Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS1

Reviewed May 2005

Introduction

The Lumix DMC-LS1 is Panasonic's newest entry-level camera. Priced very reasonably, it still offers a Mega optical stabilizer, a 3X optical zoom, a 4-megapixel resolution, and a 2-inch LCD monitor in lieu of an optical viewfinder and a smaller screen.

The exterior of the DMC-LS1 is composed of silvered plastic, with some chrome highlights. However, the lens trim bearing the words MEGA O.I.S. and the lens barrel itself are metallic.

Panasonic has standardized many of the external controls and functions of its digital cameras, more than likely making them more economical to produce. The result is that the DMC-LS1's external controls— and indeed even many of its menu options — are identical to those of other Panasonic models.

The shutter release — a shiny chrome button — is ringed by the zoom control which in Playback also serves to view thumbnails of the captured images (9 per screen), or zoom into a photo up to 16X.

Immediately to its right, labelled with , is the button to choose the stabilizer mode:

• Mode1: has the stabilizer active when the camera is on, stabilizing both the preview image on the monitor and the captured image.
• Mode2: is less demanding on the batteries, and stabilizes the image at the precise moment it is captured. This mode offers the greatest degree of stabilization.
• Off: turns off the stabilizer when the camera is stable, such as when it is mounted on a tripod, or it is simply not needed, such as when the shutter speed is fast enough to prevent camera-shake affecting the image.

Behind the stabilizer button is the Power switch for the camera, while to its left is the Mode Dial. The Mode Dial has 8 positions, 7 of which are capture modes while the other, , is for the Playback mode. Starting at the top of the Dial, the modes the LS1 offers are:

	Motion Image Mode: captures video without audio at either 10 frames per second, or 30 frames per second. In either case, the frame size is 320 x 240 pixels and the camera will continue to record until stopped or until it runs out of memory space. Focus, zoom and white balance are set at the first frame.
	Macro Mode: allows the camera to focus on a subject 5 cm (1.95 inches) from the front element of the lens at the wide angle end, and 30 cm (11.7 inches) at the telephoto end.
	Economy Mode: is effectively the same as Normal mode but is designed to extend battery life by lowering the brightness of the LCD, and shutting down the camera faster when it is inactive.
	Normal Mode: is the shooting mode that provides the most control to the user. The camera selects aperture and shutter speed, but the user can set many other shooting parameters, such as white balance and exposure compensation.

Three other modes are grouped together, on the other side of the Playback position:

Simple Mode: is the most automatic shooting mode. The camera handles everything and only 4 items can be adjusted by the user: image size, the battery type in use, the beeps produced by the camera, and time/date setting.

Are access points to the 8 Scene Modes that are available on the DMC LS1; and the last selected mode is instantly accessible by turning the dial to either SCN1 or SCN2. The Scene menu, which can be configured in the Setup options to appear automatically or not when the dial is first turned to either of these positions, makes it possible to choose from: Portrait: adjusts hue and exposure to optimize skin tones, while selecting a large aperture to blur the background behind the subject — an effect that can be enhanced if the subject is captured using the zoom. Sensitivity is set to Auto, and will range from 64 to 200 ISO if the flash is unused, and up to 400 ISO if the flash fires.

As noted at the outset, the DMC-LS1 provides a 2-inch, 85,000 pixel LCD monitor, but no optical viewfinder. Although its resolution — the number of pixels that compose the image — is relatively low, the upside is that the information superimposed on it is very legible. In general, the monitor is bright, and remains readily visible outside. With direct sunlight on it however, it can be harder to see as its surface is highly reflective.

A few more external controls are clustered on the right side of the monitor, making them easily accessible with the thumb. The top button controls how much information is superimposed on the monitor:

In the capture modes, except when the Simple mode is in use, four types of image/information displays are available: The default display provides the status for: capture mode, flash mode, stabilizer mode, ISO, white balance, image size, compression, battery state, remaining number of shots, memory in use, focus brackets, slow shutter and colour setting. Moreover, when the shutter release is pressed halfway, the display shows the shutter speed and aperture the camera has selected in all but the Simple and Motion Image modes. Pressing the DISPLAY once adds a real-time histogram that shows graphically the distribution of brightness in the frame.

	The RIGHT arrow selects the Flash modes: Auto, Auto Red-eye reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync with Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off.
	The DOWN arrow starts the Review mode. The Review mode instantly displays the last captured image for approximately 10 seconds. The Review mode allows looking at other captured images, and zooming any of them up to 8X. However, the Playback menu is not accessible.
	The LEFT arrow starts the Self-timer which can have either a 2 or 10 second delay (10 seconds only with the Simple mode).

The final two external buttons of the DMC-LS1 are the MENU button which simply presents the menu for the current mode on the monitor and a dual purpose button that has one function in the capture mode, and one function in playback:.

In the capture mode the button selects the Burst mode, cycling back to the single shot mode: High Speed captures up to 4 frames at 4 frames per second at the highest resolution and least compression. Low Speed captures up to 4 frames at 2 frames per second at the highest resolution and least compression. Unlimited captures images at 1.5 frames per second at the highest resolution and least compression as long as there is space on the memory card, but the frame rate diminishes as the buffer memory fills up and images are transferred to the card. Set to Simple Mode however, only Low Speed Burst is available.

While in the Review mode or in Playback the button serves to delete unwanted photos.

The Panasonic DMC-LS1 is designed to help introduce a user to digital photography. Therefore, it designed to be simple to use, easy to get accustomed to, and friendly. It has no complicated settings, and its ergonomic design is very well thought out. Moreover, in our opinion, it includes a lens stabilizer which is a technology that goes a long way in ensuring that users get good quality images.

And if only for that, Panasonic deserves recognition, and commendation.