GoKawiilIt's the 25th anniversary of Panasonic's Lumix brand and to fete the occasion the company has unveiled a new compact camera. The Lumix L10 comes with a 20.4-megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor, along with a phase-detect autotofocus system and fixed Leica DC Vario-Summilux 24-75mm f/1.7-2.8 motorized zoom lens.
The new model was inspired by Panasonic's Lumix philosophy of "shaping emotions" and comes with a signature saffiano leather-textured finish, along with a metal body and magnesium alloy front case. It weighs just 1.12 pounds (508 grams), so it's designed to be carried around all day. It features a 2.36-million-dot OLED viewfinder and 1.84 million dot fully-articulating rear screen to allow for both selfies and vlogging.
A key feature of the camera is the multi-aspect ratio via a lens switch that appears to be borrowed from Fujifilm's GFX100RF compact. It lets you switch between 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 and 1:1 aspect ratios. Unusually, the resolution only drops a bit in all those modes because the total sensor pixel count is actually 26.5 MP, the same as the Lumix GH7. With Panasonic's latest processor, it promises "high image quality" via a Dynamic Range Boost features.
The L10 comes with a 779-point hybrid phase detect autofocus system rather than contrast detect like Lumix cameras of old. The subject recognition system supports tracking for eyes, faces, bodies, animals, vehicles and dynamic scenes like urban supports. It can shoot up to 30 fps in electronic shutter mode or 11 fps with the mechanical sensor, and offers optical stabilization.
Panasonic
It's one of Panasonic's best compact cameras in terms of video resolution, with up to 5.6K at 60 fps or 4K at 120 fps, and includes 4:2:2 10-bit capture and V-Log modes with a real-time LUT preview. It even has some pro features like a waveform display for video monitoring. The L10 supports Panasonic's Lumix Lab app that lets you download or create custom LUTs and comes with two new photo styles: L.Classic and L.ClassicGold. Lumix Lab has also been updated with wired support from your camera to a smartphone for faster transfers, and LUTs can be applied directly in-camera via the new Real Time LUT function.
The Lumix L10 arrives in June for $1,499 in black or silver, or as a special edition gold titanium model available in limited quantities for $1,599. Pre-orders are now open at B&H Photo Video and elsewhere.