I got mine today too at Ampang Park for RM1600 (the retail package silver color, 1+1 warranty upon online registration, 8GB SDHC Class-6, the usual case).

The procedure and actual process is quite safe. It will only proceed updating if the battery is full. And as with any firmware updating process, it'll check the integrity of the firmware file to ensure it is not corrupted and such. The only risk is user error where the user accidentally pop out the battery door and cause the battery to come out causing a 'black out' during firmware updating procedures.

Firmware v1.3 attempts to fix the white balance issues and also overall performance. I think you should update.

By the way, to those using Panasonic 4GB or 8GB Class 6 cards. Can you confirm your write speed (Windows Vista) in terms of MB/s? Class 6 should be 6MBbps but thats not accounting for overheads, etc.

Yes, Key Color has upgraded their pricing after their renovations hehehehe! I've been a repeat customer of Key Color in the past few months (before the renovation), bought a lot of lenses from them. But unfortunately their compact cameras are like the way people sell commodity goods - not competitive. Probably those lenses are harder to sell than compacts.

Are you rushing to somewhere here?

There's another section which caters to your needs. Like the other bro said.

Yup thats what I plan to do too.

On most situations, half pressing the shutter button would apply auto focus and the camera would calculate the exposure for that frame. As long as you keep holding onto that button, both focusing and exposure would hold/lock. However, there are situations where you only want to lock onto an exposure and then refocus on another subject OR if you want to lock onto a particular focusing depth and calculate another exposure. So the AF/AE button allows you to lock one of these parameters so that you can freely manipulate the other.

For most situations I would just press AE lock to obtain a sample/exposure calculation then reframe and focus one things I want to focus without worrying about the resulting shutter speed. The reason could be because the subject may not give me an accurate reading/exposure calculation. So I would have to sample the exposure on some place near the subject, lock it, then focus onto the subject. A piecemeal approach you may say.

Most of the time, I would just get a sample of the surrounding (strategically) then do some averaging in the head and just dial the corresponding calculations in Manual mode.

Yes, that is one of the ways. Remember to discover new ways

True true... go with Aperture and Shutter priority and let the camera do the rest.

My preference would be the following:

Broad daylight
Use A-mode - the value of A depends on how much depth of field you want. This is safe to play since there's ample light to play around.
ISO - Set to 80/100 or Auto but limit to ISO200, this will give it room to move when we move into cloudy/shaded areas.
Metering - Evaluative or equivalent, sun light is hard to predict/calculate especially in shaded areas.
iExposure - Depends, but I usually leave it off. In high contrast areas, it may be useful
AF mode - Depends on subject, Face Recognition for humans, Object tracking for moving. I would prefer Center Area High Speed while in tricky areas, the smallish center focus point.
Stabilizer - Mode 2 to preserve battery life

In door
Use M mode: A is derived from the depth we want while S is derived from dialing the desired aperture in A mode and then see the resultant shutter speed. Take a few samples/measurements and average it up. Then dial this in M. Then take snap a few photos and check if the background is optimally exposed. Otherwise, drag the shutter (reduce half a stop) until it is ok and yet hand-holdable. Up the ISO if you need to and check if Mega OIS is still operational. Anything lower than 1/15 maybe risky for beginners. Check the exposure meter too. Indicator at 0 means standard exposure. If indicator is at the far left -2, meaning underexposure. Dial the shutter to balance this act. You can use flash. The flash will compensate (although limited in power).

The trick in flash photography is using A to control flash exposure on subject (don't worry about the flash power, it'll compensate. If you got external TTL flash the better) while the S is used to control exposure of background lighting. I find this a very good strategy.

ISO - Set to 400/800, disable Auto/Intelligence
Metering - Center average for more predictability
iExposure - We don't need this
AF mode - Depends on subject, but set to Center Area
Stabilizer - Mode 2 to preserve battery life

No, not really. Its fast but not as a fast as a SLR. But among all compacts, its response is pretty quick. Continuous shots are not really sustainable too. On a SLR you can do 30+ pictures non-stop at least 3fps, not on the LX3. It won't do this for you. In the bright daylight, it may stand a good chance though since light is aplenty and you get good shutter speeds.

A lot of people count on the F2 lens to be fast on the LX3. In fact they forgot to chip in the size of the sensor. The size of the sensor indicates the amount of light it can capture. F2 on a 1.6x crop SLR or even the full frame can mean 1/100 give or that depending on the ISO setting in low light. On the LX3, its more like 1/30 on average cause it has a smaller sensor. It sees smaller amount of light after all.

However, it is not to say that LX3 is not a good camera. In fact, it is a great performer where it should be - the compact camera sector.

This post has been edited by davidmak: Jul 3 2009, 10:32 PM

Have you register the product on Panasonic's website? Cause they will get your contact information from there and then send you the e-voucher if applicable. The e-voucher giveaway is in conjunction of Panasonic's annual anniversary which is only celebrated on a certain period or time frame. If your purchase fits into the time frame, you're most likely entitle for it.

If you have not done the online registration, I suggest you do it soon.

Yeah usually around RM1500-RM1550 and it comes with 4GB SDHC Panasonic Class 6, Mini tripod, Panasonic carrying case, additional 1 year warranty (when you register online) and RM150 e-voucher (sent to your email)

Add RM50-80 you get 8GB SDHC Panasonic Class 6 or some other brand.

