Equipped with a medium resolution
2-inch monitor, the interface of the DMC-LS1 benefits from
a little bit more room than those of many other current cameras.
This model shares its interface design with other current
Panasonic cameras, and keeps superimposed data around the
periphery of the screen, even when the histogram is displayed.
Similarly, the menu options are presented in caps with their
current setting on the right side of the screen, which makes
them fast to read while the camera is in use.
The Setup menu, which contains basic configuration
options and which is accessible in all modes with the exception
of the Simple mode, is typical of this presentation:
Battery Type: serves to let the camera know what
type of battery is used to power it, either Oxyride, which
are Panasonic batteries that are longer-lasting than standard
alkaline batteries, or Alkaline/Ni-MH. Based on this information,
the camera is then able to calculate the remaining charge
in the batteries more accurately.
Monitor: serves to adjust the brightness of the
screen over 7 steps.
Auto Review: to decide whether or not an image
is displayed post-capture and how. Besides Off which
does not display the image, three settings are available:
1 or 3 seconds, or Zoom which displays the image full-screen
for 1 second then zooms to 4X so it can be inspected closely.
Power Save: sets the delay after which the camera
will automatically shut down if it is unused (1, 2, 5 or
10 minutes).
Beep: sets the volume of the beeps produced by
the LS1 during operations (Off, Low, High).
Clock Set: serves to set the time and date on the
camera.
No. Reset: decides whether image files are named
consecutively or restart at 1 when the card/memory is formatted
or a blank card is used.
Reset: Yes or No. Selecting Yes returns all camera
settings to their original factory defaults.
USB Mode: PC or PTP. Selects the USB protocol,
either PC which is for use when connecting to personal computer
(Mass Storage); or PTP which is intended for use when connecting
the camera directly to a PictBridge compliant printer.
Video Out(accessible in Playback mode only)
selects the output signal of the camera: NTSC or PAL.
Scene Menu: Auto or Off. Decides whether or not
the Scene menu is immediately displayed when the Mode Dial
is turned to either SCN1 or SCN2.
In North America, the printed manual enclosed with the DMC-LS1
offers generally easy to follow instructions. Descriptions
of modes and functions, while a bit superficial, are sufficient
to make them useable, and only the fact that the Auto ISO
mode can increase sensitivity up to 400 ISO when the flash
is used is not explained clearly. Otherwise, the only shortcomings
of the manual are the occasionally obscure language such as
the following which we assume is meant to explain the faint
chromatic aberration that can sometimes crop up:
"Colours that were actually not around the subject
appear on the picture. On the camera, colour shift may appear
by the characteristic of the lens. This is not a malfunction."
Software
The Canadian version of the Panasonic DMC-LS1
reviewed here is supplied with a single disc called Lumix
Digital Camera 2.2L that contains a number of programs:
Panasonic SD Viewer 2.0E (for Windows only), ArcSoft
PhotoImpression 5 (Windows and Macintosh), Panorama
Maker 3 (Windows and Macintosh), and PhotoBase 4.5
(Windows and Macintosh). Also included are Acrobat Reader
to read the software manuals, and QuickTime to view the
video clips captured with the camera. Finally, the disc also
contains a USB driver (version 1.0) for older versions of Windows.
SD Viewer 2.0E serves
to download images from the camera, organize them with keywords
and print them. Photos are presented in a couple of different
ways: as a contact sheet, where the thumbnail size is variable;
or as thumbnails, with more or less information about the
image presented on its right; or images can be filtered so
that only some formats (All, Image, JPEG, TIFF, or Mov) are
visible. SD Viewer does not allow for any image correction
with the exception of rotating and resizing images.
Image correction or adjustment
is left up to 2 programs that are bundled with the camera:
PhotoImpression and PhotoBase, both from Arcsoft. Using either
program, images can be adjusted for brightness, colour, contrast,
and sharpness. In addition, the programs offer tools for red-eye
reduction and, in the case of PhotoImpression, the possibility
of selecting specific areas of a frame with a lasso tool.
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Interface & Software
