Panasonic DMC L10 - demo unit at marina square

[headfonz]

Panasonic is having a road show at Marina Square. A working L10 is showcased there, tryouts are allowed. sadly only 1 set is available for testing the roadshow will be on till sunday (23 Sep)

chat with the panny reps there provided some info

1) L10 will be available in stores (singapore) mid to late Oct.
2) SG prices not firm yet, but recommended retail price should be $2199 (will be cheaper from the usual suspects)

Opinions

managed to play with it for a while, you gotta get the panny reps to provide the battery and SD card (or bring your own) for testing. my humble opinions after 15min handling the L10 (comparisons will be made against my e510).

1) build is good. not as robust as the L1, but plastic quality feels better than e410 / 510.

2) body dimensions is similar but slightly taller to e510.

3) i'm not decided on the grip, i find the rubber grip a little too thin. e510 has a more reassuring grip. i have big hands, so the L10 may work for you.

4) default jpeg settings are classic lumix colours, contrasty and sharp.

5) 2 control dials for aperture and shutter control are nice (reminds me of my FZ30) but the grip didn't make the front dial comfortable for my use

6) LCD - 270 degree flip out lcd screen is very nice. very very nice. the hinge and swivel is nice and smooth.

7) live view - mirror flapping seems softer when engaging live view mode, but it was in the middle of a shopping mall so i may be wrong

8) live view AF (contrast AF) - MUCH better than e410 / 510 flippy flappy method. the LV AF works just like the FZ series, it hunts quite a bit in low contrast scenes.

9) lens - nice weighty lens with metal mount and well damped zoom and focus rings. picture quality on the lcd screen seems alot better than the ZD 14-42mm ED, but it may be due to the default panny settings.

10) takes only SD cards

11) weight - ok for me, the L10 + kit lens weighs around the same as a e510 + ZD 50mm ED. body feels a little heavier than the e510. too lazy to check the official weight specs.

12) menus - classic panny. nice brightly coloured menus and intuitive menu controls.

i like the L10. it offers alot for dslr newbies with its easy learning curve and its vast functions allows users to grow with it.

[wind30]

no sample ISO1600 shots?

[headfonz]

Originally Posted by wind30 no sample ISO1600 shots?

no SD card leh

[DaXiong]

Hi headfonz,

How's the viewfinder compare to Olympus? There is a 1.2x magnifier eyecup for the L-10 rite? Wondering can it use on my L1 .. maybe must bring my L1 go there try try le.. hee..
U got try the face detection? even though it may not be useful for DSLR user, but it sounds interesting...

[headfonz]

Originally Posted by DaXiong Hi headfonz, How's the viewfinder compare to Olympus? There is a 1.2x magnifier eyecup for the L-10 rite? Wondering can it use on my L1 .. maybe must bring my L1 go there try try le.. hee.. U got try the face detection? even though it may not be useful for DSLR user, but it sounds interesting...

the 1.2x magnifier eyecup is available for all 4/3 cameras except the E1 (i think), but it comes as a standard accessory with the L10. the view is bigger, better than the normal viewfinder on my e510, but its not very comfortable to use. have to go in very close to see the whole frame and still have some of the settings view cut off.

the face detection was on in LV AF, works like a p&s camera would i suppose. i don't find it very useful as i use the centre AF point for composing all the time.

go try it out at marina sq lah, but i think your L1 is a very unique camera to own over most dslrs. panny has definately met their objective of creating a consumer friendly dslr with the L10, its a nice camera to start off with really. but gives me a slight impression of being a dumbed down dslr.

[headfonz]

Originally Posted by headfonz the face detection was on in LV AF, works like a p&s camera would i suppose. i don't find it very useful as i use the centre AF point for composing all the time.

oh ya, to add, the face detection should come in very handy when shooting using LV with the camera held overhead or low angle to make composing shots with ppl in it easier and faster.

[tomcat]

Originally Posted by DaXiong Hi headfonz, How's the viewfinder compare to Olympus? There is a 1.2x magnifier eyecup for the L-10 rite? Wondering can it use on my L1 .. maybe must bring my L1 go there try try le.. hee.. U got try the face detection? even though it may not be useful for DSLR user, but it sounds interesting...

The Olympus ME-1 magnifier eyecup fits the L1 too. I have being using it on mine all along.

[Kid Shotter]

Originally Posted by headfonz the 1.2x magnifier eyecup is available for all 4/3 cameras except the E1 (i think), but it comes as a standard accessory with the L10. the view is bigger, better than the normal viewfinder on my e510, but its not very comfortable to use. have to go in very close to see the whole frame and still have some of the settings view cut off. the face detection was on in LV AF, works like a p&s camera would i suppose. i don't find it very useful as i use the centre AF point for composing all the time. go try it out at marina sq lah, but i think your L1 is a very unique camera to own over most dslrs. panny has definately met their objective of creating a consumer friendly dslr with the L10, its a nice camera to start off with really. but gives me a slight impression of being a dumbed down dslr.

ME1 can also fit E1 by install in reverse way.

[DaXiong]

Originally Posted by tomcat The Olympus ME-1 magnifier eyecup fits the L1 too. I have being using it on mine all along.

Thanks bro.. may i noe where can i get for cheaper price? Thanks

[tomcat]

Originally Posted by DaXiong Thanks bro.. may i noe where can i get for cheaper price? Thanks

The ME-1 is unfortunately not cheap but then I suppose that the Panasonic one would probably be just as expensive even if it is eventually available here as an optional accessories which I doubt.... All the Lumix accessories for the LC1 and L1 are super-duper expensive and difficult to get hold of because they are brought in in very small quantities or not at all even.
Can try to get the ME-1 at The Camera Workshop if you are interested.

[wind30]

I have the ME-1. The thing about ME-1 is it is NOT useable with specs. You have to stick your eye right against the ME-1.

but it does help a LOT of you don't wear specs. I find it very useful especially if you use it with a bright lens like 50mm or 30mm.

[Mikefellh]

Originally Posted by wind30 I have the ME-1. The thing about ME-1 is it is NOT useable with specs. You have to stick your eye right against the ME-1.

Personally I've modified my ME-1 so actually my eye is further away but it's much more comfortable to use, not to mention blocking out light from the surrounding area...I added an Orion eyecup to it:


Larger version:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/08...ope_eyecup.jpg

[cjl]

WIth such RRP, think it might be another flop for Panny

How does this measures to the Canon and Nikon counterparts? Or rather, which of the 2 big brands' cams should we compare with L10 in terms of specs?

[boredphuck]

i think the L10 is way overpriced if they are going to sell it for >$2,000. There is no way it can compete with Canon and Nikon cameras that are >$2,000. The performance from those models will kill it.

I think the Leica lens is the reason why it is so expensive. Too bad i find it too small. I was hoping it was the size of the 40D. Then i will definitely regretting that. But no regrets for me after the marina square rd show.