predecessor, the Lumix DMC-LX5. If you're looking around for an LX6, don't bother—Panasonic skipped that model...

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 has a larger than average image sensor and fast zoom lens, but it's best to keep the ISO set on the low side.

Fast lens; 11fps burst mode; Accessory port for optional EVF; Shoots in Raw; Short shutter lag; 1080p60 video

Limited zoom range; Soft images at telephoto extreme; Noisy images at ISO 1600 and up; Control buttons are difficult to read

The Lumix DMC-LX7 ($449.99 list) is Panasonic's premiere point-and-shoot camera . It features a 1/1.7-inch image sensor with a CMOS design and 10-megapixel resolution, and a lens with a fast f/1.4 maximum aperture.

Fast lens; 11fps burst mode; Accessory port for optional EVF; Shoots in Raw; Short shutter lag.

Limited zoom range; Soft images at telephoto extreme; Noisy images at ISO 1600 and up.

Nice cam for "auto" mode users. But still have enough settings to use for Pro. Good optics.

This camera just amazed me. I used this a week ago when the family went to Disneyland. The pictures and videos were terrific. I decided not to use my DSLR for LX7 and I was never disappointed. When I get back home to check my pictures and videos... it was just WOW!

clear monitor; Sharp images; The best of its kind

I own various cameras ranging from Nikon's D7000 through several Panasonic compacts (TZ20, TZ30) down to simple Olympus point-and-shoot. My LX7 is my camera of choice when I go out of home. It is with me at all times. Superb camera, offering a great ease of carrying and using. Highly recommended.

Exceptionally great image quality; ease of handling; superb low-light images

No viewfinder

I took a long while picking this out. Weeks maybe. Only the Sony RX100 seemed to be better at this size but it was far more costly. Leica sells almost the same camera but again, for much more cost. This seemed like a good mix for my needs of size, quality and cost.

!.4 Leica lens is a step above the rest, for this price point of camera; Its super small size was its main selling point for me; The LX7 has an outstanding LCD that is easy to see.

LCD is not articulating but is large and has almost a Million pixels; The EVF is sold separately and is quite expensive but would make it larger; ISO over 100 seems noisy to me but I am super picky about that and I don't think that's unusual, for this size of sensor.

While there is a general move towards higher-end compact cameras – as the lower end is overrun by the smartphones – the number of truly enthusiast-level models is still quite small. Canon's G-series PowerShots obviously qualify, so does Fujifi lm's X10, Nikon's P7000-series Coolpixes and the Olympus...