User arcebelano over on dpreview recently posted some very nice images from his LX2, and asked the question of whether the upgrade to LX5 is worth it.
Click here to see his images:
DMC-365 - My Year with Lumix Camera Equipment: DMC-LX2 User Asks - Should I Upgrade to the DMC-LX5?
Here's my reply:
I had the LX2 for about the same time period you've had yours. Like you, I was VERY satisfied with it.
I have upgraded to the LX5, and will never look back. While the image quality of the LX2 is very good, I do find the LX5 to have about one stop better high iso performance. I can use it fairly comfortably at iso800.
But, more importantly, some practical upgrades really help. The most important for me are:
1. Hot shoe. I like to use an optical finder sometimes.
2. Hot shoe. I use the LVF1 finder a lot.
3. Function to set zoom to 35mm equivalents. If I want to use a 35mm optical finder, I can set the zoom to 35mm equivalent without any trial and error.
4. Function to remember the zoom setting when you turn the camera off. That way, it will go back to, say, 35mm, even after I've turned the camera off.
5. Manual focus memory. If I set the camera for range focus or hyperfocal settings, it remembers that focus setting when I turn the camera off.
So, I can put on an optical finder, set the focal length to match it, focus at the hyperfocal distance, and use it all day without messing around, even when I turn the camera on and off.
I don't know if you shoot this way, but if you do, it's worth the upgrade.
And, the image quality is better.
Here's one of my more recent shots:
P1030260.jpg by
reed_flickr (www.creativeobjective.com), on Flickr
Reed
DMC-365.blogspot.com