panasonic LX3 with accessory tube and CPL...great combo

[straycat]

i bought this from ebay it allows the use of my 52mm filters etc. and acts as a lens hood[though these dont suffer from flare]
its really welll made and screws on/of in a secound.

the panasonic tube besides being expensive [the accesories cost more than the camera] uses a 46mm thread which is uncommon.

somethings on ebay do the job

just a quick snapshot on the way to the shops with a circular polariser on and landscape format.
i want to explore this more.

 

[straycat]

can some one tell me i am a little confused is 24mm on this compact the same as a true 24mm ?

 

[Basket Case]

I believe the stated focal lengths on the Lumix gives the "35mm equivalent" so when it says 24mm, it's not actually 24mm but equivalent field of view of 24mm on a 35mm frame.

I think the sensor in your Lumix is about 4.3 times smaller (by diagonal) than that of a 35mm frame, so in actuality the focal length at 24mm is about ~5.6mm!

 

[Tirpitz]

just had a look in the exif on an LX3 shot of mine & it gives a focal length of 5.1mm & later on quotes it as 24mm equivalent

i have a similar adapter tube for mine although i rarely use it nowadays
i tend to keep the camera small & pocketable

& usually forget to take it with me anyway :bang::shrug:

 

[straycat]

i am only going to use the tube for landscapes etc.

any tips on useing the camera?i am still learning

 

[Tirpitz]

just experiment with all the different settings & have fun

in my opinion its not worth shooting manually as its pretty hard using the rear lcd to focus when outdoors & the controls aint as intuitive/tactile as you get with a DSLR. plus the sensor is so small you wont really notice any effect from varying the aperture :shrug:
just try using the scene modes. eg, sunset boosts reds & blues with nice results
plus you should definitely try the really really good dynamic black & white mode that can give stunning results

 

[straycat]

i am still finding bits in the menu i didnt know about

i hate HDR but i like the black and white setting i found yesterday its very dramatic

the controls are easy people havent gotten used to them thats all

one push of the joystick gets you to all the settings you need and it is quick.

 

[guybrush]

Hey,

I've owned an LX3 for just over a year now - absolutely fantastic camera and I still regularly use it alongside my SLR.

The extension tube you've bought is good, I bought a similar one myself and it's amazing what difference it makes in the ergonomics of the camera, holding it just feels so much better.

Like Tirpitz has said, shooting manual can be quite fiddly but when I do use it I prefer to have manual focus assist on the MF1 setting.

I too use the Q. Menu stick for quickly accessing all the different settings, it's very handy to have - the Fn key is very useful too.

It's got a superb macro feature too.

I just wish it had a bit more length on the lens, 60mm is quite short so I primarily only use it for landscapes & macro. It's not a very effective camera for portraits unfortunately.

 

[desf]

Totally agree with guybrush on all points.
Great camera apart from the short tele but that's a small negative for me.

 

[Tirpitz]

its still the cream of the crop compact wise as far as i'm concerned
we can't really complain about the relatively short zoom as we were aware of this when we bought the camera for its very wide lens
yes i guess a couple of times it would have been nice to have a bit more reach but when you use it for wide stuff its great
its all about choosing the right camera for the photography you intend mainly using it for when you buy it

 

[straycat]

i think the zoom range is fine,you should be able to get a good portrait at 60mm i have no trouble with a 50mm prime doing the same.

these pics are just to show some of the effects,it was very bright.i had the tube on and a cpl.
these are as they came out of the camera no processing.

this ones film grain at night with built in flash