Panasonic L10

The LC10 is Panasonic’s second attempt at a digital SLR. The first was the L1, which was well-made and had high-quality controls that harked back to traditional camera design. However, it was expensive, had a rather unconventional design and was up against much cheaper but equally competent cameras from other makers.

The L1’s design is much more conventional. It has many similarities with Olympus’s E-510. Indeed, Panasonic’s SLR technology has been developed in partnership with Olympus, both companies pioneering the Four Thirds sensor and lens standard.

Four Thirds cameras have a somewhat smaller sensor than regular digital SLRs, and with a different aspect ratio of 4:3, whereas other SLRs have a ratio of 3:2. The 4:3 ratio is also used by compact digital cameras.

Olympus’s first forays into Four Thirds SLRs did not meet with universal acclaim, but its new E-410 and E-510 models are really very good indeed. Hopefully then the L10, which uses much of the same technology, will be equally good.

What’s so special?

First, the similarities. The L10, like the Olympus cameras, uses a 10-megapixel ‘MOS’ sensor to provide an optional Live View alongside the standard SLR viewfinder.

This is difficult to achieve in an SLR camera because it means dropping the mirror and opening the shutter so that the image falls on the sensor, from where it’s fed to the LCD display. Obviously, with the mirror down, there’s no image in the viewfinder.

Other digital SLRs have Live View modes too, but this one works more smoothly than most because the Panasonic offers two types of autofocus. It has conventional SLR ‘phase shift’ autofocus for when you’re using the viewfinder – this uses a separate AF sensor. In Live View mode, though, it can switch to ‘contrast detection’ autofocus which uses the image on the sensor itself.

When you use the contrast detection mode, the Live View shooting process becomes simpler because the camera no longer has to flip the mirror up momentarily to focus.

Contrast detection is the autofocus system used by compact digital cameras. It’s not as fast as ‘phase shift’ systems, but it’s much more versatile. In the Panasonic’s case, it offers a larger number of focus points in Live View mode and also face detection. This is unique in a digital SLR and worked well in our tests too, easily recognising the two faces in our sample scene, though it can apparently identify up to fifteen.

The L10’s Live Mode has other tricks. The first is Panasonic’s ‘Intelligent ISO’ mode, and the idea is that it will identify and analyse any movement and then choose an ISO setting and a shutter speed to keep the subject sharp. It’s a good idea, though it will eventually reach its limits, notably in very poor light.

The main point about the Live View mode is that the LCD can flip out and swivel, like those on some compact cameras. This is a huge advantage when shooting close-ups or at waist level on a tripod. This is another unique feature for a digital SLR, and outweighs the fact that it’s only a 2.5-inch screen (most of the Panasonic’s rivals now have 3-inch screens).

Other similarities with Olympus cameras include a Supersonic Wave Filter for dust removal, which is especially important in a camera with Live View because the sensor is exposed for long periods of time.

But there are differences too. The most notable is in the lens that comes with the camera. Olympus uses a sensor-shift image stabilisation in the E-510 body, Panasonic has gone for a lens-based anti-shake system instead. Branded ‘Mega O.I.S.’ (Optical Image Stabilisation), it’s a similar system to the one used on Panasonic compacts. A ‘floating’ element within the lens responds to any camera movement during the exposure, and itself moves to keep the image steady on the sensor.

It works well, too, and in our hands achieved sharp shots at shutter speeds two times slower than would normally be ‘safe’. Anti-shake systems aren’t foolproof, mind, and it’s still possible to get blurred shots – all they do is improve your chances.

This is an interesting lens in other respects, too. Its focal range of 14-50mm is the equivalent of 28-100mm, so it’s slightly ‘longer’ than the average kit lens. Also, the front element doesn’t rotate during focussing, so it’s handy for those who like to use filters.

Handling and controls

First impressions of this camera are very slightly disappointing. It carries quite a hefty price tag, and yet it feels a little plasticky. This impression does wear off in time, though, as you get used to the controls and realise that this is in fact a well designed and well laid out camera.

The power lever is mounted underneath the main mode dial. It’s oddly awkward to operate, but that’s perhaps no bad thing because you don’t want to turn it accidentally.

There’s another lever under the mode dial, this time towards the front of the camera. This is the drive mode lever, which you use to switch between single shots, continuous shooting, the auto exposure bracketing feature and the self timer. On more basic SLRs you normally have to use the menus to access these modes, so it’s good that they’re so accessible here and a sign that this is intended as an altogether more ‘serious’ camera.

This is borne out by the twin control wheels, one on the grip, at the front, and one on the back of the camera. Twin control wheels are usually found only on more expensive cameras. They’re not essential, but they do speed up many adjustments and they’re particularly useful in Manual mode – the front wheel controls the shutter speed, the rear wheel controls the lens aperture.

Panasonic has managed to cram quite a few controls on to what is still quite a compact body. And the designers have used the four-way navigational buttons on the back for quick access to the ISO setting, metering pattern, white balance and focus mode.

In standard (non Live View) shooting mode, the AF system is actually very basic, consisting of just three AF points arranged horizontally. This might sound primitive, but actually it’s quite a refreshing change to use such a simple system. Three AF points  is often all you need, and with more complex systems you can waste too much time worrying over what the camera’s going to focus on and working out how and whether you’ll need to override it.

The viewfinder itself is rather small. It’s fine for composing photos using the autofocus, but it’s not so easy to focus manually – not with any great degree of accuracy, anyway. Panasonic clearly acknowledges this and includes a magnifying eyecup with the camera. Which rather makes you wonder why they didn’t use a higher magnification eyepiece in the first place.

This is still a good camera to use, though. In fact it grows on you. The accessible controls, the camera’s overall layout and the convenience of the Live View mode do slowly win you over.

The picture quality is good, too. Early Four Thirds cameras struggled to match the picture quality of conventional SLRs, and tended in particular to display more noise at high ISOs.

But the latest Olympus cameras show the technology’s taken a big step forward, and this is reflected in the Panasonic’s results too. The definition seems as good as you’d expect from any other 10-megapixel SLR, and the noise levels at high ISOs seem very well controlled too.

The L10 has a wide range of ‘Film Modes’ too, which aim to recapture the unique qualities  of different types of traditional film. For example, you can shoot in Standard, Dynamic and Vibrant modes and a selection of black and white modes too.

These Film Modes are like similar modes on other SLRs, and are essentially pre-packaged combinations of contrast, sharpness and saturation. But the L10 adds noise reduction to this list, so that you can tailor the film mode to produce smooth-toned images but with some loss of fine detail, or sharper high ISO shots with more hard-edged noise.

Alternatively, you can shoot RAW files and choose the image processing parameters later on your computer.

Despite it’s many good points, though, the L10 does have a serious drawbacks – its price. It’s true that some online retailers are already advertising it for £750 or less, but you can get an Olympus E-510 twin-lens kit for even less than this. Consider too that Canon’s EOS 40D is a similar price (admittedly, in body only form) and that this is a semi-pro camera with a metal body and an amazing 6.5fps continuous shooting speed where the Panasonic can only shoot at 3fps.

The L10 is clever and, in many ways, quite unique. It’s ideal for those who want to upgrade to an SLR but without losing the convenience of LCD viewing when they need it. But is that enough? Unless the price comes down considerably, the L10’s appeal does seem limited, if only because the competition is so strong.