Panasonic Dmc LX2 10.4MP 4x Zoom Digital Camera

The LX2 has many features which you don't get with a cheaper compact digital camera. I wanted a camera where I could fiddle with the settings once I found out what all the buttons do of course. There are a lot more settings than I am used to. It is easy to flick between the different modes of capture. I am still using automatic mode because I'm still building upto changing the apperture and focus etc... The Leica lense does suffer from creating too much noise (fuzzy pixilating images) in the photos above iso 100 sensitivity which is the only thing that I can find wrong with it. The panasonic software over compensates itself creating fuzzy larger images. You only really notice it over iso 100 and when photos are printed larger than A4. I love the fact that I don't have to capture photos at 10 mpixels all the time since it can be reduced all the way down to 2 mpixels. The 4 optical zoom is sufficient for me but there are larger zooms out there for cheaper if thats your bag. The other thing that anoyed me was the fact that I had to buy my own camera case because one doesn't come with it. That set me back an extra £10. You'd think at that price you'd get one with it. The outer case is made of steel and the lens is quite chunky. The LX2 definately feels really expensive...as it should. The LX2 has a wide angled lens which I think only Panasonic do at the moment. I find it really usefull since you obviously fit more in the shot and I take a lot of panoramic photos (the LX2 doesn't have a panoramic mode but I just photoshop many photos into a panoramic). You can change between 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 aspect ratios for different options. The fact that people say its handy for displaying 16:9 (because you get the black margins down the sides when you use a 3:2 or 4:3) photos on a wide screen tv is irrelevant because thats not really what I bought it for...I'd rather print them, but I suppose its still a nice feature for showing the family all your pics before you print. If you want an advanced compact camera with all the trimmings then this should be your choice, or the newer TX2. However, if you want a camera which takes excellent quality photos and don't mind it being large then go for a digital SLR. The extra money is worth it for all the settings and modes. You may find a cheaper camera like a canon powershot A640 which is just as good but doesn't have the long shutter speed of 60 seconds which I use for arty night shots and artwork. I recommend that camera over this purely because of price and photo quality. The LX2 still has really good quality photos though. The cheap deals are out there over the internet.