Like a DigiCam? Panasonic Adds Leica Technology

by Jim Bray

The marriage of digital cameras with high quality conventional technology continues with Panasonic's new line of LUMIX digital cameras.

As with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F707 reviewed elsewhere in TechnoFILE, which incorporated a lovely Carl Zeiss lens, Panasonic's 2002 model line of digital cameras use the famous Leica family of lenses to collect the image data for the digital chips to record.

This is a good trend! One can never complain about quality (unless there isn't any, of course!), and upping the optical ante in digital cameras can only lead to better quality pictures, even from those who lack the professional skills to rival a Karsh.

And that's who this Panasonic is undoubtedly aimed at.

It isn't really fair to compare it with the Sony, which is a pretty high end digital camera. The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LC20 is definitely more mainstream, and there's nothing wrong with that if that's the kind of product you need.

Priced at $350US, it's affordable for most of the masses, while its tiny size lets it snuggle happily in a purse or briefcase. Then again, that tiny size caused me some angst - though in fairness my criticism isn't limited to this Panasonic. It's just that the camera and its various labels are so small that I have trouble reading them, even with my reading glasses on. This, of course, won't bother people whose eyes aren't yet showing signs of age (or other flaws), but it sure made things difficult for me.

I have the same problem with the labels on the back of audio/video and computer components, too, and don't really know what can be done about it (other than a new prescription for glasses, or hiring a "reader" to accompany me), but it's darn annoying.

Anyway, this Panasonic is fully featured for the price. The resolutions at which it works go down from 1600 x 1200 pixels, through 1024 x 768 pixels, 640 x 480 pixels, and right down to 320 x 240 pixels (the latter of which is for recording moving pictures). It's basically a two megapixel camera, so while that means it isn't up to the highest of professional standards, it'll be more than adequate for just about any reasonable consumer use you could need.

The controls and menu operations are pretty straightforward, especially if you peruse the manual before setting out for a shooting session. This is good, and is exactly how it should be.

The rear panel includes power, display, menu, flash mode, single/burst mode (more about that later), and review/set buttons. There's also an optical and a 1.5" LCD viewfinder.

The top panel includes a ring for adjusting the zoom (wide or tight), the shutter button, the mode dial and built in microphone, and the bottom has the usual tripod receptacle, as well as being home to the battery and Smart Media memory card doors.

And a door on the left side of the camera hides the connectors for the DC power adapter, video out and the USB that connects the camera to your PC.

In all, it's a well laid out machine, with the above caveat to the size of the labels…

The DMC-LC20PP gives you a 3X optical zoom and 2X digital zoom, and it works quite well - though I would loved to have seen more zoom power. I took some shots at a local racetrack and was disappointed to discover I couldn't get nearly as close to the action as I'd have liked.

Then again, one must remember that this is a reasonably low end camera…

Focusing is accomplished automatically, and there's a macro setting for really close up work. The camera also comes with a dinky 8 Megabyte SD memory card, which fills up so quickly with higher resolution pictures that you're liable to be more than a tad disappointed. You can get more cards, of course.

A "MEGA BURST" recording feature combines four to five frames per second; there's also a CCD colour filter, auto focus system and, to mess about with your images Panasonic includes ArcSoft's photo editing software suite.

File formats include JPEG (for still images), and QuickTime Motion JPEG for recording movie clips.

Using the camera is quite straightforward, which is as it should be. Actually the hardest thing was getting the carrying strap installed, and that was probably more of a case of a thumbfingered user than anything else…

One thing that's kind of cute is the way that Leica lens pops out of the front of the unit when you fire it up. It's almost like an impudent tongue sticking out, almost as if the camera is saying "Say cheese!" to whomever or whatever you're aiming it at.

A nice touch is the Quick Delete feature, which lets you dump the last image you recorded, without having to leave "record" mode. Not a big deal, but a nice convenience that lets you use up that 8 Megabytes even more quickly - but more efficiently. The regular delete feature lets you dump individual shots one at a time, or all at once.

This Panasonic isn't going to go down in history as one of the most powerful and/or innovative digital cameras to hit the market, but for the average consumer who wants to record good quality images with little fuss - and wants that ability in a small package, this unit will definitely do the job.

Jim Bray's technology columns are distributed by the TechnoFILE and Mochila Syndicates. Copyright Jim Bray.

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