Compact Just sold my LX5. Going to a new LX7 or a Oly XZ-2?

gsaronni

Regular
I have been checking reviews and I quite impressed with the IQ from the Olympus.

I was going to order today the new camera, but I will wait some days more to be 100% sure.

The LX5 was the camera that was with me more years, almost four, and I like the f1.4 lens in the new LX7, but I always considered the JPGs from the Pana a bit dull and needed some post processing(levels and some saturation)

But I see the Oly shots and they are just perfect. The problem is the loosing of 24mm wide angle, but you get the articulated screen

Anyone with both cameras to help me a little? What about low light shots and focusing accuracy(was 99% spot on with the LX5
 
i was very happy with the oly. i found it unique among its competitors in that it had a fast lens with much more reach on the upper zoom end, plus IBIS, and the articulating touch focus fire screen is fabulous for unobtrsive street shooting. i thoguht the IQ for what it is was excellent.
 
Gosh, what year is this?

It's been a while since I've seen either of the two cameras mentioned here.

Not to say they are bad cameras, it's just that so much has happened since these cameras were launched.
 
well, imo, for an all in one p&s compact, i dont know any better than the oly. a lot has hapoened, but not so much in that particular market.
 
If you don't mind spending a little more and having it a little larger/heavier, then Sony RX100 is the way to go. The LX7 and XZ-2 are both great compacts, but the RX100 is an entire paradigm shift better in IQ.
 
Thanks for your help, I am trying to waste around 250€, so RX100 is out of my budget, maybe second hand.

The Oly is second after the LX7, but I see the results ooc and the Oly is much better. My other gear is Sony A700, A580 and some lenses, but my most used camera was the LX5
 
I had an LX3 and now have an RX100 and I really miss the 24mm option on the LX series. It might be worth having a trawl through your images taken with the LX5 and seeing how many were taken at the wide end. That will give you a clearer idea of how much you might miss having that available.
 
If you don't mind spending a little more and having it a little larger/heavier, then Sony RX100 is the way to go. The LX7 and XZ-2 are both great compacts, but the RX100 is an entire paradigm shift better in IQ.

100% Agree. Only exception would be if you can't deal with 28mm. I had the LX7 and the RX100. While the LX7 is no slouch, the RX100 is so fast its amazing. In the IQ dept, there is no comparison. The LX7 is a mess past ISO1000. I ended up selling the LX7.
 
Yes, nice to see the LX7 mentioned; I'm still using that old relic, usually with the LVF2 mounted. Great little package!

I had the Oly XZ-1 but couldn't warm up to it at all; I gave it to my wife, who uses it (in iAuto mode) for special occasions when her iPhone 4S just isn't up to the task... I never gave serious consideration to the XZ-2; just not an Oly person, I guess.
 
Yes, nice to see the LX7 mentioned; I'm still using that old relic, usually with the LVF2 mounted. Great little package!

I had the Oly XZ-1 but couldn't warm up to it at all; I gave it to my wife, who uses it (in iAuto mode) for special occasions when her iPhone 4S just isn't up to the task... I never gave serious consideration to the XZ-2; just not an Oly person, I guess.

Chuck, I agree with you. The RX100 is better IQ wise, but the LX7 feels so much more like a camera to me. I still have an RX100 I'm ready to part with because of that. My main compact now is a Pentax Mx-1, but I could easily shoot an LX7 and be happy. How a camera feels and operates is a big deal to me. To others it doesn't matter much, but I'll give up a little IQ for handling and feel. The LX7 is great for things like Museums and other indoor venues where you want a shot of something, can't use flash and need some dof. Hard to beat the speed of that lens. The RX100 is only fast at the wide end.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I see the LX7 is a relic, but there is not a new Lumix LX9 so I consider it an option. I was having a look to the Pentax MX-1, but no hot shoe is a problem and it is bulky.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I see the LX7 is a relic, but there is not a new Lumix LX9 so I consider it an option. I was having a look to the Pentax MX-1, but no hot shoe is a problem and it is bulky.

Relic is an unduly harsh word; the LX7 is closer to a classic than something that should be retired. It's a fun camera with a remarkably useful feature set. You won't be disappointed...
 
I was very pleasantly surprised with the LX7, which I bought only in December 2013. My baseline of quality tends to be high because I shoot with some pretty decent cameras, but the LX7 amazed me with the kind of colour and quality the images possessed, for a small sensor.

The wide angle lens is super. Just super. At 16:9 mode, it is like a 21.5mm full frame lens that has been cropped to 16:9. It's that wide. Autofocus is almost silent and the shutter is only a whisper. The f1.4 aperture means that where slower lenses would shoot at ISO 800 or more, it often tops out at ISO 400.

I shoot in raw and process in Lightroom. I've created a preset that changes the somewhat flat raw images into very rich, vivid scenes, with only minor tweaking if necessary afterwards.
 
Another vote for the LX7. For a tiny camera, it has astounding capabilities. The 1.7 lens is fast fast fast - the ultra wide angle zoom is cool - and I actually find the weird in-camera 'art filters' (or whatever Panasonic calls them) very cool. In camera JPEG's aren't bad - and are close to what Olympus achieves with their fine PEN processors. All in all, it's a superb camera. The only thing that makes it better is an accessory LV2 viewfinder, good for those bright days when external screens wash out in serious sunlight.

Confession: after buying an LX7, I sold an Olympus EPL5 - a camera with a superior sensor and interchangeable lenses which is an amazing tool - but in spite of its minuses, I found myself taking the LX7 out and using it on a daily basis much more.
 
One more vote for the LX-7. Actually I have a D-LUX 6 (better looking IMHO). Great for low light, enough zoom for most situations, physical adjustment for both aperture and aspect ratio, so small I carry it with me daily, neutral density filter. Classic is certainly the word for this camera.
 
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