Camera Labs

Hi Gordon,

I, myself, am a half-hearted purist, so I wanted to find a camera that represented that. I researched every dlsr on the market and after a short time I found myself in love with the Panasonic L1. I've read through every review on this camera and they all seem to vary, in other words...I haven't got a clear picture (aha) of what the camera's weaknesses and strongsuites are. From what I gather; it combines amazing new technology with an analog feel, while the main problem is the noise at high ISO levels. I attend a lot of concerts, atleast 5 a month, and one of my main uses would be shooting in somewhat low-light situations. In your opinion; how does the camera perform in these conditions?

Thanks,

Lukas

Hi Lukas, welcome to the Cameralabs forums!

The L1 sure is a pretty unique camera, but in our tests it didn't perform as well as, say, the Nikon D80 or Canon 400D / XTi at high sensitivities under low light. We have some samples at different sensitivities here:

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panas ... age5.shtml

If you want a DSLR which excels in low light, I'd say there's better models available at the moment. If you're into the idea of live view, then I'd wait and see how the forthcoming Olympus E-410 and E-510 compare.

If you're after a DSLR which really is different from the crowd though, the L1 is still an interesting choice - and its analogue look and feel really works well. It is a camera you'd really need to handle in person though, as people tend to either love or hate it!

Gordon

An interesting anomaly that happens when two manufacturers team up to develop related and similar, but product differentiated models.
Camera Action Camera House http://stores.ebay.com.au/cameraaction-camerahouse
Have brand new Olympus E-330s bundled with 14-45 lens kit for AUS: $649 + $18 postage & handling within Australia.
And they are also selling the Panasonic Lumix L1 with the Leica 14-50mm lens for AU: $2,399!
Yes, the Leica lens on its own should be worth a grand and the Olympus is a discontinued model, but that is still is a $750 price difference; and the E-330 is the one with flip out screen and better all-round ergonomics.