Suhit Gupta
05-25-2004, 11:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_lc1-review/index.shtml' target='_blank'>http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_lc1-review/index.shtml</a><br /><br /></div>"If a camera could be deemed worthy on looks alone, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1 gets a perfect score from this review. Its body reminds you of the great Leica film cameras of old. The old design has been brought into the digital age, and old favorites like manual focus, zoom, and aperture rings have come along for the ride. You also get an F2.0-2.4, 3.2X Leica zoom lens, a 5 Megapixel CCD, manual controls, a hot shoe, and more. All of this comes at a price -- $1599 -- making the LC1 a bit of a "boutique camera". It gets worse, though. There's a Leica equivalent (reviewed at DP Review) that costs even more -- a whopping $1799!"<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/camera-front-angled.jpg" /><br /><br />Other than the price, everyone, including this review, seems to love the camera. It sports a fantastic retro design body and has excellent manual controls for shutter speed, aperture, and focus rings, which make adjusting settings super-easy. There is a slight complaint in the amount of noise in the pictures, but overall the quality is superb. Though the camera is a bit slow in terms of performance, it is 'built like a tank'. There are a few other complaints like the lack of an AF-assist lamp, but generally, this camera is on the recommended list if you have money to burn.