The DMC-LC1 uses a relatively
large 2/3 inch, 5.24 megapixel CCD of which just over 5 million
pixels are effective to capture an image size of 2560 x 1920
pixel. The CCD provides 3 sensitivities 100, 200 and 400 ISO,
and Auto which lets the camera automatically adjust the sensitivity
from 100 to 200 ISO.
The Leica lens (3.2X) is a DC VARIO-SUMMICRON with a focal length of 7
to 22.5 mm, the equivalent of
a 28 to 90 mm, and is labelled as such, in its 35mm equivalent. The lens
is composed of 13 elements 10 groups with aspherical
surfaces to control curvilinear distortion. Apertures start at f2.0 at
the wide angle end, becoming f2.4 at the telephoto end.
Apertures are selected by turning
the aperture ring (f2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11) or the ring can
be set to which
allows the camera to select it.
Similarly,
shutter speeds can be selected with the dial from 1/2000 sec
to 8 seconds; or set to which
lets the camera choose the shutter speed, and different combinations
of these settings determine the shooting mode. Worth noting,
in Program or Aperture Priority, the LC1 is capable of shutter
speeds that reach up to 1/4000 sec, but are limited to a maximum
of 2 seconds.
Program Mode is active when
both the aperture ring and the shutter speed dial are set to .
And, when the LC1 is in Program mode, Program Shift is
started by rotating the ring around the 4-direction control,
or by pressing either its left or right arrows to select different
combinations of apertures and shutter speeds.
Aperture Priority is selected by having the shutter speed
dial set to while
the apertures are selected with the aperture ring.
Shutter Priority is active when shutter speeds are selected
with the dial while the aperture ring is set to .
Finally, Manual Mode is when neither the aperture ring, nor the
shutter speed dial are set to .
With the DMC-LC1, six image sizes are available to capture photos:
2560 x 1920 pixels
2048 x 1536 pixels
1920 x 1080 pixels (called HDTV in the LC1's menu as the image
has a 16:9 aspect ratio)
1600 x 1200 pixels
1280 x 960 pixels
640 x 480 pixels
The LC1 can record images at any one of 3 JPEG compressed
formats — Super Fine, Fine, Standard, or in
a non-lossyRAW format,
available at the full resolution of the CCD (2560 x 1920); and when RAW
images are captured, the LC1 also saves a Standard compression JPEG with
it.
Beyond the controls that can be set directly on the camera, the LC1 provides
additional controls in the Recording menu:
White Balance: Auto, Sun, Cloud, Incandescent,
Flash, Black and White, and User Set which allows setting
the white balance for the ambient light conditions by pointing
the camera at a white surface and pressing the shutter
release.
White Balance Adjust: permits fine tuning the
white balance by increasing either red or blue in all but
the Auto mode.
Picture Size: (as above).
Quality: selects either RAW, Super Fine, Fine,
or Standard.
Spot AF: On or Off. Allows focusing on a small
precise point at the centre of the frame and basing the
exposure on that precise spot.
Sensitivity: Auto, 100, 200 and 400 ISO.
Burst Rate: captures
2.7 frames per second; captures
1 frame per second, and the number of consecutive frames
that can be captured varies with the compression. The Burst
modes cannot be used when the LC1 is set to RAW mode.
Audio Rec.: On or Off. Allows recording a 5 second
audio clip after an image is captured.
Digital Zoom: On or Off. A 3X digital zoom is
available, but it interpolates centre portion of the image
and degrades the image quality.
Flash Synch: First Curtain or Second Curtain.
Picture adjustment: allows adjusting contrast, sharpness,
and saturation over 3 increments.
Motion image: has 3 settings, Off, One Time, or
On. The One Time setting starts the Movie mode, and when
the recording is stopped the camera returns to the still
image mode. On, leaves the camera in the Movie mode, and
returning to the still image mode requires accessing the
menu again. In addition, the option has a sub-option to
set the frame rate, either 30 seconds or 10 seconds. Movies
are recorded at a frame size of 320 x 240 pixels and last
as long as there is memory space.
