Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS2 Review

Review Date: March 27th 2006

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Conclusion

(out of 5 stars)

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS2 may only be the entry-level offering in Panasonic's new range of digital cameras, but that doesn't mean that it lacks features. The LS2 offers a 3x zoom lens covering a 35-105mm focal length and a 5 megapixel sensor that is more than adequate for prints up to A4 in size. Panasonic include their Mega O.I.S image stabilisation system on all of their cameras, and as usual it works very well, allowing you to hand-hold the camera in situations where you would normally get blurred results. Image quality is on the whole good, although the inability to alter image sharpness in the camera is frustrating. Indeed, the 5 megapixel 1/2.5 inch sensor used in the DMC-LS2 is not as noisy as those used in other Panasonic cameras that I have tested, with ISO 80-200 being perfectly usable. This means that in conjunction with the Mega O.I.S system, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS2 can deal with most shooting situations, both indoors and out. The areas where the DMC-LS2 betrays its budget price tag are the overall design and build quality. I would best describe this camera as "chunky" - it is both wider and thicker than it looks, despite only housing that short 3x zoom and smallish 2 inch LCD screen, making a small camera bag an essential purchase. Also some of the external controls are obviously built to the low price-point. Having said that, I can't think of many other digital cameras that offer so many features and good image quality at such a low price, making the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS2 a great budget point-and-shoot digicam.

PhotographyBLOG is a member of the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS2 have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.

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