I bought this, my first digital camera a month ago and it has exceeded my expectations! I did a tremendous amount of research to figure out what features I most wanted in a digital camera. I was basically looking for a small DC I could take around and take lots of pictures with.Despite Panasonic being pretty new to DC's, I noticed a lot of the features that I was looking for on the LC-20 and decided to take a chance. What first caught my eye about this Panasonic was the Leica Lens. Being somewhat familiar with photography, I have always known Leica to make excellent (and expensive!) lenses. I don't have a digital photo printer so I can't comment on how well these pictures print out.
This baby had just about every important feature I was looking for: 2.1 mp, 3x optical 2x digital (but everyone knows digital zoom's useless), compact, light, plugs directly to my computer via USB (don't need to buy a separate reader), burst mode rocks; and it uses 2 AA batteries (included with charger!) which have averaged a good 70+ shots with the LCD screen on.
Movie mode with sound is a great addition too with a 20s film clip eating 3.25megs each. One feature that I thought was awesome and I'm still learning to use is Burst mode. This was another feature I highly desired, seeing that one of the major complaints my friends had with their DC was the 1-2 second lag in between picture-taking. Burst mode allows you to take 3-5 pics per second, with one drawback being you can only take as many pictures as fast as the flash will allow. This basically translates to being able to use burst mode most effectively outside during the day.
I talked to friends before I bought this camera, most of whom own one of the Canon Elphs (great line of cameras too), others have Olympus Camedias (huge and bulky) and Sony's (not bad, but pretty pricy for what you're getting). I tried theirs out before I made my purchase and I can safely say I'm much happier with my camera for the following reasons:
-The Panasonic powers up FAST! Power-up to a picture taken is about 3 seconds.
-The delay between hitting the shutter button and the camera actually taking the picture is very short, less than or about a second.
-Burst mode! Although it really only functionally works during the day when you don't need a flash, one of the most frequent complaints I heard from friends is it's impossible to time action shots. Burst mode helps remedy that.
-AA batteries are cheaper than proprietaries and can be bought anywhere if you find yourself on vacation or just out and unable to recharge quickly
-The camera fits well in my hand
-The macro feature is a definite bonus
-I recently took this camera skiing and can happily report that I could turn the camera on/off, and take pictures pretty easily even with my gloves on.
Some drawbacks that I've come across:
Don't even bother with the packaged software. Even using plain old Windows Explorer beats it.
Doesn't include a DC adapter, but this is easily remedied by buying a set of 4 rechargables for a total of 6, that'll take care of 200+ pics at a time)
Of course 8MB isn't enough, but you need to buy a new memory card with every DC on the market anyway; my 128MB card can hold 159 1600x1200 pics without compression. That jumps to over 1000 pictures if you lower the resolution to 640x480 and use compression.
Uses SD (SecureDigital) memory cards, which are slightly more expensive than Compact Flash and Sony Memory Sticks (and hardly anyone else uses them so you're stuck if you want to switch brands later). These memory cards are SMALL, though, about the size and thickness of a dime.
Some people may say 2.1 mp is a drawback, but these pictures come out crisp and clear at 1600x1200 and are already pushing 700kb. If you want 3-4mp, you'll probably need to invest in huge memory sticks not to mention a bigger hard drive. Digital pictures add up! I've already taken over a thousand in the past month!
The key to buying a DC will be to ask yourself what you will be using the camera for most. Is it something you want to bring with you EVERYWHERE? If so, you'll probably want something ultra-small, smaller than this camera (and thus probably twice the price of this camera). I just wanted something to replace my Point-and-Shoot, something that allows me to take a lot of pictures without worrying about the cost of film, development, etc. IMHO, this is a great starter DC. It's relatively cheap, has a lot of great features, and it's compact enough to carry in a jacket pocket. Overall, it has exceeded my expectations and continues to please.
Minuses: neck strap inappropriate; poor battery access; maximum time exposure a bit short; no manual shutter speed control.
