Customer Reviews

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC40S 4MP Digital Camera w/ Leica Lens and 3x Optical Zoom, Silver

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am an experienced photographer, having used my professional Canon SLR for years. The Lumix is my first foray into digital photography, its purchase a result of extensive research into the field. After several months of living with it, I can attest I hardly use my SLR anymore...

I consider its main advantages to be:
1. An excellent lens (depth of field, however, is a bit limited by the camera's top aperture value of 8; this limit is common to virtually all digital cameras which are not ultra expensive).
2. Excellent photo quality.
3. Available photo modes enable almost SLR like usage. For example, the camera has aperture/shutter priority modes, and manual exposure adjustments.
4. While not as compact as other digital cameras, it is quite ergonomic, enabling a stable grip at long exposures. It is still feather light when compared to my SLR...
5. Flash operation is not automatic. Unlike cheaper cameras, this one lets you be the judge on whether you want to use the flash or not. As someone who, under most circumstances, would prefer to use a flash only as a last resort, I value this a lot. Even if you're paranoid about forgetting it, you can always look at the screen and see whether the result is too dark; and besides, the camera does make its own recommendation.
6. Like all digital cameras, the cost of taking photos is virtually zero, the results are available immediately, and editing the photos is extremely easy.

Taking the camera everywhere I go has taught me of some of its disadvantages, too:
1. It requires a large memory card in order to store a decent amount of high quality photos, which is an extra cost.
2. The lack of a fully manual mode is something I miss from my SLR, especially for night time photography.
3. When compared to my Canon, the camera takes too long to focus (although that's mostly an advantage of Canon SLRs rather than a disadvantage of the Lumix).
4. When turned on, it takes a few seconds for the camera to "wakeup" before you can take photos. However, this "feature" is common to all digital cameras.
5. Battery life can be a limit on long days of photography.
6. The LCD screen is not perfect: It can often be quite useless in bright Australia; and given its size, it's quite hard to pass judgement on whether the photo is focused or whether it's blurry. Interestingly, the screen crops a bit off the edges of photos (you do get the cropped sections back when you download the photos).

All in all, this camera will cost you significantly less than a professional digital camera, yet it would offer you 80% of the functionality a professional camera will give you, and much more than that in quality. And even if professional photography is the last thing on your mind, it is still very easy to take high quality photos with it - simply point and shoot...

Highly recommended.

I recently purchased a LC40 while on business in Singapore. Since getting home I've been taking all sorts of macro closeups, landscapes and portraiture photos with the camera. The blurbs described the Leica lens as a nice soft-focus type- though what this meant escaped me until I started looking at the photos I'd been taking of all sorts of subjects. The Lens or Camera, i can't work out which, do in fact take 'soft' focused photos. This is how I describe its ability to have very lifelike photos almost leap off the page and screen, without any sort of jarring colour distortion - they literally come out as good as your memory recalls. The screen at the back of the camera also has accurate colour matching - meaning that apart from size, there are no nasty surprises once you go to your LCD display on the desktop to see what the photos really looked like.

All up, I am extremely happy with this camera, and am settling down with Photoshop, a good close up macro lens and my teleconversion lens for a good several years of serious digital photography. I cannot recommend the camera enough! I'll be kissing my SLRs goodbye alot sooner that I'd expected

I have been through a few SLR bodies and a couple of point and shoots. My lense kit ranges from 28mm to 400mm for the 35mm cam, a Pentax ZX-M. I was skeptical about the digital breed, and the Fuji2600 I bought 18 months ago was ok, but developed into a battery hog. The 4 MegaPixel LC40 has retired them all though! I couldn't believe that I finally had a Leica lens at a bargain price, and the optics make a huge difference. I have compared my pics to some others taken with a 5MP Sony, and the Panasonic/Leica LC40 has better colors, slightly better resolution, and far more natural contrast. The Sony made a waterfall appear, as if the water had been pasted onto the rock formmations in a qick and dirty PhotoShop! It took me a little while to get used to it, but an important lesson was to keep this camera locked at 100 ASA sensitivity whenever possible. Otherwise the automatic override can at times switch to a higher sensitivity, resulting in some minor rainbowing color noise effects around solid dark objects. This is only visible in larger printouts though (8x10 and bigger). I also use it fairly exclusively in the Aperture priority mode, which allows me to quickly check and adjust my shutter speed, while always having a good idea what the depth of field will be. While the 100ASA fix makes for great colors, I have also found this camera to make pictures superior to other models in low light conditions, with less noise ("grain"). The battery life is simply outstanding! I haven't charged my LC40 for about 3 or 4 days now, have taken around 50 shots, and still a better than 75% charge in the battery! I have to mention here, that I use this camera like an SLR, in that I keep the LCD monitor turned on for framing purposes and setting checks and also instantly review my pictures with the zooming feature. This a big no-no with many digicams if you want more than just a few shots, but not this camera. It keeps on going like the Energizer Bunny!
My pictures are sharper and actually have better resolution (yes, I do mean better than 35mm film!) than ever, I can print whatever, whenever, and in what size I want, buying and getting film processed is a thing of the past, and thanks to my home computer I am even getting into the kind of special effects photography I always dreamed of, but never had a darkroom for.
Like I said, it took me while to get the settings right, but now this is a better camera for me, than my SLR ever was or could be!
Kudos to the Leica and Panasonic engineers for getting together and creating this new line. I wouldn't trade back to film anymore!
As a final note: I am still trying to figure out the difference between this camera and the Leica Digilux1/Panasonic-LC5 (they are nearly identical) model. The LC40 is more compact, but that seems to be it, aside from being half the price, which makes it a far superior deal to the other (usually only 2 or 3 MegaPixel) cameras in this price range!
Get it while you can - it's sold out in a lot of places!