Flip Animation allows creating animations based
on still images that can be as long as 20 seconds (100
frames) and have a frame size of 320 x 240 pixels. Selecting
the option opens up a sub menu that consists of:
Image Capture serves to record the still images
that will be assembled into an animation.
Create Motion Image: starts the animation
process which can be set to a rate of 5 frames per
second, or 10 frames per second.
Delete Still Images: deletes the images used
to create the animation once it is created.
The Recording menu provides
an access to the Setup menu, as does the Playback menu which
can only be called up when the LC1 is in Playback mode and
not the Quick Review mode. The options contained in the Recording
mode's Setup menu, and those of the Playback mode's Setup
menu are slightly different, and are covered in the Interface
and Software section of this review.
The Playback menu is shorter than the Recording menu, and provides options
to:
Rotate: an image clockwise or counterclockwise
in 90° increments.
Protect: prevents images from being accidentally
deleted. Photos can be selected for protection one at
a time, or from a index display (thumbnails).
DPOF Print: allows selecting one or more images
for printing on a DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compliant
printer or service. The date can be specified to print
with the image, and an index print can be requested. The
LC1 is also PictBridge compatible.
Slide Show: provides an automatic playback of
images. The duration each image will be displayed can be
set (1, 2, 3, or 5 seconds); Audio can be set to On or
Off; and only those photos selected for printing can be
set as the ones to be displayed.
Audio Dub: allows adding a 10 second narration
to a JPEG image (not to a RAW or protected image).
Resize: allows resizing images down as long as
they are larger than 640 x 480. Images with attached audio
cannot be re-sized, nor can those recorded using the HDTV
aspect ratio, or those captured in RAW format.
Trimming: is used to crop an image and has the
same restrictions as are listed above for resizing. A cropped
image can be saved either as a new image, or be saved by
overwriting the original.
Format: formats the memory card.
Just like in the recording modes,
the LC1 can display a histogram in playback. The histogram
provides a graphical representation of the brightness of the
image. When the bulk of the histogram's bulge is around the
middle of the chart, the image is generally well exposed. When
the bulge is to the left, the image is probably underexposed,
while when the bulge is likely to be overexposed.
In addition, the playback display shows the aperture, shutter speed, ISO,
White balance, flash mode and metering pattern used for the exposure.
In Canada the DMC-LC1 is retailed
with a 16MB SD (Secure Digital) memory card. The card
slot is on the right side of the camera, and covered by a solid
door.
With the 16MB SD card, the
LC1 can capture:
Resolution
RAW
Super
Fine
Fine
Std
2560
x 1920
1
3
5
11
2048
x 1536
—
4
9
18
1920
x 1080
—
7
13
27
1600
x 1200
—
7
15
30
1280
x 960
—
11
23
46
640
x 480
—
39
77
150
The USB connection (at the top right in
the photo at left) is USB 2.0 . Below is a DC-IN jack
that can be used to run the camera from its AC adapter/charger.
And to the left of the DC-in is the AV Out and Remote jack.
In Canada, the wired Remote control is included with the camera, insuring
that long exposures are free of camera-shake.
A large rechargeable Lithium ion battery
is used to power the Lumix LC1. The
charger is included with the camera and a full charge takes
about 2 hours. The charger can also be used to power the camera
for extended periods.
The pop-up flash of the LC1 deserves a special
mention. It is apparently the first such flash to offer the
ability to be used for bounce flash photography. The flash
is released with a button on the back of the camera, and deploys
fully, facing front. However, pressing it back into its compartment,
the back part can also be clipped leaving the head aimed upwards
at a 45° angle, suitable for bounce flash photos.
Compare Prices for DMWBL14 Camera Battery for Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1
Characteristics
which
allows the camera to select it.
Similarly,
shutter speeds can be selected with the dial from 1/2000 sec
to 8 seconds; or set to 
captures
2.7 frames per second; 
captures
1 frame per second, and the number of consecutive frames
that can be captured varies with the compression. The Burst
modes cannot be used when the LC1 is set to RAW mode.
The
charger is included with the camera and a full charge takes
about 2 hours. The charger can also be used to power the camera
for extended periods. 
