Micro 4/3 Panasonic LX7 - the last of its kind?

Archiver

Top Veteran
As I look at the way cameras are developing, with larger and larger sensors packed into smaller and smaller bodies, I wonder about the fate of cameras like the LX7. The LX7 is unique in today's market as it is the only camera with a 24mm f1.4 lens that is more like 21.5mm at 16:9 ratio. The files hold great potential for postprocessing and the lens is superb. And it can fit in a pocket and be palmed unobtrusively, unlike what appears to be its successor, the LX100.

Is the LX7 likely to be the last small sensor camera with such a fast wide angle lens? Will such cameras disappear into the annals of history as larger cameras with bigger lenses and sensors push ahead? I'm considering getting a spare LX7 and storing it for such a possibility.
 
Is the LX7 likely to be the last small sensor camera with such a fast wide angle lens? Will such cameras disappear into the annals of history as larger cameras with bigger lenses and sensors push ahead? I'm considering getting a spare LX7 and storing it for such a possibility.

I don't know why you've got that impresson because it's just the other way round. Compact cameras have larger sensors and faster lenses today. The market for compact cameras is dead and large sensor compacts with fast lenses are the only compact cameras which still sell today. The f/1.4 of the LX7 sounds nice, but actually the f/1.7 of the LX100 gives you significantly more possibilities to separate the foreground from the background and much better low light capabilities. The reason for that is the much larger sensor.
 
I doubt it. In general, compacts have been getting wider and faster, as well as getting bigger sensors. The RX100 mk3 is already at 24mm equivalent and at f/1.8 in absolute terms (but as pictor indicated, it's the equivalent f-number (adjusted for sensor size differences) that says most about what the final images will look like). I'm pretty confident someone will see the potential of having high end compacts that go even wider. Some superzooms with small sensors already start at 21 or 23mm equivalent.
 
Back
Top