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The much larger battery in the L10 takes up almost 1/3rd of the body’s volume, so it’s no surprise that the camera is larger than the LX100 models. Photo: Mitchell Clark |
The Panasonic L10 is appreciably larger than the LX100 models that came before it. This has caused some people to dismiss it as no longer making sense, once it’s comparable to the size of the smallest ILCs and their retractable lenses.
It’s also brought into question our use of the term “compact camera” which we’ve historically used for cameras with built-in lenses, but that’s an issue for another day.
Handling the L10, it quickly becomes apparent why it’s so much larger, with the new, much larger battery taking up approximately 1/3rd of the body space. This is because the L10 uses a battery with over twice the capacity of the one used in the LX100s: 15.8Wh, rather than 7.4.
The camera has also become a little deeper, because the screen is now articulated, rather than fixed (something we found frustrating on cameras with such a wide-angle lens). The L10 also has a separate door for its SD card, rather than it slotting in behind the battery, though sadly the door is so close to the tripod socket that this separation doesn’t bring any particular benefit.
Having traveled with the camera for a while, I found myself appreciating those two changes more than I was put off by the loss of pocketability. With a wrist-strap, it’s small enough to comfortably carry all day, but now with the battery life to sustain it over prolonged periods, and the ability to turn the rear screen in for protection, when stuffing it into a camera bag or carry-on luggage.
Does it have as much flexibility as an ILC? No, but its lens is brighter (in both absolute and equivalent terms) than ILC + kit lens pairings that come close to its size. And, like the Fujifilm X100 cameras, that are the same height and width as the L10, there’s a certain appeal to a self-contained device that does one particular thing, rather than a camera that could, theoretically, do anything. If you don’t see that appeal, then it’s not the L10, or its size, you dislike, it’s compact/fixed-lens cameras.
Our DPREVIEW Tribute:
After nearly 25 years of operation, DPReview closed on 10 April 2023. This difficult decision was part of the annual operating plan review that parent company, Amazon, shared earlier this year.
Over the course of 25 years, DP Review built up a reputation as being one of the most informative places to go for information about that new camera or lens you’re after. DP Review began as an independent reviews site based in the UK in 1998, the brainchild of Philip and Joanna Askey, but it was eventually purchased by Amazon in 2007 and relocated over to Seattle in the USA in 2010.
Cheers DPReview – thanks for the great work and content that guided photographers, videographers and techno junkies the world over!