Panasonic DMC-L10
The 10 megapixel Lumix DMC-L10, finalist for PopPhoto’s 2007 Camera of the Year, includes an articulated 2.5-inch LCD with Live View that offers 270-degree rotation. Dust reduction safeguards the sensor; automated face detection and hybrid autofocus that combines contrast detection along with conventional means both help optimize fast-paced portrait shots. The body is lightweight and compact. Unfortunately, the optical viewfinder is also small and relatively dim. Vibration reduction allows for longer hand-held exposures, which is very useful due to the slow kit lens (f/3.8 to f/5.6). The 3-point autofocus is fast and reliable, except in low-light scenes. The DMC-L10 is a four-thirds camera. This means that its viewfinder and the resulting photos are more square, like a traditional television screen, than the aspect ratio seen in 35mm and most digital photography. It accepts lenses from a number of manufacturers, including Olympus and Leica.
A nice body design and good image quality make the DMC-L10 an enticing entry-level SLR, but a pricey kit lens makes this kit too expensive.
With the L10, Panasonic has created the closest thing to a point-and-shoot experience on a DSLR that I’ve seen.
Under the skin, the Lumix L10 is a lot more than a simple cost-cutting of the original model [DMC L1]. Some of the features really appear to stand out from the crowd, especially those related to the camera’s live view mode.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 incorporates a Face Detection function, a first in digital SLR cameras, that helps the camera to recognize a human face to capture it bright and clear. Up to 15 human faces can be detected simultaneously
But the problem facing Panasonic is that the L10 is too expensive to compete in the growing entry-level 10MP SLR market and nowhere near well-specified enough to play with the big boys in the enthusiast/semi-pro market it’s price pushes it towards.
Panasonic have adopted a much more conventional design for the L10 when compared to the rather retro, rangefinder-like L1, which by all accounts didn’t sell in any great numbers.
The DMC-L10 is Panasonic’s first digital SLR with Face Detection, which will focus, set auto exposure and can detect up to 15 human faces simultaneously, capturing the subjects clearly and brightly.
Let’s start at the top though, and that means the large mode dial which sits over switches for on/off and the drive mode. The drive mode includes single shot, burst mode, bracketing, and timer.
I’ve been lucky enough to get hold of a pre-production sample of Panasonic’s newly-announced digital SLR, the Lumix DMC-L10, to try out for a few days a couple of weeks prior to its official launch date in October. The L10 is only Panasonic’s second digital SLR, after launch in February last year of the less-than-brilliant DMC-L1.
The new Lumix L10 sports the same 10 Megapixel N-MOS sensor as the Olympus E-410 and E-510 models, equipping the camera with Live View facilities