The camera came with a neck strap; 2-1600 mA-hour AA rechargable NiMH batteries; a 2 battery recharger, an 8 MB SD memory chip; a video cable to play back movies on a TV (haven't tried it yet); a proprietary USB cable (one end is for this and some other cameras only not cheap to replace, so keep track of it) for connecting to a computer to get the photos off the memory chip; a CD with USB drivers and Photo software (haven't tried the photo software yet), and instructions.
You can let the camera decide what settings to use, but you also have quite a bit of control. You can photograph at 640×480, 1024×768 or 1600×1200 resolution, except movies are 320×240 only (but with sound). Manual ASA settings are 100, 200 & 400. You can force exposure changes of ±2EV in ¼EV increments. You can turn the flash off or force it to flash. The flash isn't for beyond about 8' (2.4m), or for movies. Zoom is 3× optical and 2× digital (digital can be turned off). You can make the camera focus and adjust for light on a particular object, and then hold the setting while you compose the picture and shoot. Macro shooting is done in a separate macro mode at distances starting at about 8" (20cm). Time-delay self trigger is easy to use, and can be set for a 2 or 10 sec delay.
The color display can be shut off to save battery power, but the optical viewfinder isn't quite as accurate. You can review the picture you've just taken and magnify it to see how sharp it is, or you can change modes to review all the pictures stored on the chip. While reviewing a picture, you can delete it to make room on the chip. Photos are saved as .jpg files; movies are saved as Quicktime .mov files. The internal menu system is clear and easy to use.
You can't manually set shutter speed; and time exposures appear to be limited to about 8 seconds. Movie length is limited to 19 seconds. On the camera, you can't review movies you've taken, and (the instructions say) watching them on a TV with the video cable will be without sound.
Pictures are sharp and properly exposed (if I don't mess up). The camera is light and will fit in a shirt pocket, but then the neck strap interferes. I'll probably make a wrist strap for it. Depending on what you're doing, the batteries can get empty quickly. Get 4 extra 1800 (more is better, not 1600) mA-hour NiMH batteries. That way you can have 1 pair in the camera, one pair being recharged, and still have a backup. I haven't bought (or made) an AC power supply for the camera yet (Panasonic does offer one), but with 3 pairs of batteries, I haven't been stuck without power yet. As soon as a pair is empty, I start recharging them. Recharge time is 5 hours.
If you're running Windows NT, you won't be able to use the USB connection (unless you can find a memory card reader that comes with USB drivers for NT Panasonic doesn't have them for the camera). You'll also need more memory chips, 8MB is 8-12 photos at maximum resolution. 128MB total (one big chip or several smaller chips it pays to shop around, too) should be more than enough if you can pull the photos over to your computer from time to time.
The neck strap is too much for such a small, light camera. It also gets in the way when using a tripod. A strap that can be configured as either neck or wrist strap might have been a good idea. The triangular metal eyes used to connect the strap to the camera tend to catch in positions you don't want them in.
The display on the back of the camera is a bit unprotected, so be careful. If you use the neck strap, make sure you adjust it so that when you walk, the screen isn't banging against a metal zipper, snap, belt buckle or button, etc. Get (or make) a soft carrying case with room for charger, extra batteries and extra memory chips. When visiting friends or relatives, you might want to bring cable(s) and software, too. The camera came with a Panasonic "rebate" offer of 2 extra 16MB memory chips, which arrived in a small plastic bag inside a padded mailer; nothing protective for transporting them in normal use. A SanDisk chip I bought came with its own protective case. I haven't solved this problem yet...pillbox? matchbox?
The camera is tricky to use in low light and close quarters, particularly if focusing is required (you won't be able to see anything on the display, and a camera has to "see" to focus). A tripod has helped, but not for moving objects. You may not be able to get the chip (or batteries) out of the camera while it's screwed to a tripod base.
You must remove the memory chip to change batteries, and the battery and chip slot cover is a 2 piece articulated cover that is tricky to open and close for battery access. This makes changing batteries harder than changing memory chips; but you'll be changing batteries more often. The arrangement looks a bit flimsy to me, so if you're rough on equipment or all thumbs, this camera may not be right for you. Otherwise, I definitely like and would recommend the camera.
I got the camera for making photos to view on screen, for which it has proven excellent. I can't say if 2 megapixels is enough for printing. Having never used other similar cameras, I can't give a comparative recommendation.