I purchased this camera in June and have hundreds of excelent quality photos already. The SD memory is smooth and fast and reproduction is without a doudt as good as I ever received from my old SLR's. Even the kids took good photo's. The battery lasted an entire week on vacation without a recharge and took over 100 photo's including flash. This is a nice camera for both amature and hobbiest. Thanks Panasonic

This camera is amazing. I am getting more deeply interested in photography, and have had a great Minolta 35mm SLR for years and love it. I've been waiting for digital's quality to come up, and prices to come down for a few years. I felt that time had arrived, so I began seriously researching which camera to buy.

After spending much time learning about what the pros love, I basically decided to get the Leica Digilux 1 (www.leica-camera.com/digitalekameras/digilux1/index_e.html). Unfortunately, at 900 bucks, I was also planning to have to continue my wait.

Then I stumbled upon the Panasonic LC40 w/ a Leica lens. I read all I could about the camera, and noticed some serious similarities b/t it and the Digilux. In fact, I learned that Panasonic was sub-contracted to put their digital works in the Leica cam, while Leica puts their SAME EXACT lens (the Leica DC Vario-Summicron) in the LC40.

Got the LC40 for 1/3 the price of a Digilux, and got basically the same exact camera (minus manual focus and with a smaller lcd). If you look at the specs of both cams you'll see what I mean.

Most of the reviews here and elsewhere have highlighted much of what I want to say about this fantastic camera. But I have come across rare review-complaints about its darkening of pictures and bad low-light performance, color-shifting etc. These comments I have found to be completely untrue, and probably the unfortunate result of a lack of a basic understanding of photography. This cam is simply AMAZING in low light, without a flash. It focuses very well in extremely dim situations (we're talking DARK situations) and yields amazing results. The colors are crisp and neutral. Even in low light. I did not find a hint of even minor color shift.

Other nice features:
Clean neutral flash. Good redeye reduction. Multiple flash modes.
"Burst" mode a-la Girls On Film by Duran Duran ;)
SD cards (more $$, but smaller)
Fast USB xfer.
Ergonomically comfortable. Big enough to offer stability, yet quite compact.
Great price.

Minuses (almost a joke to bring up considering the price)
No manual focus
No focus tracking light
Minimal digital zoom.
No acc or flash sync (for external flash systems).
No remote.

In a world flooded with mediocre 4mp cameras and lenses, this one borders on pro for an extreme fraction of the cost. Go get one, because you'll easily have to go to the $1k range to compete with the LC40's results.

Purchased this camera recently and have been very impressed. It has all the features you would expect of a camera of this quality. The Leica lens alone is worth the money I paid for it and it is great to see that Panasonic aren't trying to do something that is not their main thing - ie. produce top quality lens'. They stick to the electronics and they do it well. The only reason I don't give the camera 5 stars (and would have given 4 1/2 if I had the option) is that the flash is esentially manual - even in Auto mode. You still have to push the button to make it pop up. Not a biggie but still takes that extra second or two to get set for a photo.It would have been nice if it knew when to pop up on its own. Also this is no small compact camera. It has an assured and solid feel to it that seems streets ahead of the opposition - just pick up a sony and compare!

Honestly do yourself a favour and try this camera - it can't hurt and you won't be disappointed.

