(The man is waiting for the bus. For reason of saving time or whatever, it seems that he is taking a standing nap at the edge of the sidewalk next to the busy Nathan Road, the lifeline of the Kowloon Peninsular. This city works people really hard)
This is the second post about my reflections on using the LX3 on loan to me.
In comparison to the GX200, the LX3 works more like a consumer item than a photographer item. If you haven't a chance to get a hand on a GX200, you'll think that the LX3 has superb controls. It does. But if you've used a GX200 like me beforehand, you will feel otherwise. I will write more on this later. The consumerism as epitomised by a bagful of superfluous fun modes is obvious in the LX3. On the other hand, the GX200 is very much designed with the photographers in mind which is evidenced in its renowned ergonomics and exclusion of nonsense functions.
Joy
That said, two of the LX3's fun functions sound useful: the Lomo-simulated mode and the multiple exposure mode. So, wandering along the street, I took some photos using the Lomo-simulated mode of the LX3. The multiple exposure function of it would be a fun to try. But I have yet to find the right scene to try it out.
Before trying the Lomo mode, I was like "Is it wise to let the camera engine do what a proper PP software could fair much better?" At the end of the day, I would say that even though a PP program is set to do the processing in a more flexible and superb way, there is a very cogent argument for adding in the Lomo mode.
(The Lomo mode is not extreme in its effect. On the contrary, it leaves a nice, soft tone on the image. It is a very handy effect to make a ordinary scene look much better. I gather that it can serve to give some soft focus filter effect in portrait works)
With the Lomo mode on, the screen darkens the four corners and presents a softened image. The instant visual clue is what makes the mode worthwhile because at the time of shooting the photographers are in touch with his or her realtime feelings about the scene. Accordingly, the image can be composed and exposed, recomposed and reexposed. This is the fun that counts in photography, IMHO. The tuning 
and tweaking in a computer software is a very different matter to me. So, I prefer the implementation of some photographically essential fun functions in a serious compact. The Lomo mode is one, the multiple exposure capability is another. For that matter, GX200's white-balance adjustment mode functioning as hued filters is also very welcomed.
So, in regard to these essential fun modes, the joy of photography counts against the effectiveness of the processing power of a software. For those who are seriously using the serious compacts (probably most are), it is a safe bet that fun modes like the portrait mode, the face detection mode and the like are seldom, if ever, used. The GX200 has a very neat menu in the scene mode slot, which comprises some of the most needed essential modes like the digital marco, the text and the skew-correction modes. The LX3's fun modes are much too glamorous and dizzying to the real photographers.
No Joy
As you age, you will have learnt to be wiser. And at that time, all the old teachings will make good sense to you: not to jump into any conclusion too soon; every coin has two sides; one swallow does not make a summer. So slowly, I discovered the no-joy part of the LX3.
An that is the pivotal part in photography: the exposure level indication.
In the two priority modes and the manual mode in LX3, the exposure level indicator will not show up until the shutter is half pressed. It will go off after a few seconds, in which case you need to half press the shutter again to check the correctness of your renewed exposure combo. It's okay for a DSLR with the swift dials and a viewfinder displaying clearly all the information. In a serious compact, that's odd and irritating because correcting the exposure with the miniature buttons on the LX3 is anything but swift. Obviously, without the viewfinder add-on, the LX3 is less than helpful with its however bright LCD screen under strong sunlight.
(For this contrasty scene with the crane moving, I needed to instantly know for how much the scene was under- or over-exposued with the exposure combo. However, the implementation of the exposure level indicator failed me. So I was obliged to use the emergency mode: the P mode, which I hated because it controlled me instead. Why should I go for a serious compact then?)
After all, the DSLRs and the serious compacts do not serve the exact market segment. Photographers prefer a serious compact for its small size and manual controls. Owing to its small size, a serious compact is more useful and enticing for taking candid shots and street shots, in which situation the implementation of a quick reach to the correct or desired exposure is very important. As for the manual controls, the GX200 exemplifies the highest standard to date. A serious compact with controls not helping to achieve those purposes simply, well, sucks.
No, I am not being extreme enough to say that LX3 sucks. Far from it. LX3 has been a joy to use so far. I am just saying in this No Joy section that maybe Pany has overlooked the common way in which a serious compact is best used for. If it is difficult for the photographers to suss out the effect of the exposure combo and instantly set for the desired one, the compact camera is defeated in being a compact.
That's all for today. I shall try the LX3 out again tomorrow to see what I'll feel about it.
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