I bought the original LX00 and I loved that little camera. That said...I eventually sold it as I bought a GM5 for my small camera needs.
In any case the LX100 stood out as one of my all time favorite cameras despite the fact I sold mine way back. Fast forward to the LX100II. Yikes, it sure took a long time for Panasonic to update this great LITTLE camera. I currently own a few Fuji cameras plus a Sony A7RIII so I wanted a small, pretty much pocket-able camera with REALLY good IQ and a sharp lens. This LX100II seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. Having owned the original I can attest to the fact at least to my eyes, Jpegs now look FANTASTIC, though I shoot raw along side the jpegs,...Totally different color science than the original...Very pleasing..now great skin tones. The touch screen is a nice upgrade and very useful..plus the focusing seems way better than before. I may as well stop now..as I love this little camera. Here's why I had to return it. I read over and over the LX100 had major dust issues where dust or even hair or whatever, can get sucked into the sensor and you can't clean it. With my first LX100 I never had any dust issue even after 6 months, so I figured this must be photographers who are not careful..or bring the camera out to very dusty conditions and so on. I took all of maybe just 200 pictures...and WHAM, I had a dust issue. All I can think of is one day I took about 5 pictures when it got a bit windy suddenly...but nothing crazy. The next day I took some pics of a nice blue sky and sure enough I had a huge piece of dust clear as day to see, esp at higher apertures like F11 or F16.
So to cut my novel short, I LOVE this new camera but after just 200 pics or so and reading countless user reviews about a DUST issue I learned first hand "it's true"...and I decided to return this great camera. I wish Panasonic would address the dust issue as I'd re-buy this camera in a heart beat. I was ULTRA careful with mine. There will always be days when the wind may pick up a bit and it's almost like you can't use this camera unless you are in a protective bubble. While I'm at it, another negative..but not a deal breaker is in four years I feel Panasonic should have at least made the screen so it could move..if even just up and down a little. AND...with so much competition these days I feel this camera would make more sense at about $799, not $1000, without even a charger!!
Darn...a GREAT camera crazy customizable, with super IQ ,and why I still give it 4 stars, but it's let down by a silly highly fixable flaw had Panny paid NO attention to as SO many users who had the dust issue prior. Still and all, I'd recommend this LX100II, but be aware sooner or later yours just MAY bite the dust too..a real shame!
UPDATE: 11/16/18.. I was missing my LX100II so bad because of the amazing IQ and handling,...I thought I'd try another, JUST in case the dust I got on the first LX100II sensor was a bit of a fluke. I was reading a review on this camera on Ephotozine. A question was asked of the reviewers, if the dust issue had been addressed with the mkii?. Ephotozine wrote, ... We asked Panasonic who said: "The LX100 was more susceptible to dust due to its collapsible lens. "This has been significantly improved in the LX100 M2 as the engineers have put urethane into the lens gap."
BUT here on Amazon, under questions/answers PANASONIC says this camera is NOT dust resistant at all. So I am just ultra careful with this camera and this is kind of a drag to FULLY enjoy the camera.
I'm giving the camera a second chance. So far so good, BUT before I let the lens go back into the camera, just in case..I use a small lens blower with a brush blowing air away from the body...and or I even use some tape one uses when painting sometimes...that blue type tape, dab the lens barrel, just in case there may be any dust or anything tiny on the lens barrel I may not see if the light's not great. That's kind of crazy!!, and ridiculous to do..but if I still get dust on the sensor then I give up! For now I change my opinion to give this great camera a try. It's just got such great IQ, a FANTASTIC sharp lens with about zero chromatic aberration, lush Bokeh, has an almost Leica type feel and build to it overall. I'd say if you are going to buy this LX100II, prepare to be very careful as to where you shoot...and maybe keep a tiny brush or air blower with it at all times. TOO bad!, yet I still love this little camera somehow...It has a special something. NO lol, not the possible dust.. It's got that unique feeling that you JUST want to pick up and use the camera. So for me, I can deal with being VERY careful with this little guy...:) If you are not the careful type?...I'd say pass on this LX100II unfortunately.
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