Features:

• 10.1-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality poster-size prints
• 2.5x wide-angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized zoom lens
• 3.0-inch high-resolution LCD screen; HD video capture
• Classic SLR-like manual operations include selectable AF spot/multi AF area, customization button, aperture, shutter, program and full manual modes
• Capture images to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)

Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
Designed for easy, creative shooting, and high-performance in low-light conditions, the DMC-LX3 features a F2.0 24mm LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMICRON lens, 10.1 megapixels and an ultra-sensitive 1/1.63-inch CCD developed specifically for this model. By combining a high-quality lens and sensor ready for a variety of shooting conditions with a wide-range of accessories and manual controls, the DMC-LX3 is ideal for professional photographers and serious amateurs looking for a compact digital camera that furthers their creative photography.

Rating : - Ideal if you like wide and you like control...
There is already a lot of info out there on this camera, so I'll just quickly highlight a few things, mostly from the perspective of someone who normally shoots with DSLRs.

- Unlimited control - You can control just about anything on this camera, and a surprising amount of it very quickly through the "quick menu" accessed through the joystick.

- Wonderful wide angle lens - The 24mm equivalent field of view at the wide end is wonderful for landscapes, street photography and tight quarters. The fast F/2.0 max aperture and IS make the camera an awesome low light performer. I have a Fuji F30, long considered the king of compact low light cameras, and in reality the LX3 is able to get far more low light shots than the F30.

- Excellent user interface - Coming from almost exclusively using Canon cameras I was concerned about another user interface to deal with. I love the LX3 interface, it is so intuitive and transparent that I'm amazed that I often can get settings the way I want faster than with my SLRs.

- Excellent RAW shooting - The camera has a fairly decent RAW buffer (about three shots) and doesn't slow down at all in RAW shooting. Remember, it is still a compact camera and thus shot to shot time is longer than an SLR, but the point here is that the speed is the same regardless of whether you are shooting RAW or JPEG. Most of the few compacts that shoot RAW suddenly become glacially slow if you actually try to use the RAW mode - not the LX3.

Those are probably the four things that made me fall in love with this camera. Be advised of course that it isn't the perfect camera for everyone. If you tend to shoot in auto all the time (and the LX3 does have an excellent auto mode) you really won't be using a great part of the LX3's advantages. If you aren't comfortable working with the relatively restricted 2.5x zoom range you might also be frustrated and would probably be happier with cameras that have longer zoom ranges either by being larger (Canon G10, Panasonic FZ28) or by making a few more compromises in the lens design (Panasonic TZ5).

This camera really is a "photographers" camera that gives you not only complete creative control, but most importantly easy and transparent control through its wonderful user interface.

Even the variable aspect ratio setting, which I thought was sort of gimmicky when I read about it, has proven to be a feature I use almost continuously. The LX3's novel implementation of this (the different aspects preserve the diagonal angle of view rather than just cropping down one of the other aspect settings) is wonderful.

The size is wonderful, it is truly pocketable unlike the Canon G10 (of course the G10 has other benefits).

Being a wide angle junky I actually did purchase the wide angle adapter lens for this camera. Wow, wow, wow. I always thought these accessory type lenses were a silly idea, but this one gives an 18mm equivalent field of view and the optical performance is stunning for such a wide angle lens. My Canon XTi and 10-22mm no longer need to be hauled around for ultra-wide shots.

Finally, to repeat a point made by many, this is NOT a DSLR replacement. It can't do everything a DSLR can. It does have way more manual control than almost any other compact, it can shoot RAW much faster than most compacts, and its imager size and pixel density are better than the vast majority of compacts. That said, it doesn't offer the fast autofocus of an SLR, the deep RAW buffers and fast frame rates of an SLR, nor high ISO performance anything like an SLR. But it is a camera that performs admirably in many of those departments and most importantly it does a great job of getting out of the photographers way just like a SLR. I have now taken the LX3 on two dedicated landscape shooting trips instead of my SLR, so for some tasks is can be a replacement and for others a complement. Don't expect miracles, but do expect to be pleasantly surprised if you've shot with other compacts.

As long as you are aware of the restrictions of the 24-60mm focal range you just simply can not get a better compact camera.