A “knock around” camera

If you are like me, you probably have been looking for a “point-and-shoot” camera to use when you would rather not carry your “work” camera. Some folks call these cameras “knock around” cameras, to be used when you are just “knocking around.”

The one I use is from Panasonic. You can read about it here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/panasonic_dmclx2.asp.

I normally never say “buy one camera over another,” but this is unusual in how small it is, the fact that it shoots RAW files and how great the final images are (assuming you use it at slowest ISO speeds.). It has not replaced my “working” cameras but it goes with me when it is not practical to bring the bigger machines.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 has recently been replaced by the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3.

The nearest competitor to this camera was the Canon G-9. You can read about that here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_g9.asp. I prefer the Panasonic because it goes wider (to a 35mm camera equivalent of 28mm where the widest the Canon goes only as wide as a 35mm camera equivalent of 35mm.)