No worries, it won't harm the lens provided that cleaning cloth is dedicated for the camera and not used for other cleaning purposes. You don't want dirt from other surfaces rubbing on the lens. Best would be to buy a 3M micro fibre cleaning cloth (RM15~20 a piece). Its longevity is good and was sustain a few washes. Worth the money in my opinion. Cleaning power is good and it doesn't scratch the lens.

Also dust and grime on the front element won't show on your pictures and it doesn't affect picture quality too since your aperture setting is usually large enough. Unless you set aperture all the way to the smallest and it will show.

I got mine from Leos Com Kiosk, 1st Floor Ampang Park. I don't know the shop owner at all. Just one fine day decided to bring up my list of photography shops contacts and call one by one. Leos Com and a select few quoted RM1550. Leos Com was my pick because it was near my location. The rest were toying around the neighborhood of RM1600-RM1700 due to the limited availability particularly in Sungei Wang and Lowyat Plaza. Key Color (Midvalley) was going around RM1630.

By the way, be cautious on the pouch that they give you. I didn't check mine during purchase and it didn't fit (nicely). In the end, I settled with a nice Lowepro pouch for RM100 (KeyColor).

Yeah, there isn't much difference operational wise. I think Class 4 is sufficient even for HD movie recording. However, the real benefit from one with faster transfer rate is during file transfer to PC. Class 6 is categorized to be capable of 6MB/s write and even higher for read.

Hey guys! I've finally found a flash that works with my Panasonic Lumix LX3. Its called Metz Mecablitz 36 AF-4O (Olympus/Panasonic variant). Price is RM380 and bought from Key Color, Midvalley. Not sure if they have anymore stock but I believe they can take orders. I think one of our members here has found this flash also. I think for the price and guide number (GN36), this looks like a best buy!

Here are some of the feature tested:

+ TTL totally works!
+ In-flash body TTL indicator works!
+ Flash compensation works! (via in-camera menu)
+ Flash sync tested until 1/125, 1/200 not yet try
+ Automatic fill-in mode depending on setting
+ Vertical flash bounce
+ Pin to pin compatible
+ Fast locking/unlocking mechanism
+ Serviceable via flashing (future proof)
+ Pretty quick recharge. 3fps no problem
+ Recharge after full blast is fast too

- Manual zoom head (no auto)
- No swivel (horizontal)
- Plastic mount
- IR beam not working (only on camera body)

In conclusion this looks to be a nice external flash for the Lumix LX3. The size isn't really big like the EX580 II (LoL!!!) and it fits the camera just nice. Although it is still not balanced but this is the smallest external flash with head bounce I can find.

This post has been edited by davidmak: Jul 29 2009, 08:14 AM

Here you go! Haha!

Noise control seem to be better because the camera was set to Full manual, ISO=100, F2, 1/60s, Flash compensation from 0 to +1







This post has been edited by davidmak: Jul 28 2009, 10:37 PM

Yeah pretty good buy. I also forgot that I have mistakenly set the Manual ISO to 100. No wonder noise control was better. Anyway this is a good accidental finding in that the flash is capable to TTL properly and powerful enough even with ISO set to 100. It must have discharge flash close to max hahahaha! Later I will try with ISO set to 200 and 400 respectively. Then check 800. If noise at 800 is manageable, then this flash is gonna be very useful (with its headroom).

This post has been edited by davidmak: Jul 28 2009, 10:55 PM

A quick reminder for everyone who uses incompatible flashes like Canon Speedlite, Nikon SB-series, etc. Although the trigger pin is the same and flash sync works, the trigger voltage may be too high for the Lumix LX3. In trigger voltage, I don't have a clue how high they are but I've read on a lot of forums who advise against this. We don't want to fry our cameras, do we?

This is one reason why I bought the Metz even though I've tested with the 580EX II. I have a feeling that it is doing something weird to my LX3. Also, although E-TTL didn't work, the auto-thyristor seems to help a bit in 'auto compensation'. But there's a catch in using it.

For those who are interested with the Metz Mecablitz 36 AF-4 here are some product information:



Product Name/Model: Metz Mecablitz 36 AF-4O <-- O for Olympus/Panasonic FourThirds
Product Page: HERE
Specification: HERE
Place of purchase: KeyColor Midvalley
Price: RM380 (Cash Price)
Promotion: If you buy this in Midvalley, remember the MasterCard and Midvalley Megasale promotion

If you checkout the photo of this Mecablitz 36 AF-4, the hot shoe locking mechanism (right at the bottom) is a screw down lock type. This is the old version. The new version features a quick release locking mechanism. Yes something like Canon 580EX II but this is more plastic and flimsy. Remember to check the pins and to make sure they match the ones on the Lumix LX3 hotshoe.

Also please avoid this model which is considered old. Its the Metz Mecablitz 36 C-2. This one does not feature TTL but can also do automatic flash exposure. It uses auto-thyristor which can be tricky to use and is more like a 90s film technology. This is the product page for the C-2. CLICK HERE

This post has been edited by davidmak: Jul 29 2009, 08:17 AM

Give me some time. I will test tonight. Hehehehe