Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 review Cameralabs gallery

Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 gallery

The following images were taken with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 using the bundled Leica 14-50mm f3.8-5.6 lens. The L10 was set to Large Fine mode with Auto White Balance and the Standard Film mode. OIS mode 1 was enabled for all these handheld images.

The individual exposure mode, file sizes, shutter speeds, aperture, ISO and lens focal length are listed for each image.

The crops are taken from the original files, reproduced at 100% and saved in Adobe Photoshop CS2 as JPEGs with the default Very High quality preset, while the resized images were made in Photoshop CS2 and saved with the default High quality preset.

The three crops are typically taken from far left, central and far right portions of each image.

Landscape: 4.42MB, Program, 1/320, f8, ISO 100, 14-50mm at 14mm (equivalent to 28mm)

						For this first shot we activated Live View, flipped the L10's screen out and held the camera as high as possible. This allowed us to easily frame the shot and capture the boats behind the sail, which have been obscured on recent Cameralabs galleries taken at normal height. As you'd hope at 100 ISO, the crops are detailed and noise-free, and impressively, there's no fringing despite the high contrast surface of the yacht. The crops do however appear a little soft.

Landscape: 4.59MB, Program, 1/250, f7.1, ISO 100, 14-50mm at 14mm (equivalent to 28mm)

						This second shot was taken again in live View with the screen flipped-out, but this time turned upwards, allowing us to comfortably frame the shot just a few cm above the ground, without having to lie down. Live View with the flip out screen gives you enormous flexibility. As before the crops are very clean and detailed, but again there's a lack of ultimate sharpness - this is something you'll see with the L10's default settings. We felt it could benefit from a slight boost in the sharpening.

Landscape: 4.67MB, Program, 1/10, f3.8, ISO 100, 14-50mm at 14mm (equivalent to 28mm)

				Our final 100 ISO shot was taken under very dim conditions, with the L10 suggesting a shutter speed of 1/10 in program mode. The lens stabilisation allowed us to easily handhold this shot though without camera shake being a worry, while the slower shutter has effectively blurred the water. Taking a close look at the crops reveals plenty of detail.

Portrait: 4.29MB, Aperture Priority, 1/640, f5.6, ISO 200, 14-50mm at 50mm (equivalent to 100mm)

						For this portrait shot we zoomed the kit lens into its maximum focal length and fully opened the aperture in Aperture Priority mode. We then put the L10 into Live View mode and enabled Face Detection. The L10 easily locked-onto the subject and ensured she was in sharp focus. The crops at an increased sensitivity of 200 ISO still look clean and detailed, but slightly soft. The L10 can stomach an increase in the sharpening.

Macro: 4.43MB, Program, 1/320, f14, ISO 400, 14-50mm at 50mm (equivalent to 100mm)

						For this macro shot we zoomed the kit lens into its maximum focal length of 50mm and increased the sensitivity to 400 ISO. We also used Live View and the manual focus assist mode to confirm the areas we wanted in sharp focus. As before, the crops are detailed and the increase in sensitivity hasn't had a detrimental effect in this particular, well-lit composition.

Indoor: 4.72MB, Program, 1/40, f3.8, ISO 400, 14-50mm at 14mm (equivalent to 28mm)

						This indoor shot was also taken at 400 ISO, but in much dimmer surroundings. Shadow areas or those of flat colour reveal a sprinkling of very fine noise, but it's nothing that would bother most people. There's still plenty of detail recorded. The incandescent lighting in this shot fools many cameras, but we'd have to say the L10 has delivered a more orangey result than most.

Indoor: 3.59MB, Program, 1/15, f5.6, ISO 800, 14-50mm at 14mm (equivalent to 28mm)

						For this second indoor shot we increased the sensitivity to 800 ISO. Even then the very dim conditions resulted in a shutter speed of 1/15, but this was well within the stabilisation capabilities of the lens. Crops taken from dimmer areas, such as around the clock, reveal an increase in noise and processing, but there's still a decent amount of detail recorded in other areas, such as the beer labels.

Indoor: 3.68MB, Program, 1/80, f4, ISO 1600, 14-50mm at 14mm (equivalent to 28mm)

						Our final shot with the L10 was taken at its maximum sensitivity of 1600 ISO. As you'd expect, the crops reveal a significant increase in noise and processing, and a loss of ultimate detail. There's still a fair amount of detail in there, but you'd only really want to use this for smaller prints.

If you found this review useful, please support us by shopping below!

All words, images, videos and layout, copyright 2005-2013 Gordon Laing. May not be used without permission.

About Gordon Laing / How we test / Best Cameras / Advertising / Camera reviews / Supporting Camera Labs