Digital Home Thoughts: Panasonic Announces DMC-LX7 Premium Digital Compact Camera

Not to be outdone by Samsung's EX2F announcement, Panasonic's follow-up to the LX5 also has an f/1.4 lens. Like the Samsung, the lens is a 24mm equivalent on the wide end, with a maximum aperture of f/1.4, and it goes to 90mm equivalent, with a maximum aperture of f/2.3. The sensor is now slightly smaller; I suspect it's the same 12 megapixel 1/1.7" CMOS sensor found in many other compacts, but to keep the multi-aspect feature, the output is slightly under 10 megapixels instead, but allows aspect ratios of 4:3, 3:2, and 16:9 with minimal loss of megapixels. New features include an aperture ring around the lens barrel, to select apertures (but not customisable like the ring in the Canon S90/95/100), a built-in ND filter, a 3" VGA LCD, 1080p video at 60 FPS (!), 11 FPS continuous shooting with locked focus, 5.5 with continuous AF, and an electronic level. As always, the camera offers a number of manual controls, including a rear command dial (my preferred position) along with raw file support. No word on availability and pricing till close to release date. Check out the link for a DPReview preview of the LX7!