As an experienced 35mm and medium format photographer with 40 years experience, I have, until recently, been suspicious to the point of hostility of digital cameras. However, I have been amazed at the quality of pictures produced by many digital cameras. My Panasonic Lumix LC40 was an impulse buy but I am delighted I took the plunge. The combination of excellent lens and 4 megapixels delivers pictures that capture many subtle shades and colours. This is particularly true when shooting the subdued tones of a British winter.There is also a special magic about taking a batch of photographs, downloading them then wiping the memory card. There are some disadvantages to this camera. The 16mb memory card is rather small enabling you to save only 7 shots at max resolution. When using the LCD screen ( a must when shooting macro shots) the image is difficult to see in bright daylight. The abscence of full manual controls is a limiting factor. But these really are quibbles when set against a camera that has fired up my creative imagination and revived my interest in photography.Whether your interest is capturing creative images or just shots of the family buy an LC40 today. You will not regret it!

I just bought one (silver) and I'm satisfied with the features and content about the quality images. Although the lens and lcd screen have a quality look and feel, I have to admit I was a little dissapionted with the shell. It feels and looks a little cheaper than I anticipated. The silver paint, the dials, buttons, and icons especially look cheap. So, I'm not thrilled but I am pleased with the pictures it takes. It's true that the lens creates a softer more natural looking image and that the lcd presents an accurate picture. Considering the price, the picture quality and ease of connectivity (I have a mac), I would recommend this camera highly. But, if you are more concerned with aesthetics, take note.

My wife and I really liked this camera, but we only owned it for a week. Here are some thoughts from an amateur perspective:
We were impressed with the picture quality and especially surprised by the performance in low-light conditions. I regularly did not have to use the flash indoors, and still got great pics...Outdoor photos were even better, of course, with landscapes that looked like I was peering out a window. I have a picture of my neighbor's cat that I swear looks better than real life. Gorgeous, with spot-on color, from my amateur's perspective.

One thing to remember is that the flash is sort of manual. If you open the flash (requires a flick of the finger, very easy), it becomes fully automatic, but if you keep it closed, the camera will not use the flash, no matter the lighting conditions. This was actually very convenient, and pretty much unique in point-and-shoot cameras.

The battery power was also excellent. We took about 100 photos all told, and still hadn't dented the substantial included lithium battery, which the manual, I think, said was good for 250 or so pics, depending on usage of the LCD, which was suitably bright. One feature missing from the camera is a delete button, which is included on newer models. (Deleting photos requires clicking a few buttons)...

Ultimately, however, we decided to return the camera, mainly because of its size. It's not a huge camera, smaller than most SLR's and quite manageable. But this was a gift for my wife, and this camera is bulky enough that she would probably only take it for major excursions -- not quick snapshots, etc. We decided to try the LC43 instead, which offers similar specs, although perhaps not quite the solid feel of the LC40, in a more compact package. The LC43 also can be a bit cheaper overall because Panasonic has a rebate deal going for a free 128 MB card. The LC43 also includes rechargeable AAs and a charger. That was also a consideration, despite the excellent battery power on the LC40. For starters, will you even be able to find the expensive proprietary lithium batteries five years from now? AAs are everywhere and cheap, rechargeable or not, and therefore are more convenient for the long-term, I think. Of course, perhaps in five years we will all have traded up to dirt-cheap 12 megapixel SLRs and these will all be on the electronic junkpile...

I can update this once we get the LC43 (it's in the mail) for a comparison. One thing I've gleaned from others is that the LC43 flash is a bit on the weak side, relative to the LC40, and has one or two fewer manual controls. But as an amateur looking for a convenient snap-shooter, I'm willing to live with that.

Good luck!

I purchased this camera on E-bay and i have been very happy with it. I have a newborn daughter and the pictures i have taken are breathtaking. My father has a leica camera and the quality of images from this camera are quite similar to my old nikon and his leica. The features available to you are quite extensive on this camera. If you enjoy doing a lot of manual adjustments on your shots, the panasonic will indulge your whim. It has selectable aperture and shutter control, albeit not as much as a SLR.I have found the flash to be particulary useful, in that, I forget to turn it on. I have taken remarkable photo's without the flash, something not possible with my previous nikon. I use this camera like most point and shooters and find that it comes easily to hand with a good grippable surface on the body. It is not so tiny that you fumble with your fingers covering important sensors. I would definately get a bigger memory card (16 mb is a joke) and an additional battery pack. If you don't have photoshop to edit your photo's, the included software will a good source to start with, but get photoshop when able. It easily connects If you have an usb port on your computer or some computers (toshiba)accept the SD card directly (wow no wires). If you are looking for a good 4 MP camera, I think you should take a look at the panasonic.