Hi Rawfa,
You've probably read the specs on the Panasonic site and the corrections on the rumours site by now. In that light, let me look at some of your wishes.
- Larger sensor (all those waiting for a micro 4/3 sensor can forget about it...Pana will release ANOTHER compact camera with a micro 4/3 sensor and a fixed lens later)
I'm sorry. Reality has caught up with the rumours site and it seems that physics were right when they said it couldn't be done. Also, µ43 as a standard states a lens mount, not a fixed lens. I would really have liked a fixed lens µ43 camera with a range like the LX3, too. But frankly, I'm glad I decided to order an E-P1 before any of the announcements were made. No more anxiety, just a short wait until it arrives and I can go back to work.
- Better dynamic range
- Better iso performance
I'm curious to see how the LX5 will handle high ISO. On another forum, somebody mentioned that R+B would be read twice and G would be made twice as sensitive. That's a different way of implementing high ISO than pixel binning. We'll soon know if it works.
- Smaller more compact body (I want to be able to comfortably put it in my jeans pocket)
It seems the body is a bit larger, but not as deep, as the LX3's. Do note that Panasonic now states the depth including the lens (not excluding like the LX3 !) With the released specs, I'm quite certain you'll need to have a very big pocket before it fits.
I found the LX3 to be too large to comfortably carry in my pants. Since that meant I had to carry a small bag during summer, I decided that I might as well replace my LX3 by an E-P1 when the former broke. The E-P1 is smaller and lighter than my SLRs (Olympus OM) and rangefinder (Zorki) and it doesn't make most of the compromises that a real pocketable camera does. We'll see.
- Front wheel ring control
- Faster lens (f1.8)
Nope.
Yep. But I don't know if this is a good thing. With its wide angle zoom, the LX3 was clearly a niche product. That means that most users who suffer from featuritis will immediately forget about its existence by merely looking at the specs. By introducing a 25-90 zoom, we immediately see that hawks from the superzoom and the EVIL camera worlds are swooping down and picking on the fact that the camera doesn't have a real zoom (like theirs does), that the LX5 is really much bigger than their Sony NEX, and so on.
I don't know if Panasonic will sell more cameras now that it has a longer zoom, but I don't really appreciate the extra attention.
- Get rid of that freaking removable lens cap!!!
Coming from a 1980s SLR, I don't understand the problem. Part of the fun of photography surely is to unconsciously remove the lens cap, stow it in one of the many coat and pant pockets, work away, then spend 15 minutes frantically searching through all pockets to find back the cap ? :ROTFL:
Peter.