Buy Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC20S 2.1MP Digital Camera w/ Leica Lens and 3x Optical Zoom, Silver Now
After having used this digital camera for two months the conclusion is simple: This camera is great!The quality of the pictures is really good (at normal/small prints). I am very pleased with the many opportunities digital photos give me, I can just print the pictures from home, send them to my family, edit colors etc.
The ability to see the pictures right at the spot comes in very handy (and I can just delete them if I don't like them). Once you have the camera and a printer it is completely free develop the pictures!
The only drawback this camera has is it's ability to take indoors photos in low light conditions. But using the software that comes with the camera I can easily change that. It takes a little time to learn to use the Arc photo sotware, but once you get used to it is easy (even though I only really use Arc PhotoBase).
The camera has plenty of settings for my use and they are easy to use. I have found that some pictures look better when I turn the photo compression off and set ISO to 200. The pictures will take up a little more space, but the memory is not all that expensive compared to the camera.
One function I am using a lot is the video (with sound). It is very neat to capture small video clips and transfer them to PC (very easy using USB) so you can send them via email. I can also review the pictures on TV using the cable that comes with the camera.
After having this camera two months I have taken over 300 photos, even though I didn't use to take photos at all. I have pretty much takne the camera with me every where! Most of the photos came out in a great quality due to the cameras automatic settings. This really makes it easy to take good photos!For my first digital camera, was looking for a reasonable priced 2 mp model and looked at Canon A40, Casio and Fuji equivalents. Running the specs side by side and removing the "nice to haves" left the Panasonic the clear winner for me -good value for money, lots of usefull features, compactness and a Lieca lens stood out in the comparisons. Panasonic and Leica is a good combination and works well in this camera.
The LC20 has good looks and feels the part It is attractive and is ergnomically very good. Video is a bonus, but not a replacement for a video camera.
Haven't seen any barrel distortion, colour bleed or other faults. The pictures are very sharp, clearly defined and relatively undistorted. The colours are natural and not "over saturated". Some people have reported a little under exposure rarely see this, but it is easy to compensate for with the software. Have seen some complaints with the software, but have found it okay to use.
Start up time is quick, refresh time between flash shots is up to 5 seconds. Battery use depends on lcd screen use etc. but is not too bad. I bought 4 more 1800ma/hr batteries, so won't run out of power.
Comparing the results with photos taken by friends / family digital cameras this camera more than holds its own.
A little knowledge of photography was helpful as good results in full auto mode in all situations are not always achieveable. Outdoors, just set in auto and shoot for consistently good results. Indoors in lower light situations as with most digital cameras, the flash is not particularly strong, the lcd screen is a little hard to see in low light and the auto focus sometimes takes a little time to work.
If you take the time to read the manual, and learn how to adjust the sensitivity and make exposure compensation adjustments and you will get much better results. Found that changing the sensitivity to ISO200 in low light produced good results, ISO400 can produce noisy pictures.
Positives:
Great value ... came with additional 16mb card, battery charger, case and strap; Compact; Great leans; Good macro; Bright lcd screen and very good menu functionality (intuitive); Quick start up time; Leica lens; Good quality pictures;
Negatives:
No real negatives, but use the battery door carefully. It appears a bit "plasticky" but if you take care no problems.Having always been a Panasonic believer, I bought this camera two years ago for a purchase price of $550, after playing with the camera for a year and four months the camera overheated and died on me (at a draft horse show that I had been waiting for for a long time). I sent the camera into Panasonic and was quoted an incredible $350 to fix the camera (market value for that same camera at the time was less than $250). I wrote the CEO of Panasonic only to be directed to someone else. They offered to take the cost of the part and have me pay for labour ($90) and shipping ($20), I asked them if they could instead send me a coupon towards the cost of a new one (as I would have rather spent the $110 on the purchase of a new one with warranty) and they said they couldn't. (more like they wouldn't) Needless to say that I was not impressed and would not recommend this product to anyone. It was a horrible experience dealing with the customer service sector of Panasonic, unfortunately for them they have lost a fond customer and repeat buyer.
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