Cameras: Panasonic Lumix LC1

[911hillclimber]

Some time ago i was seduced by the LC1 Lumix big digital but have never realy taken to it.

Went on hols just to Italy and to the Mille Miglia and took the LC1 and my trusty holiday snapper, a Nikon Coolpix S3000.

Great weather so set-to with the LC1 for the day snapping the fab cars in sun, shaddow and bits between
Took it to Lake Garda for some real holiday snaps.

Tried to keep the camera on 1000th and set aperture to auto and auto focus so I could snap quickly.
To get good capacity on the card set the camera to 100asa.

Just had the lot processed at Boots.

Some shots are really nice, but many in hard sun are very 'sky-blue' tint all over almost like I had a blue filter on the lens (no filter at all fitted)
All shots are sharp and shake-free (a first for me) but irritated over this 'blue-tint' response in some situations.

The snaps made on the Nikon are fantastic as ever!

Any thoughts as to why the LC1 responded this way?

TBH thinking of selling it for an old Lieca IIIB

Got my 'new' Nikkormat FTN now with a nice Nikkor H 50mm lens with a FILM in it.
Very strange to thread a 35mm film into a camera!

Good bits about the LC1 are the lens range, quiet shutter and lovely to 'drive', not too heavy which surprised me.

The Nikkormat is 2 x heavier...

[Ferry Man]

Any thoughts as to why the LC1 responded this way?

Have you checked what 'white balance' setting you've got?
Just use auto. Make sure it's not configured with another setting.
There are seven settings: Auto, sunny, cloudy, tungsten, electronic flash, manual and black-and-white.
Could be that.

The LC1/Digilux2 is a superb camera. One of the best I've ever owned. I still regret parting with mine.
The colours it renders are wonderful. I think there must be a problem with your camera or - more likely - the settings.

[anglophone1]

Any thoughts as to why the LC1 responded this way?

Have you checked what 'white balance' setting you've got?
Just use auto. Make sure it's not configured with another setting.
There are seven settings: Auto, sunny, cloudy, tungsten, electronic flash, manual and black-and-white.
Could be that.

The LC1/Digilux2 is a superb camera. One of the best I've ever owned. I still regret parting with mine.
The colours it renders are wonderful. I think there must be a problem with your camera or - more likely - the settings.

Paul's nailed it, sounds like it's set on tungsten to me, just stick with your Nikon and film

[911hillclimber]

I hope it is just settings, but I'll try again.

I thought at first the camera was a bit 'male jewellery' around the neck but I'm not used to big cameras nowadays.
It is superbly made, a real instrument.
Looking forward to running a film again and 36 exposures with the old Nikon!

[Bruce M]

Have a look through all the image settings for sharpness, saturation and contrast. I've set mine to "standard" rather than high or low.
Set the pixel number to max, with minimum compression, to get the most out of it (biggest files, best quality). With a 2GB card you get about 400 photos with best quality (can't use card bigger than 2GB and they must be SD not SDHC) so no reason to downgrade at all.

Set the ISO speed to 100 unless you really have to go higher. ISO 200 and up is best left for B&W images (take it in colour and convert afterwards) as B&W suits the more noisey images.

Switch on the histogram in the viewfinder and use it to check your exposure. Digital camera are more like slide film than negatives so the main risk is with blown highlights. The histogram is a great tool to check for over exposure. I mostly use F2-F5.6 (set manually) with auto-shutter and if the exposure is needing tweeked (sometimes it's under), I switch to a manual shutter speed rather than use EV compensation.

I'm still at the bottom end of the learning curve but it is fun to use.

The autofocus gets some stick for being slow but I don't have a problem with it. Just don't point it at a blank surface (sky) or it will not get a lock. It seems to need some contrast in the AF zone of the viewfinder to work.

[left4dead]

The LC1/Digilux2 is a superb camera.

Are these still available? I can't seem to find anyone selling them?

[Bruce M]

Mostly doing the rounds on ebay or via classified ads. Although a few dealers trade in them. Was sold new in 2003/4. I bought a damaged one for fun and repaired it.

Only 5mp but with very nice glass in front it takes a nice image.

[left4dead]

Thanks for the info Bruce.

Found this one but would that zoom lens (28-90) be standard?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Panasonic-LUM ... 2ebecd18d3

[Ferry Man]

would that zoom lens (28-90) be standard?

Yes. It looks like an interchangeable lens but it's fixed (zoom).
Don't let that put you off, the glass is the best bit of the camera.
They really are capable of results far beyond that which the specifications would indicate.

http://www.dpreview.com/products/panaso ... nic_dmclc1

[left4dead]

Thanks Paul. I need a new camera for my Eiger expedition.

Looks like one of these (or the Leica Digilux 2 equivalent) would fit the bill nicely.

Apologies for the thread hijack Mr. Hillclimber.

[Ferry Man]

I need a new camera for my Eiger expedition.

Try these folk Steve...

http://www.ropelocker.co.uk/index.php?m ... x&cPath=26

[left4dead]

Thanks Paul but I'm a free soloist.

Oh gawd, I hope Cubist doesn't jump in here.

[Bruce M]

There is a "group" on flickr with plenty of examples:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/digilux2/

and the "camera finder" function (under the explore tab) is useful for finding examples like:

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2281/2074 ... 4ace_b.jpg

(not mine btw)

update: ahh.... found one suitable for ddk.

[left4dead]

Wow Bruce, that's set the bar pretty high should I get one.
Lovely quality shot.

[Bruce M]

Don't get the impression I took that (flickr find)
I mostly use it for family pics and I'm pleased with the results/quality (given my limitations).

It is quite chunky and takes practise to get the best out of it. Certainly needs more skill than a p&s. As the pixel count is modest, it is best to get the framing pretty close through the lens. Cropping heavily shows it's age. It does take some nice landscape shots but I'm not sure it would be a great source for large prints. It could also be a bit big if you are travelling light (Eiger?), although no worse than a DSLR.

I doubt most owners have it as their only camera, in some situations it can be a bit frustrating. However, it has a dedicated following who are quite passionate about it.