Meet-up of the Three Musketeers

(Very, very busy hands with three great cameras in one go)

The three inseparable friends in The Three Musketeers, a novel by Alexandre Dumas, live by a well-known motto, “One for all, all for one”. Last Saturday, I managed to arrange a meetup in my citadel for the three modern musketeers (LX3, G10 and GX200). A variant version of the motto sprang to mind, “One camera for all purpose, all great features for one camera”.

Before the meetup, I had a shootout with both the LX3 and the GX200. Then I returned home and played with the G10. I had actually played with the LX3 and the G10 before. But this was the first time I could sit down, compare notes with the users and feel the differences of the three in real time.

(Focused: I walked behind the lady and, noticing the captivating gaze of the little girl, turned on my GX200 to MY2 which is set to MF at less than 1m and shot)

The Focus

This post is not going to compare the photos and give a review. There are already enough of them. I am more interested in writing about the strengths of the three for integrating into one dream serious compact which will sell like hotcakes. I will concentrate mostly on the egronomics and focusing speed because it is my belief that all serious compacts give comparable image quality. What make the final image differ are the users’ photographic skill, personal taste and the techniques in post processing. As regards photographic skill, for even someone adept at photography, a shot can make or break because of the egronmics and focusing speed of a camera.

The Strengths

First, the LX3. For its sturdy build and glossy finish, the LX3 looks more classy. Interestingly, its lens cap is also of higher quality as compared with the GX200. Unlike the lens in GX200 which feels wobbly, the LX3’s lens is perfectly in place. Probably for the brand name effect, the Leica lens gives me a sense of “Everything is under control” (in fact, its distortion control fares not as good as GX200’s). It goes without saying that the F2.0 lens is a gem which gave me a wider elbowroom to push up the shutter speed during the shootout.

Second, the G10. Since I tried the G10 months ago, I have suspected that it is actually Intel Inside. Otherwise, there is no reason to explain why its AF is lightning fast. Honestly, the implementation of Digic 4 works so well that the G10 feels like a DSLR in focusing speed. Not missing a great shot when it arises is important for the survival of photographers. The G10 scores full marks here. The LX3 has a little slower AF speed (but I suspect that its AF mode implements something similar to a snap focus) and the GX200 lags behind save its snap focus mode. It is a nice idea to put the optical viewfinder on the body for emergency use. An add-on viewfinder costs too dearly and defeats the protability of a compact. Lastly, although the 28mm gives me a wistful feeling at the short end, I found the long-end focal length of the G10 desirable for a compact.

Now, the GX200. As always, being a GX200 user, I can be leaning towards it in my comments. But, really, the other users were amazed by the light weight of the GX200 when they held it on their palm. That is what a compact is meant for in the first place: lightness. For lightness, the LX3 ranks second and the G10 third. As an aside, I cannot bring myself to like the heavy weight and appearance of G10. It is certainly my prejudice that the G10 looks too intimidating and obstentious (not the users, please). For its heft, the G10 is almost out of the range of compact. Also, the protruding lens of the LX3 adds an unnecessary dimension to its size.

A line-up of the three clearly showed why the GX200 won the international design awards. The GX200 is the smallest in size and the lightest in weight, doning a modest exterior which gives the user almost instant access to different functions and settings. The LX3 and the G10 have lots of buttons on the outside, which is right for a DSLR. However, the buttons on the LX3 are rather confusing and those on the G10 could be overkill. It is no doubt that the bottons give fast access to various functions. But the buttons are not big enough to be comfortable for users. Take for example the focus mode button of the LX3 on the lens and the ISO dial of the G10, I had to look at the buttons to fumble for the right setting. I also noticed that the function dial on the LX3 lacked the “clutching”, resulting in an error when the dial was not turned to the exact point of the desired function. This has never happened to the GX200.

(Three in One: The cosmic line-up of the three planets. This photo may as well illustrate the usefulness of bringing along a mini tripod with me, without which this photo could not be made. I took this on a safety island with the GX200 set on the mini tripod atop the pedestrian signal light. The passers-by were curious about what I in all my seriousness was doing in the middle of the road with such a tiny camera at night)

The 3-in-1 Dream Compact

If you are a LX3 or G10 owner but have not tried the GX200 or the GRDII, you must wonder if my comments about the tangible buttons are fair. If that is the case, you should try either of them for Ricoh’s implementation of the dial/ rocker, the Fn buttons, the customisable quick menu and especially the M mode to make your own conclusion. The G10’s dial for exposure adjustments is close, but not as good in my opinion. A point of note is that the LX3’s round rocker (for accessing the exposure adjustments and quick access menu) was a pain to use, literally hurting my big thumb.

So, the “One for all, all for one” compact should boost the sturdy build and fast lens (minus the barrel distortion) of the LX3, the rapid focusing speed and useful long-end focal length of the G10, the unassuming design of the GX200 plus its fastastic egronomics.