Because the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 costs almost $500, there are quite a few photographers who won't give it a second glance. For beginners, this is probably a smart idea. However, if you have some photographic experience, the LX7 is well worth a second glance ... and maybe more.

As a point and shoot camera for those wanting to upgrade to something better or a smaller back up for someone owning a G-series compact, the LX7 cuts the proverbial mustard, but, despite being as consistently competent and reliable as one might hope, in present company doesn't have enough about it...

Polished and refined design; Excellent lens with ultra-fast aperture; Plenty of useful shooting features; Hotshoe accessory port can accomodate an EVF;

Screen needs to be even better to match its rivals; No articulating/flip-out screen; Smaller sensor than rivals;

The Lumix DMC-LX7 is Panasonic's flagship compact camera, and the long-awaited follow-up to the popular DMC-LX5. At first glance, it's hard to tell the two apart, but look closer and you'll see some pretty big changes. The DMC-LX7 is a mid-sized camera made mostly of metal.

Excellent photo quality; with less noise than typical compact cameras; Super fast F1.4-2.3; 3.8X optical zoom Leica lens gives excellent sharpness; and versatility in low light; Multi-aspect sensor keeps pixel count high in different aspect ratio modes; 3-inch LCD with 920,000 dots; very good

Aperture ring cannot be customised, unlike similar controls on competitive cameras, Redeye a problem; no removal tool in playback mode, Takes a long time (30+ seconds) for camera to flush the buffer after a burst containing RAW images is taken, Vertical stripes in panoramic images, Very slow lens

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.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC LX7 is a little known camera simply because it didn't ship out of the house of Canon or Nikon. What is little known about this camera is that it not only sports a Leica lens, but also the fastest lens in a point and shoot camera.

Fastest lens in the category; Leica lens is exceptionally sharp for compact form factor with physical aperture dials; Excellent video bitrate along with stereo sound

Focusing can be a little daft at times; Archaic menu system that is a pain to browse through

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

El análisis de la Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 nos ha dejado muy claro se trata de una de las mejores cámaras compactas, con funcionas avanzadas espectaculares.

Rapidez de la cámara; Luminosidad y bajos niveles de ruido; Controles manuales y avanzados

Distorsión apreciable en varias longitudes focales

The Panasonic Lumix LX-7 came to the table as a solid looking competitor - with a well-built body, a nice design, and the prior reputation and name. We felt like we were looking at an award winner. However, as we dove in we found the LX-7 to bring little to the table over the competition.

One hell of camera, LX7 comes with the fastest aperture Leica lens and a compact 1/1.7" sensor. Further, the inclusion of Venus engines does allow LX7 to produce images with leasing colors and a good contrast.

Fastest lens; Impressive image stabilization; Decent auto-focus; Crisp and clear images

Noise at high sensitivities; Bit expensive; Focus seems to look daft sometime; Low battery life